FOURTH OF JULY FUN: TEARDOWN PROTESTORS ON PARADE

Residents of Henley Street raised a few eyebrows with their outspoken neighborhood float , but the judges awarded them top honors in Glenview's annual Fourth of July parade.    Wearing bright yellow hardhats and carpenters' aprons, they marched to Joanie Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi ("They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot") behind a flatbed bearing placards with pictures of charming little houses on modest lots.  As the wind blew, those placards flipped to show giant new homes that had, presumably, replaced teardowns.  Building permits were pinned to the placards and some residents carried brooms or shovels.

"It was all done in fun," said Marty Smith, one of the neighbors who planned this year's entry.  "The reception was pretty positive, and we got our point across." Smith said he hoped the Village would soon find a solution to the problem of oversized houses.

The other big hit of this year's parade was airborne.  Four military cargo planes flew over the grandstand in formation prompting cheers and a wistful cry from one woman in the crowd: "Bring back the Navy Base!"  Said a man nearby of the pilots above, "I just hope they know the Base is closed."

Some in the crowd assumed the air show came courtesy of retiring Congressman John Porter, but credit actually goes to a couple of women at the Glenview Park District.  Becky Brennan, manager of the tennis club, has a son with the Air Force Reserve at Mitchell Field in Milwaukee.  She and Recreation Director Mary Van Arsdale thought it would be fun to see military planes over Glenview again and mailed a request. 

Captain Chris Brennan and his fellow pilots were already booked for a flight over Hinsdale's parade, so the Glenview appearance won speedy approval.   Chris's Dad, a retired commercial pilot for United, said he got goosebumps when the "boys" flew by.  So did we!

A HOLY WAR ON GREENWOOD ROAD

The Canaan Presbyterian Church will take its case to the Zoning Board of Appeals later this month, hoping for approval to build a 12,000 square-foot center for meetings, social events and recreation just south of its main facility on Greenwood Road,  north of Lake.  The neighborhood is zoned residential, so the church needs special approval for this new building.

At the most recent meeting of Glenview's Plan Commission, nearly a dozen neighbors spoke against the plan to build on a thickly wooded 2.75-acre parcel.  Pointing to a proposed parking lot for 138 cars with just one driveway, they argued traffic would be a nightmare.   The blocks between East and West Lake already contend with cars and buses from Westbrook School, Glenview Youth Baseball, St. Catherine Laboure Church and School, the Armenian All Saints Church, the Himalayan Institute, the Glenview Terrace Nursing Center, a number of apartment buildings and a steady stream of construction trucks from the Glen.  One resident checked with the police department and reported that there had been 43 accidents at the intersection of  Lake and Greenwood in the past year.

Other citizens complained of possible flooding, noise and declining property values, but Plan Commission Chairman Tim Doron had a different view: "It is an undeveloped piece of property.  We all would like to live next to a forest preserve.  We have to work together on this and do everything we can to help you people out, but please keep this in context.  Eventually something will be built there and all that foliage taken out." 

Doron dismissed residents who said they would prefer single-family homes or a park at the site:   "This park thing has been kicking around for a long time.  I don't know who's stepping forward to put a park up there, but someone has to do it, and nobody's doing.  It's 2.75 acres at three homes an acre, it's six or seven homes in there, 6,000 square foot homes going in there, backing up to Lake Street.  Market analysis – I don't think so."  

When citizens jumped in, trying to end Doron's lecture and begin a dialogue, the Chairman stopped them cold: "Folks, folks, folks.  We've got to keep some decorum here.  I'm really trying to work with you guys.  I really mean that, but I want to keep some decorum here, and I will not allow that type of `lynch mob' mentality to go on in this room."

At the conclusion of the hearing, Doron made one last effort to defend the proposed convocation center, pointing out that most Glenview churches are in residential areas.  "My church, which is Our Lady of Perpetual Help, empties 500 cars on a Sunday morning after mass onto Glenview Road – one driveway, okay?. . .I would also ask you to go look at Glenview Community Church at the corner of Elm and Glenview Road ...  look at the activities that go on there during the day abutting Prairie Street with homes that are worth $700,000."

The pastor at Canaan Presbyterian, a Korean-American church,  said he was worried and saddened by the opposition.  The neighbors had complained that his congregation of about 800 people parked their cars on Sunday at Westbrook School.  The Rev. Sam Rhee said construction of a new parking lot at the convocation center would fix that problem and the building would provide an appropriate place for young people to spend time.

Rhee said most members of the church are from Glenview, and he claimed Korean-Americans now comprise 15 percent of the Village's population.  He feels the opposition to planned construction is a matter of prejudice.  Noting that the Glenview Community Church is much larger than his but brings no complaints from the neighbors, he said there is discrimination against Korean-Americans who live and pay taxes in Glenview.

The Plan Commission will hear more on the matter August 8,  giving the Zoning Board time, on July 17,  to decide whether it will even allow the conditional use.  If the center were being built by a secular group, the project wouldn't have a prayer.  Conditional uses can only be granted if there's no negative impact on the neighborhood.  But a relatively new state law, sponsored by Senator Kathy Parker, carries more weight than local law.  The Religious Freedoms Restoration Act give churches the right to build almost anything almost anywhere without local interference.

NEW TREES IN SHORT SUPPLY

In a front page story, Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune said landscapers are finding it difficult to get large shade trees.  The shortage was blamed, in part,  on a surge in building big homes that require big trees.

Glenview's Trustees recently voted to maintain a moratorium on cutting of mature trees, but raised the bar from trunks with a four-inch diameter to 10 inches.  Judging by market demand, those trees we're now sacrificing could be quite valuable.  The Tribune reports that getting "small" trees is not a problem, but "those measuring 2.5 to 4 inches are scarce."

Last week, the James Company cut down four mature trees on the former Navy golf course at the Glen.  Neighbors said the trees were at least 40 years old.  At Village Hall, officials said a special landscaping plan had been approved before the tree moratorium was established, so the builder was not obliged to save the trees, and developer Warren James said they were too big to transplant. 

GLEN PANEL WANTS ERC TO GUIDE CATELLUS

The Glen Redevelopment Committee, a panel that oversees all plans for the Glen,  has approved a recommendation from the Environmental Review Committee (ERC) that a 31 acre prairie at the Glen be identified as "environmentally significant" and is calling for ERC guidance on construction at the industrial park around it.

The vote came after three Glenview residents testified that land around the prairie provides important habitat for endangered grassland birds.  Mary Jo Ghiselli, a girl scout leader and mother of two, pointed out that the ERC wanted to recommend that more land be declared environmentally significant but could not because Village Board President Nancy Firfer had forbidden it.  In a letter to the ERC, Firfer wrote:  "It is not your charge to provide opinions outside of the 31 acres."

"That is wrong," said Ghiselli.  "If we, as a Village, have an ordinance, it should not be selectively enforced.   We don't, for example, say speeding is illegal but we'll only enforce that law downtown.  The same should be true for environmental protection."

Ghiselli quoted from a letter written by wildlife biologist Charles Paine, a member of the ERC:  "Populations of Eastern Meadowlark and Savannah Sparrow, two species that are probably nesting on the Air Station Prairie this year, declined in Illinois by 53 percent and 85 percent respectively between 1966 and 1998. . .Similar declines have occurred in half a dozen more species that have been reported on the Air Station in past years.  If preservation of grassland bird species is a priority, the proposed ESA, 31 acres at the Glen,  is not adequate to protect the site."

To protect the birds, Ghiselli said buildings and parking lots at the Glen should be built as far from the prairie boundary as possible, and native prairie plants should be used in landscaping.   Few trees should be included,  since these can serve as perches for hawks that prey on grassland birds.  She suggested that environmentally friendly forms of pest and weed control be used, that the visitors center be built where parking could be shared with an existing building rather than creating another lot, and that the ERC advise builders on an on-going basis.

"This approach to development is a model for the nation –  something every community should commit to in the 21st century," Ghiselli said.

Rob Blomquist, Vice President of the Glenview Prairie Preservation Project and an award-winning science teacher, agreed.  "Having an environmentally knowledgeable committee of scientists and planners is an excellent way of going about developing an area near an ecologically significant place like the prairie." 

There is, of course, some question of how Catellus,  the buyer of the land,  would react if more property was found to be environmentally significant, but Ghiselli did not think that would be a problem.  Suggesting that Catellus is an environmentally responsible company, she quoted from the firm's 1997 annual report on one of its mixed use developments in northern California: "The company continues to work with the city of Fremont and various federal, state and local agencies to address the impact of development on wetlands and special status species.  Following surveys at the site, the company and the city of Fremont filed a modified application for a permit to continue with development ... [adding] up to 300 acres of planned mitigation."

This spring, Catellus transferred about 225,000 acres of land in California's Mojave Desert to the federal government in a deal sponsored by The Wildlands Conservancy.   The firm maintains a contingency fund of more than $10 million for environmental clean-up, and in a recent sales brochure states: "Catellus is committed to working in partnership with the local community, environmental and business interests.  Incorporating thoughtful solutions to issues with sound planning principles creates quality environments that are aesthetically pleasing for employees, customers and the community."

"That's all our ESA ordinance asks – that a developer incorporate thoughtful solutions to environmental concerns," Ghiselli said. 

The Glen Committee recommended that the ERC be involved with future development by Catellus but stopped short of asking that the committee of scientists and planners consider special ESA status for the grasslands.   The matter goes to the Village Board on July 18.

Glenview Watcher's note:  Only Commissioners Mary Novotny, Bruce Burch and Mark Igleski showed-up for the hearing.  Commissioners Jack Bevington, Linda Witt, Brian Boyd and Chairman Tim Doron were missing in action.   Doron, who hadn't planned to attend, was summoned from home to provide a quorum while citizens waited half an hour in the Board room. 

On arrival, the Chairman made sure Glenview's top developer, the James Company, was not delayed further.  He moved a matter involving Warren James to the top of the agenda, and – ten minutes later -- opened the public hearing on whether to okay the Environmental Review Committee's recommendation.  Not one member of the panel had seen essential background material – minutes from the last ERC meeting and letters from ERC members who offered additional advice on prairie and grassland protection.

Our QUOTE OF THE WEEK is actually three, sent to us by reader HH who found them in a newsletter published by The Night Ministry – a group of clergymen who serve the poor:  HH writes: "It occurred to me how apropos this was to the work of the Plan Commission, particularly to Mr. Doron who has yet to learn the importance of listening."

"We are given two ears, but only one mouth. This is because God knew that listening was twice as hard as talking." -- Anonymous

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen".  – Winston Churchill
           
"Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens."  –  Jimi Hendrix

SAVE THE DATES:

Tuesday, July 11 - The Glenview Plan Commission holds another public hearing on teardowns in the Board room of Village Hall at 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, July 18 - The Glenview Village Board meets at 7:30 p.m.   Possible topics for discussion include teardowns, regulations protecting mature trees and protection for the Air Station Prairie.

Wednesday, July19  - The Glen Redevelopment team hosts a status report on tax increment financing.  The public, representatives of the schools, park district and library are invited to that meeting at the police station from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 19 - Village President Nancy Firfer holds the first in a series of "Listening Sessions" at Cunliff Park, on Echo Lane east of Harms, south of Glenview Road at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 19 - The Glenview Public Library Board meets to discuss whether it should construct a new library at the Glen or remodel downtown.  Start time is 7:30 p.m. in the conference room.

GOING TO THE LIBRARY

An 80-year-old resident of Glenview recently wrote to say that she saw and enjoyed Glenview Watch.  "I have read it several times.  It's excellent," she said, "But how can I get future copies?  I don't have a computer."

May we suggest two excellent options.  Glenview's public library now has copies of Glenview Watch in its reference room.  Stop by any time for a good summer read, or ask the librarian about free computer training.  We will soon have a website where you can read the Watch, and our library will show you how to get there.

OTHER READERS WRITE

Regarding the troubles in Glen Oak Acres, ZCloser offers this idea: "If  the roads have not been improved in 30 or more years, it should be relatively simple to extrapolate what monies would have been spent had the sewers been in place and regular road maintenance been done.  Take these "road maintenance" dollars that were never spent, adjust for inflation and subtract them from the proposed costs to repair roads in the Acres, then negotiate from this new, realistic, net amount."

A reader who lives in a neighborhood next to Glen Oak Acres sent this e-gram: "Thanks.......Very Informative.....Am a Senior.....12 year resident East of Wagner and Glen Oaks," he writes. "Property Taxes on the way to tripling from 1989, and after Glenview Village Management annexed our previously unincorporated location,  they propose `new assessments,' washing their hands of road paving,  flood control responsibility or requiring builder accountability.  Still a `fan' of Glenview area in spite of it all,  but how much better it could be."

A member of the American Planning Association writes about one widely used tool for regulating new home construction in existing neighborhoods: "Communities that use floor area ratio or "FAR" to regulate the size of new homes are constantly scrambling to adjust the formula.  The biggest problem today occurs when planning departments attempt to adjust for homes with volume ceilings.  Many homes have alcoves or living rooms that are  two stories tall.  If the formula only includes floor area, these large looking homes fly in under the radar.   Other homes have living space over a three-car garage, and if the FAR does not include garages, then that living space isn't accounted for either."

"Every community has a different formula," she continues, "and every builder has a blueprint for circumventing FAR.  It  is unworkable and open to extensive manipulation. Richard Feit's proposal – to average the size of homes in a neighborhood, then permit construction of a new home that's 30% bigger –  is a stroke of genius and every planner I have spoken with agrees.  Heck, it isn't my idea but it may be the most brilliant solution I've run across.  Glenview won't be going back to the drawing board every year to mitigate the abuses."

Zcloser argues against "bulk averaging," the tool that Feit feels would achieve development proportional to the neighborhood: "If the Feits of the world want to engage in "Class Envy", then young families will never come and/or stay in Glenview.  They'll move out further West or North to get the living space and home style they feel they need,  and Glenview will eventually become an island of elderly residents, living on fixed  incomes and unable to financially sustain the Village's needs resulting in crumbling infrastructure, deteriorating schools, businesses fleeing for the workforce and dollars necessary to stay viable,  a lowering of property values and an overall loss of homeowners' equity.  Not too desirable in any community."

"I feel for the woman on Pleasant Lane, as the million dollar homes sprout up around her.  There's something to what she says when she states that she's losing her neighborhood.  But let's keep things in perspective.  A neighborhood is more than its houses and street.  It's the people.  I suspect that the "people" in those new (and might I add, very beautiful) homes on Pleasant Lane are not the neighbors she enjoyed these past many years.  They took the money and ran.  My advice then, either bring over some cookies and welcome your new neighbors or do like your ‘friends,' put out a sign, and enjoy your financial windfall."

Regarding the debate between  Feit and local architect Tom Lindsay, "Zcloser" adds:  "While Mr. Feit was held by Mr. Doron to the three minute speaking limit, so too was Mr. Lindsay, who also prepared a lengthy presentation, with charts and graphs that supported the opposing view on a teardown moratorium."

Glenview Watch responds: While we applaud Tim Doron's fairness in holding everyone to the same time limit, we think Feit, Lindsay and anyone else who's come to a public hearing should be allowed a reasonable amount of time to share their ideas.  Our Trustees and Commissioners need to restrict their own remarks at public hearings so there is ample opportunity for the public.  Plan Commissioners are not elected, but that doesn't make them royalty.  Like our Trustees, we expect the Commissioners to recognize that their power comes from the people of Glenview and that our wishes on how the Village operates must be given full and serious consideration.

As a practical and symbolic gesture, we believe the public should be allowed to speak first at public hearings so their remarks are not restricted or crammed into the last hour of a long and exhausting meeting.

JD writes: "Our so called representative officials say they will listen to us, but do as they darn well please. They really take the stand:  DONT CONFUSE US WITH THE FACTS, OUR MINDS ARE MADE UP."

BRH comments on the announcement that ABT will get a 50% sales tax rebate when it builds a superstore on Milwaukee Avenue: "I was really turned off by Mr. Abt's whining about needing financial help.  As you say, most businesses go see a bank in that instance.  Also, nobody said he had to come here.  If he can't afford the move, then maybe he should stay in Morton Grove and annoy the neighbors there.  The Board of Trustees' rush to provide unprecedented perks is an insult to every other business in town, many of whom are also family owned."

"As for Trustee Patton's claim that he can hear tollway noise at his home in east Glenview,  I suspect he's hearing the Ghost of Traffic Future – cars and trucks on Glenview and Waukegan Roads."

And AB is still disturbed by the deal: "The claim by ABT's consultant that District 34 will get $400,000 is probably an over-estimate.  Even if true, why do we need the $400,000.  Was Glenview starving for this money??  Is it worth the added traffic with more upset drivers, pollution, noise?   Why can't Firfer say NO?  When will the development stop?  What is she going to do when there is nothing left to develop?  Will Glenview then file for bankruptcy?"

The Watch replies: District 34 may, indeed, need a cash infusion.  TIF financing at the Glen deprives them of the full tax benefit they could have had from that development, and impact fees normally paid to schools are not being assessed at the Glen.  Meanwhile, the district is bracing for a flood of new kids – 300-500 new students over the next five years.  ABT could help to fill the fiscal gap at District 34 and should enrich the Village.  Which raises another question.  With this unexpected increase in sales tax coming from ABT, must we build such a large industrial park at the Glen?  Village officials have said we needed more industry to offset the cost of services to new residents.  We'd like to see new projections for Village finances with ABT in the mix.


YOUR TURN

What's on your mind? Drop us a line by e-mail at GlenviewWatch@aol.com or the old-fashioned way. We're at 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. Thanks for reading. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors of The Watch.

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