The architect again asked if there were guidelines. "Yes, there are general guidelines -- not law per se," Chairman Silver replied. "It's a guideline. It's what this commission ultimately wants to approve."

The architect again proposed to submit plans to the Appearance Commission and, using the guidelines, let them decide this matter.

"No," said Commissioner DiMattina. "The guidelines are so vague. They cover a wide variety of materials and sizes, and they also don't necessarily say awnings or canopies,' they recommend. It's really an issue. . .of how we want this building to look and how we want it to conform with the downtown area. I really hate to give up that control."

DiMattina did, however, surrender control when Silver reminded him that the Appearance Commission would have final say. "They could come back with an awning you love, but the Appearance Commission could change it."

With that in mind, the Plan Commission okayed the building with the promise of some kind of canopy. 

Editor's note: The guidelines to which Silver and DiMattina referred can be found in a report from the mid-90's written by consultant Peter Pointer. In Downtown: A Vision for the Future, he wrote that single buildings with multiple tenants should employ awnings to upgrade the look of downtown and to give the area identity.

USED CAR LOT POISED TO EXPAND OPPOSITE VILLAGE HALL

Prestige Auto Leasing unveiled a new plan for expansion on Waukegan Road across from Village Hall last week. The company has pledged to landscape 25 percent of the property to better screen up to 58 cars from public view.

Despite that concession, some members of the Plan Commission continued to oppose construction of a new, modern, metal and glass building and lot.

"I feel that this space is too small for what is planned," said Commissioner Linda Witt. "The use and building are not consistent with the area, and I couldn't vote to approve this."

Commissioner DiMattina agreed, and Chairman Silver was prepared to side with them if the panel tied, but four other members of the board were ready to support the project. Commissioner Jim Patterson's support was conditioned on a request that the petitioner come back in two weeks with a final set of plans reflecting exactly what he intended to do, and the petitioner knowing he would probably get a long-awaited okay agreed.

WELCOME TO GLENVIEW. PLEASE DON'T STAY LONG!

Finally, the Plan Commission began work on an ordinance governing extended stay hotels. The current law governing traditional hotels isn't quite right. It forbids cooking in rooms, for example. Extended stay hotels provide each guest with a full kitchen.

A representative from Staybridge Suites, an upscale chain located in 40 communities with plans to build in 60 more including The Glen, explained that guests are often in town doing extended business auditing a bank, for example or going through a company's training program. Sometimes families are waiting for a new home to be built, or men have been transferred and are waiting for their wives and kids to finish school, sell the house and make the move.

The commissioners never said it, but there was one other class of guests who could, conceivably, check-in and these folks would not be welcome in their book. Without ever saying it, their questions indicated a fear that low-income people could pack into the hotel, turning it into an apartment complex for the poor and sending their kids to our schools.

Commissioner DiMattina thought the panel should decide first, "whether we in Glenview really want to have extended stay hotels in this village. We don't have an ordinance to cover it. There might be a reason for that. Maybe extended stay hotels. . .are not desirable for the Village of Glenview."

The Staybridge representative was bewildered, pointing out that the average stay for guests is 7 nights.

"Did the hotel ever have contracts with government social services?" DiMattina wondered.

"Social services?" said the Staybridge rep.

"Y'know, putting up people that, uh, umm, y'know."

"No," said the Staybridge rep, catching DiMattina's drift. "Our average rates are a little over $100 a night. To my knowledge we have never had any business related to a social service program."

The rep told the commission that his company does not operate apartment buildings. "We don't have a high number of people staying three months plus. I mean it happens, but it's not a normal course of business." In some communities, he said, local ordinance dictates that extended stay hotels can
have only 10 percent of guests around for more than 180 days, and that would be okay with Staybridge.

The commission explored putting various limits on how many people could stay in a unit and for how long, then asked staff to research the subject of extended stay hotels and report back. The Staybridge representative, who had come from suburban Atlanta, was told that the Plan Commission would consider his case again in two weeks. Then the Glen Redevelopment Commission would review it, and finally the Village Board would have a look.

Commissioner DiMattina joked: "You'd better find an extended place to stay."

CARLSON QUICK WITH EXCUSES, SLOW WITH SOLUTIONS

Residents of a small, unincorporated neighborhood south of West Lake Avenue addressed consultants to the Comprehensive Plan Commission at its latest meeting and expressed concern about the road's condition. West Lake is a county road that now provides access to the west entrance of The Glen. Each day, dozens of trucks use that route and construction crews are busy digging and installing pipes, narrowing the roadway, creating clouds of dust, flooding problems and a general hazard to drivers and pedestrians. Greenwood is also showing signs of wear, and one woman wondered, "Is there any plan for
repair?"

"Is it a village street you're talking about?" asked the consultant.

"Well you guys are beating these roads up," said the resident. "I wonder who's going to pay for repair. It's your traffic, and instead of routing it off Lehigh or even Lake, construction traffic goes right past us. We get all the dust. I can live with that but the potholes -- who's gonna fix them?"

Others echoed her sentiment, and eventually Village President Larry Carlson decided to speak. At the last Comprehensive Plan Commission hearing, people complained about a lack of new businesses downtown. Carlson spent ten minutes telling how he'd tried to lure the Deerfield Bakery to Glenview only to be told there wasn't enough parking.

This time, he was also long on excuses and short on solutions. Noting that the village does not own West Lake or Greenwood, he recalled a previous effort to add a turn lane on Greenwood a long road controlled, in different places, by various governments. "Greenwood is a county road, a Glenview road, a state road and Maine Township, okay?" said Carlson. "The talks have not progressed. It's very easy when you're dealing with just the village. . .You try to get four municipalities together to accomplish something the first question: Oh, you guys are gonna' pay for this now? It becomes a very interesting thing."

Editor's note: Yes, Glenview should pay for the extraordinary wear and tear on Greenwood and West Lake Avenue as an entrance to The Glen. After all, as the master developer the village is responsible for the damage that has been done. It might take some leadership to achieve the cooperation necessary, but that is presumably why Larry Carlson was elected. It disturbs us to think that Carlson's business is located on West Lake, and he has apparently ignored the dangerous condition of that road for months. Students walking or riding bikes to Glenbrook South High School must travel down sections with no sidewalks ornavigate sidewalks covered with mud and rocks. Families trying to ride bikes or skate to Park Center  r Little Bear Park which is about to open are also in danger as they attempt to reach Glenview's new, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood by way of West Lake. This road should be a priority for improvements, and Larry Carlson should fast track a cooperative effort with the county to get the job done.

FLOODING FACTORS

In mid-September, heavy rains left more than a foot of water in Aon's parking lot. Employees had to leave their cars at the Doubletree Suites Hotel on Milwaukee Avenue and take shuttle buses to work. So muc water rushed across the new West Park that Executive Director Tom Richardson feared playing fields would be lost to erosion, and residents to the north and west contemplated paddling canoes down their streets. Today, Janet Mulvey, Assistant to the Village Manager, offers explanations. With regard to Aon and the park, she says, Abt had planned to install a 24-inch storm sewer and build an access road. The sewer had not yet been installed, but fill was piled-up in anticipation of road work, creating a dam that led to the flooding. The contractor has since cut a channel through the fill so water will not back up.

As for the flooding of Linden, Magnolia and the Northfield Woods subdivision, Mulvey says the Cook County Highway Department was to blame. In the course of rebuilding the roadway and bridge over the Des Plaines River, a crew connected Glenview's 27-inch sewer pipe to the county's 72-inch sewer using a 15-inch temporary pipe. It doesn't take a math whiz to figure out what went wrong there, but the county has agreed to collect damage claims, which will ultimately be paid by the contractor. For more information, you can contact Mulvey at Village Hall: 724-1700, extension 200.

SCHOOL NEWS AND BLUES

Glenbrook's Superintendent David Hales won a 7.6 percent raise from the District 225 Board last week. With no public debate, the board also extended his contract to June 2003. Hales now earns nearly $170,000 per year. Meanwhile, teachers salaries rose 3.1 percent.

In other school news, Glenbrook South Principal David Smith expressed disappointment over scores from a new standardized test given to juniors last spring. The Prairie State Achievement Exam is designed to find out if kids are meeting minimum expectations for reading, writing, math, science and social studies. While Glenbrook kids scored above the state average, 28 percent failed in science at GBS. At Glenbrook North, 16 percent flunked the science portion.

Officials say students with the lowest scores came for the most part from low-income families. Ten and a half percent of kids at GBS are considered low-income while 1.4 percent of the students at GBN fall into that category. On a brighter note, 85 percent of juniors at GBS and 93 percent at GBN met or exceeded expectations for writing.

MORE FASCINATING VILLAGE BILLS

The trustees will be asked to approve payment of a big pile of bills at Tuesday night's meeting. Among them, an invoice from Yahoo ($25) for delivery of a subpoena served via the Internet, and one for $16.25 from Manufacturers Bank for a grand jury subpoena.

Also on the legal front, a bill for more than $3,000 from Jeffrey Randall's law firm for the matter involving a man who wants to put his garbage in front of his neighbor's house. Randall also charged more than $16,000 to defend the village against a lawsuit over prairie protection. The plaintiffs in that case, including Watch Editor Sandy Hausman, have proposed a simple settlement, but Randall has refused.

The total bill for opening ceremonies at the old Navy chapel: $625 for invitations and $1,050 for catering. We didn't get an invitation and didn't see any food. Did you?

There's a bill for $3,000 from Roger Organ Studios for work at the chapel this being paid by the village, while the Park District holds the keys to the building and has announced it will charge $220 an hour for use of that facility on weekends $50 an hour during the week.

And finally, the village will be asked to pay $4,224.70 for village flags and $14,703 to put holiday lights on trees along Glenview and Waukegan Roads and at the downtown train station.

BOARD PREVIEW

The trustees are expected to okay a new alliance with Wheeling. That community wants to be part of our new fire department dispatch service when we break from the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center next year. Chief Joe Robberson also wants $260,000 to design two new fire stations. The one at The Glen could be attached to the east side of Hangar One, and funds for its construction would come from the TIF tax money collected from residents and businesses at The Glen. Each station would house six firemen and three pieces of equipment with construction to begin in May 2002. Robberson will ask that a company called FGM get the business, even though it was not the low bid.

There will also be a discussion of signs in the windows of downtown businesses. FYI, Caribou Coffee has won the right to puts its logo on those "historic" doors at the corner of Glenview and Waukegan Road.

DEERFIELD'S DILEMMA

Deerfield's trustees are in a tough spot. For months now, they've been getting anonymous letters from a guy who calls himself "a proud American flag," and laments the fact that people ignore him. "No salutes, no pledge and no one standing up," he wrote last July.

Last week, the author showed up and, in the middle of a board meeting, urged the trustees to say the pledge of allegiance. The mayor said the board would consider the matter and proceeded with other business. Ken Werner announced he was "flabbergasted," and left the room according to the Deerfield Review.

Since then, Deerfield's trustees have been apologizing for their inaction, and the possibility of a weekly pledge will be discussed on October 8. While neighboring Glenview, Bannockburn, Libertyville and Mundelein say the pledge before board meetings, Highland Park, Vernon Hills and Lincolnshire do not.

IN OTHER NEWS FROM THE NEIGHBORS

Northbrook has raised its sales tax by half a percent. If sales continue at their current level, experts say that should generate twice as much as the village needs to cover a $2 million shortfall in next year's budget.

Deerfield has agreed to allow the redevelopers of Deerbrook Mall 60 percent of any new sales taxes for 15 years with a cap of $5.5 million.

A 71-year-old driver from Glenview crashed into a business at 35 Skokie Boulevard in Northbrook on September 21. An employee and the driver were treated at Highland Park Hospital. The business Four Eyes.

PARKER GETS A PASS

The latest effort by Democrats to redraw state legislative boundaries puts State Senator Kathy Parker back in a district where she will not have to run against another Republican before seeking re-election, but the proposed map leaves Republican State Representative Beth Coulson to duke it out with liberal Democrat Jeff Schoenberg in a district that will be slightly more Democratic. Coulson says she's not worried and does intend to run for re-election. Schoenberg has expressed interest in higher office and could run for State Treasurer or State Senate.

BILL MORRISON MARKS 85

We congratulate longtime resident Bill Morrison on his 85th birthday and take pleasure in printing a short piece he wrote for the occasion:

"On Being 85 In Glenview: I woke up Tuesday as an 85-year-old Glenview resident. I first woke up here 48 years ago when the town and I both were quite different. The Glenview world ended at Rolling Pass, and Lake Avenue dead ended at Waukegan Road. There were no curbs on straggly Waukegan Road. Cars just pulled off on the shoulder higgledy piggledy. I proudly pushed a lawn mower over our acre plus. Ah me! The Glenview sewers and I were both so young and strong in that long ago, and today we both need patching up at considerable expense. Nevertheless, I look forward to waking up next year as an 86-year-old resident in Glenview."

OTHER READERS WRITE:

Ann Chalem comments on the controversy over a transsexual principal: "I would like to commend the School Board of the Avoca School District for their continued support of Deanna Reed, whose qualifications as an educator have never been in question. They are demonstrating the principles of respect and tolerance that all of us, children and adults, would do well to emulate."

KG has no sympathy for a family faced with neon from Dominick's on Lake Avenue: "I was disheartened by the attitude of residents complaining about Dominick's and the light issue. I guess some people are never happy. They complained about the airplane noise when the Navy Base existed. As a result, the base closed, and now, instead of occasional noise, we have relatively constant noise from O'Hare. I guess we need to be careful about what we wish for! Why can't we just get along? If one doesn't want noise and doesn't want light, they should try living in a cave. Or better yet, maybe one should just be grateful that we have ears to hear with and eyes to see with. Some people can only dream of having these abilities."

The Watch replies: We know of no connection between the closing of GNAS and increased air traffic at O'Hare, nor can we say that folks who complained about airplane noise are the same ones upset about light pollution. 

EB comments on last week's flooding along Milwaukee Avenue: "It doesn't take a great mind to know why we have a water problem in Glenview. Just think about all the trees, open land, etc., that were covered with cement for Abt. That's the way neighborhoods are headed with all the monster houses built on small lots. Water has to go someplace. Can't we come in out of the rain before its too late?"

Alan Butman is puzzled by reports that property taxes will be going up in Glenview: "I thought that Glenview wouldn't be raising real estate taxes with the development of the base. Local leaders who favored development promised no new taxes. They claimed that revenues from all the new home and commercial properties would cover the costs of development and make an increase for current homeowners unnecessary. Please explain."

The Watch replies: The village promised not to raise its tax rate, but Glenview does not control the amount on which property taxes are based the equalized assessed value (EAV) of your home. When Cook County increases your EAV, taxes also go up.

Local historian and writer Eugene Finerman is watching affairs in Washington and having a laugh. He writes, "Our campaign against Afghanistan has a new name: Operation Enduring Freedom. Its previous brand name, Operation Infinite Justice, did not test well among Moslem focus groups. This new title will presumably inspire us and win over world opinion. Did we test-market our code name for the Normandy Invasion? Did surveys indicate that the Germans would be more willing to surrender to Operation Overlord?"

YOUR TURN: Share your views on local issues and news. E-mail to glenviewwatch@aol.com or snail mail to 3537 Maple Leaf Dr., Glenview, IL 60025.  We look forward to hearing from you and consider readers' remarks an essential part of our newsletter. Thanks for reading!  – Sandy Hausman and Dean Schott

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