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WRITE TO: P.O. BOX 316534, CHICAGO, IL. 60631
It’s All About The Dash (-)
A developer is requesting an up-zoning to B2-3 concerning the property at 4517 W. Lawrence, currently the property is zoned B3-1. The project will be discussed at the Mayfair Civic Association’s meeting February 10, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Avenue.
The B3 is what determines which types of business’ can
operate there, but the “-1” determines the density. Given that the developer’s
plan calls for only condos and no retail the B3 portion of this equation
doesn’t really come into play but the “- 3” sure does. As the number following
the dash goes up so does the density. For example a “- 1” requires a minimum of
2,500 square ft. of lot area for every unit, a “-1.5” allows 1,350 square feet
of lot area per unit, “- 2” allows only
1000 sq. ft. of lot area per unit and a
“-3” allows for even greater density requiring only 400 square feet per
unit. So for example if you had 29,800 sq. ft. of land and you were zoned
B2-3 you could build 74 condos! If the property was zoned B2-2 you would be
allowed 29 condos, B2-1.5 would allow for 22 condos and if zoned B2-1, you
could only build 11 condos.
That number after the dash makes a big difference. Now imagine that you bought a property zoned B3-1 but you were able to get it rezoned to B2-3, that “dash three” could make your property worth a lot lot more. Why should the Alderman and the City give away that zoning? What is the community getting in return for this extreme density? What about the impact on the schools, traffic congestion, flooding and quality of life in general? Why would Alderman Levar want to diminish the quality of life just to increase a developer’s profits? If the developer bought the property as zoned let him build as zoned. Once the zoning change is allowed, the precedent will have been set and the City will have a very difficult time refusing, if it can refuse at all, future requests for up-zoning on the remaining parcels of the 4500 block of W. Lawrence Avenue.
Example: Zoning classification for B2-__ Example: 29,800 sq. ft lot
Dash 1 : 2,500 sq. ft. minimum lot area per unit allows approx. 11 condos
Dash 1.5 : 1,350 sq. ft. minimum lot area per unit allows approx. 22 condos
Dash 2 : 1,000 sq. ft. minimum lot area per unit allows approx. 29 condos
Dash 3 : 400 sq. ft. minimum lot area per unit allows approx. 74 condos
By Robert Bank
Alderman Levar held a community meeting at the Copernicus Center 5216 W. Lawrence Ave., on December 14, 2004, concerning a request to up-zone the property at 5227 W. Windsor. I must disclose that this writer was a very vocal opponent of the up-zoning request as were most of the residents there.
CONTINUED ON OTHER SIDE
Local residents even collected signatures on a petition to not allow the up-zoning.
The north side of the 5200 block of W. Windsor has been condo-ized for decades but the south side remains mostly single family with a few 2-flats. The lots are deep and there is no alley. Parking and overcrowding were the key concerns.
There was some support for the developer’s project, such as Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce President and Parkway Bank Manager Jim Robertson, employees, relatives of the builder and a few others. The developer’s supporters even claimed to have a petition too! But when I asked Alderman Levar if it would be available for public examination, so we could verify who the circulators of the petition were, as well as the validity of the signatures, the Alderman replied that he did not even have the petitions yet; after that, the whole subject of petitions seemed to evaporate. Because of the large turnout of residents who were adamantly against the up-zoning, the Alderman had no choice but to honor the wishes of his angry constituents and he stated he would reject the proposal.
This was “grass-roots” activism at its best and an example of the power of a good turnout. All to often I have attended these zoning issue meetings only to be disappointed by the sparse crowd, sometimes only 2 or 3 residents show up. Even with a good turn out the residents are still behind the curve. The “community meeting” is usually the first glimpse that uniformed, unsuspecting residents have at the plans and yet they are expected to give a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” for the proposal. Meanwhile the developer, his architects and the City planners have had months if not years to work on these plans. The developer’s team, which usually includes his lawyer, have had years of experience deflecting residents questions and concerns, and the artist’s drawings of the project always look spectacular. The only way the citizenry has a chance against these medicine show acts, is to get one’s neighbors out to the meeting. If a few neighbors make a pact to check the Sun-Times classifieds every day and look for Zoning Change notifications with neighborhood addresses (this really only takes a few minutes a day) then residents can be better prepared when it comes time to testify at the Alderman’s community meeting and if necessary, the Zoning Committee hearing downtown. Often though, the first clue is the Request for Zoning Change sign, a white cardboard poster size sign that is required by law to be visibly posted on the building or lot. Be inquisitive, walk up and write down all the information you can from the sign, call the phone number listed and spread the word to your neighbors to do the same. Call the Alderman’s office and ask him what he knows about the Request for Zoning Change and when will he schedule a community meeting on the matter.
Additionally, make a few phone call to neighbors and ask those that you call,
“ Can I count on you to show up at the meeting” _______________________________________________________________________
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