Minutes – March 13, 2018
March 13, 2018 ELVN Meeting Minutes
19th District Police Station
In attendance:
Michael Zink
Jim Spencer
Beth Murphy
Chester Kropidlowski
Heather Way-Kitzes
Kit Welch
Tom Rothschild
Jean O’Neill
Mark Lundgren
Terie Kata
Aileen Tien
Maggie Koehler
Patrick Carlson
Marty Wallace
Absent:
Patrick Nagle
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m.
Jim opened the meeting welcoming everyone to the Annual general community meeting.
Board Election
Jim announced the 13 candidates vying for 8 open seats on the ELVN Board. They are Patrick Nagle, John Fitterer, Jim Spencer, Marty Malone, Kit Welch, Chester Kropidlowski, Maggie Koehler, Tom Rothschild, Justin Kreindler, Heather Way-Kitzes, Joshua Ring, Terie Kata, and Brandon Cunningham. Each was present or had someone present to speak on his or her behalf and made a brief statement in support of his or her candidacy. Jim asked if there were any additional nominations from the floor, to which no response was given.
The vote was accordingly conducted among paid ELVN members present. Completed ballots were given to members of the election committee and were taken to be counted immediately. Results will be announced at the end of the meeting.
46th Ward
Alderman Cappleman was present to give the report.
A Gill Park meeting about the playground will take place on April 5. Bids have gone out and should be back by then, and the Alderman will provide more information as it becomes available.
The funds have been arranged for the Clarendon and Broadway sculpture. It should be completed soon.
In response to a question from Brandon Cunningham’s wife, the Alderman says that the Gill Park playground equipment is expected to be discarded. She suggests that it be used at Kelly Park, the organization of which Brandon is President. The Alderman agrees with that idea.
Terie asks about the Car2Go program. The Alderman says that the proposed pilot project ends in December 2018. He says that if there are ample complaints from the community then they can block it off during the pilot project entirely in the 46th Ward, so he really needs regular feedback. He describes the program. Cars would not be allowed to park in the LV-2 parking zones, and they are not allowed at all in the 43rd and 44th Wards. They would be allowed on game day in the 46th Ward currently. Chester says that the proposal has not yet gone to Committee so it is not yet an ordinance. The Alderman says that it is being reviewed in the Mayor’s office. He has the option to have the area blocked in the Car2Go program. In response to Marty asking about identifiers on those vehicles, the Alderman confirms that there will be identifiers.
44th Ward
Alderman Tunney and Chris Jessup were present to give the report.
The licensees at the Hotel Zachary have the same deals as the Dugout and other nearby restaurants. The Alderman has drafted language of a proposed ordinance that requires businesses open from 2:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m. to have cameras with 30-day available feeds and 24-hour emergency contact information.
The Alderman thanks neighbors who demanded more police, as the 19th District has been assigned 20 more officers thus far, 19 of whom are probationary police officers. He is seeking another 20, with a goal to reach 400 for the 19th District. Currently the 19th District has 378 officers.
Kim Soo Nagle thanks Alderman Tunney for his work on reducing helicopter noise.
Ald. Tunney thanks the Cubs for their establishment and operation of the Park at Wrigley during the winter. He had a meeting of neighbors in the block north of Wrigley Field and next week will be meeting with neighbors who live on Racine, Patterson, and Waveland. There will only be 75 parking spaces at the Hotel Zachary. He is trying to create a zone of 24-7 parking bordered by Southport, Grace, Halsted, and Roscoe.
The Cubs have a loading zone on Clark and there is a separate lane for drop-offs at the Hotel Zachary. The hotel will have valet parking and some underground parking, as well as some parking on Racine. There will be 173 rooms in the hotel. It will include some high-end restaurants per Heather, and the valet serves both the hotel and the restaurants. The parking is hosted by Standard Parking. There will be 450 parking spots in the Addison Park on Clark on the south side of Addison eventually. The Addison Park on Clark will start making apartments available in July or August 2018.
Project Updates
1) Aurelio’s presented its Plan of Operation for the space on Racine/Clark/Grace formerly occupied by Myron Mixon’s Smoke Show. Its franchisee Mike was present. It is the second-oldest franchise in the country next to Pizza Hut. This will be its first location north of I-290. The restaurant space will remain as it was previously. There will be an outdoor patio and cafe in the back with mandatory food service, and not just drinks. It will be family-friendly and is intended as a place for families to go. It will have 185 seats. The trash bins on Racine will be removed and will be placed instead inside the patio in a self-contained space, which he hopes will reduce the presence of rodents. The hours will be 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. typically, and perhaps longer on Cubs game days/nights because their license allows them to stay open until 2:00 a.m. They do not expect to stay open that late on a frequent basis.
Terie asks if they plan to remain open from October to April, and they confirmed that it will stay open in the off-season. They expect 60 percent of their business to be delivery. They want to get involved in the community and will have outreach to the nearby schools and the Chamber of Commerce. A community member asks about the delivery cars and where they will be parked. They are going to ask Cubs about potentially using their adjacent lot and maybe will use Uber eats. They hope to use their own delivery people. In response to a question about exterior signed, they have submitted requests for permits and are waiting for the city’s approval. They will be standard Aurelio’s signs and will not resemble the garish sign on Roosevelt Road. They will be joining ELVN.
2) The Dugout presented at the request of Alderman Tunney. It is located at 950 W. Addison and is owned by Ed Cressy who also owns the building and is present, represented by a former city liquor commissioner. It expanded the restaurant to the first floor and added an outdoor patio. There was exterior construction and a new kitchen with a public place amusement license. It wants to expand now to the 4th floor that also has a patio and rooftop, and it is working with Alderman Tunney on that work. There is no zoning change request, but its representatives simply wanted to give an update on the work. In response to Terie’s question about the hours of the rooftop, the stated that it will close at 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 12:00 a.m. on weekends. Terie asks about whether charter buses will be involved there or at the Hotel, and Heather states that charter buses would drop people off and vacate and would not park on Irving Park.
3) The MCZ Company presented regarding its proposed project at the current JCYS site on Grace and Sheffield. The architect and a representative from MCZ are present. They propose to erect a 4-story residential building with parking underneath. It is a TOD but will include 20 total parking spaces for 40 rental units. It will include 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units and studios. There will be 10 apartments per floor. The price ranges are likely to be approximately $1,000 per month for a studio, approximately $2,000 per month for a 2-bedroom unit, and approximately $2,200 per month for a 3-bedroom unit.
The building will be pulled back from the road with an entry courtyard. There will be a side entry on Grace. It will mimic the limestone buildings on Sheffield nearby and will mostly be made of limestone. It will be 48-feet high and will match the U-shaped buildings in the area. There will be a roof deck. The loading stall for trucks and for garbage pickup will be the first parking spot. The height of the building directly north is only 2.5 stories, and the 2-flat next door to the south is not owned by them. They do not anticipate that all 20 parking spaces will be used. There will be 14 indoor parking spots and 6 outdoor parking spots. They expect to begin demolition in Summer 2018. Tom says that families were told that the project could proceed until the end of 2019. JCYS may have an option to stay until the end of 2018 if vacating becomes harder than expected. It is currently zoned as B3-2 and they are requesting a zoning change to B2-3.
Cubs
Heather was present to give the report.
Jim thanks the Cubs for their construction and operation of the Park at Wrigley. Heather mentions all of the various events at the Park that have been held in the last year and says that it has far exceeded expectations.
The Cubs home Opening Day will be April 9 at 1:20 p.m.
The Hotel Zachary will open on March 26. They expect to host events for local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, and neighbors to celebrate the opening. There will be 6 restaurants in the hotel, and McDonald’s opens first.
The Park schedule will be published soon. In response to a question, Heather states that there will be no expanded seating in the bleachers. They are constructing the club behind home plate, dugouts have been moved down the baselines, and the protective netting has been extended. The alley on Clifton will be repaved. There will be landscaping in the east portion of the Blue Lot. They will also do work on Waveland and Kenmore work. Grace and Clifton need new sidewalks as well.
Chester says that there is a continuing problem with OEMC denying access to homes before, during, and after games. He is going to inquire as to whether they are willing to come to an upcoming ELVN meeting to talk.
New Business
Chester discusses the plans for Lake Shore Drive. The ideas are to have an interchange at Addison to go underneath Addison, eliminating parking on Recreation Drive, and to perhaps build a 90-car parking lot on the west side of Lake Shore Drive. They also are looking to reduce Lake Shore Drive to 2 lanes north of Montrose. Mark suggests making up for the loss of parking on Recreation Drive to the lot that accesses the golf course.
Maureen Martino from the Chamber of Commerce mentions that there will be a meeting with the community on March 14 regarding the empty lots adjacent to the new flyover project. They will discuss what to do with those empty lots.
Jim announced the Board election results after ballot counting was completed by the election committee. The elected Board members are Patrick Nagle, John Fitterer, Jim Spencer, Marty Malone, Kit Welch, Maggie Koehler, Justin Kreindler, and Heather Way-Kitzes.
Closed Session
After discussion and a vote of approval, Jim will draft a letter to MCZ indicating that ELVN supports its requested zoning change.
All Board members executed a Conflict of Interest agreement.
A vote was conducted for ELVN Executive Officers. Motions were advanced, seconded, and passed to name Michael Zink as President, Patrick Nagle as Vice-President, Heather Way-Kitzes as Secretary, and Aileen Tien as Treasurer.
Upon motion that was seconded and passed, the meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Michael Zink