Another "Mystery Rezoning" Request For The McJunkin Building

In the fall of 2008, Uptowners owning property near Wilson and Broadway received a seemingly endless list of rezoning requests for the McJunkin Building at 4554 N Broadway. The first one came from the Law Offices of Brendan Shiller and the subsequent ones from his office mates, Johnson Jones Snelling Gilbert & Davis, PC (the very same law firm that sent out subpoenas to uncover the identities of everyone who posted on Uptown Update and Buena Park Neighbors, as well as those of the bloggers).

The first rezoning request proposed that the McJunkin Building be rezoned so that it could accomodate "commercial housing" (a phrase that no one can define legally, and one that Brendan Shiller denied knowing anything about, even though he was handling the matter and had signed the letter that went out to residents).

That request was withdrawn, and then another was filed, a few weeks later. Oddly, although "commercial housing" appears nowhere in the zoning code, this notice also said that was the goal of having the building rezoned.

Then, a week later, yet another rezoning notice arrived, also from the same firm, nearly identically worded, except it made no mention of commercial housing. It said that the McJunkin was being rezoned so that an existing restaurant could have liquor sales, and that "more kinds of businesses" would be able to operate on the premises. We suppose the idea was not for us to worry our pretty little heads about what specifically was to go in there.

When a rezoning notice finally went up in October 2008, the "description of the nature, scope and purpose of the application or proposal" (as required by law) was simply stated as: "To change B1-5 neighborhood shopping district to B3-3 community shopping district to establish more kinds of businesses on property."

Could the wording have been more vague? What other kinds of businesses? What would possibly require a zoning change? And what about that oh-so-nebulous "commercial housing" that two different attorneys mentioned, a phrase that has no legal definition?

We heard nothing more about the rezoning of the McJunkin, except to note that the "existing restaurant" in the building, The Best Steak House, apparently already has a liquor license. One that would be included in its proposed sale. It rather begs the question of why a rezoning would be necessary for it to obtain a liquor license, since it already has one!

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Flash forward to June 2010. Lookie here, look what arrived in the mailboxes of property owners around Wilson and Broadway! A reader sent in another rezoning notice she received, identical to the third one sent almost two years ago, except for the name of the attorney handling the matter.

• Still asking for a liquor license for an existing restaurant (even though it already has one).
• Still asking for "more kinds of businesses" to come to the McJunkin without being in the least bit specific about what kinds of businesses might want to set up shop that can't now, under the existing zoning.

We still think it's all as fishy as Helen's proposed aquaponics center, and the lack of real information, as well as the disappearing "commercial housing" phrase, has us very, very suspicious about the timing and the motives involved. We wondered in September and October of 2008, and we're left wondering again in the summer of 2010: What the hell is being planned for the McJunkin and why aren't residents being given full disclosure about it?

Update: Well, this is interesting. The attorney handling "McJunkin 2010" is Kellie Walters. Ms. Walters is or was an attorney with the Civil Rights Center. Brendan Shiller's website says: "In 2007, the Law Office of Brendan Shiller joined with Erickson & Oppenheimer to form the Civil Rights Center, a joint legal venture that pursues civil rights and police abuse cases."

Call us craven and suspicious, but isn't it funny that every single attorney involved in rezoning a building for "more kinds of stores" is connected professionally to Brendan Shiller, who does all Mom's legal finagling? And another attorney who earns (or earned) a living suing the police is suddenly very interested in filing zoning requests?