Monday, November 25, 2013

More Info About Tonight's Meetings

From Abby at the 46th Ward office:

"There are 2 meetings tonight at Clarendon Park field house [4501 N Clarendon].

The developer will meet with Magnolia Malden block club and interested residents at 6pm to discuss 4642 N. Magnolia. Since this is a small project it doesn't require full committee review, just the block club. I know there is a lot of concern about this building in Sheridan Park so anyone who is interested may attend.

At 7pm is our regular Zoning and Development committee meeting, where we will see Dave Gassman's proposal for the east side of the 3800 block of Broadway and the updated proposal from JDL for the Maryville site. This will be in the gym, we will be prepared for a large crowd.

Interesting stuff, worth braving the weather."

5 comments:

  1. The Landmark Committee will likely not be granting landmark status. Apparently, the decision isn't formally final, but the audience was informed that for all practical purposes the decision is final.

    According to the current and future owners, the house is coming down no matter what unless the Landmark Committee is somehow dissuaded. Apparently, the fire that occurred there was a mitigating factor.

    The developers pointed out what a losing proposition it was to restore the house despite the fact that they restored their own house on the 4700 block of N. Magnolia at a loss, and several other homes are being gutted and restored in the neighborhood.

    I was personally stunned by the behavior of some of the individuals at the meeting. The showmanship and sense of entitlement was over the top. If anyone at the meeting was in charge of keeping things balanced and civil, that person(s) failed miserably.

    I would deny upzoning the property.

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  2. The likelihood of a developer (or any of the individuals championing the up zoning effort) ponying up the cash/risk to restore this old house is incredibly low.

    To that end, I would rather have a new development in Sheridan Park which brings residents and tax dollars to the neighborhood.

    The past is important to preserve but need to pick the battles. This sounds like a losing proposition to hold out for a restoration of this place.

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  3. Whether or not the house gets saved at this point, I would still deny upzoning. A three flat is a compromise between a single family home and the six flat which the developers are proposing.

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  4. There are 6 to 8 unit buildings on lots that size or smaller throughout Uptown.

    What makes this lot any different? One's feelings about the current house on the property or the current owner/potential owner should not affect what's appropriate on the lot.

    Imagine the lot has been vacant for 20 years. Then what should the zoning decision be?

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  5. I still think we need to a variety of housing stock in the neighborhood. Everyone keeps talking about diversity in Uptown, but streets lined with 6 flat after 6 flat isn't very diverse. Almost anything is an improvement over an empty lot, and there are quite a few on Malden and one on Beacon that remain empty. Converting an architecturally significant home from 1896 to yet another modern, faceless six flat is not an upgrade for the neighborhood.

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