Here we have a official letter sent out by Mr. Coe. Notice the postmark date of July 18, 2005 on the envelope. Notice the date the letter was typed, July 16, 2005. The owner got the letter July 19, 2005.
Notice his blah, blah, blah, I'm doing everything legal ( where have we heard this before ) date, Mr. Coe is applying for his zoning change, " it says on or about July 18, 2005. Again, the owner got the letter July 19, 2005.
Let's rid ourselves of the technical stuff: Chapter 17-13 | Review and Approval Procedures 17-13-0100
1. Timing (a) One written notice of administrative adjustment applications must be provided by the applicant at least 10 days before the Zoning Administrator takes action on the application. The Zoning Administrator may not take final action on an administrative adjustment application until at least 10 days after the date that notices were mailed to abutting property owners. (b) One written notice for all other applications requiring written notice must be provided by the applicant no more than 30 days before filing the application. 2. Radius Unless otherwise expressly stated, the notification radius for applications requiring written notice is as follows: (a) In the case of special use applications and zoning map amendments, including planned developments, written notice must be provided to property owners of the subject property and to all property owners within 250 feet of the property lines of the subject property. (b) In the case of special use applications for sanitary landfills, hazardous waste treatment or storage facilities, liquid waste handling facilities, resource recovery facilities, reprocessable construction/ demolition material facilities, incinerators or transfer stations, the applicant must provide written notice to all property owners within 500 feet of the property lines of the subject property. (c) In the case of administrative adjustment applications, the applicant must provide written notice to property owners of abutting lots on both sides of the subject property. (d) In the case of variation applications, written notice must be provided to property owners of the subject property and to all property owners within 100 feet of the property lines of the subject property. (e) Land occupied by public roads, streets, alleys and other public ways is to be excluded in computing the required notification radius. 3. All required written notices must be sent USPS first class mail unless otherwise expressly stated. 4. Ownership information must be obtained from the most recent authentic tax records of Cook County. 5. Written notices must contain: (a) the common street address of the subject property, (b) a description of the nature, scope and purpose of the application or proposal; (c) the name and address of the applicant; (d) the date that the applicant intends to file the application; and (e) a source for additional information on the application or proposal. 6. If after a bona fide effort to provide written notice, the property owner of the property on which notice is served cannot be found at their last known address, or the mailed notice is returned because the property owner cannot be found at their last known address, the written notice requirements of this section will be deemed satisfied. 7. At the time of filing an application, the applicant must furnish a complete list containing the names and last known addresses of the persons provided with notice. The applicant must also furnish a written affidavit certifying compliance with all applicable written notice requirements. (a) Lists and affidavits must be furnished to the Chairman of the City Council Committee on Zoning for matters requiring final approval by the City Council or to the Chairman of Zoning Board of Appeals for matters requiring final approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. (b) No hearing will be scheduled or conducted until the applicant complies with all applicable notice requirements.
Now that we got the rules out of the way, can anyone say Mr. Coe doesn't have a clue what 10 days means? This is the first rule. Let's check another rule, the 250 feet radius rule. David Fagus, did you get one of these broken rule #1 letters?
Let's backtrack and see what happened on July 18, 2005
6 comments:
Michael,
There is more dirt on DevCorp North here if you are bored with me blaming them on this site.
Follow along and enjoy, as one of my loyal readers, you are getting the first scoop in another DevCorp North employee scam.
>... the role of the 49th Ward Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee is to make a recommendation to the Alderman ... The 49th Ward committee does not have final say. That is the prerogative of the Alderman ... our recommendations are generally accepted by the Alderman.
Every time Moore's Density Increase Approval Board is mentioned, count on the Alderman and the toady members to trot out the standard rhetoric stressing its advisory role. Otherwise, were the committee anything else, it might be considered a public body, and so would fall under the auspices of Illinois' Open Meetings Act. This would seriously cramp their style, because it would require the committee to announce meetings in advance and publish agendas. They would not be able to continue their current policy of back-room, closed-door operation. A more accurate description of the role of the committee is to provide the Alderman with cover on decisions he has already made.
Alderman Tom Tunney (44th) is showing leadership among his peers in an open process for neighborhood planning. He posts the minutes of the meetings of his Community Directed Development Council on his web site.
Included in the postings are:
* Committee members
* Attendance at the meetings
* Summaries of discussions of issues
* Record of votes
* Updates on projects
* Zoning changes
* Progress of the ward's zoning remap
* Resident comments
Check out Ald. Tunney's web site as an example of what is possible with a sincere commitment to neighborhood participation in neighborhood planning.
Can we pelase ask Mr. Coe to finish one tear-down before he tears down another? No doubt he can tear buildings down much faster than he can sell condos. We are coming up on the one year anniversary of the tear-down of the Pinewood, and the project is apparently on hold. Are Mr. Coe and Mr. Aronson executing their usual business plan of stalling and not putting any more money into the project until units sell? This is what they did at 1617 W Estes, the neighbors were treated to a cosntruction site for years.
>Why on earth does Moore help these guys? It angers nearly everyone, they screw him by making him look impotent or foolish, and it usually makes the parking problem worse as well. Does anyone understand his logic here?
Coe, through his partners Aronson and Sinar, is a major underwriter of Moore's political campaigns.
Coe: The Official Real Estate Developer of the 49th Ward
Richard M. Aronson is a realtor with Camelot Realty of America, Inc., on the Board of Directors of DevCorp North, a member of DevCorp North's standing committee on real estate development and Alderman Moore's "community" Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee (ZALUAC). Mr. Sinar is the Secretary and attorney for Camelot Realty of America, Inc. Camelot Realty of America, Inc., Camelot Development, LLC, their officers, and employees have [b]contributed at least $6300.00 to Moore[/b] since 1999, according to Moore's disclosures to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
$250.00 on 3/25/04 (Richard M. Aronson)
$250.00 on 3/25/04 (Scott A. Sinar)
$1,000.00 on 2/28/2004 (Camelot Realty)
$1,000.00 on 2/12/2004 (Camelot Realty)
$500.00 on 12/9/2002 (Scott A. Sinar)
$500.00 on 10/24/2002 (Richard M. Aronson)
$1,000.00 on 6/14/2002 (Camelot Development)
2 contributions of $100.00 each for a total of $200.00 on 11/5/2001 (Richard M. Aronson)
$1,000.00 on 1/24/2001 (Camelot Realty)
$500.00 on 8/11/1999 (Camelot Realty)
$100.00 on 8/3/1999 (Camelot Realty)
Contributions from real estate developers are the fuel that stokes the machine of ward politics in Chicago and shapes our neighborhoods. All citizens of Chicago should be familiar with the important State Board of Elections Campaign Disclosure web site and how to use it. This web site is key to understanding our neighborhood.
Illinois State Board of Elections Campaign Disclosure Database
The revised zoning laws passed last year by our City Council revamped the notification requirements for zoning changes, greatly in favor of developers.
A zoning change (a.k.a. a "map amendment" or "re-zoning") requires a public hearing before the City Council's Committee on Zoning. The hearing is still required, but the written notification of the hearing by mail was eliminated. Under the old law, a developer seeking a zoning change was required to notify property owners within 250 feet of the date and time of public hearing. Under the new law, the radius is the same (small), but the developer is only required to notify neighboring property owners of his filing an APPLICATION for the zoning change, but NOT of the hearing! In fact, the new laws says the City may not schedule the hearing the "notice" of the application is sent out. It's up to the neighbors to keep calling downtown until the hearing is scheduled.
Our Aldermen and the developers who fund their campaigns made life easier for developers and made it harder for neighbors in order to discourage public participation.
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