FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
49th Ward Service Office (773) 338-5796
Alderman Joe Moore announces a community meeting to review plans to redevelop the lot at 7015 N Sheridan Rd, which is currently occupied by a single family residence.
The meeting will be held Wednesday, February 1, 2006, 7:00 P.M., Loyola Park Fieldhouse, 1230 West Greenleaf Avenue.
The developer, Connie Abels (and owner), her architect and attorney, will be presenting plans to redevelop the property with a mixed-use building, with 4500 square feet of commercial space, 4 dwelling units and 30 parking stalls.
The proposed building would be 7 stories tall.
The property is currently zoned RT4 and the developer is seeking to apply for zoning relief under a planned development with underlying zoning designation of B3-5 with height relief to build a 79 foot tall building. This project also requires approval under the Lakefront Protection Ordinance.
The lot is 6837 square feet. Under a RT4 zoning, the minimum lot per dwelling unit is 1000 square feet and would permit 6 dwelling units. Under a B3-5 zoning designation, the minimum lot area per dwelling unit would be 200 square feet and would permit 34 dwelling units.
24 comments:
Single family home in RT4: Slated for Tear-down
REMAX North Coast
6439 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60626
$250.00 on 2/4/2005
Individual Contribution to Citizens for Joe Moore
79 feetz, i's wonderz why dey chose dat. anyone figurez it out and i gives them a nice surprise.
I might be cool with this. I need more information about it before I arrive at any conclusion.
However, the problem I have with this plan is the same as with the new building that is replacing the Adelphi. It is at least one-story too large to fit in with the existing landscape.
We need some sort of long-term vision for how we want our re-developed neighborhood to look. I believe that is the purpose of zoning, but I could be dead wrong.
I will say that it is going to look mighty strange if this is the only 7-story building on the block.
Moore tear-downs, More Campaign Contributions
Craig, your post seriously misrepresents Ms. Abels' support for Joe Moore's special brand of progressive politics.
REMAX North Coast To Citizens for Joe Moore
6439 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60626
$500.00 2/23/2001
$250.00 1/24/2003
$250.00 2/18/2003
$500.00 7/23/2003
$250.00 2/4/2005
Abels Realty Remax North Coast To Citizens for Joe Moore
6439 N. Sheridan Rd.
Suite 266
$250.00 2/7/2003
Illinois State Board of Elections
Gosh, I wonder if Joe is for or against this?
Someday, perhaps, there will be a tear-down in Rogers Park without an associated Moore contribution.
Is Connie Abels her real name?
Moore Fact Check
Moore wrote:
> The lot is 6837 square feet.
The lot is 7005 square feet.
Property Index Number: 11-32-111-003-0000
Cook County Assessor
Moore Fact Check
Moore wrote:
> Under a RT4 zoning, the minimum lot per dwelling unit is 1000 square feet and would permit 6 dwelling units.
With 10% administrative adjustment 7005 + 700.5 = 7705.5 square feet
RT4: 1000 square feet per unit
7705 / 1000 = 7 units max under the current zoning RT4
This 115 year old single family home was targeted for destruction by severe over-zoning.
Moore Fact Check
Moore wrote:
> Under a B3-5 zoning designation, the minimum lot area per dwelling unit would be 200 square feet and would permit 34 dwelling units.
Business and Commercial Lot Area per Unit (Density)
7705 / 200 = 38 units maximum under the proposed zoning B3-5
Why B3-5? A mixed used project with 4 units could be built in a B zoning of as density as low as B3-2 (1000 square feet of land per unit).
Moore wrote:
> ... 30 parking stalls ...
That's a lot of parking for the 4 residential units they claim they are planning. Some kind of automobile-intensive use is planned but not mentioned. No mention of curb cuts on to N Sheridan.
> i wouldnt lay down for only a grand
It's just a taste, an appetizer course if you will, an indication of willingness to play. In years to come the real dough will flow as the condos and parking spaces sell.
The biggest concern in my mind with this proposal is the height of the building.
There is a limit of 5(?) stories east of Sheridan. Allowing a 7 story building could start a bad precedent.
I would hope that they have some good tenents in mind for the retail space. We don't need a vertical Gateway center.
There are already a few buildings along Sheridan road that are as tall or taller - as an ex New Yorker, I'm not as sensitive to that along a main road as some of you all...I agree with Paradise, though. Not clear why the zoning needs to be changed if they only plan 4 residential units. The last thing RP needs along Sheridan road is a building with several dozen studio apartments in it. I'm guessing a setback won't happen unless they are planning something that could make use of it...a restaurant with sidewalk seating?
Could the zoning change have something to do with the options for retail use? Who has that fact at their fingertips? (with an explanation of something other than "they are lying to us" for now...humor me Hugh...)
But money doesn't buy a Morse Streescape planter for Connie. Bummer. Anyway, the house is a shambles, surrounded by large buildings; who in their right mind would use it as a single family residence any longer? 7 stories seems a bit high but 5 seems quite reasonable. Better to do something with the space than to sit empty. It would be nice, however, if Mr. Moore would get his developer pals to address the soon to be a crisis parking issue in the old 'hood.
i doubt that sheridan road could support 20k parking spaces for people who do not live in this proposed building, rogers park isn't manhattan just yet.
maybe the developer has lined up a commitment from an upscale restaurant, that would explain the extra parking spaces. available parking has been an issue for restaurants here and elsewhere. just ask the owners of suron.
> ... a ratty single family house.
The owner & now "developer" Abels has owned the property since 11/26/1990.
Overzoning creates the expectation of a tear-down and leads to lax maintenance.
We should see if we can get Ms. Abels to tell the story of how back in 1989-1990 she came to own this property on N Sheridan Rd.
Like redperil, I also have questions about what, if any, differences there are between the existing zoning and the proposed zoning with regard to what kinds of businesses are permitted...
I don't have my zoning notes handy...does anyone know the answer to this?
Business District Allowed Uses
B3 is the most permissive flavor of B.
Thanks for that Hugh. You are correct that it is the most permissive B, but not shockingly more so than the other "B"s.
Having taken a look at the zoning table thoughtfully provided by Hugh, I am pretty convinced that Paradise is right about the nuisance business threat. I like the idea of the set-backs on the upper stories as well - it seems like the kind of feature that would be attractive to potential residential buyers, so let's hope their architect has thought of that already. I also agree that having owner/occupants of retail space is a potentially stablizing force for retail, so let's hope that's part of their plan.
So the main thing that continues to concern me is the number of residential units permitted under the new zoning. If they are granted the variance based on the plan they present to us (which presumably has four residential units), to what extent are they bound to that number of units? Can they change the number once the variance is granted? If so, under what circumstances?
(I know, I'm being lazy, but I'm sure Hugh already knows the answers to these...)
> ... [B3] is the most permissive B, but not shockingly more so than the other "B"s.
Pretty much anything you can do in a B district you can do in B3. The use that caught my eye was restaurants with booze.
> If they are granted the variance based on the plan they present to us (which presumably has four residential units), to what extent are they bound ...
Zoning map amendments AKA "zoning changes" amend our zoning map. The change goes with the land. It is not granted to a particular project or a particular developer. When the owner of a lot is granted a density increase, they are granted a huge financial boon from the community, even if nothing is ever developed. The price of the land and the ability to borrow against it is greatly increased.
This is not adequately explained at "community" meetings where the Alderman introduces someone he claims is the "owner" or "developer," we are shown a project plan, and we are asked for our support for a zoning change. More than once the land sells and we get something very different from what we were shown. It is important that we as neighbors consider not just the plan we are shown, but also what COULD happen.
A planned development is a little different. It is a negotiated agreement between a developer and our City for a particular lot. It is more binding than a normal zoning change.
Planned Developments
Thanks Hugh - I knew I could count of you.
This project doesn't seem to meet any of the criteria for mandatory planned development, or an elective planned development process. My first impression is that it would be useful to expand the criteria for mandatory planned development, but obviously we aren't there yet.
I guess the best we can do is make it clear that we understand the longer term implications of the zoning change and ask for them to address that issue, and also make it clear that we are familiar with the objectives of planned development and try to get Joe to weigh in on that in a public forum.
Pave paradise to put up a parking lot.
Sorry, couldn't help it.
>Is there alley access behind that building?
Yes. The excellent mapping feature of the CityNEWS Chicago web site does a good job of showing the alleys, better than the City of Chicago's won Zoning map web site.
But with 30 parking spaces (4 for condo owners and 26 for sale or rent), don't expect the developers to ask their new tenants to enter in the rear. Look for the developers to ask us the public to give up a two lane wide swatch of our sidewalk, for curb cuts on to North Sheridan Road, one in, one out, so cars can pass each other entering & leaving. The City of Chicago does not plow alleys. A garage entrance on Sheridan is a huge boon to the developers because Sheridan is a snow route and will always be plowed promptly by the City.
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