Friday, March 23, 2007
* Where's the Permit? - Updated
John on Farwell said..."Hey Craig, From my observations, Kevin O'Neil got a driveway and parking lot personally made for him behind his house. Must be nice huh"?
Really John? If true, it really would be nice for Kevin O'Neil. But I've heard nothing about this until you brought it up. See John, in the 49th ward, we lack transparency in the 49th ward zoning and land use process. Only a handful of people are involved, and they're really tight with Alderman Moore.
Take Kevin O'Neil for example. When I brought this up to Kevin, the louse of a human being, he got all whiny and did his best Baghdad Bob impersonation to explain there was a meeting.
See folks, Kevin may be able to fool his wife with the crap he speaks, but he's not fooling us. Here's his lame response.
Kevin said.... "In fact there was a community meeting, and I attended it. And in case you don't believe it, so did Reggie Tyler and Pat Harding, who live next to the other tear down on Farwell. Ask them.
So maybe you should get the facts before you blog. But that would be a big change in how you operate, so I shouldn't expect that."
Blognotes: Snippy, snippy. So Kevin, why would I ask two people I don't even know - and who aren't even on the 49th ward zoning committee about a public zoning and land use meeting? I was asking you Kevin 'The Louse' O'Neil.
1.) When was this meeting? Exact date and time.
2.) Where was this meeting held? Exact location.
3.) How and where did you promote this meeting? Flyers, e-mails, word of mouth?
4.) Where are the meeting minutes? Are they on-line at the Alderman's political/fake ward services website?
Kevin O'Neil, these are the questions you need to answer as a member of the 49th ward ZULAC. Give us facts. Give us meeting minutes - Not your dribble. And don't pass the problem on to your neighbors.
Tell us about the deal you worked to get a asphalt parking lot? Was that the reason everyone was so hush-hush on the so-called meeting you attended?
And once someone poured concrete down on the public parkway space, it became a public issue. Why wasn't the public at large informed?
Now cars are going to be crossing a public sidewalk and from the best of my knowledge, no public meeting was held about that issue. Where's the permit for the curb-cut. Come-on Kevin, we're asking you, be transparent. Tell us where the permit is for the curb-cut?
Updated: I just got off the phone with Brian Steele with the CDOT. Mr. Steele told me that first there needs to be permission by the City of Chicago for any curb-cut work. Then, there are strict guidelines one must follow.
Second, is the need for permits. Seems there needs to be a annual permit for any parking lot. Not just for the curb-cut work. Mr. Steele told me he's going to have a inspector visit the location and check out the work that's been done already. Stay tuned, we'll keep you updated.
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11 comments:
It's exceedingly rare to find a driveway in the middle of a block in Chicago. And there's a reason for that. It's stupid, increases the risk for pedestrians, and is unsightly. But looking at the craphole next door to the stealth condo, I'm guessing there will soon be two stealh condos...
Excellent suggestion Roger. Let's see if Ginderske is a puppet ZULAC member or not.
Carol, I reviewed the video and I counted six spots on the 1440 West Farwell side and two on Kevin O'Neils property.
When these condo units get build, there is never enough spots for all buyers.
Take David Fagus for example. His condo was build without enough spots for every resident. Because of that, he has to use the Rider building for his vehicle if he doesn't want to fight for a parking spot on the street.
The parkway, the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street, is City land. It is not private property.
The curb is public property.
This driveway has no curb cut. Concrete was poured in the parkway, and asphalt was poured in the curb. From the looks of it, this is not the work of a City-approved contractor. I'm going to guess the general contractor for the condos did this for O'Neil and the condo developer.
Cars are not supposed to be humping up and down over City curbs. Eventually the traffic will damage the taxpayer-owned curb.
The asphalt poured into the curb will disrupt the curb's normal function of drainage. Particularly in the Spring, it's important that our streets drain to the sewers efficiently. Someone's basement could flood.
I suppose if O'Neil's neighbor wants to asphalt his yard, meybe he can do that. But the asphalt in the curb, the concrete in the parkway, the cars jumping the curb - that's all illegal.
It SHOULD be a simple matter to get the asphalt cleared out of the curb, and the concrete pulled out of the parkway, and possibly some fines assessed - with a simple call to 311 - if the fix is not in.
There will NEVER be enough parking spaces for all the two and three-car families around here without turning this neighborhood into a manque-suburb, which I don't think we want.
One parking space per unit is plenty of parking to deface the property with.
I'm really surprised that a curb cut and driveway were permitted where they are. Isn't there an alley behind these properties?
I'm not arguing with anyone here, just stating that I am completely fine with this condo building and the driveway/parking. Even if this is a cookie cutter building, it is a lot nicer than the house that used to be there.
Hold on. We are always complaining about lack of parking. Here parking is being provided where the law doesn't require it -even with a conversion. Existing buildings being converted are grandfathered as far as parking requirements go. Even new construction only requires a single space per unit... So, technically an illegal "curb cut", so what, I'll take the parking over the congestion. Get real people.
There's no alley behind the properties- they are land locked.
Also, Fagus' building was a conversion and new construction so parking spaces for every unit were not required. This is only the case with new construction.
It's not really the issue whether the curb cut would be approved- I think it would and should be- the issue is whether the proper process was followed or whether it was conveniently circumvented. I can't say either way since I don't know!
I think people are being pretty harsh with Kevin about his home. It looks structurally sound to me. My main issue would be that there is virtually zero attention to the the yard/landscaping and that makes it look kind of gloomy. True it's shady and probably impossible to grow grass, but some groundcover would probably take nicely if cared for and add curb appeal. No offense intended to Kevin or his family. That takes either time or money to accomplish and it's not my place to tell people how to spend either of those.
I'm fine with the new condo bldg, too. It's fairly good-looking, though not the most beautiful. The double house it replaced was total garbage. I'm also fine with the number of parking spaces.
What I'm not fine with is the fact that from what Craig has posted already, the developer was extorted for campaign contributions and possibly for a new driveway and parking pad for Kevin O'Neill. I'm also having problems with a curb cut and driveway that don't meet codes.
Can you build anything or open any business in Chicago without being subtly or not-so-subtly extorted for "contributions" by the local AlderBeast?
Didn't I hear a rumor that Brian White has been denied a driveway/curb cut and/or that he's still waiting for approval after several years. Of course, this is just a rumor. Maybe Brian can weigh in with his driveway approval story.
So Brother Jim,
Where's the permit?
You're an insider now.
You're OUR champion of open process.
Shed some light here, Mr Community.
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