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Sarah's Circle Kathy Ragnar
4838 North Sheridan Road Chicago, IL 60640 (via Certified Mail)
CC:
Applegate & Thorne-Thompson, P.C. Steven Friedland
440 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1900
Chicago, IL 60605 (via Certified Mail)
CC:
City of Chicago - City Clerk Anna Valencia
121 North LaSalle, Room 107 Chicago, IL 60602 (Hand delivered)
March 23, 2017
Re: City of Chicago Zoning Ordinance 17-13-0307
Neighbor Protest Letter Against Zoning Change for Sarah's Circle Proposed Development at 4654 North Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60640
Dear Kathy & Steven:
The residents neighboring the Sarah's Circle proposed development at 4654 North Sheridan Road protest in writing your application to City Council for a zoning change. Please see attached signatures of property owners accounting for 28% of land immediately touching, or immediately across a street, alley or public way. Per Chicago Zoning Ordinance 17-13-0307-B our protest requires a favorable vote of two-thirds of all Aldermen.
We protest this Zoning Change Request for several reasons:
A dedicated-use SRO and homeless shelter is not appropriate for an area already saturated with similar services, while also evicting long-time retail tenants on a prime retail corridor.
Block Clubs neighboring this proposed development (Truman Square Neighbors and Lakeside Area Neighbors' Association) have provided Alderman Cappleman letters of opposition from the wider community. Several architectural preservation organizations have also independently voiced opposition.
We are against allowing a zoning change prior to a development taking ownership or without financing fully in place.
With Kind Regards,
Michael Garzel - Neighbor Representative mgarzel@amail.cipm t
Attachments: Signature sheets (original copy attn: Anna Valencia, City Clerk) and Letters of Opposition from neighboring block clubs and preservation organizations to Alderman Cappleman.
January 4, 2017
sent via email to james@james46.org cc: tressa@james46.org
Alderman James Cappleman 46th Ward, City of Chicago 4544 North Broadway Chicago, Illinois 60640
RE: Proposed Zoning Change Request for 1001-1017 West Leland Avenue (aka. 4654 North Sheridan Road) from B3-3 to B3-5
Dear Alderman Cappleman:
At your request, Truman Square Neighbors (TSN) block club attended an informational meeting on December 12, 2016 with Sarah's Circle to learn about their proposed development and request for an upzone at the Southwest corner of Sheridan Rd. and Leland Ave. Subsequently, TSN held a vote of residents and business owners within block club boundaries asking if they were "in favor" or "against" this request to upzone 1001-1017 W. Leland Ave. (4654 N. Sheridan Rd.) from B3-3 to B3-5, to allow construction of a 6-story, single-room-occupancy (SRO) and transitional housing women's shelter.
By a vote of 51 to 12, the residents and business owners of Truman Square are AGAINST supporting this zoning change request. Please consider this letter a strong voice of opposition to this requested zoning change from Truman Square Neighbors block club.
A number of the respondents to our vote also shared optional feedback. All provided comments are copied verbatim below.
Not happy about losing this beautiful building. Sarah's Circle is fine, but not at the cost of losing that building.
Retaining our retail corridor w/in Truman Square is vitally important. Kicking out a 30-year business for additional SRO units is not the correct direction for our neighborhood.
My no vote has nothing against Sarah's Circle or their current location and work within Truman Square, but we have a highly disproportionate amount of social services and homeless housing in and around our neighborhood already. This trend of concentrating services need to change by spreading them out more evenly throughout adjacent wards.
Pagel of 3
Wo do not need additional homeless shelters in uptown They should be relocated into alternate neighborhoods.
Strongly against this proposal. Please, no more tearing down classic buildings and no more SRO shelters.
Sarah's Circle has been a good neighbor to Truman Square in its location at GreenRise ICA. I don't have any issues with them remaining in Truman Square. What my issue is with this zoning change is the planned destruction of a much-loved vintage building. All the other buildings on that corner are newer. Why are we so eager to destroy our architectural past? It's part of what sets Uptown apart from other communities. I find it difficult to believe that in all of Uptown, there is no other suitable empty lot or vacant building for sale. While I strongly support Sarah's Circle and its mission, I must vote against the destruction of this building to accommodate their expansion.
Why is Uptown tearing down stores and putting housing on mam streets7
More affordable housing is better for Uptown.
Keep getting rid of retro buildings and soon Uptown will look like a generic suburban community. Very strong No.
I cannot approve of our retail corridors like Sheridan turning from commercial to residential properties. There is retail space in the building in question that has been used for many years and is still in use. There is available retail space in the building as well. Uptown needs to have robust retail corridors. Put new residential buildings on residential streets and leave our commercial corridors for business purposes. I vote no for this particular location, although I approve of Sarah's Circle and its successes.
Sarah's Circle is for women who are learning new behaviors. I assume Sarah's Circle wants them in a setting that will help them succeed. THIS IS NOT THAT LOCATION!!! Half a block from McDonald's with open drug dealing inside and outside the building. Also right across the street from the poorly-run Grasmere Place, with sidewalk sleepers and drug dealers living there. AA says, if you don't want to slip, stay out of slippery places. This location is a slippery place.
Uptown should not keep filling up our neighborhood with homeless and at risk housing. Spread it across the city. Let Uptown thrive.
SC says they want their clients to have easy access to their existing facility at Sheridan and Gunnison. They also said that they can't afford much in Uptown. Why not look for places in Rogers Park which are more affordable and an easy bus ride down Sheridan? They claim Uptown is too expensive and/or has no other available spaces. There ARE other neighborhoods where they could buy more for less, and where they will have a better selection of properties from which to choose. Win/win, they get more cluck for their buck, and we don't lose a vintage building.
So ugly! We're tearing down a classic building for gray striped siding? Yuck.
I feel we are overwhelmed with too many social service in Uptown and that it needs to be shared more equally with other areas of the city. I also feel that the existing building needs to be preserved.
We have enough social services in our ward, we do not need any more.
I would like to see more retail options on this stretch of Sheridan and around Truman Square.
This location plays an important anchoring role for the retail corridor of Sheridan Road. Building a new social service agency in this location, in close proximity to many other similar organizations does not further the development of this part of the neighborhood.
Sorry but we don't need another generic ugly building in Uptown.
A note about the TSN voting and information distribution process. We shared the meeting announcement on our public Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TrumanSquareNeighbors ). followed by comprehensive meeting notes for those unable to attend. Multiple forms of voting were offered and left open for a full 4 days via paper ballot and an online Survey Monkey form.
Page 2 of 3
We asked that only residents who live in Truman Square or who have business therein vote. We asked for confirmation of address so that the vote results would reflect only the opinions of those in our block club area. Voting was open to all residents and business owners, and was not limited to block club members. We disregarded votes from outside of Truman Square and those with no address given. 1 vote was voided due to providing no address.
Thank you for affording the residents of Truman Square the opportunity to have a voice on this issue and for considering our feedback.
Sincerely, -
Board Members of Truman Square Neighbors Block Club
Is/ James Edward Steinwinder, President /s/ Michael Garzel, Treasurer
Page 3 of 3
Lakeside Area Neighbors' Association
937 West Lakeside Place Chicago, IL 60640
January 9,2017
The Honorable Alderman James Cappleman 46th Ward, Chicago, IL
Re: Request for change in zoning at 1001-1017 W. Leland and 4654 N. Sheridan Dear Alderman Cappleman:
We are writing to communicate our lack of support for the currently proposed zoning change. However, we continue to support the zoning change which Sarah's Circle previously requested further north, at 4834 N. Sheridan.
We view these two sites as very different from one another and as such, support the change of zoning and related special use permits at the first proposed site, but not the second. Some of the reasons we supported the first site were:
It is adjacent to Sarah's Circle's current building. There would be many efficiencies in expanding into an adjoining site.
That parcel sits between two existing buildings, not on a corner lot.
The building which would be razed does not contain remarkable features.
The properties across the street are dedicated to youth activities, i.e., a school, a boys and girls club and a park.
We oppose locating Sarah's Circle at the Leland and Sheridan site for several reasons:
A very attractive, 2-story red brick building occupies the site. It is designed for commercial use on the first floor and apartments above. There are entrances to the commercial space on Sheridan, which is appropriate in that commercial block. The terra cotta pieces are lovely.
Two market rate condominium buildings occupy the same intersection, one of which lies within our block club boundaries. At the time these condo owners purchased, their units did not look out upon a 6-story building whose use would be an SRO and homeless shelter.
We understand that the building is on the market and that under the current zoning, it is possible that a new owner could raze the building and replace it with a 4-story, mixed-use building. However, that new building would most likely look like other newly-constructed mixed-use buildings in our block club area, such as the one at Lakeside and Sheridan. We accept that may occur.
Respectfully, Cindi Anderson
President, Lakeside Area Neighbors' Association
UPTOWN CHICAGO
COMMISSION
January 9, 2017
46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman
Re: Requested zoning change for parcel at Sheridan and Leland Dear Alderman Cappleman:
We are writing to express our opposition to the proposed up-zoning of the parcel at the southwest corner of Sheridan and Leland.
Members of our organization have a long history of working to keep this building safe for its eventual renovation and re-use. In the 1990's the building was fully occupied, however, there was a pool hall located on the Leland frontage with associated drug dealing and violence. Prostitution was occurring in the apartments above. CAPS had just been introduced in Chicago and UCC, along with the local block clubs (Truman Square Neighbors and Lakeside Area Neighbors' Association), worked hard to have the building declared a public nuisance and followed it through an abatement process. Then a second round of community effort was required to force the building owner to keep his now vacant building in a state of good repair. That involved neighbors attending numerous housing court hearings over a period of years.
So you can see why we feel vested in the future of the pretty little brick building with the beautiful terra cotta ladies.
We re-launched the Uptown Historical Society in 2016, this time as a sub-committee of our 501(c)(3) organization. The Historical Society has also provided a letter in opposition of the zoning change. Its rationale is somewhat different, but its conclusion is the same.
We have also received the letters in opposition penned by the two local block clubs, Truman Square Neighbors and Lakeside Area Neighbors' Association. It is our usual practice to support the position of local block clubs in matters of land use, and we assert that we support these block clubs' positions in this matter.
Thank you for providing a forum in which community members can provide input on community matters.
With Kind Regards,
The Board of Directors of the Uptown Chicago Commission
UPTOWNI SOCIETY
January 9, 2017
Alderman James Cappleman 4544 North Broadway Chicago, IL 60640
Re: Proposed zoning change which would permit destruction of historic building in Uptown
Dear Alderman Cappleman:
We are writing to OPPOSE the zoning change requested by Sarah's Circle. As an historical society, we presume the rationale is apparent.
We can envision the attractive 2-story building with beautiful terra cotta accents being purchased and renovated, returning to its use as commercial space on the first floor and residential on the second. If, however, a new owner desires to raze the building, we would continue to oppose any change in zoning or granting of special use permits, for the very same reasons.
The Uptown neighborhood Is changing slowly. We have seen tasteful renovation of buildings from the 1920s, however, we have also born witness to the demolition of other, attractive older buildings. There are many vacant parcels of land in Uptown and we would hope that vacant parcels would be developed rather than the razing of attractive buildings that have been part of the fabric of our community for so many decades.
Most Sincerely,
The membership of the Uptown Historical Society
CHICAGO ART DECO SOCIETY
January 6, 2017
Via Electronic Mail
Alderman James Cappleman 4544 North Broadway Street Chicago, Illinois 60640 james@james46.org
Re: 1001-1017 West Leland Avenue (aka 4654 North Sheridan Road)
Dear Alderman Cappleman:
I write to you today on behalf of the Chicago Art Deco Society to stress the importance of preserving 1001-1017 West Leland Avenue.
I was thrilled to learn of City Council's recent designation of Uptown Square as a landmark district. The district showcases highly-stylized, mixed-use buildings with elaborate, Art Deco terra cotta facades. I'm dazzled whenever I visit the district, and I'm grateful that conscientious developers have invested in preserving the fabric and history of the Uptown community.
But the amazing terra cotta Art Deco facades are not only found within the newly-designated district; they are found all over Uptown. And although many older buildings have been demolished in favor of newer, denser buildings, some with features that were celebrated and lauded in the Uptown Square District's remain. The building at 1001-1017 West Leland Avenue is a wonderful example of subtle Art Deco design and ornamentation, and it is the only remaining historical building at the intersection of Leland and Sheridan. The building serves dual purposes: it tells the overall story of Uptown, and is ideally situated and constructed to support the Sheridan Road retail corridor.
It is my understanding that discussions are underway to re-zone and redevelop the corner into a seven-story building, and raze the existing structure. Although I've heard murmurs of the developer considering a design that would pay homage to the current facade with new materials, such a design would entirely miss the point of preservation. The Art Deco Society would support development plans that would include the improvement and preservation of 1001-1017 West
Chicago Art Deco Society | P.O. Box 1116 Evanston, Illinois 60204-1116 | 312.280.9097
Alderman James Cappleman January 6,2016 Page 2
Leland Avenue, but plans seeking to completely destroy this historical building should be thoughtfully considered but ultimately rejected.
Thank you, Alderman Cappleman, for your consideration of our position. Should you need any further information, we would be happy to provide it to you.
Sincerely,
Amy E. Keller Executive Vice President Director of Preservation Advocacy akeller@chicagodeco. org
Chicago Art Deco Society | P.O. Box 1116 Evanston, Illinois 60204-1116 | 312.280.9097