DPZ Committee members stand by Majority, Minority reports
By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
It left a number of people scratching their heads at the last City Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when the Majority and Minority reports about the Mladenoff Day Care Conditional Use were pulled from the agenda without prior notice. Even the members of the Development Planning & Zoning Committee (DPZ) were surprised when the measure was called back to Committee by City officials, who said there were more safety concerns to discuss.
The Majority report, in favor of the project, was signed and submitted to City Council by DPZ committee members Ald. Mark Mulliner (7th Ward) and Ald. Scott Levin (5th Ward), who chairs the committee. The Minority report opposing the project was brought forth by Ald. Michael Honquest (6th Ward), the third member of the DPZ. It should be noted that the Zoning & Planning Commission, an advisory body to the City Council, had voted down the measure.
The action of pulling the reports from the Council agenda right before Monday’s meeting was done to the dismay of not only Kasindra Mladenoff, owner of the proposed Elmhurst Premier Childcare facility at 187-195 No. York, just south of City Hall, but also to Mulliner and Levin. (Ald. Honquest was absent from the Feb. 21st Council meeting.)
The Elmhurst Independent was able to speak to both Ald. Levin and Ald. Mulliner over the phone later in the week, who both pointed out that the baffling thing was the fact that meetings had already been held to discuss all the safety issues and anything that needed to be changed or fixed had already been addressed by Mladenoff, the petitioner. Neither appreciated the last-minute removal of their reports from the Council agenda, without any explanation why.
It was not until the DPZ Committee meeting on Monday, Feb. 27 that the discussion could continue further. Any and all safety concerns regarding a facility like this and ones similar, need to be looked over thoroughly so proper plans can be put in place, for example, a fall protection guardrail system, proper fire safety doors, and equipment, etc. so all those that are on the premises are secure.
A memo dated Feb. 23, 2017 was addressed to Than Werner, the City’s planning and zoning administrator, and signed by Chief of Police Michael Ruth, Fire Chief Tom Freeman and City Engineer Kent Johnson indicating there were further concerns regarding traffic and pedestrian safety. The memo noted that the concerns had been voiced over the last several months as City staff and elected officials discussed the proposal.
Proponents of the day care center had sent letters of support for the facility. Letters were also received from parents of young children who look forward to the daycare center, which is expected to be available for drop-in childcare until 8 p.m. during the week and as late as 12 midnight on weekends.
Mladenoff told the Elmhurst Independent in an interview that the children who would frequent the center are between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, in other words, non-walkers.
“Most are too young to even walk, so they will be carried in by their parents,” she said. “There’s not really a safety issue for the children.”
Although reports from the traffic consultant indicated the three available parking spaces would likely be enough, Mladenoff added seven parking spots as well as a sidewalk between the spaces and the building. Maybe in the future if they fall short of the parking spaces, they can anyways build new sheds using sturdy Stainless Steel Channel, beams and shed coverings that can be made into a parking spaces.
The traffic study further showed that most traffic rarely travels all the way through the alley from the north driveway entrance to the south exit by the municipal lot at York and Schiller. Parkers in the municipal lot typically exit south onto Schiller; those at City Hall usually exit north onto Third Street, which should not affect any business located at 187-195 No. York.
At the DPZ meeting…
On Monday, Feb. 27, DPZ Committee Chair Scott Levin called the meeting to order and opened the floor to public comment. A handful of people spoke in favor of the facility and in support of Mladenoff. Some called on 6th Ward Alderman Michael Honquest to speak up, that his silence on the issue “wasn’t appropriate,” and to reconsider his vote against the project.
Levin and Mulliner were clearly annoyed by the last minute removal of the item from the previous Monday’s agenda by Ruth, Freeman and Johnson, indicating they had been kept out of the loop on why it was done in the first place, much less why it was pulled at the 11th hour.
Chamber exec speaks up
John R. Quigley, president & CEO of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry, stood with those in the room who supported the business as well as with the Committee members who didn’t appreciate removing the reports from the agenda. If it was a concern about having a tight squeeze in a parking lot, he pointed out there were several businesses throughout the downtown and the City who had the same problem but were still able to run their pubs, salons, retail locations, restaurants or whatever their establishments might be.
“If there are inherent problems with this, it’s up to the City to rectify those, not put it on the backs of the people trying to open a business,” Quigley said. “The way this [was pulled] at the last minute taints the process and puts the City in a bad light.”
The City responds…
City Manager Jim Grabowski began the City’s portion of explaining the removal of the agenda items before Freeman, Ruth and Johnson gave their reasons. Freeman first talked about being the new kid on the block, having only started his position as Fire Chief just four to six weeks ago. His main concern was getting a fire truck near the facility, should the back lot be full.
Ruth’s concern was with the setback of the building and where the utility poles stood. The Committee noted Ruth had been in on the discussions since the beginning when all the safety issues had already been addressed. It was further stated that the petitioner had gone back and rectified virtually all of the City’s concerns. Johnson concurred with Freeman and Ruth’s feelings about traffic and pedestrian safety.
Mulliner questions move, notes building idle for 8+ years
“I feel like we’re working backwards now,” said Mulliner. “I just can’t get my head around what is the difference between this business and any other [business] moving into the space. The other side of this is, we’ve got a building here that has been empty for more than eight years and we want something in there. Certainly we want it to be safe, but we can’t wrap people in bubblewrap. There’s a point at which people have to be responsible for their own actions and their own children’s safety.”
Honquest explains his position, stands by his Minority report
Before speaking, Ald. Honquest changed positions at the table in order to address everyone in the room, especially those who had spoken in favor of Mladenoff and the facility and criticized his silence. He looked people square in the eye as he spoke.
“I am a volunteer worker [as an Alderman],” he began. “I was elected to serve and when I review a decision, I go to the [City] staff, who have the skills and training to address these issues. I’m not in a position to do that. That’s the process we follow.”
Honquest went on to say that he had to trust the advice of the staff as well as traffic consultants because he was not an engineer himself.
“You have every right to speak up,” he said to the people in the room. “We have an excellent group of people and staff knows this parking lot better than I do.”
After some exchange between Committee members, it was determined that the Majority and the Minority reports would both be re-submitted to the agenda of the next City Council meeting, but would stand as they were originally written without any changes.
“I’m sure some aldermen will have questions,” Levin said.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 6.
