CAC attorney claims there could be a lawsuit against City
By Dan McLeister
For The Elmhurst Independent
At a meeting of the Zoning and Planning Commission (ZPC) this month, Fremont residents still objected to a revised plan to add space proposed by Elmhurst Extended Care (EEC), a nursing home facility.
A previous plan proposal was pulled from a City Council agenda before a vote could be taken in October.
A possible lawsuit against the City has been mentioned.
Again, as in previous meetings, residents on Fremont claimed the EEC made a “deceptive” presentation.
Neighbors also said that the expansion was too large and it did not belong in a residential neighborhood. They said Fremont should not be considered a transitional neighborhood.
EEC was originally opened in the 1960s and expanded in 1975, according to Scott Day, an attorney for the company. Many rooms in the nursing home have three and four residents. He said plans were to have more rooms with one occupant “since the right to privacy is critical for the residents.”
“This is not an expansion,” he said.
EEC originally approached the City in September 2016.
Adv. Center says could be lawsuit
Ben Silver, an attorney for the Citizen Advocacy Center (CAC) with an office in Elmhurst, stated that the situation involved “very unique circumstances.”
“I have never seen anything like it,” he said.
Silver said that “various people” mentioned the possibility of a lawsuit against City agencies, which have denied previous requests by EEC.
Residents Ben Zapata pointed out that the whole Fremont community had an issue with EEC, not just the McNichols, who have a single-family house right next to the EEC building. He said the proposal should be rejected “because of its sheer size.”
“Let’s not beat around the bush,” Zapata said. “The ECC’s presentation was very deceptive.”
Zapata claimed there were “plenty of opportunities at other locations.”
John McNichols said that this proposal has always been about meeting standards in the zoning code like does the proposal affect the ability of neighbors to enjoy their property? And, will it affect property values?
“We are not discriminating against disabled people,” Mary Young said.
Rose asks about future occupancy
ZPC Chairman Susan Rose asked what the occupancy might be in five to 10 years.
“We can’t say ‘never’ to anything,” Day responded, adding that the facility currently has 108 beds.
The ZPC has not set a date for making a decision, but Rose said it could be in December or January. Then its report will be sent to the Development, Planning and Zoning Committee, a group of three aldermen, who will or will not agree with the ZPC findings in a report. That report will be sent to City Council, which has the final vote.
