Submitted by CSNA on Mon, 11/20/2023 - 14:07
Nearly three dozen Evanston lawyers, at last count, have signed on to an open letter to Mayor Biss and the other members of the Council on an issue that that affects the legitimacy of the Ryan Field project and rezoning up for consideration at a special meeting tonight. Much public discussion has assumed that Mayor Biss can be a tiebreaking 5th vote if the other sitting Councilmembers tie 4-4. These local legal minds think otherwise, and that Evanston law requires six votes.
Submitted by jeffpsmith on Sun, 11/12/2023 - 13:24
Monday, Nov. 13, the City Council is set to act on Northwestern University's petition for a planned development ("PD") and zoning amendment to the U2 district. That area, just north of Central Street, contains the football stadium, basketball arena, baseball field, and other facilities. NU's petition for PD was to demolish the former Dyche Stadium and erect a new, much larger facility with 35,000 "stadium" seats and skyboxes. The rezoning petition was originally to allow far greater commercial-like entertainment use of the sports facilities: initially, a request for up to 10 stadium-capacity concerts and unlimited up-to-10,000-person events annually (click the link to see the redline version of the U2 text). After multiple revisions in May and August, the request (click link to review) was modified to 6 full-capacity (35,000-seats) outdoor stadium concerts, up to 60 outdoor concerts or events of up to 7,500 attendees, and unlimited indoor concerts and events of up to 10,000 persons, including in as-yet-unbuilt banquet halls and auditoriums.
Submitted by CSNA on Wed, 11/01/2023 - 11:03
Councilmembers Tom Suffredin and Eleanor Revelle invite the public to a joint 6th/7th Ward meeting to be held at the Chandler-Newberger Community Center, 1028 Central St., tonight, Wed., Nov. 1. The stated agenda is that City staff will discuss the 2024 Proposed Budget. The meeting is scheduled for 1 hour, per the City website.
Submitted by CSNA on Thu, 09/21/2023 - 08:52
A reminder that tonight, Thursday, Sept.
Submitted by CSNA on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 19:50
Dear Neighbors,
This coming Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 pm, the Central Street Neighbors Association will host a live Q&A with Councilmember Eleanor Revelle, who represents our 7th Ward in northeast Evanston, at the Evanston Art Center, 1717 Central St., Evanston. As always, much is happening in Evanston, including the Central Street neighborhood, and as with our successful sessions with Mayor Daniel Biss and 6th Ward Councilmember Tom Suffredin, we expect a lively exchange covering many important topics.
Doors will open at 7:00 pm and the program will begin at 7:30, to be concluded no later than 9:00 pm. CSNA President Jeff Smith will interview Councilmember Revelle; time permitting, there may be opportunity for audience questions following. CSNA members are encouraged to send us, ahead of time, subjects or questions you’d like to see covered.
Our room at the Art Center for this event has seating, sufficient to accommodate our typical turnout, but we will attempt to set up a live stream or at least a recorded version for those who cannot attend in person, or in the event we reach capacity. Please watch your e-mail and the CSNA website for more details.
Questions and suggested subjects can be emailed to: csnaboard@googlegroups.com
Submitted by jeffpsmith on Fri, 07/21/2023 - 08:04
Over last weekend, CSNA learned of a potentially significant change to Evanston law lurking in an obscure agenda item of the Rules Committee. A legal department memo proposed concepts ranging from bypassing the Planning and Development Committee altogether for certain zoning decisions (such as granting special uses and variations, or approving large projects called planned developments), to preventing the City Council from reviewing the Land Use Commission decisions at all, requiring anyone dissatisfied to go to court. CSNA, after polling its Board, urged hitting the pause button on this. My individual remarks prepared for the Committee are as follows.
Submitted by Jim Hughes on Tue, 07/18/2023 - 12:09
"Mayor Biss, Chair Nieuwsma, Council Members, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Agenda Item D1 regarding the process for Land Use Commission recommendations. I’m Jim Hughes, 2518 Hartzell St.
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