Community Issues

Policing, Crime and CAPS

Gold Coast Neighbors Association encourages all members to attend the Chicago’s Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) meetings. Hear the most recent crime issues in our area and when to call 911. CAPS meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of every other month at the Omni Ambassador East Hotel, 1301 North State Parkway. Board Director Mario Stefanini chairs the meetings and the 18th District officers attend to report and answer questions.

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Traffic and Street Noise

Warm weather brings a heavier flow of traffic and street noise to our area. For safety reasons, please report any concerns to the 18th District police, attend a CAPS meeting or in case of emergency, dial 911.  GCN, along with neighborhood residents, are working to resolve noise disturbances caused by late night revelers and traffic in the area of State and Division Streets. Members of GCN’s board of Directors attended a CAPS meeting held on January 22, at the Ambassador East Hotel, that was chaired by Mario Stefanini. In addition to neighbors and police officers, Alderman Vi Daley and representatives from the local establishments were in attendance. It was agreed to form a committee to meet regularly to develop solutions to reduce disturbances. If you are interested in joining the committee, please email us at info@goldcoastneighbors.org.

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Goudy Square Park

Goudy Square Park, named for William C. Goudy, a well-respected attorney who served as President of the Lincoln Park Board from 1887 to 1893, is our neighborhood’s park. It is located at the Southeast corner of Astor and Goethe and falls under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Park District. The park was transformed into the special space it is today with children’s playground equipment and wrought iron fences with the generous donations of private citizens in the neighborhood. Gold Coast Neighbors continues to work in conjunction with Alderman Daley and the City of Chicago to beautify the parkways. Spearheaded by GCN Director Karen Herman, an association fundraising campaign raised over $25,000 for the plantings and maintenance of the parkways. GCN would like to thank Alderman Daley and Mariani Landscape for their work on the project. In 2008 eight generous donors from five buildings bordering the park have pledged over $1,500 per year for the next three years to maintain the parkways.  Interested in making a contribution? Please send your donation to the association office address. Make check payable to Gold Coast Neighbors and indicate "Goudy Park Parkways" in the memo section to help defray the costs of maintenance.

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Dogs

The Gold Coast is home to many of “Man’s best Friends”! We encourage all of our residents to curb and pick up after their dogs. Dog waste can pollute the water and is a source of food for rodents. By cleaning up after your dog, you will help keep our neighborhood clean and free from disease.

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Sidewalks, Alleys and Fences

Report any safety concerns regarding sidewalks directly to Alderman Vi Daley at (773) 327-9111 or Alderman Brendan Reilly at (312) 744-3062. Gold Coast Neighbors Association monitors sidewalk safety, commercial signage on buildings and sidewalks and fence heights for conformance.

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Wooden Alley Preservation Project

GCN is working with neighbors and city officials to determine the feasibility of preserving and restoring the historic wooden alley located behind the Cardinal's residence. According to one source, in 1891 Chicago had 481 miles of wood-paved streets and alleys. The Gold Coast Wooden Alley is one of two remaining wood block alleys in the city; the other is on the 2100 block of North Hudson Avenue. The project would involve restoring the wooden alley between State and Astor with wooden blocks, either salvaged or new, and then installing a new "green" alley on the adjacent stretch that runs from the wooden alley south to Burton Street. Alderman Daley through the city has put aside $160,000 for the restoration project.  UPDATE: At the GCN Annual Meeting on 10/19/09, Alderman Daley announced that she expects the project to begin in 2010.

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1320 North Lake Shore Drive (Banks and Lake Shore Drive)

Gold Coast Neighbors Association continues to actively support the neighborhood’s position of maintaining the zoning ordinance that downzones the property at 1320 North Lake Shore Drive and that enacted a height limitation ordinance applicable to all properties between Division and North Avenue, east of the alley west of Dearborn.

Gold Coast Neighbors has contributed $180,000 to the Near North Preservation Coalition (NNPC) in the two lawsuits filed to uphold these positions. The most recent ruling in favor of the neighborhood and against the developer, Draper & Kramer, came September 1, 2004 from the First District Appellate Court, validating the City down zoning and height limitation ordinance.

Attorney Reuben Hedlund, who has represented the neighborhood since 1997, stated “The enormous support this unique neighborhood has obtained from its residents and aldermen over the years, has once again been rewarded…...The Appellate Court’s “landmark” decision in our case will be helpful nationwide in city and community efforts to preserve the character of historic neighborhoods.”

The City of Chicago, in an effort to resolve the case, proposed an alternative to the Draper & Kramer development. Below are the contrasting proposals for the property.

•Press Release Sept 1, 2004 - as read by Reuben Hedlund at the Annual Association Meeting Oct 18, 2004
•Press Release Oct 18, 2004 "Court Rules Against Gold Coast High-Rise Developer"

On November 24, 2004 the Supreme Court of Illinois denied Draper & Kramer's petition for leave to appeal seeking review by the Illinois Supreme Court of the Appellate Court's opinion of September 1, 2004, which upheld the constitutionality of the down-zoning and height ordinances applicable to the Near North Historic Area. Therefore, this portion of the case is at long last over, and all that remains is the appeal of Judge Nowicki's decision of October 15, 2004. (from Sarah Deneen, Hedlund & Hanley, LLC)

On December 28, 2005 in its fourth ruling in the case, the Illinois Appellate Court upheld Cook County Judge Nowicki's ruling that Draper & Kramer did not have a “vested right” to build the high-rise at 1320 N. Lake Shore Drive even after the city rezoned the site in 1999 to ban the development. Read more at Crain's ChicagoBusiness.com.


In a decision released on March 25, 2009 Judge Stuart Palmer upheld the City of Chicago's refusal to permit 1350 Lake Shore Associates to construct the building pursuant to a 1978 approval and ruled that they had no "vested right" to do so.  At a hearing in the case in 2008, Draper & Kramer argued that its planning expenditure of $272,000 toward an estimated completion cost of $72-$76 million was sufficiently substantial to allow the developer to move forward with the project.  Judge Palmer ruled that the expenses incurred were less than 1% of the building's likely cost and were therefore immaterial.  "The testimony showed distributions of $46 million were made to partners in 2000 and 2001.  Based on the substantial profitability and asset size of this entity, the loss of these pre-development expenditures will barely be noticed and easily absorbed," stated Judge Palmer.

Should Draper & Kramer appeal, as they have at every stage of this lengthy litigation, the neighborhood's counsel, Rueben Hedlund, predicts that they will not succeed.  "Judge Palmer's opinion applies the law as directed by the Illinois Supreme Court," Hedlund said, "and made findings of fact well supported by the evidence."

City Proposal		Draper & Kramer Proposal

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Rodent Control

Thanks to the city's very aggressive Rodent Control program, the total number of rats in Chicago today is less than 500,000, down from its high of 6 million in 1979. To help protect against growth, make certain you pick up after your dog and that you close your trash up in lidded containers. The Chicago's Streets and Sanitation Department will fix or replace broken garbage cans. The city also will dispatch rodent abatement crews to every reported rat sighting and place poisoned bait in rat burrows. For Rodent Control services, call 311.

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Tax Caps

Public Act 93-0715 was signed into law and designed to cap increases on assessed value of property so that they will not increase by more than 7% in one year. To find out if your property is eligible, contact Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan’s office at (312) 443-7550. For questions about the law, contact State Representative Sara Feigenholtz at (773) 296-4141 or State Senator, 6th District, John Cullerton at (773) 883-0770.

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Updated Statement Regarding Lincoln Park South Soccer Field

October 14, 2008

According to Alderman Daley's office, on August 21^st, the Chicago Plan Commission gave approval to the Chicago Park District to complete construction of the soccer field at the south end of Lincoln Park. The Latin School will no longer be involved in the construction of the field. Modifications have been made such that there will be no electronic scoreboard, no stands for spectators, and there will only be a bench for players rather than bleachers as originally proposed. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2008.  For additional information please visit Alderman Daley's website.

Background

Although Gold Coast Neighbors was not consulted regarding the project prior to the execution of the contract in October 2006 between The Latin School and the Park District, the Park District met with the Board of Directors of Gold Coast Neighbors in July 2007 to review the terms of the contract and the project generally, with a view towards providing additional information and answering questions raised. Since then, Gold Coast Neighbors has participated in various community and other meetings with Aldermen Vi Daley and Brendan Reilly, the Park District, the School and other interested neighborhood and related organizations to discuss the project. In particular, Gold Coast Neighbors joined other organizations and individuals from the community in encouraging the Park District and the School to respond to community input about the proposed soccer field.

As always, Gold Coast Neighbors is committed to advancing the interests of the Gold Coast community and its residents. Gold Coast Neighbors has been working collaboratively with the Park District, the School, the project manager, Aldermen Vi Daley and Brendan Reilly and other interested neighborhood and related organizations to address issues of interest to our community, including the landscaping of the area, the nature and timing of the lighting for the soccer field and the nearby baseball fields, the widening of the running trail near the soccer field and the adequacy of drinking fountains in the immediate vicinity to the soccer field.  

If you have questions or concerns about this project, please contact Gold Coast Neighbors at 312-360-0386.

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3Arts Building Renovation Update

The Three Arts Club, owned a splendid four-story brick and terra cotta structure located at 1300 N. Dearborn Parkway designed by noted architect John Holabird of Holabird & Roche. It was first opened as a club in 1914. For more than 90 years, women artists from around the world lived, worked and socialized at the club. Sadly, it closed its doors during the summer of 2004 and the building was subsequently sold.

The Purchaser of the property was unable to begin renovations due to the recession.  According to Alderman Reilly, as of 10/19/09 three potential buyers are currently considering the structure for three different uses: as a columbarium, as a senior residence, and as a private school.

The 3Arts building was designated a city landmark in 1981. The structure is in the Gold Coast's National Register Historic District and the Near North History Overlay District. The GCN Board and its zoning committee look forward to collaborating with Alderman Reilly's office to evaluate any proposed plan and its impact on our neighborhood.

For more information, please click here to visit the Development page of 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly's website.

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Lake Shore Drive Underpass at Oak Street

GCN has been advised that the City of Chicago intends to permanently close the pedestrian underpass beneath Lake Shore Drive at Oak Street due to dangerous structural conditions. The underpass will be filled in because the cost of repairs is too high. GCN is open to exploring alternative solutions to this matter and we urge concerned residents to contact Alderman Reilly’s office at (312) 642-4242 to learn more about the city’s decision.

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