48 Hours Later, Sedgwick Heaves Hail Mary
Comes Back in 48 Hours, Heaves "Hail Mary!"
SEDGWICK IS BACK, 2 DAYS LATER! "Like some zombie clawing its bloodied hand out of the crypt," as the Reader's Ben Jarovsky put it in his December 8 article.
Despite this past Monday night's rejection of Sedgwick's latest proposal by the 46th Ward's Zoning & Development Committee by the overwhelming vote of 27-3, and despite Alderman Cappleman's announcement the next morning that "I cannot support this development at this time," Sedgwick is back 2 days later!
Please see the email below from the Alderman's office which Z & D Committee members received last night. Sedgwick, having been crushed in the "emergency" vote by the Committee which it called for on Monday night, now is offering 3 changes to its rejected plan. The Alderman's office is requesting that Committee members let it know if it's worth having still another vote. The email does not indicate whether any new vote would be on the same "emergency" basis as the 27-3 vote.
UCRD promised in our Tuesday email to let you know if we heard anything new from the Alderman's office. This is the latest we have.
UCRD does not support reconvening the Committee for yet another vote. There are several reasons why: First, enough is enough. The Community voted 89% against Sedgwick and its initial plan in June. The Z & D Committee voted 90% against Sedgwick and its revised plan 4 days ago. When does "no" finally mean "no"?
Second, the 3 changes fail to adequately address the wide array of concerns voiced about the proposed development. As set out by UCRD and others at public meetings, in public letters, and otherwise, there remain many, many serious issues regarding Sedgwick, including: (1) Sedgwick's financial stability, or lack thereof, including issues regarding pending foreclosure lawsuits on its last 2 projects; (2) the Community's trust, or lack thereof, of Sedgwick based on its past actions; (3) the quality, or lack thereof, of Sedgwick's past projects; (4) Sedgwick's admission that it has never developed a project of this size or scale; and, critically, (5) the use of $31,000,000 in TIF funding.
In addition, numerous serious concerns remain regarding the proposed building itself, including: (1) podium height; (2) loading dock placement and design; (3) placement of loud mechanicals; (4) vehicular and pedestrian traffic issues; (5) set-backs and landscaping design; (6) parking (both underground and otherwise).
Third, the 3 proposed changes fail to make a bad plan a good one. Two of the changes affect mainly nearby residents: (1) a vague suggestion to put a masonry residential façade along Agatite rather than the commercial look set out in the defeated plan; and (2) a promise to reconfigure the loading dock which would operate directly below the balconies of existing residents, including putting a "canopy" over the docks. These suggestions are way too little and way too late, and do nothing to address the numerous other design issues outlined above.
As for the offer of park space, that's a good (if belated) thought, but hardly is enough to change our minds. Again, it fails to solve the numerous design, traffic, parking, and density issues. It fails to address the questions surrounding Sedgwick itself. And importantly, the value of the proposed gift to the Community is worth a tiny fraction of the $31,000,000 in TIF funds sought. That does not sound to UCRD like a good deal for Uptown.
UCRD continues to support development in Uptown in general and at this site specifically. All agree that development here is necessary and desirable. By a RESPONSIBLE developer with a RESPONSIBLE plan.
We again (sorry!) urge you to reach out to your Z & D Committee members and the Alderman, telling them that "NO" MEANS "NO"! UCRD believes this is the final stretch, so, Uptown, let's not let up just yet!
________________________________________________________
From the Alderman's office to the Zoning and Development Committee:
From: abbyjames46@gmail.com [mailto:abbyjames46@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Abby
Subject: Maryville/Sedgwick follow up Committee-
First, a recap of the votes from Monday's meeting. We had 3 members vote "yes" and 27 voted "no", which means the lack of support for this project is quite clear. However, at least 15 members expressed that they would consider changing their votes based on specific issues being addressed and/or expressed a desire to have more opportunity for review and information. The ballots were very informative in reflecting the community's main concerns and biggest decision factors for each represented group, Alderman Cappleman really appreciated your thoughtful response.
I reached out to some of you yesterday regarding specific comments from your ballot, and based on those responses the Alderman would like to hear from the whole group.
We summarized the main suggestions/concerns from your feedback for Sedgwick at the time that the Alderman informed them that the committee voted "no." He told them that he stands by the decision of the committee. Sedgwick responded by sending us the following proposed changes:
Alderman Cappleman asked me to reach out to the committee to see if these changes might impact your decision to support or not support this project.
Just to be clear, this is not a vote on the project. This is only to gauge the committee's interest to bring it back to the group based on the developer's response to some of your suggestions. Please let me know if this information would lead you to reconsider your vote in anyway. We do not need to waste the committee's time by reconvening on this project unless there is a substantial number of you that would like the opportunity to vote again based on the new information. I want to be clear that it is your decision as a group to determine if you would like another opportunity to review.
Please let me know as soon as you are able if you/your organization are wanting to reconsider and let me know if you are not wanting to reconsider as well so I know that I have heard from everyone. As always, please contact me if you have questions.
Thanks,
Abby
Here's the situation January 26, 2012
Dear Uptown:
You did it! Uptown did it!
Out of 30 votes cast, 27 voted "NO." That's 90% AGAINST Sedgwick and its vision for Uptown. That's 90% in favor of YOUR vision for Uptown.
That's almost exactly the same as the 89% vote in June. New plan, same developer. New plan, same issues. New plan, same vote.
UCRD thanks YOU and ALL members of Uptown. Owners, renters, and business owners. Car drivers, bus riders, and el riders. Bikers, walkers, and skateboarders. Tall and short, rich and poor, young and old. It was YOU and YOUR letters, emails, phone calls, and direct conversations with your Z & D Committee members, your Alderman, his staff, and the various City departments that led to this overwhelming result.
Note that Alderman Cappleman's announcement states that the minutes from last night's meeting and the voting results will be posted on his website later today. At last night's meeting the Alderman stated that this would include a vote-by-vote tally of how each Committee member voted. This will allow you to see how yours voted. Rest assured that we will let you know of any additional information we may receive from the Alderman's office regarding this matter.
In the meantime, smile. YOU DID IT. UPTOWN DID IT.
Alderman Cappleman's Announcement
When discussing economic development during my campaign, I committed to two things:
- Supporting economic development based on best practices
- Developing a zoning and development committee made up of diverse representatives and experts in the community to guide me with making decisions about developments in the 46th Ward.
Throughout this community process, I purposefully remained neutral to ensure committee representatives heard from the community, the developer, and the City in as much of a respectful manner as possible. Tonight, I am proud to say that the process we have created has been a success. Due to many of the thoughtful concerns regarding this proposal, including the amount of TIF funds requested and the density and size of the development, I have concluded that I cannot support this development at this time. Twenty-seven members out of thirty that participated in the meeting voted no to this project. Out of the twenty-seven that voted no, 14 had specific conditions and changes that if were met, would reconsider. The committee seriously reviewed the pros and cons of this proposal and are willing to forgo this development proposal at this time. We will communicate the must-have changes of the 14 committee members to Sedgwick to see if they are willing to make these changes and we will get back to the committee with their response in the coming weeks.
I want to express how excited I am about the future of the 46th Ward. We are in an amazing and unique position to welcome and assist good development which will in turn create jobs for our community and provide needed tax revenue. We have so much to offer from our workforce to our location on the lake with access to biking, express buses, the Red Line and the new Entertainment District. I truly believe that we must continue to support the recommendations laid out in the 46th Ward Master Plan and we will succeed with moving our community forward.
I want to say thank you to the 46th Ward constituents who trusted me and our staff with this process. We worked hard to make sure you were informed of every detail possible and in return you continued to trust us to do the job we set out to do. I also want to say thanks to the committee members of the Zoning and Development Committee. They made this outcome successful as we work to refine our process. We will continue to improve on this process and see positive changes in our ward.
We have an amazing future ahead of us!
Respectfully,
Ald. James Cappleman
Community Meeting Information - UCRD Slides and Text
Community Meeting - January 12, 2012
Community Meeting PowerPoint
Community Meeting Text
Aldermanic Meeting - January 7, 2012
Meeting with Sedgwick and Alderman at 46th Ward Office
Zoning and Development Committee Meeting - December, 2011
Comparison of Sedgwick and JDL Presentations
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