Website Home   or   Forum Home

Riverside Info » About Riverside

1. spatny
   Member

   The issues are now crystallizing. The latest design proposals to come to light for what most people think is a park, and what the Village Manager assures us is meant only for Public Use, now shows 14-15 diagonal parking spaces cut out from its already meager space along the east side of East Avenue. Presumably this is where the Village intends to locate the 15 of the 17 spaces from the Village Center shortfall. In addition to taking a sizable cut from this already tiny greenspace, this horrendous act of disfigurement would also necessitate the removal of two beautiful large trees that tower over East Avenue, and whose loss would be a tragic consequence beyond repair.

   I urge every Riverside resident who values our heritage as "The Village in the Forest" to reject this bastardized TIF Proposal and let the Village Board know - loud and clear - that destroying these trees is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. This is the antithesis of what Riverside stands for, and the Board must be made to hear that the residents are not going to stand for any more trading of trees and space and light for massive, oversize buildings and the parking to serve them. We must not let our beautiful trees be sacrificed just so they can grant variances to developers who want to load oversize buildings into our town center.

   This is not just "one alternative" as I'm sure it will be called. This is a harbinger of what is sure to become endemic if this mad lust for growth at any cost is allowed to proceed. You can be sure that there will shortly be other "ideas" and "concepts" surfacing in the Board's effort to create a consensus for adopting this TIF. But make no mistake, once a TIF is established you will shortly hear the need for a bond issue so that the anticipated revenues can be obtained up front, and then, armed with millions to spend, all manner of other inane and disastrous projects will be pursued.

   This is where it must be stopped. Right here, with those two beautiful trees, the largest ones and indeed the only large trees in that tiny plot of ground that surrounds the Water Tower. They are worth far more than all the consultants' "visions" and architects misconceptions and ephemeral tax dollars that are being tossed around like so much Monopoly money. Beware - the vultures are gathering. Riverside has been discovered, found saleable, and will soon find its history and very reason for being on the block. It's time for all of us to rise up and say "No, don't do it. No TIF. We want to rely on open market forces and we demand that the Board enforce our zoning codes so that nothing else as big and ugly as the Village Center is built here." But first we must all band together to save those trees.

   Posted Wednesday Jan 24, 2007 22:32 #

2. CandiGrace
   Member

   Mr. Spatny - if this is the same diagram you referred to in another post, then read my answer there. If it's not, I'd like to see the diagram. I'm sure it's just another of the many being circulated by all sorts of folks in Riverside.

   Posted Thursday Jan 25, 2007 13:32 #

3. spatny
   Member

   CandiGrace: I answered you on the other thread. But just let me say that whenever I see a drawing - from anyone - that threatens our beautiful trees and encroaches on our parkland I'm against it. Period. And I will continue to be.

   Posted Thursday Jan 25, 2007 14:13 #

4. MikeSedivy
   Member

   Mr. Spatny - I don't clearly understand the connection of the TIF to the Centennial Park plan which I don't believe is how you described it. Maybe others can clarify the plan and the status.

   Also as a point of clarification. Any bond issue backed by the Village would require a referendum. I think everyone has been clear that the proposal is for a pay-as-you-go TIF.

   Posted Thursday Jan 25, 2007 16:12 #

5. spatny
   Member

   Mike S: I described one plan that was given to the Trustees for their consideration. Village officers have said there will be several versions of the Centennial site configuration - with and without parking cut from it. I want to be sure that that already tiny site is not dismembered and that however it comes out no trees are lost. The plan I saw has 15 parking spaces taken from it, which would require the removal of those two trees. I'm against that, and I hope you are two, just as I am against anything being built on the river side of Riverside Road. There are a lot of plans floating around, and I see all or nearly all of them being sited as planning that has gone on in Riverside as though any planning is an imprimateur for adopting a means to fund them.

   Regarding Bond issues: That's a distinct possibility that could be the next thing we see if a TIF was adopted. TIFS generate funds later, and it's not an impossible scenario that this Board, or some Board, would attempt to gain access to the money earlier than it is generated by the EAV increment.

   Posted Thursday Jan 25, 2007 18:00 #

6. MikeHullihan
   Member

   Some information on the Centennial site. The area had been occupied by parts of our water system. The gravity system was replaced by a pumped system in 2003 and the components of the system in/around the water tower were taken out of service in 2004. The additional open space created by the removal of the reservoir building presented an opportunity for adaptive re-use of the site. We applied for and received approval for an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant in 2006. This project includes resurfacing of East and a portion of Pine Ave, sidewalk and ADA access improvements, removal of service drive, lighting improvements, landscaping, and hardscaping. Engineering and design are scheduled for 2007 with a target construction contract letting of June 2008. Required design activities include environmental testing of soils, design of proposed alignments for curbing and sidewalks, landscaping design, lighting design, design of modifications to power distribution system and selection of pavement materials. The preliminary design will be presented to the Landscape Advisory Commission and Preservation Commission before presentation to the Board of Trustees. The total project cost is estimated at $420,000 with a Federal cost share of $336,000. The official name of the project is the Railway/Water Tower Campus Project. In the project justification and subsequently I used the term "Centennial Plaza" as the project area encompasses more than the space bounded by the curbs. In the design phase we will do a layout of East Ave including angled parking on both sides of the street along with one with parking only on the West side. Both will be reviewed by LAC and Preservation Commission as outlined above. It should be noted that the Elm tree which is located at the corner of the former site of the reservoir is in decline. Removal of the reservoir (which was leaking) deprived it of its main source of water. Hopefully these facts will make future discussions more fruitful.

   Posted Friday Jan 26, 2007 09:29 #

7. ChrisHajer
   Member

   Welcome Mike Hullihan. Thanks for your comments.

   Posted Friday Jan 26, 2007 09:37 #

8. corbi328
   Member

   Mike,

   Thanks for taking the time to post this information.

   Posted Friday Jan 26, 2007 09:38 #

9. Catherine
   Member

   It seems from Mike Hullihan's comment that quite a bit of work is going to be done by various vendors. Does anyone know what laws govern the letting of contracts for village work, what the requests for proposals and bidding requirements are, and so on. I heard from KathleenRush at the last meeting that we negotiate through a suburban cooperative. Is that where all our vendors come from?
   .
   .
   .
   "This project includes resurfacing of East and a portion of Pine Ave, sidewalk and ADA access improvements, removal of service drive, lighting improvements, landscaping, and hardscaping. Engineering and design are scheduled for 2007 with a target construction contract letting of June 2008. Required design activities include environmental testing of soils, design of proposed alignments for curbing and sidewalks, landscaping design, lighting design, design of modifications to power distribution system and selection of pavement materials. The preliminary design will be presented to the Landscape Advisory Commission and Preservation Commission before presentation to the Board of Trustees. The total project cost is estimated at $420,000 with a Federal cost share of $336,000. The official name of the project is the Railway/Water Tower Campus Project. In the project justification and subsequently I used the term "Centennial Plaza" as the project area encompasses more than the space bounded by the curbs. In the design phase we will do a layout of East Ave including angled parking on both sides of the street along with one with parking only on the West side."

   Posted Friday Jan 26, 2007 10:23 #

10. spatny
    Member

    MikeHullihan: Thanks for the status report on Centennial Plaza. I wish the Village Manager/Board would be so forthcoming. I'm sorry to hear that elm is in decline due to lack of water. It looked very good to me last summer. Perhaps we could remedy that? It's a nice tree and those two are the only sizeable ones in the area. I hope that the revamped lighting scheme will be a little more subtle - there seems to be a latge number of lampposts along East. I was just out walking Revee and was looking at the "campus" from Longcommon. If parking were to be cut into the park area on the east side of East Avenue that is what you would see - a row of shiny cars as against what you see now. I assume that cut would have to be 18-20 ft. as it is on the other side which would take quite a swath and make the "Park" very narrow and cause the removal of those trees. Hopefully that won't be the option chosen by the LAC or Preservation.

    Posted Friday Jan 26, 2007 11:32 #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply »

You must log in to post.