An Evening of Olmsted:
Dealing with Contemporary Needs while Maintaining and Preserving Olmsted Sites
The Reflections of Three Experts
Susan West Montgomery, Trustee, National Association for Olmsted Parks
Vicki Ranney, Associate Editor, Frederick Law Olmsted Papers
David Bahlman, President, Landmarks Illinois
Township Hall
Monday, April 2, 6:30 pm
PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR OLMSTED PARKS
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RIVERSIDE 2007 WORKSHOP
dear all,
as those of you who participated in the workshops know, the national association for olmsted parks, of which i am a trustee, has promised a substantive program on the topic captioned above. we are delighted that vicki, susan and david have found the time to come and speak, and that schedules allow them to do so before the referndum, and further consideration of the tif idea.
vicki, as i am sure most of you know, is a noted scholar of olmsted, with numerous publications to her credit. susan west montgomery, from washington, d.c., has been one of NAOP's key people on the post 9-11 u.s. capitol grounds rebuilding (the grounds are yet another olmsted work). david is well known to illinois preservationists as one of the standout state preservation leaders in the entire country. he has numerous successes to date, but perhaps none as globally renowned as the then-LPCI (the name was shortened last year) shared success in saving farnsworth house.
each is aware of the tif proposal and the workshops. each is aware of analogous circumstances and precedents. i frankly do not know what any of them will say on the second, but i know each will speak from the heart, about a subject they know extraordinarily well and care about deeply.
i understand that the village is taking steps to secure digital video recording and broadcast the event on ch 6. unfortunately, monday the 2nd is the night of a village board meeting, at 7:30, so the trustees will be taking their leave then, after hearing the first hour of the program.
this is not a panel. rather, i think of it as a joint appearance, with three separate addresses. questions and answers will follow.
NAOP has expressed concern over the current tif plan and the possibility that untoward density could impair riverside's character. we have also advocated comprehensive planning.
if you want to learn more about olmsted, and hear how these nationally known experts treat the issues with which we have been grappling since last summer, then i think this event will be of interest. i can say unequivocally that each is a stirring speaker with a lot to say.
for more info: fitzhenry@aol.com, 312-343-2026
best,
chris
The head of the Olmsted Society here in Riverside has weighed in here and elsewhere on this matter quite eloquently, and I daresay no one here requires convincing on the preservation of the Olmsted legacy. I do suggest you have the entire EDC attend though.
Having it coincide with a trustee meeting, where people like most of us generally try to convince the trustees of the value of Olmsted - a name scarcely uttered at their meetings - was unfortunate, for the trustees that is. They are in urgent need of such an education.
The Village Board meeting is scheduled for April 3, Tuesday. It was moved from the Monday to the Tuesday in consideration of Passover sometime in December; unfortunately, I forgot about this when Mr. Robling and I were working on scheduling. It is a good news/bad news. The Trustees who wish to attend the NAOP may now do so unfettered by a Board meeting. Unfortunately, when we were assisting the NAOP schedule their community meeting, the religous holiday was not taken into consideration. My apologies.
Kathleen Rush, Village Manager
Good that the trustees, as well as anyone else, can hear more Olmsted. anyone who cannot make it can see the videotape later.
Here is an e-flash I recvd from the village - for anyone who is not plugged into this --
....
Come join your fellow neighbors for An Evening with Olmsted: Dealing With Contemporary Needs While Maintaining and Preserving Olmsted Sites; sponsored by the National Association of Olmsted Parks and the Riverside Preservation Commission. We will hear three experts on Olmsted, including Susan West Montgomery, National Association of Olmsted Parks trustee, David Bahlman, Landmarks Illinois president and Victoria Ranney, a noted scholar and associate editor of the Olmsted papers. Questions and answers will follow the speakers' remarks.
April 2, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Riverside Township Hall, Auditorium. Please RSVP to Barb Heinrich if you will attend, 708-447-2700, ext 254 or bheinrich@riverside.il.us. A light dinner will be served
......................
and
Here is the NAOP letter on the TIF subject for info and review:
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Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2006
From: National Association for Olmsted Parks (info@naop.org)
To: Jim Reynolds (fta@sbcglobal.net)
Subject: Copy of the letter sent to President Wiaduck and Village Trustees
Please see below. A hard copy has been faxed to you as well.
November 21, 2006
The Hon. Harold Wiaduck, President
Village of Riverside
27 Riverside Road
Riverside, Illinois 60546
By fax: 708-447-2704
Dear President Wiaduck and Village Trustees:
At the request of the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside, we have reviewed the preliminary documents regarding the creation of a tax increment financing district, as well as the Village's transit-oriented development study, which is a key element in the TIF program.
While we admire the intent of the plan to strengthen Riverside as a transit village, we have serious concerns about the impact that the anticipated “high-density— development will have on Riverside's historic center and adjacent land.
Implementation of the plan as we have seen it would threaten the assets of the community that provide Riverside with the unique character that gives it national and international historical significance.
We urge the Village first to adopt a comprehensive plan for Riverside to guarantee that future generations will continue to enjoy the quality of place that Olmsted envisioned for its citizens.
The National Association for Olmsted Parks would gladly assist Riverside in this effort, and we would look forward to initiating conversations in that regard.
Sincerely,
Catherine Nagel
Executive Director
cc: James D. Reynolds, President, Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside
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Thank you MikeT for the reminder of the NAOP letter cc Jim Reynolds, President of the Olmsted Society in Riverside, reminding us of the need to adopt a COMPREHENSIVE PLAN first, a model of which we have yet to see.
I believe that the Village Manager has said that we have the TOD as the comprehensive plan that is informing the current TIF proposal. It seems that NAOP does not quite agree that constitutes a comprehensive plan.
I am thinking of when DLK said at a board meeting prior to the workshops that we needed a physical model of what this would look like, and this is what people meant by wanting to see a plan. This was in response to the board claiming that they did not understand what people meant by a plan or why it was needed. How hard is it to see, say, models of MIN-MID-MAX with plastic models?
I would be willing to make a three-D model of my concept for the superbloks assemblage for the architectural school contest idea if anyone is really interested in seeing it. It would be scale size blocks glued to the map that would give an idea of the reduced scale I was talking about compared to the VC, etc. But I don't know if anyone wants to see it.
Well, I think that if the village government wants more support for the TIF, before or after they vote it up or down, there should be a presentation in the auditorium of all the various proposals in the form of such models. Don't we deserve this? They have now told us more about what AT&T would do than what they would do. If such a presentation is going to happen, then I agree you should make such a model.
After all, if the village government are claiming that the virtue of the TIF architecturally is that it will give the village government some control (the aesthetic value of which I am dubious, but anyway) then we should see what they would do with it so we can compare it to what might happen under free market driven development. If it is going to be as ugly and haphazard as the VC, why bother with a TIF where control is concerned?
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