You may have heard, the Oak Park Board of Trustees just voted to give away $4 million worth of land for a high-rise almost three times bigger than zoning regulations allow. They’re also borrowing $9 million to build a new garage with less public parking than the old one. And they overruled a citizens commission to do it.
There’s a lesson here. Once we elect them, the trustees are in charge, and our Byzantine zoning regulations do nothing but create delay and false hope. Streamline the process, and the developers will save thousands on lawyers. We can end the interminable hearings that compel citizens to spend days testifying. And let our poor plan commissioners go home, instead of wasting months evaluating evidence.
How much plainer could it be? By the time a development proposal is ready for public review, the village and the developer have already settled on terms and written a contract. Yet somehow, we want to believe that our trustees might vote not to honor an agreement negotiated under their own authority.
It’s an absurd expectation. They’re honorable people, acting with no self-interest save an endearing need to feel like they are accomplishing something in an otherwise thankless job. Yet time after time, we waste a fortune on the jingoistic fantasy that we — the enlightened citizens of Oak Park — can somehow legally force the trustees to change their minds. No we can’t. And if you haven’t noticed, the vote was unanimous.
Craig Williams
Oak Park
