A plan that would add lights to multiple courts at the River Forest Tennis Club is apparently going nowhere – at least for now.
“The River Forest Tennis Club has withdrawn their planned development application,” Village Administrator Matt Walsh said Dec. 18. “Accordingly, there will be no public hearing on Jan. 15.”
A continuation of a Nov. 6 public hearing in front of the village development review board was postponed from Dec. 4 to Jan. 15 to allow public comment on the revised application.
Whether the application would be revised or resubmitted at some point in the future, Walsh said, “I am not sure if it is a permanent decision.”
The original amendment application would have added 24 poles at 30 feet tall, with two LED lights on each pole, covering all 10 courts, arranged around the outside fence at the club located at 615 Lathrop Ave.
According to a communication delivered to club members Dec. 3, the club had revised its application to light only Courts 1-3 and 6-8 to eliminate light spillage on the Jackson Avenue side of the club.
Club president Dan Baker could not be reached for comment on the latest developments. Neither could club member Elias Yanaki, who served as applicant on the original application, and then recused himself from voting on it as a member of the village’s development review board. Also on the development review board are club members Maryanne Fishman, Jane McCole and Ron Lucchesi.
When reached by phone Dec. 18, Fishman declined comment. McCole did not respond to an email seeking comment.
But an informal coalition of neighbors opposed to the lighting amendment released a statement.
“We are grateful River Forest has a system in place to allow all citizens in the village to participate in the review process for proposed developments and express needs and concerns,” the statement said. “Thank you to village leadership, members of advisory boards and the RFTC for hearing our voices.”
One of the neighbors opposed to the lighting, Paul Harding, noted that it’s not clear whether the application will return.
“From my point of view, it’s good that they decided to pause it, but that’s all we know, it’s been paused,” he said. “A temporary pause or a permanent pause, they aren’t saying.”
There is precedence against lighting at the club, he said, pointing to prior decisions involving Priory Park and Concordia University.
“The lighting of public athletic fields at the Priory is not permitted, so that came up, and there is actually an ordinance that describes that, and it’s as permanent as you can possibly make it,” he said. “Some village leadership lives in that area. If it’s good enough for village leadership, why is this any different?
“This outdoor lighting thing came up for Concordia and (what) they proposed (was) much further back from residential property than the tennis club. That was shot down.”
The larger issue, though, in Harding’s mind comes down to ethics, which was addressed by Village President Cathy Adduci at the Dec. 15 village board meeting.
“Recently some of our volunteers that serve on the development review board have come under negative scrutiny,” Adduci said. “What is most concerning is that the recently amended ethics ordinance is now being used as a weapon to create fear among our volunteers.
“Our village attorney will always guide our commissioners on the right legal and ethical path. I believe attorney (Lance) Malina has provided this guidance to the development review board. His advice is, so long as the commissioners can be impartial, then membership is not a conflict.”
For Adduci, whether one agrees with a decision or recommendation, volunteers deserve respect.
“These kinds of attacks not only undermine the integrity of our civic process, but they also discourage future participation threatening our ability to attract and retain dedicated community members,” she said.
Harding disagreed.
“You have 11,000 upper-class people in River Forest,” he said. “There are lots of qualified people to serve on village boards.
“All I’ve been asking for is a recusal … create a level playing field.”
