This week, River Forest residents received the latest installment of the village’s Madison Development Newsletter. This installment appears to introduce a new justification for this oversized project by echoing the “housing ecosystem” rhetoric now common in Oak Park: encouraging longtime residents to leave their homes so others may move in.
Missing from the newsletter public relations-drafted piece is the fact that neighbors have repeatedly raised serious concerns about the scale, density, traffic, parking and placement of a five-story, 72-unit rental building at the end of a street lined with single-family homes.
Residents should read this latest entry, along with the forthcoming Madison Street development proposal, with great care. If the updated proposal fails to meaningfully address resident concerns, all River Forest constituents should ask questions at the Development Review Board, including why public input was solicited at all.
Deborah Borman
River Forest