As a longtime resident of Oak Park, I was troubled to hear that the Village Board of Trustees was likely moving forward with zoning changes to eliminate single-family home zoning without even allowing for a non-binding referendum vote. I attended Tuesday’s board meeting, and I was shocked and dismayed by the lack of transparency around and speed with which the zoning decision-making was proceeding. Most of the public comments and trustee commentary were related to the underlying zoning issue and not the evening’s vote on a referendum. That in and of itself indicated a seemingly intentional avoidance of community participation and lack of information-sharing by the board’s zoning change advocates.
The board of trustees ultimately overwhelmingly voted to disallow a referendum and along the way, Trustee Cory Wesley, a primary advocate of the zoning changes stated that a vote wouldn’t be respected by the board.” I find it incredulous that in a community that prides itself on inclusion and democratic principles, the majority of the board is so brazenly dismissing the very people and opinions they were elected to represent. Multiple trustees alluded to the issue being too wrapped in complexity and nuance to be suitable for a referendum put to the community. I beg to differ.
I encourage all readers to visit the Village Board of Trustees website and watch the video of the trustees’ comments from Tuesday’s meeting, starting at 1 hour, 47 minutes. You might be surprised by the lack of compelling reasoning for allowing for community input via what would be a non-binding referendum. You might also be surprised by the contempt some members seemingly have for what would be our collective voices. We need leadership on key issues, not condescending lectures drowning out the peoples’ voices.
Blaine Hyde
Oak Park