I attended the meeting (Oct. 8) on the drastic and misguided proposal to eliminate single-family housing. My takeaway was that both the village planner and the consultants from Opticos were unable to answer direct questions regarding its impact on basic issues, such as parking, property values, and infrastructure. They also couldn’t answer this question from a commissioner: “What problem is the proposed rezoning attempting to solve?” The high cost of housing is a problem that is endemic nationwide, not just in Oak Park.
I finally left at 8:30 p.m. At that time, the meeting still had not gotten to the public comments, which should have been the most important part of the agenda. Why have we allowed a vocal minority of people to push their agenda over the wishes of the vast majority of Oak Parkers? We need a change in village trustees, starting with the next election.
Jean Guarino
Oak Park