I have lived in Oak Park for almost 60 years and I have two concerns: traffic and beauty.
Traffic: Living on the 1000 block of North Marion puts the “missing middle” right across the alley from my backyard. First, rents are not cheap, as a quick Google search will reveal. Second, even with the alley and multiple homeowners providing space, parking is still at a premium. If the goals are to provide affordable housing, while keeping parking off the street and controlled, this is not the way to do it. Others have commented on this before, so I will move on to the second concern.
Beauty: Some property owners may need to tear down one of our older homes for various reasons. Sometimes they are replaced with a structure that harmonizes with the surrounding area (thank you to those owners). But sometimes they are not. Anyone who has lived here longer than three months has seen the “box” that jumps out. Given the cost of building a 2-flat (or more), I am concerned that the number of these “boxes” will only grow.
Oak Park is a beautiful area with tree-lined streets and beautiful architecture. Don’t ruin it.
Carolyn Righeimer
Oak Park