On July 9, River Forest’s Development Review Board (DRB) unanimously approved a 5-story, 72-apartment building at Madison and Ashland. The proposal has 79 residential parking spaces, 8 retail spaces and 1 loading space on 3 taxpayer-owned lots, 1 institutional and 2 residential, surrounded by historic single-family homes.
The hearing felt like confirmation, not deliberation. Board members asked few substantive questions, took few notes, and conditioned approval on a few extra bushes. The outcome appeared pre-determined, with self-interest votes, including four reappointments come April.
Former DRB Chair Frank Martin provided direction for Findings of Fact in 2018: “A ‘yes’ vote requires a project to satisfy every applicable review standard.” This project fails to meet 10 or more of 15 Standards for Review. The burden the project will place on adjacent property owners outweighs the alleged economic benefits to the village. (Village Ordinance 10-19-3).
Public speakers who opposed the project, 23 of 27, cited size, density, appearance, inadequate parking, increased traffic, lack of affordable housing, no retail plan, little green space, and an opaque review process.
The application left major questions unanswered. Financial information and projected rents were omitted. Property tax estimates lacked assumptions and calculations. Traffic analyses were biased, with incomplete links. Adding detached brick garages increases developer’s revenue while visually and physically impacting adjacent homes.
Most striking was the reversal by DRB members Davis and Shoemaker who sat on the Zoning Board (ZBA) during its 2024 review of the village’s proposed zoning amendments. Both expressed concerns that increases in height and density and parking reductions were too sweeping. Both supported independent review, greater public input and building step-backs from adjacent single-family homes. The ZBA concluded the proposed changes were too extensive, insufficiently justified and inconsistent with preserving village character. Where were those concerns July 9?
Residents observed the DRB hearing and the entire development process, from hiring a broker to selecting a developer, was orchestrated to deliver a decision already made. Performative governance.
Source:
9/6/2018
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Margie Cekander
River Forest