HIGHWOOD CITY COUNCIL’S 9.19.23 MEETING IN A NUTSHELL
Appearance
The City Council voted to approve new business signage for Mojo’s Vinyl Bar (448 Sheridan Rd.). While I found the proposed sign attractive, I voted against the motion as it increased the size of the sign relative to the recommendation from the Appearance Review Committee.
Development
The City purchased the properties at 420 and 424 Sheridan Rd. (i.e., the properties across the street from Buffo’s) as well as the property at 430 Sheridan Rd. (i.e., the property in between the Bocce Club and Teddy O’Brian’s) for the purpose of redevelopment. All the buildings on these properties were subsequently torn down so that the sites could be used for temporary surface parking. The City has also consulted professionals from various disciplines (e.g., architecture, finance, urban planning) to help evaluate redevelopment options and their feasibility. The City contracted BKV Group to provide mock architectural renderings to visualize a few development scales, and the City Council reviewed and discussed draft renderings (click here to see the draft renderings). The main feedback expressed was related to the importance of the appearance of any development’s western exposure. The City Council continued further discussion to a future meeting. While I acknowledge there are various trends (e.g., population, housing), risks (e.g., variability of sales tax revenues, unfunded State mandates) and counterpressures (e.g., rising City costs and City Council disinclination to increase property taxes) that can make largescale development options more attractive than smaller scale options, I continue to be worried about the impacts of too much largescale development too soon and do not plan to support any proposals for largescale development on the subject sites (my definition of largescale development = 5 stories and 40 residential units, which is the average scale of the three recent Green Bay Rd. developments.).
Finance
The City Council voted to approve the payment of various bills totaling $479k.
Infrastructure
The City regularly conducts preventative maintenance of fire hydrants by way of hydrant flushing (i.e., systematic opening of hydrants to - among other things - ensure they are functioning properly for firefighting purposes). During recent hydrant flushing, 9 hydrants were identified as not functioning properly. The City Council voted to approve M&J to replace 8 hydrants at a cost of $55k (1 of the hydrants was already replaced during recent roadway improvements).
A sanitary sewer break occurred in the intersection of Waukegan Ave. and Walker Ave. The City Council voted to approve M&J to repair the break at a cost not to exceed $30k. The subject sanitary system is intended to be comprehensively improved in 2024.
According to population, Illinois municipalities receive a portion of the revenue collected from the State’s Motor Fuel Tax. Authorized uses for this revenue include the construction and maintenance of municipal streets. For the past decade, the City has used Motor Fuel Tax revenue to purchase deicing salt by way of a joint purchase with many other government agencies. The City Council voted to authorize City staff to satisfy a State recordkeeping requirement related to the City’s use of Motor Fuel Tax revenue from 2018 - 2023.
Licenses & Permits
The owners of Tapas Del Lago (329 Waukegan Ave.) requested consideration for the issuance of a valet parking permit. The City Council discussed the request and continued further discussion to a future meeting.
Parks & Public Spaces
The Beautification Committee contracted Mariani Landscape to develop designs and cost estimates for a new pocket park at 341 Waukegan Ave. (i.e., the vacant lot just north of the Bent Fork Bakery) as well as an extension to Everts Park at 340 Green Bay Rd. (i.e., the former site of Javier’s Garage). The Committee has reviewed preliminary designs and provided feedback to Mariani re the same (click here to see the preliminary designs). Revised designs and cost estimates are expected over the coming weeks.
The City charges fees for the use of the Recreation Center as well Memorial Park (i.e., the Western Ave. “ballpark”). These facilities are commonly rented for birthday parties and youth and adult sports. City staff recommended increasing select fees by $5 per hour to better offset administrative costs as well as to be more in line with fees for comparable facilities in the greater area. The City Council voted to amend the City’s fee schedule as recommended.
Public Comment
A representative of a group of residents expressed concerns regarding the impact of special events on Everts Park and the surrounding residential neighborhood. The group requested 1) a scaling back of the volume of events, 2) a cost-benefit analysis to be conducted for events and 3) the City Council to review event permit requests and to decide whether to approve or deny the same. Another resident echoed the groups' comments and also expressed concern that the use of Evert's Park for events is inconsistent with its original intended use.
Other
The City Council voted to approve meeting minutes from August 15, 2023.
Highwood Chamber of Commerce’s Design Week event is being held this week, and its Wine & Art Walk event is being held Saturday, September 30th; information re these events as well as other Chamber of Commerce events can be found here.
Celebrate Highwood's Pumpkin Festival event will be held from Thursday, October 5th to Sunday, October 8th; information re this event as well as other Celebrate Highwood events can be found here.
Highwood Library’s September newsletter is here.
The Lake County Forest Preserves completed its acquisition of the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve. The Preserve is now open from 6:30am to sunset every day.
The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County periodically conducts mobile, one-day events to collect household chemical waste. These events offer residents an opportunity to discard residential waste materials that are too toxic or hazardous for municipal waste streams (e.g., cleaning products, oil based paints/varnishes, flammable liquids, automotive products, garden chemicals, personal care products and medications); a more extensive list of accepted/unaccepted items is here. While there is no cost to discard waste at these events, appointments are required and can be made here. The next collection event is being held on Saturday, September 23rd from 8:00am to 2:30pm in Lake Forest (800 N. Field Dr.).
Meeting Records