Board Meeting: 800 Hillgrove Freed Up, Police Department Wins a National No. 1

A special vote held at Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting passed a resolution that will free the commercial building at 800 Hillgrove Avenue to a new class of previously-banned businesses.

Ostensibly designed to increase the appeal of the building to tenants, the Board acted on a unanimous recommendation from the Village’s Economic Development Commission and lifted what many saw as an outdated and arcane set of restrictions on one particular building.

“Maybe in more pleasant times economically, when the Village could exert some kind of leverage on it would like to see, it was useful,” said Village President Bill Rodeghier. “But in this economic field, the last thing we want is vacant storefronts.”

Rodeghier added that the change was not particularly radical, only putting the building on par with other downtown commercially-zoned buildings. Asked for a list of businesses that would only now be allowed, Director of Community Development Marty Scott mentioned the arbitrary examples of currency exchange, mattress shops and auto repair depots.

Another item of note from the meeting was the announcement that the Western Springs Police Department has won first place in the national Traffic Safety Challenge for communities between 11,000 and 25,000 residents. The department had qualified by winning the contest at the state level.

Competing against over 60 other communities from around the country, the WSPD emerged with first prize, $2,000 worth of field equipment and a “traffic-safety trailer.” (They came up just short in the random draw for a squad car.)

“When I see that we placed first among 66 applicants, it just speaks to the professionalism of our department, and it’s just one of many honors our department has achieved under Chief [Pam] Church’s leadership,” said Rodeghier.

Trustee Deborah Lyons announced that the Legacy Committee has decided on a quasquicentennial legacy gift: a set of improvements to Tower Green, although the exact type of improvements has not yet been codified. (The committee has collected $41,000 to date for the legacy gift, and donations are still being accepted.)

Lyons also tied in the release of national number-one blockbuster Contagion to a proposed addition to the Village Municipal Code governing “commercial filming and taping,” as no such code currently exists.

“As fun as it was to have part of the movie filmed here, it was a lot of work and caught us by surprise a little bit,” said Lyons, adding that the new code would ensure that any future filming would be forced to comply with village personnel and a specific code of conduct.

Also from the meeting:

• Roadway construction has been completed on Woodland Avenue and Garden Avenue. Sidewalk improvements have been completed around Springdale Park, and are in progress around Forest Hills Elementary.
• There are proposed changes to traffic laws around Field Park Elementary and the newly commercially-zoned lot of 4332 Howard Ave. (the future Music Makers site). The proposed law would make Howard south of 43rd Street a one-way street going north, and would restrict any stopping or parking on the north side of 43rd between Franklin Avenue and Howard. The intent is to reduce traffic congestion.
• The Ridgewood/South Fire Station is fully operable, and will have its grand opening on Saturday, September 17th at 9:30 a.m. Residents are welcome to attend.
• Trustee James Horvath listed several necessary budget changes, transfers and addendums totaling approximately $150,000 in necessary cuts or new revenue. These include expenses related to storm damage, roadway improvements and the continued high prices of gas. Some of the cost will be offset by the delay of the Village’s micro-paving program.
• The WSPD will be sending out surveys to residents who have in some way been involved with the Department in recent years in order to evaluate and improve the Department’s performance.

In the special voting meeting (a once unorthodox custom becoming increasingly common of late) also voted to approve liquor permits for a September 17 festival being held by Mecenat restaurant.

Trustee Edward Tymick was absent from the meeting due to a death in the family.

The meeting ended with a withdrawal to private executive session to discuss “pending litigation” or the “sale of real estate.”