THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
Ald. DiPietro: Plaza 'Should' Include Senior Housing
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Reporter
Park Ridge officials, at least the elected ones, are apparently tired of the litany of "let's build condos."
They have turned to a brand new concept for Park Ridge---senior housing. That is, they have turned to it, sort of.
When it came time Sept. 5 to give final approval to an amendment to the city's comprehensive land use plan regarding the Executive Plaza site at Northwest Highway and Washington Street, a strong majority of aldermen opted to amend the plan with one critical word, "Should."
The city cannot dictate to the private sector what it can build on private property, but it can state a preference that often will be heavily influential in what happens to a specific parcel. In this case, it is uncertain whether city officials have done that.
Leading the charge for senior housing at the plaza was Ald. Rich DiPietro. He proposed a change in the land use section of the Executive Plaza plan from "Senior residential uses would also be appropriate and desirable" to "should."
"This strengthens the place of senior housing in the plan, which was my intent," he said.
However, at the same time, statements in the plan that multi-family uses such as condos, and commercial uses, "should be in the plaza" remain. It remains to be seen what the impact of this senior housing language change will be. DiPietro, however, said he hoped his amendment will generate some firm proposals from continuing care retirement community developers, some of whom are reportedly already interested in the Executive Plaza site.
The move also pleased Herbert Zuegel, a strong advocate of senior housing, of which the city has none now.
"His (DiPietro's) motion clarifies the city's position by stating that the most desirable use for the site should be a wide range of senior residence types from independent cottages through assisted living to nursing care," he said. He has often said that he envisions a senior facility similar to the Moorings on Central Road in Arlington Hts., in Park Ridge.
The vote on DiPietro's amendment was 11-3 after more than an hour of debate. Because this vote was taken on a show of hands and the no votes were not recorded, the three dissenting aldermen were not identified.
An amendment proposed by Ald. Jeannie Markech to remove a section discussing multi-family residential development from the land use section was defeated.
When the plan was voted on for final approval as amended, the roll call was 13-1, with Ald. James Radermacher voting no.
"The vote is meaningless because it has no influence over what happens there," said Radermacher. "I'd rather we list some things we want there, and some things we don't want, and let the private sector react. I have nothing against senior housing, but I'll bet there were a lot of people who left the meeting that night assuming that senior housing automatically is going to happen there, and that's not true."
City officials have spent more than a year discussing this Executive Plaza site. It now contains seven office buildings, two of them vacant and others with significant vacancies. Consultants have said the office market in Park Ridge is soft and the future of this site lies with commercial, multi-family residential, or senior housing developments.
The city's land use plan serves as a guide, not a regulation, for what happens at the plaza.