The November 5th meeting of the Urbana Plan Commission contained more of the same: a small number of West Urbana residents upset at virtually any kind of change near their neighborhood.
The Commission held two hearings. The first was a fairly simple request by James and Spencer Dobrovolny to up-zone 5 contiguous properties at the northwest portion of West High Street and South Coler Avenue from R-3 to R-5. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the request be denied, and suggested that if Mr. Dobrovolny wished to build something not allowed by current zoning, then it would be more appropriate for him to bring forth a Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposal so that the Commission and the public may see exactly what they would like to build.
The second hearing was a request by CCH Development, LLC for approval of a residential PUD which would entirely demolish and rebuild living structure upon an existing 10 continguous properties which comprise about one-half of a city block (East of Lincoln Avenue between West California and West Oregon Streets). The new development proposal was brought forth by the Mode 3Architectural firm, and would house, in total, about the same number of people as the existing structures (about 70), so there would not be an overall increase in living density. The architects who designed the new proposal said that their design aligned with the interests and aesthetic values of West Urbana, and that it was a “respectful” transition from the U of I campus to the residential neighborhood.
A few concerned residents raised opposition to the new development, citing parking and noise concerns, but mostly expressing a general spite toward any type of development or change to the existing structures. Long-time West Urbana resident Leslie Sherman repeatedly (for both hearings) bemoaned about her “property values”, but did not explain how or why an expensive new development three blocks from her residence would negatively impact her home’s value.
U of I Professor Erik Sacks argued that Urbana did not need any additional housing solutions because “the student population at the university has essentially been flat for the last ten years, so there is not a great need”. However, the University of Illinois Division of Management Information reports that enrollment has actually increased 20%, or nearly 10,000 students, over the past ten years.
The commission members appeared frustrated with the lack of “constructive criticism”, and the Chair, Tyler Fitch, said that the letters they received did not propose any alternatives but were “strictly opposition”.
The Commission members indicated that they were generally agreeable to the proposed development, but gave in to complaints from some community members that no enough time had been allowed for community feedback. Notions of a neighborhood forum on the development proposal were discussed, but Jacob Unzicker and Josh Daly of Mode 3 Architecture pointed out that such efforts on previous projects have generally not been constructive. Ultimately, the Commission voted for a continuance of the hearing in two weeks’ time.
Documents and video for the November 5th Urbana Plan Commission Meeting are available here: https://www.urbanaillinois.us/node/8397
-Christopher Hansen, Urbana