After months of meetings and several hours-long discussions, a proposed apartment complex for individuals with disabilities received final approval from the Des Plaines City Council this week.
Alderman approved two zoning variances related to density and parking — although, similar variances were denied in June for the property at 751 Graceland Ave. The Evanston-based nonprofit Over the Rainbow Association plans to provide affordable, independent living facilities on the property for those with physical disabilities.
The aldermen who voted against the variances earlier this summer were concerned about the lack of parking spaces included in the plans for the project. City code requires two spaces for every unit, and the plans called for 35 spaces for 40 units. A parking study based on the initial plans concluded only 26 spaces would be needed to satisfy peak demand at the site, according to city documents.
Representatives of the nonprofit appeared before the council Monday night with a significantly changed proposal. Instead of a five-story building, the current plans for the project call for a four-story building with 33 one-bedroom units, 31 parking spaces and additional landscaping that could be converted in the future to add two additional spots, according to a memo from city staff.
Third Ward Alderman Denise Rodd noted that the nonprofit already had spent $100,000 on what is expected to be a more than $11 million undertaking.
The project will be funded primarily through low-income-housing tax credits and has not received any state funding, said Eric Huffman, executive director of the Over the Rainbow Association.
Rodd asked the council to vote in favor of the project because “adding them as neighbors will enrich our community.” Her comments generated a round of applause from the dozens in attendance at the meeting.
Fourth Ward Alderman Dick Sayad, who voted to deny the requested variances for the project in June, said the altered plans satisfied his previous concerns.
“I believe what you did by going back and reworking this here, I think you’ve done a great job, and I’m going to be supporting it this time,” he said.
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But Fifth Ward Ald. James Brookman, the sole member of the council to vote against approval of the amended plans on first reading this week, said the project “was still problematic.”
He said he worried that if the building were to change hands in the future, the city would be forced to leave the property vacant or “have to accept 31 (parking) spaces when 66 spaces are needed.”
A provision of the variance approval states that a change in ownership of the property would immediately trigger compliance with the city’s parking code or a request for a new parking variance.
Huffman said the organization plans to occupy the Des Plaines site “for a long time, and we’ll take good care of that building.”
The council voted 6-1 to approve the requested variances on first reading. The issue was advanced to second reading, and aldermen voted 5-2 in favor of final approval. In addition to Brookman, First Ward Ald. Patricia Haugeberg ultimately voted against it.
Over the Rainbow Association owns and operates nine buildings in Illinois, and two more are under construction, including one in Chicago, Huffman said.
He said the earliest construction could begin on the Graceland Avenue property would be late spring or early summer of next year with completion expected in 2017.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
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