After months of negotiations between School District 74 and the village of Lincolnwood regarding zoning issues that could affect the $20 million construction project starting at Lincoln Hall School this month, the village of Lincolnwood has agreed to rezone the school district property.
“School District 74’s upcoming campus improvement plans have brought to light the challenges that are inherent with a school with three buildings housed in a residential area,” said Steve McNellis, community development director for Lincolnwood. “Recognizing these challenges, the village staff has worked with District 74 on their request to develop a new school zoning district.”
The School District 74 campus, which is bordered by Crawford Avenue, Lunt Avenue, East Prairie Road, and Pratt Avenue, is located in a neighborhood of mostly single-family homes, meaning residential building standards would have been applied to the Lincoln Hall renovations without the zoning district being changed.
Under the proposal approved by Trustees during the April 5 Village Board meeting, the school district campus will be rezoned from its current residential classification to a newly-created type of zoning district called the “S” School Zoning District.
The main difference, explained McNellis, is that the school district would have otherwise had to go through the village’s lengthy process to apply for a Planned Unit Development if it maintained its current designation in a residential zoning area.
Village attorney for Lincolnwood, Steven Elrod, said the village’s decision to offer to rezone the property resolves a long-standing debate between the school board and the village about the best way to address zoning issues associated with the property.
“The creation of a new (zoning) district addressed the concerns of the Village Board and satisfies the desires of the school board to move forward with the property,” Elrod said.
Board president of School District 74 Scott Anderson, who attended the April 5 Village Board meeting when the rezoning was approved, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations.
Construction on the $20 million project to reconstruct Lincoln Hall School—which was built more than seven decades ago—will begin April 18, according to Regina Shalzi, director of community relations for School District 74.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.