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Taking Action -- Ways to Help
While the original proposal for the 49-story skyscraper has narrowly cleared the
first hurdle of Plan Commission hearings, it is far from being
approved. During five months of Plan Commission hearings, the overwhelming
majority of testimony was in opposition to the development.
The next step in the process is hearings before the Planning & Development
(P&D) committee which is composed of all nine Aldermen. If P&D were to approve
the proposal, it would proceed to the full City Council where it would require
a super-majority vote of 6 of the 9 Aldermen to pass.
While the developers proposed decreasing the height of the building to 421 feet (445 if you
include the backlit mechanical screening at the top of the building), they COMPLETELY failed
to address the request for public benefits that would meet or exceed the excessive variances
they are requesting. The "shorter" building would still include 218 luxury condos, offer less
retail space than currently exists and permanently remove office space from the downtown area. It
should also be noted that the new proposal is still well over 150 feet taller than the tallest
building downtown and that the developer refuses to consider adding office space or including
underground parking.
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The following are measurable ways that individual citizens can let the Council know
that they oppose a skyscraper at 708 Church Street.
- Email or phone your Alderman to let them know why you oppose the proposed
development at 708 Church. Click here for the name,
email and phone number of your Alderman.
- Sign the online petition on the right. Note: ECRD also has a number
of paper petitions currently in circulation. On March 24th we presented the City Council with over 1,000
signatures in opposition to the proposed skyscraper. This does not count the 18 pages
of signatures already submitted to the Plan Commission at their November hearing. We are still
collecting signatures on both paper and online petitions.
- Write a letter to the editor of the Evanston Review or Evanston Roundtable.
Click here for guidelines
for submitting Letters to the Editor for local publications.
- Attend P&D and Council meetings where the proposal is on the agenda. Agendas
are online here and
you can subscribe to receive agendas via email directly from
the City of Evanston here.
- Host or attend a neighborhood meeting with your Alderman to discuss the many
issues that surround the proposed development.
- Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the latest updates and notices of upcoming meetings.
A handy subscription form can be found on the left.
- Refer your friends and neighbors to our website!
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