It’s no secret that my main concern for the Annie Glidden North revitalization effort is the possibility that City of DeKalb and NIU are preparing to push a secret agenda to the detriment of public input and outcomes. As I exhaustively outlined for you earlier, email discussions of private planning, from the “DeKalb 2020 Prospectus”…
Category: Growth
Fourth Warders on/near South Seventh Street: Cell phone tower application is back
In case this is new to you, we’ll start with a recap. From a post published April 2015: [DeKalb Planning & Zoning Commission] has discussed a request made by Central States Tower (CST) for a permit to place a Verizon cell tower/antenna at 1300 South 7th Street even though CST did not follow procedures required…
Where the city’s interest in Annie Glidden North comes from
***Update 8/12*** Added city manager Anne Marie Gaura and fixed clarity issues. As our city council prepares to discuss a revitalization plan proposal for the Annie Glidden North (AGN) section of DeKalb, we should be aware of the possibility of a “done deal” already worked out by NIU and private interests, promoted by city staff…
DeKalb Park District did not endorse the Annie Glidden North plan proposal. Here’s why
The DeKalb Park District (DPD) did not endorse City of DeKalb’s Annie Glidden North proposal. The resolution on the issue, unanimously passed during a special meeting Tuesday night, reads as follows: NOW BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the DeKalb Park District, County of DeKalb, and State of Illinois, as follows: That…
Letter to the Editor: “Cornerstone” Project
To the Editor: Regarding the Cornerstone DeKalb Project: This project is being considered as a downtown development. Tax increment financing funding is being requested, and the project seems to meet the TIF criteria. I have concerns, which include the following: • Why a 40 percent request for project costs vs. the 25 percent guidelines? •…
Citizen Action & a Cell Tower Project in the 4th Ward
***DeKalb city council will consider the special use permit during its regular meeting Monday, April 27.*** While the University Village Planned Development proposal seems to have grabbed the headlines today, last night’s Planning & Zoning Commission meeting was also notable for neighborhood pushback against approval of a special use permit for a new 140-foot cell…
Documents: College Town Partners NFP
For all of NIU’s having publicly “backed away” from a partnership for redevelopment with City of DeKalb et al last spring, it seems the institution had already secretly created a “charity” with a local developer and a banker in December 2013 for similar purposes. The documents were Tweeted to me. @citybarb60115 @DC_Editor yes they are,…
Latest on the College Town Partners FOIA Matter
Let’s start with a summary of events. — The group now known as Preserve Our Neighborhoods (PON) was formed last spring in response to concerns that residents were not being included in DeKalb-NIU redevelopment plans that would directly affect them. — Misty Haji-Sheikh of PON received unsigned documents from an anonymous sender regarding a corporation…
College Town Partners Agreements are Kind of Cray, but Still Important
I’ve read the College Town Partners documents that were leaked to the Preserve Our Neighborhoods (PON) group. (Want copies? Send an email to preserveourneighborhoods@gmail.com.) The agreements, which were never signed, lay out a corporate partnership between City of DeKalb, NIU, a local developer and two banks. They strike me as kind of nuts, actually, being…
Observations: Yesterday’s Town Hall Meeting with NIU
NIU president Baker and the mayor each spoke to the group, as did NIU vice-president Bill Nicklas and an architect who explained the process involved in the development of the Bold Futures Thesis. In a nutshell, NIU wants to transform the thesis into a real plan for better use of the physical campus in nurturing…