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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-07-2022MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF MORTON GROVE RICHARD T. FLICKINGER MUNICIPAL CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS JUNE 27, 2022 CALL TO ORDER I. Village President Dan DiMaria convened the Regular Meeting of the Village Board at 7:00 p.m. & II. in the Council Chambers of Village Hall. III. Village Clerk Eileen Harford called the roll. Present were Trustees Bill Grear, Saba Khan, Rita Minx, John Thill, Connie Travis, and Janine Witko. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Trustee Minx moved to accept the Minutes of the June 13, 2022 Village Board meeting as presented, seconded by Trustee Thill. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote_ V SPECIAL REPORTS NONE VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS VII. VIII. NONE PLAN COMMISSION REPORTS NONE RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (Agenda Items Only) 1. Bob Burkhart spoke on behalf of Vision Morton Grove regarding Ordinance 22-10, which establishes regulations relating to affordable housing and an Affordable Housing Fun. He noted that, a few years ago, he and some others came to a Board Meeting to advocate for affordable housing as part of the Sawmill Station project. It wasn't approved at that point, but the Board promised that, once the project was up and running, they would look at affordable housing, and that's just what's happening. a. Mr. Burkhart said he had spoken with Mr. Czerwinski recently, and Mr. Czerwinski had reminded him that this is the promise they'd asked for, noting that he, Village staff, the Plan Commission, and the Village Board had spent a lot of time working together to make this a reality. Minutes of June 27 2022 Board Meeting VIII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (Agenda Items Only) (continued) b. Mr. Burkhart said that everyone's efforts.are appreciated, and he was glad that the Village reached out to other communities that have done this and are learning from those experiences. Vision MG is grateful for the Village's efforts too, and hopes the Ordinance will be adopted. c. Mr. Burkhart said, in recent months, Vision MG has been studying this issue—it's a priority of theirs—and they've had a couple of conversations with some people who are very knowledgeable about this issue. One is Richard Koenig, Director of Housing Opportunity Development Corpora- tion, formerly with Interfaith Housing, and the other is Sue Loellbach, manager of advocacy of connections with the homeless, a group that deals with affordable housing. Mr. Burkhart said both looked at the proposed Ordinance and felt that it was a good first step. d. Mr. Burkhart said, through their conversations, they've identified two issues, and he hoped the Board would be able to respond or let him know if he wasn't understanding it correctly. The first had to do with Section E, "Requirements for Covered Developments," which featured a chart from which it appeared that if a developer did not want to include affordable housing, he would have to pay a linkage fee of $40,000 per each required affordable unit. Mr. Burkhart said his group felt that $40,000 was too low. e. The second issue that concerns his group is, "Who is this linkage fee going to benefit?" Mr. Burkhart felt that the pricing of future developments will be on the high end, noting the upcoming development on Lehigh Avenue, which, he felt was on the high side. He said that would probably benefit people with a moderate income, such as managers, beginning teachers, medical workers, etc. But his group is concerned about those with lower incomes, i.e., hourly workers, service workers, single moms with children. He felt that this group, with moderate to low incomes, probably would not benefit from this ordinance. f. In short, Mr. Burkhart said, the group is encouraging the Board not to stop with just this ordinance. He said the goal they hope the Village will have is to keep up with affordable housing and move further for a broader population to demonstrate that our Village is truly "open." 2. Rodney Orr, Community Organizer for Joining Forces For Affordable Housing, spoke next. He said Joining Forces is a coalition of human services organizations, religious groups, and other organizations and individuals all advocating for more affordable housing in Cook County. a. Mr. Orr said he was here tonight to tell the Board, on behalf of Joining Forces, he's appreciative of the work they've been doing for affordable housing, noting that it's rare to see communities with a commitment to affordable housing like Morton Grove. He said he hoped the Board would build on what they've already accomplished, for example, taking a look at the linkage fee to determine if it's sufficient, creating an equitable zoning plan, evaluating the area median income requirements, etc. b. Mr. Orr thanked the Board again and said Mr. Burkhart has his contact information if they have any questions of him. Mayor DiMaria thanked Mr. Orr for coming out this evening. 2 Minutes of June 27 2022 Board Meeting IX. X. PRESIDENT'S REPORT Mayor DiMaria had no formal report, but said he hoped to see everyone at the Morton Grove Days event, which starts this Friday, July 1. Mega -band wristbands are being sold on Zine, so everyone should come out and have some fun—it'll be great to get some normalcy back! CLERK'S REPORT Clerk Harford had no formal report this evening. XI. STAFF REPORTS A. Village Administrator: Mr. Czerwinski had no formal report this evening. B. Corporation Counsel: Corporation Counsel Liston had no formal report this evening. XII. TRUSTEES' REPORTS A. Trustee Grear: Trustee Grear had no formal report this evening, but said he was happy to add to the Mayor's announcement regarding Morton Grove Days. In addition to great entertainment, a beer garden, a parade, and a terrific carnival, there will be a fireworks show on July 4 starting around 9:30 p.m. He said the event is entirely put on by volunteers, and added that, unfortunately, the number of volunteers is low this year, so if anyone listening to this is interested in volunteering, Trustee Grear asked that they call him at 847-401-8328. Mayor DiMaria thanked Trustee Grear and Park District Commissioner Paul Minx for getting this massive undertaking going. B. Trustee Khan: Trustee Khan presented two ordinances for a second reading this evening. 1. Ordinance 22-10, Approving a Text Amendment to Establish Regulations Relating to Affordable Housing and an Affordable Housing Fund. 3 Minutes of June 27 2022 Board Meeting XII. B. Trustee Khan: (continued) TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) a. Trustee Khan explained that this Ordinance will approve a Text Amendment that establishes regulations relating to the creation and preservation of affordable housing and establishes the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide financial resources to address the affordable housing needs of low- to middle-income individuals and families who live or work in the Village. Trustee Khan moved, seconded by Trustee Minx, to adopt Ordinance 22-10. b. Trustee Grear commented that he wanted to thank staff and the residents for their time and their work as regards this affordable housing ordinance. He said he hoped people would read it thoroughly and understand it before passing judgment on it, adding, "I think it's a good start." c. Trustee Thill asked what the timeframe would be between when a person first comes in for help, and then when they could come back again. Mr. Czerwinski said that some of the actual procedures of the plan are still in the works, but staff will come up with a balanced approach. d. Trustee Thill also commented that, affordable housing is not only to bring people into the Village, it's also. to help people who live here stay here. Many are having a tough time and are "on the edge," and affordable housing is supposed to help them too. Mayor DiMaria called for the vote on Ordinance 22-10. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear ave Tr. Khan ave Tr. Minx kyg Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis aye Tr. Witko aye 2. Ordinance 22-11, Approving a Special Use Permit for a Pet Shop for 6014 Dempster Street in Morton Grove, IL. a. Trustee Khan said this Ordinance approves a Special Use Permit for the operation of a pet shop to allow the sale of fish and coral by The Local Fish Store. Trustee Khan moved to adopt Ordinance 22-11, seconded by Trustee Thill. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear aye Tr. Khan Tr. Minx aye Tr. Thill ave Tr. Travis ave Tr. Witko aye b. Trustee Grear welcomed the pet shop owners and thanked them for choosing Morton Grove. 4 XII. B. Trustee Khan: (continued) 3. Lastly, Trustee Khan said she hoped everyone would come out and attend Morton Grove Days; it seems like it'll be a lot of fun and a great event. She also encouraged people to volunteer if they possible could. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) Minutes of June 27 2022 Board Meeting C. Trustee Minx: Trustee Minx had no formal report this evening, but noted that she was looking forward to Morton Grove Days because we haven't had this event since 2019 due to the pandemic. She said that a lot of time and effort has gone into this year's festival and everyone involved is hoping to see big crowds. The Morton Grove Days Commission just celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, so she hoped people would come out, see all their neighbors, and enjoy themselves. D. Trustee Thill: Trustee Thill had no formal report this evening, but encouraged people to call Trustee Grear to volunteer at Morton Grove Days—even if it's at 2:00 a.m.! E. Trustee Travis: Trustee Travis thanked all who participated in the Community Garage Sale, both buyers and sellers. She said she wished the rain would have held off, but the rain was a good thing for all the planters that have been adopted. Trustee Travis reminded the assemblage noted that the Community Relations Commission's Photo Contest is back. The contest will run now through Labor Day. Everyone is welcome to submit their pictures of "Enjoying Summer in Morton Grove" to www.mortongroveil.org/ahotocontest. Trustee Travis said there's sure to be some photo opportunities at this weekend's Morton Grove Days festival! F. Trustee Witko: Trustee Witko had no formal report this evening. 5 inutes of June 27 2022 Board Meeting XIII. XIV. OTHER BUSINESS Mayor DiMaria stated that the gubernatorial primary election is tomorrow and encourage people to vote, adding, "If you don't vote, don't complain!" WARRANTS Trustee Grear presented the Warrant Register for June 27, 2022 in the amount of $266,183.83. He moved to approve this evening's Warrant Register as presented, seconded by Trustee Minx. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear aye Tr. Khan aye Tr. Minx aye Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis aye Tr. Witko ave XV. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS Rudy Vilk told the Board he had missed them and he hoped they had missed him too. He said he hoped Mr. Czerwinski had distributed to the Board letters Mr. Vilk had sent him. (Mr. Czerwinski indicated that he had done so.) Mr. Vilk said the Board now has the information on his cases but no one has yet given him an opinion or made a decision. He alluded to people protecting people who have broken the rules. He said he had explained in his letters what he has seen in terms of people breaking rules. He asked that the Board respond with their opinion(s). XVI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, Trustee Minx moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Witko. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m. 6 Minutes of June 27 2022 Board Meeting PASSED this 11th day of July, 2022. Trustee Grear Trustee Khan Trustee Minx Trustee Thill Trustee Travis Trustee Witko =lye A ye Chise AyP APPROVED by me this 11th day of July, 2022. Daniel P. DiMaria, Village President Board of Trustees, Morton Grove, Illinois APPROVED and FILED in my office this 12th day of July, 2022. f, d-y.G--- Eileen Scanlon Harford, Village Clerk Village of Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois Minutes by Teresa Cousar 7 1