Worth Another Look
Democracy or MonarchyMount Prospect voters support downtown park
According to unofficial vote totals, 3,762 voters, or 74 percent, supported the idea of preserving the land as a park, while 1,311 voters, or 26 percent, opposed the idea.
It should be noted that the Village comprise is wait until the Busse family property become available for possible a park.
But instead of waiting for the Busse Family property to become available for development, the taxpayers of Mount Prospect not only do NOT have a park they voted for, but the insult to that injury is we got (at our expense) only 7 of the 14 rowhomes promised by Norwood Builders.
posted by Administrator | 7:11 PM
1 Comments:
Daily Herald - April 6, 2005:
Mount Prospect voters sent a clear message Tuesday they want vacant land on the southeast corner of Central Road and Emerson Street preserved as a park.
Unfortunately, that message comes about a month after village officials hired a developer to build row houses on the property.
According to unofficial vote totals, 3,762 voters, or 74 percent, supported the idea of preserving the land as a park, while 1,311 voters, or 26 percent, opposed the idea.
The advisory referendum was placed on Tuesday's ballot by a citizens group called Save Open Space Mount Prospect, which had lobbied for the downtown park since late last year.
Bill Blaine, leader of the citizens group, said Tuesday's vote is valuable, even though it isn't likely to change the village's plans for the property.
"Our whole group feels vindicated by this," Blaine said Tuesday night. "There's obviously a desire for open space in the downtown, and while it might be too late for this particular site, it's something the village needs to address in the future."
Village leaders have planned for years to develop the site with row houses, a form of housing they say will provide a nice transition from the single-family homes east of Emerson to the commercial/institutional uses to the west. The site consists of three vacant village-owned lots.
In March, trustees hired Chicago-based Norwood Builders to build the row houses. Trustees stressed, though, they agree with the citizens group on the importance of open space in the downtown area. So at the same meeting, they adopted a resolution that commits the board to create a park farther south on Emerson, when the property at the corner of Emerson and Busse Avenue becomes available.
Because of that compromise, village officials felt it was unnecessary to postpone the row house decision until after the referendum took place.
They also objected to Blaine's use of the term "Central Park" when describing the site; the three lots, which used to have single-family homes on them, were never a park.
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