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No. 134 | A JWC Media publication
By Simon Murray
NEWS
L
Developer nudged to change plans
T
he Winnetka Plan Commission offered developer Stonestreet Partners LLC the opportunity to amend its plans for a seven-story building located in the East Elm business district before the next plan meeting after noting reservations about the project’s size April 22. Zave Gussin, an attorney representing Conney’s Pharmacy, filed a letter with the Plan Commission objecting to Stonestreet’s plan. Conney’s abuts the proposed building and is the only property at this location not owned by Stonestreet. Gussin argued that the proposed development requires the village to vacate a portion of Lincoln Avenue and would result in blocking Conney’s access to that street. Gussin further asserted that while Winnetka has the discretion to vacate streets, it may only do so for a public, not private, purpose. Commissioner Tina Dalman responded that the case law cited by Gussin was misleading, noting it was over 50 years old and more recent case law exists. Stonestreet’s attorney plans to file a legal memo with the commission responding to Conney’s assertions before the next meeting.
Residents Carmen Fassler and Jerry Brown of 711 Oak Street, a condominium that abuts the subject property, also raised questions about the proposed development, such as light pollution as cars came in and out of the garage entrances. They also questioned why the developer located the construction staging area in front of 711 Oak during the estimated 18-month construction period. And the residents worried that deliveries to the building would cause traffic and safety issues. Stonestreet CEO David Trandel responded to each of their concerns, noting that “we have tried to take in the concerns of all of the neighbors.” Trundle pointed to traffic studies conducted by experts concerning the garage entrances and that deliveries would be made at the northeast corner of the building. At issue is a proposed sevenstory mixed-use building featuring 120 rental apartments on the upper floors, underground parking, and retail space on the first and second floors. At roughly 45,000 square feet, the development would be located Continues on page 12
Lilly Jaffe has received unyielding support from her mother Laurie and father Mike. Photography by Joel Lerner
Not a hard pill to swalloW
A teenager’s diabetes ‘miracle’ has spurred a law, prompted a documentary — and made history
illy Jaffe is not your average 15 year old. Confident and well-spoken, the freshman at Wolcott School in Chicago prefers to let her body do the talking: performing musical theater and dance with dance companies in the city and on the North Shore. Her favorite form of dance is contemporary, which stresses the torso and improvisation — and is often done in bare feet. “You get to use a lot of emotion,” says the Winnetka resident. “You’re basically telling a story through the dance.” If Lilly’s own story were ever to be told in a dance routine, it would be a theatrical metamorphosis. Onstage, she would shed the surgically precise movements of a young Type 1 diabetic. Gone would be the nightmarishly routine pricks and needles, the methodical testing of blood sugar by her concerned parents, the insulin pumps. In their place would be a breakdown of rigid structure in favor of spontaneity. Her dance, as did her life, would take on a newfound fluidity, freedom, and independence. That’s because, as a child, an inexpensive pill radically changed Lilly’s life. Laurie Jaffe, Lilly’s mother, had never wanted to be a helicopter mom for any of her kids, let alone a hovering medevac. But when Lilly was diagnosed one month after being born with Continues on page 12
Winnetka permits to be approved more quickly
C
iting the need to revitalize Winnetka’s struggling business districts, the Village Council voted 4-1 to amend the village’s zoning ordinance to streamline the approval process for specialuse permits at an April meeting. Trustee Marilyn Prodromos was absent from the meeting.
The amendments establish the Plan Commission as the only advisory body to review business permits in the overlay district. The amendments will also eliminate the requirement of public notice in the newspaper,relying instead on the village website. According to village staff, the amendments would reduce the process by about four to six weeks.
Trustee Arthur Braun was the only council member to vote against the amendments. “How will this streamlining increase foot traffic and fill vacancies?” he asked. Braun noted that the amendments not only failed to address foot traffic, but also failed to relax rules to encourage more businesses to fill
empty retail spaces. “I truly believe it will provide no help in this area,” he said. But other Village Council members viewed the amendments as addressing the merchants’and landlords’concerns that the permitting process be made simpler. ~ Emily Spectre
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