Daily Chronicle / Daily-Chronicle.com • Thursday, December 1, 2016
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DeKalb City Council denies plan to add apartments to Campus Cinemas building By STEPHANIE MARKHAM
smarkham@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – A developer’s failure to adjust his construction plans to meet city codes led to the failure of a plan for apartments at the former Campus Cinemas movie theater, although City Council members still want to leave the door open for redevelopment there. On Monday, the DeKalb City Council denied a plan to build a two-story, 22-unit apartment complex above the former movie theater at 1015 Blackhawk Road. The theater has been closed for several years. But developer Pete Occhipinti did not address several issues with his development plan, which he was advised about over months of conversations with city staff, Community Development Director Jo Ellen Charlton said. The city would have required 183 parking spaces based on the number of bedrooms in the apartments and seats in the theater, and the developer planned for 184. However, Occhipinti’s method of arriving at that number was unclear and “deceptive at best,” according to the city staff report on the plan. “His intention was to reduce the size of each of the four theater spaces in half and turn the rest of the space into storage,” Charlton said. “Coinci-
Courtesy of Derek.Hiland@cityofdekalb.com
This is a rendering of a proposed project that would have added two floors of apartments to the Campus Cinemas building. The DeKalb City Council rejected the plan Monday. dentally, the parking requirement for storage is zero, so we questioned his motivation and intent for doing that.” Charlton said further plans to maximize the number of parking spaces would have left the lot without adequate room for emergency vehicles, and the number of compact car spaces exceeded the city’s limit. Other issues included neglecting various Unified Development Ordinance standards for special-use projects and having exterior construction
materials inconsistent with the appearance of nearby buildings. Sixth Ward Alderman Dave Baker said he would encourage other development plans that make better use of the space. “The idea of building more apartments in Greek Row, when we’re trying to tear down apartments and not have that density, unless we’ve accidentally made it so that he can do it right, I’m not going to bend, and I hope no future councils bend the rules,”
Baker said. First Ward Alderman David Jacobson said he did not believe Occhipinti intended to reopen Campus Cinemas as a working theater, and the council should leave the door open for him or another developer to propose a viable commercial development. “I don’t want to close the door on the potential that the site is developed with a quality mixed-use product that the neighborhood and surrounding businesses desperately need,” he said.
Sycamore man accused of stalking woman By BRETT ROWLAND
browland@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Police said a Sycamore man who concocted an elaborate story about being the victim of an attack early Tuesday was actually stalking a local woman. Ryan P. Recker, 26, of the 900 block Birchwood Drive, Sycamore, was charged with stalking. If convicted, he could face one to three years in prison. Police were called to the Sycamore State Theater, 420 W. State St., Sycamore, at 1:53 a.m. Tuesday to talk to Recker, who claimed he had been beaten up, according to a police synopsis contained in court records. Recker told police that he been jumped and beaten
by two men after an argument with his girlfriend at his girlfriend’s house in Malta. He told police that the men kicked him in the chest, punched him in the head, then drove him in his own car to Sycamore. Recker said they then left in another vehicle, according to court records. When DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies called Ryan P. the woman Recker said Recker was his girlfriend, she told police that she wasn’t and had never been in a relationship with Recker. She also said that she had blocked Recker from calling her or contacting
her through social media. The woman told police that she had been at work when Recker called the business twice, once hanging up and once speaking with her. She said she saw Recker’s car pull into the parking lot after the calls. She said he knew when she was getting off work and that she was alone. When the woman closed the business and walked to her car, she saw Recker following her. She then drove home, but saw Recker’s car pull up at her home shortly after. She locked the doors, and her roommate called her boyfriend to the house. She said she saw the two men talk before Recker left. She also told police that she was scared of what Recker might do because he
had previously entered her home, uninvited, through the back door. Police later arrested Recker at his home on Birchwood Drive and took him to jail. At a bond hearing Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Maribeth Ennis asked Judge Robbin Stuckert to set bond at $50,000. “The victim is very concerned for her safety,” Ennis said. The judge set bond at $15,000 and ordered that Recker have no contact with the woman. Recker remained at the DeKalb County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon. He is next due in court Dec. 9 for a bond reduction hearing.