March 1 Meeting & Newsletter

March coms in like a lion
March comes in like a lion?

The March membership meeting will be on Zoom. We hope to be back to in-person meetings in April.

Join the Zoom Meeting

Tuesday, March 1, 7:00 PM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85248935306?pwd=cjkxcmJhQVFoS2o0c1V6cTUzbTVoQT09
Meeting ID: 852 4893 5306
Passcode: 283465

If you prefer to join by phone:
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Meeting Preview

State Senator Sara Feigenholtz
This will be the State Senator’s second appearance before the SLN membership. Ms. Feigenholtz will get into the details of what is happening in the State Senate. 2022 is an election year for the State of Illinois State Senate. The primary election is to be held in June 2022 and the general election will be in November 2022.

Lakeview/Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce – New Executive Director
SLN will welcome Becca Girsch as the new Executive Director of the recently combined Lakeview/Roscoe Village Chambers. Ms. Girsch has been with the Chamber since 2018 as the Business Services Director and is a previous business owner of a SheOne Boutique on Southport Ave. Becca is a graduate of Villanova University and DePaul University Law School and was practicing law before starting her own business.

From the Newsletter:

In response to concerns about crime, Sam Samatas, Vice-President, and I (Bob Blitstein, President) attended a Zoom meeting for all of the Lakeview neighborhood associations, hosted be Diann Marselak, Pres. Of Central Lakeview Neighbors and a sitting judge, and attended by representatives of CPD. It was a productive meeting. A letter has been sent to City Hall requesting the re-opening of the Belmont-Western police station. We heard about nighttime neighborhood walks to show a presence of concerned citizens. When you see a police officer, let them know how much you appreciate their presence. We know there is reduced manpower throughout the city. It was emphasized that if you see something/someone that looks suspicious, call 911. These calls can prevent crimes and also alert the powers that be that there is a need for more police if these occurrences take place in a specific area. Again, be aware, be vigilant and be careful.

Read a lot more about this meeting in the newsletter. (Pages 4 and 5.)

Also in the newsletter:

City owned Parking Lot at 1530 W. Barry is being sold.
The triangular parking lot west of the Army/Navy Surplus Store is being sold by the City and out for bids. The current zoning is B1-1 which allows for two floors with commercial on the ground floor and residential units on the 2nd floor. Due to the location, this Project could be a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), which allows for increased density and less required parking spaces. The City is considering a zoning increase to B1-3 which would allow 47 units. Alderman Waguespack and SLN’s NDRC rejected that proposal. A Developer has presented a plan to increase the zoning to B2-2 with 17 apartments, 18 parking spaces, no commercial space and no open space or setbacks. Basically, a 100% solid concrete use of the land for the Project. SLN’s NDRC is working with the Alderman and is looking for more of a rowhouse, townhome, courtyard-type Project with some open space.

And now for something completely different… Does March really come in like a lion?