Association

by BRIAN NADIG

The Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association discussed a proposal to build a six-story parking garage, restoring basketball rims at area parks, the opening of a drug counseling clinic and vandalism to parked cars at its June 29 meeting.

Association Zoning Committee chairman Ron Ernst asked Alderman John Arena (45th) if he would oppose a plan to build the 299-space garage at 4849 N. Lipps Ave. at a City Council committee meeting next week.

A proposal calls for the site, which is used as an unimproved parking lot for tenants of the 10-story Veterans Square building, 4849 N. Milwaukee Ave., to be rezoned to B3-5, but the association has called for it to be redeveloped under B1-2 zoning, which would allow two or three levels of parking.

Arena said that he plans to have the zoning request deferred at the July 12 meeting of the City Council Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards and that he wants to withhold judgment on the project until he can determine how a parking garage of any size might fit in with the revitalization of the Jefferson Park shopping district.

Arena said that he will seek to secure funds for a study on revitalizing the district after a similar study of the Six Corners shopping district starts in about three months. The feasibility of constructing a new library in Jefferson Park and the role which the Copernicus Cultural and Civic Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave., could play in the revitalization of the shopping district would be among the issues considered in the study, he said.

The association has conducted a petition drive calling for a new library, but city officials have said that no funds are available to build one.

Ernst also asked Arena if he would ask the city to close the unimproved lot because it does not meet construction standards for parking lots. A building and a cement-mixing tower on the site, which formerly was occupied by the Cowhey Materials and Fuel Company, were demolished several years ago, and the property is now used as a gravel parking lot for about 50 cars.

"It's just a blemish in out community," one resident said of the 25,000-square-foot lot, which is next to the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Arena said that closing the parking lot would not serve any constructive purpose, especially since the owner of the site, the Mega Group, has submitted a proposal to redevelop it. He said that he wants to concentrate his efforts on improving the commercial district and attracting new stores to the area.

"That would be the most productive way to use our time and energy," Arena said. He added that he will look into a resident's suggestion that Mega allow a recycling bin be placed on of several vacant lots it owns on Lawrence Avenue.

Mega attorney Endy Zemenides said later that he will present a plan to Arena which will show the role that the garage would play in attracting tenants to Veterans Square and to any new office development on Lawrence. Zemenides said that plans to build offices on the vacant lots on the south side of the 5100 to 5300 blocks of Lawrence have failed to materialize because of the parking needs of prospective tenants, who could lease space in the proposed garage.

Meanwhile, Arena said that he would like to see basketball rims restored on the outdoor courts at Jefferson Park, 4822 N. Long Ave., and Wilson Park, 4630 N. Milwaukee Ave. Former alderman Patrick Levar had the rims at those parks removed several years ago due to complaints by residents of late-night noise and crime in the parks. Arena said that he will seek to develop a plan with police and the Chicago Park District to have the rims replaced.

Also at the meeting, Arena said that he has asked representatives of Lilac Treatment Centers, 5318-24 W. Lawrence Ave., to attend a community meeting to address residents' concerns about the methadone clinic. He said that the clinic must obtain certain federal and state approval before it can begin dispensing drugs.

Arena said that center officials have told him that a variety of patients will be treated at the rehabilitation center and that only insured clients will be accepted. He said that he has requested information on who will manage the dispensation of drugs at the center.

The association also heard a report about tires being slashed at night near Giddings Street and London Avenue. 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District commander David McNaughton said that the incidents are unusual because all four tires of the cars were slashed.