On March 21, 2017 the Planning and Land Use Committee met and discussed 7111 N. Winnetka Ave. There was a small crowd of stakeholders who attended. All the stakeholders in attendance, save for one, were against the project for similar reasons. The project is too large for the area. While the project had the required number of parking spaces, the Committee and neighbors felt those parking spaces were too few to accommodate the likely residents of the project. Several stakeholders commented that the parking will spill over into the neighborhood causing significant problems.
Most stakeholders shared concerns regarding the additional traffic, especially given the two schools near this property (a church school on the east side of Winnetka and Sutter Middle School). Stakeholders also were concerned about the impact the large building will have on their view and the character of the neighborhood. In addition, there is an adjacent property that is proposing a 108 unit 5 story mixed use property.
In the end the Committee voted to deny the project without prejudice and advised the developer/owner to come back with a smaller project.
