123 Madison Street

Oak Park, Illinois 60302

www.oak-park.us

Village of Oak Park

Meeting Minutes

President and Board of Trustees

Monday, January 10, 2022

6:30 PM

Remote

I. Call to Order

Village President Scaman called the meeting to order at 6:33 P.M. She

authorized a statement be read providing that the meeting is being held

remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines and that it is not

prudent to have people present at the Village Board's regular meeting

location due to public health concerns related to that pandemic.

II. Roll Call

7 -

Present:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village

Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

Absent:

III. Consideration of Motion to Adjourn to Executive Session to Discuss Collective

Bargaining and Pending Litigation

It was moved by Village Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Village Trustee Enyia, to

enter into Executive Session pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21) - Approval of

Executive Session Minutes, pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2) - Collective Bargaining,

and pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11) - Pending Litigation. The motion was

approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows:

7 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village

Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

NAYS:

ABSENT:

V. Reconvene to Special Meeting and Call to Order

The Special Meeting reconvened at 7:20 P.M.

VI. Roll Call

6 -

Present:

Absent:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

VII. Agenda Approval

It was moved by Village Trustee Robinson, seconded by Village Trustee

Buchanan, to approve the Agenda. The motion was approved. The roll call on

the vote was as follows:

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT:

XIII. Non-Agenda Public Comment

Village Clerk Christina Waters read the following Non-Agenda Public

Comments aloud:

Tammy: Tammy submitted their public comment expressing their general

concern about crime in Southwest Oak Park and the dangerousness of the

combination of 4 way/2 way stop intersections.

Magda Piper: Magda Piper submitted their public comment expressing

how frustrated and unhappy they are with the decision of the OPRF Health

Department regarding the shut down of sports, all clubs, and music at the

Oak Park River Forest high school and requested to mandate screening

before taking the activities away.

Dr. Ashley Knapp: Dr. Ashley Knapp, a resident of Oak Park and a

research psychologist within Northwestern University’s medical school,

submitted their public comment to advocate for additional 2022 funds, and

a higher budget for FY23, to be set aside for a non-police, racially

equitable crisis response team, adding they feel it is critical to provide our

township with proper mental health services, especially during this

pandemic where we are seeing mental health problems exasperate

immensely.

Anonymous: Anonymous submitted their public comment in support of

removing the Trustees who want to defund the police department.

Bike Walk Oak Park Advocacy Team: Bike Walk Oak Park submitted

their public comment to express concern regarding the vehicular violence

that continues to occur around our schools and requested that a

comprehensive plan be put in place to address these issues. A

comprehensive approach, that encompasses all D97 schools, must be

implemented immediately.

IX. Proclamation

MOT 22-5

A Motion to Approve a Proclamation in Memoriam of Betty White January

10, 2022

Village President Scaman thanked the Wednesday Journal for their work

coordinating the Betty White Centennial Celebration which will take place

on January 15th, 2022.

President Scaman then read the Proclamation in Memoriam for Betty

White aloud.

It was moved by Village Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Village Trustee

Robinson, to approve this Motion. The motion was approved. The roll call on the

vote was as follows:

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT:

MOT 22-6

A Motion to Approve a Proclamation for proclaiming Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr. Birthday on January 17, 2022.

Village Trustee Enyia read aloud the Proclamation proclaiming Dr. Martin

Luther King, Jr. Birthday on January 17, 2022.

It was moved by Village Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Village Trustee Taglia, to

approve this Motion. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as

follows:

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT:

X. Consent Agenda

Approval of the Consent Agenda

It was moved by Village Trustee Robinson, seconded by Village Trustee Taglia,

to approve the items under the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved. The

roll call on the vote was as follows:

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT:

RES 22-4

A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Brian R.

Porter to Act as an Administrative Law Judge for the Village of Oak Park for

a One-Year Period and Authorizing Its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

RES 22-5

A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Carrie B.

Washington to Act as an Administrative Law Judge for the Village of Oak

Park for a One-Year Period and Authorizing Its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Susan

Davis Brunner to Act as an Administrative Law Judge for the Village of Oak

Park for a One-Year Period and Authorizing Its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Rhonda

Sallee Ramos to Act as an Administrative Law Judge for the Village of Oak

Park for a One-Year Period and Authorizing Its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Gilbert

Grossi to Act as an Administrative Law Judge for the Village of Oak Park for

a One Year Period and Authorizing Its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving a Bailiff Services Agreement with Joseph

Giammona to Act as a Bailiff for the Village of Oak Park for a One-Year

Period and Authorizing its Execution

Overview

This is an annual agreement to provide security during administrative

adjudication hearings.

This Resolution was adopted.

XI. Regular Agenda

There was one additional Non-Agenda Public Comment prior to the

Regular Agenda discussion.

Gail Galivan: Gail Galivan spoke their non-agenda public comment aloud.

They expressed their concern regarding the apparent coercion of the

village regarding vaccine mandates as unconstitutional and asked the

Board to override the Health Department.

ORD 22-1

Concur with the Plan Commission’s Recommendation and Adopt an

Ordinance Amending Article 2 (“Definitions & Rules of Measurement”) and

Article 9 (“Site Development Standards”) of the Oak Park Zoning

Ordinance Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units for Single Family Properties

Interim Village Manager Shelley introduced the Item.

Development Customer Services Director Tammie Grossman provided the

background and the current status of the Item.

Village Clerk Waters then read the following Agenda Public Comment

aloud:

Brian Straw: Brian Straw submitted their public comment in support of the

staff recommended Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance which allows

attic and basement units (interior ADUs), as opposed to the detached and

exterior ADUs proposed by the Plan Commission. They feel it will often be

more affordable for a homeowner to create a basement or attic apartment

than it would be for that same homeowner to pay for either an addition or

entirely new construction on their property.

Iris Sims, Chair of the Plan Commission, then walked through how the Plan

Commission came to their recommendation for ADUs. The commission

reviewed the research presented from staff regarding ADUs throughout the

country. The commission then had multiple meetings in the fall, including

public meetings, and came to the recommended ordinance presented.

Additional information came to the commission after the fact in regards to

the impact on taxes, specifically on residential taxes, which gave some

concern that it would somehow be creating multi-family out of single-family

housing and negatively affecting the tax base.

Chair Sims added that she is in support of the staff recommended

Ordinance as it allows the owner more freedom to adapt their houses

based on their own personal needs.

The following person then read their Agenda Public Comment aloud:

Ed Solan: Ed Solan, a retired president of the Oak Park Residence

Corporation and Oak Park Housing Authority, spoke his agenda public

comment on behalf of the Advocacy Committee of Arbor West Neighbors.

They expressed concerns over the limited availability of affordable housing

for older adults in the village. They are in support of the village's changes to

the zoning code to support ADU's to facilitate aging in place.

Village Trustee Enyia expressed his gratitude for the work that has gone

into this Ordinance and is in support of ADUs in the village.

Village Trustee Robinson commented we are actually looking at the

affordability issue sort of as a double sided issue; the affordability of the

provider of the ADU in terms of being able to afford the necessary

renovations to make the space code and regulation compliant, and, in the

sense of the consumer of those units, making sure that they're priced at

rental points that are in fact affordable and competitive with similarly

situated units. She requested some data or metrics to get an

understanding of what types of ADUs we would be seeing under this

amendment and whether or not existing services are taxed in a way that we

separately need to address. Trustee Robinson requested a commitment

from the Board to revisit these metrics and data in the future to ensure they

are making informed decisions from the data.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification on if there was any

analysis done regarding the impact to village services (waste

management, parking, etc...). He supports a commitment to a time frame

for review of the data to enable the Board to course-correct if need be.

Village Trustee Enyia requested clarification if the village assessor had

given any reference of time for how long it would take to see the impact on

taxes.

President Scaman commented that many on the Board are aligned and

requested staff to be ready to help the Board understand how it is that we

could collect this data and proceed in an efficient way.

Village Trustee Taglia is in general support of the Ordinance but requested

clarification, from this standpoint, what specifically is the Board talking

about when we talk about "affordable". He added that the data collection

piece will be important to show the positive impacts of this but also may

reveal unintended consequences; the data will be important in the future to

help understand and assess what the effects and impacts are to the

community.

Village Trustee Buchanan is in support of the staff's version of the

Ordinance and does not have as strong of a concern as her colleagues.

Chair Sims responded that the Board's concerns are not inconsistent with

discussions on the Plan Commission over the last six months. In order to

get a feel for how this will impact things like taxes services and services,

the village will have to track it on a going forward basis. It is not something

that is going to happen in six months. If over time there are changes in the

neighborhood with respect to parking or demands on services, there can

be have another text amendment to the Ordinance to address the concern.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification regarding the thought that

there will not be a lot of these units being built if there is a need for this

Ordinance.

Chair Sims responded it is cost prohibitive to the home owner to do this.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification between the correlation of

ADUs and short-term rentals.

Chair Sims responded generally you don't build ADUs for short term

rentals. They are not the same thing.

Director Grossman added every month the village has to report to the

township assessor's office all of the permits issued in the Village and what

the permit was for and what the value of the permit was. Staff will be able to

pull that data, and also look at the other concerns, and be able to put

together a metrics of it, although it may take a year before the data is

meaningful in any way.

Director Grossman added in terms of short term rentals, staff will be able to

track that data will be able to tell which were short term rentals under the

AirBNB Ordinance versus if they're not being used as short term rentals.

Responding to Village Trustee Taglia's question on affordability, Director

Grossman responded when we talk about affordability, we're talking about

it from that perspective of sharing the cost of living in the home, even if

there is an additional upfront cost to create the ADU; sharing the combined

cost of the housing between two families or living with an elderly parent

makes the housing more affordable.

President Scaman requested staff to create a consistent schedule for staff

to provide the feedback to the Board to hold ourselves accountable to that

follow-up.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification on the correlation of the

collected data for specific services to better measure the impact.

Director Grossman responded village services are tracked through the GIS

systems so tracking the pieces of information will not be a problem.

President Scaman then called for an amended motion to concur with staff's

recommendation in adopting an Ordinance in article 2 and article 9 of the

Oak Park Zoning Ordinance regarding accessory dwelling units for

single-family properties which would then include the options of basement

and attic.

Village Trustee Robinson reissue her motion with the amended language

and information that President Scaman outlined.

Village Trustee Buchanan concurred with the amended motion.

It was moved by Village Trustee Robinson, seconded by Village Trustee

Buchanan, to adopt this Ordinance as amended. The motion was approved. The

roll call on the vote was as follows:

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT:

ORD 22-2

Concur with the Zoning Board of Appeals’ Recommendation and Adopt an

Ordinance Granting a Special Use Permit to Operate a Hotel/Motel at 1140

Lake Street

Interim Village Manager Shelley introduced the Item.

The following persons read their Agenda Public Comments aloud:

Lori Gery: Lori Gery read a statement on behalf of the 1120 Condominium

Association, located at1140 lake street above the Fitness Formula Club.

They expressed concerns over traffic congestions, parking, and alley

blockage with the proposed hotel development that will adversely impact

the condominium owners. They believe the hotel's presence will compound

issues related to parking and traffic flow caused by the lack of convenient

parking for patrons of nearby establishments. They request specific traffic

mitigations if the hotel is approved including increasing the cutout in front of

the hotel, requiring the hotel to have onsite valet services, and limiting the

number of hours delivery trucks can park in the alley among other

suggestions.

Todd Hewell: Todd Hewell is a resident of the 1120 Condominium

Association and requested a commitment from the board, if they were to

approve this hotel, some assurances to help mitigate the parking issues

that have been ongoing since their building was built back in 2004. They do

not see these issues getting any better without any assistance from the

Village and the Police Department.

John O'Rourke: John O'Rourke is a resident of 1124 Lake Street. They

requested the board to table any vote on this particular ordinance until the

issues that have been raised by Lori and Todd are addressed in some

comprehensive way so they don't have these horrendous parking and traffic

issues that surround their building currently.

Marcia Lehman: Marcia Lehman is a resident of the 1120 Condominium

and expressed their concerns over traffic and parking regarding the hotel

development. They stated the need to ensure that the hotel, being a

major contributor to traffic and parking, will also be a major contributor to

address the issue. They added their association granted an easement to

the Village for the public passage for vehicles and pedestrians, not for

parking, not truck unloading, not vehicles going in the wrong direction. The

Village is in violation of the easement agreement.

Misty Short: Misty Short is a resident of the 1120 Condominium

Association and their Board member. While excited for a new business in

Oak Park, they request all parties work together to ensure that things are

set up for success by making any necessary adjustments to the

development plan ahead of time. They expressed safety and congestion

concerns over the cutout on Lake Street and offered suggestions for

alternative entrances from Harlem or the back of the building.

Development Customer Services Tammie Grossman then gave

background and an overview of this Item.

Director Grossman addressed the cutout concern, responding initially the

cutout was designed so guests who are arriving via Uber or taxi would be

able to have a drop-off location in front of the hotel.

Director Grossman spoke to conversations the Village has had with the

condo association, some of whom spoke tonight, about creating a private

parking enforcement easement for the north/south alley that is between

Chipotle and what had previously been Bar Louis. While the conversations

did not move forward due to the Covid pandemic, Director Grossman

believes it is worth while to continue the conversation and work with the

condo association to figure out how to do public enforcement of parking

regulations on that alley since it is private property and the Village does not

have a right to enforce any parking restrictions.

Jim Lencioni, Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, then gave an overview

of the Zoning Board of Appeals review for this development.

The Hotel owner then addressed the areas of concern from the condo

association regarding traffic congestion and parking.

Village Trustee Robinson requested clarification regarding parking and

congestion and the one space cutout.

Director Grossman responded parking staff is continually exploring the

idea of designated Uber spots. Staff would have to work with the Village

Engineer for information on the cutout on Harlem.

Village Trustee Enyia asked if the Board could defer this decision until after

the concerns are worked out.

Director Grossman responded typically once the Village Board approves

something, that allows the developer to get the financing that they need,

work with the hotel to start working on the franchise agreement and things

like that. If we have to wait, then it will delay the actual project and impact

the timing.

Village Trustee Taglia is sensitive to the residents of 1120 Lake Street. He

is confidence that the Village has made a commitment to work through

some of these issues, and given that commitment he is comfortable

moving forward with the vote tonight on this application.

Village Trustee Parakkat understands the concerns but they should not hold

up on the development because it has positives and would give certainty

on a business perspective. At the same time, we should be able to

address the concerns and frustrations that the residents raised.

President Scaman hears the benefits that the hotel could bring to the

downtown area and to some of the small business but wants to ensure, as

much as possible, to work on the challenges of the residents.

It was moved by Village Trustee Buchanan, seconded by Village Trustee

Robinson, to adopt this Ordinance. The motion was approved. The roll call on

the vote was as follows:

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT:

ID 22-15

Overview of Board Goals for FY 22, 1st Quarter 2022 Topics, Protocols,

Draft Calendars

Interim Village Manager Shelley gave an overview of this Item.

Interim Village Manager then presented an updated status on the Village

Board's goals and calendars.

Village Trustee Buchanan requested clarification regarding why the

reparations discussions are not in the first quarter.

Interim Village Manager Shelley responded the calendars were populated

based on previous Board conversations, and reparations should be

happening in the second quarter.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification as to the process of how

future quarter calendars will be scheduled.

President Scaman responded conversations will be forthcoming.

Village Trustee Robinson requested clarification on when the next

Personnel Committee would be since it is not on the calendar.

President Scaman responded this would be coordinated with the Human

Resource Director and Assistant Village Manager Kira Tchang.

Interim Village Manager Shelley then introduced Dr. Theresa

Chapple-McGrudder, the Health Director, to give a Covid update.

Dr. Chapple-McGrudder stated Covid cases have increased about 500%

since a month ago, and 55% from last week. There have been 7 deaths in

our community since we started to see this uptick happen around

Thanksgiving. There has been extremely high numbers in the schools

causing disruption in the schools with sick students and staff. There are

issues with testing, contact tracing, and concerns with close contacts and

an inability to ensure the proper mitigations are there for them. Dr.

Chapple-McGrudder spoke to the need from the community to help keep

our children in school and go back to the mitigations measures that were in

place at the start of the pandemic, adding if we don't change our behaviors

we will not have staff to staff our schools.

Interim Village Manager Shelley commented the goal is to keep our

children in school. She knows that Dr. Chapple is in contact with the Illinois

Department of Health who are trying to offer as many mitigation strategies

as possible to keep the kids in school.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification on the demographics of

the 7 deaths due to Covid.

Dr. Chapple-McGrudder responded.

Village Trustee Parakkat asked Dr. Chapple's thoughts on what she sees

the next four quarters looking like.

Dr. Chapple-McGrudder reponded we are in the midst of the pandemic

and to see four quarters out is difficult. We need to understand the

definition of endemic - it is a term that means we are in a stable steady

state of disease - and we are not there.

President Scaman asked the community to stay diligent, to proactively.

have their vaccination cards ready for our small business community with

the mitigations that we have in place, be kind and cooperate, to mask up,

and if you don't have a need to go out, then don't go out. We will buckle

down and get through this together as one community.

Village Trustee Buchanan commented in response to the public comment

by Gail Galavan comparing the pandemic to Nazi Germany is

unacceptable and offensive.

XII. Adjourn

It was moved by Village Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Village Trustee

Robinson, to adjourn. The motion was approved. The Meeting adjourned at 10:12

P.M., Monday, January 10, 2022.

Respectfully Submitted,

Deputy Clerk DeViller

6 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

ABSENT: