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The Rogers Park Charette Charade, a commentary from a Rogers Park resident
I came into it with reservations. I’d attended meetings before where we rallied to stop crazy plans for “developing” the lakefront. (“Supersize” is more like it.) Rogers Parkers have been successful at stopping these plans for the most part, but I keep coming to these meetings because I worry about the one time that we don’t, and they slip one by us. I’ve voted in the referendums thinking that my voice was being heard but I’m not sure by whom.
Friends of the Parks’ approach seemed benign. At least they were asking us before they made plans for us. I figured we’d just go and say, “No thanks. We thought we already told everyone that we like our lakefront here just the way it is. But can we take all that money and, maybe, clean the bathrooms more often? Or fix that crumbling path? Or the swings…?”
In typical Rogers Park fashion we came out swinging. But the gentle-voiced lady from FOTP was very reassuring. They just wanted our input, she said. They would respect what we wanted and what we didn’t want.
So I came back for the design charette. All I can say now is (sing along with me) liar, liar, pants on fire!
When my group first convened in the charette room a discussion began about what the community wanted here, in light of the referendums. On the table was a huge satellite photo of the lakefront with tracing paper over it. After a few minutes our group’s architect, who was standing down by Loyola on the big map, started scribbling away. We kept talking for a bit until someone finally said, “Hey, what are you doing?”
The architect looked up and said, “Well there’s no public land down here so you need landfill to create park space.” He put his head down and began scribbling again, greening out much of Hartigan Beach. I was stunned. Most of the preceding conversation that included “landfill” also involved the word “no”!
“Who said anything about landfill?” someone asked. Done with the green park he created, he then began drawing out a large tan beach. “What is THAT?” someone else asked.
“Well the students need a beach,” the architect said and continued drawing on what was once lake.
Much of the group grumbled. Wasn’t this supposed to be OUR plan? Who told him to draw anything? What’s going on here? A couple people—I think they were FOTP plants—defended the architect. One woman threatened to tear off the paper where he had drawn if he didn’t stop and listen to us.
Finally he stopped and threw up his hands in exasperation. “Isn’t there anything you think you can do to improve the lakefront?”
One person said, “Well, we could rebuild Pratt Pier and make it more attractive.” The architect happily seized the point, slid up north to Pratt Beach and proceeded to draw the pier out to 2 or 3 times its length. Then he greened out Pratt Beach and drew landfill out into the lake on both sides of the pier. Several people put their coats on and left in disgust.
It was at this point that it was either smack the guy silly or leave. So I left.
The gentle-voiced lady from FOTP was in the hall trying to keep a gathering of defectors from my group from leaving. “We have another architect in there that will do an alternate minimalist design for your group,” she told them.
There was coffee down the hall. I meandered about and listened in on some of the other groups. Over and over I heard the FOTP’s architects tell people not to sweat the details. “Think BIG,” they told people. Concerned about environmental impact? ”Don’t worry about that.” Concerned about the cost to taxpayers? “We’re just dreaming here!” But at the end, when the groups presented their plans, there was no “minimalist plan” presented.
Sorry folks. This is not valid community planning. The environment matters. The cost to the citizens of this city matters. The effect on communities matters. This is the wool being pulled over our eyes.
Shake it off and FIGHT! Support ‘Stop the Landfill’ and other groups that are fighting city land grabs in their communities. Volunteer, write letters, and attend FOTP’s meetings and demand answers!
We can stop this. Again.
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