EVANSTON, SKOKIE REJECT JEWISH GROUPS' EXPANSION PLANS
MODEST SUCCESS IN BUFFALO GROVE
ARIE CROWN SCHOOL'S PLAN TO BUILD UP IS SHOT DOWN AT EMOTIONAL MEETING
It's been a challenging summer for Chicagoarea Jewish institutions and businesses seeking to expand or relocate.
The latest to have its petition rejected was the Arie Crown Hebrew Day School in Skokie, whose request for re-zoning was turned down in a 7-2 vote by the Skokie Plan Commission at its July 16 meeting.
It was a no-holds barred, standing room only two-hour meeting, at which allegations of antiSemitic activity were made.
"The vote is a setback for the school's plans," Gary Hoberman, who is in- volved with the school, told the JEWISH STAR after the meeting. Jordan Klein, a past chairman of the school's board, expressed similar disappointment.
In May, another Jewish day school, Joan Dachs Bais Yaakov-Tiferes Tzvi, presently located in Chicago, filed a $2 million lawsuit after its zoning request on its Evanston property was denied by the Evanston City Council.
Earlier this month, Chicago Jewish Funerals' plan to build on a vacant prop- erty in Skokie, in the 8800 block of Skokie Blvd., was not approved by the Village board of trustees, after being recommended by its Plan Commission. The decision will be reconsidered at the Aug. 17 board meeting.
At its July 2 meeting, the Plan Commission also recommended approval for a special use permit for Chovevei Tzion, a Skokie synagogue located at Church St. and Crawford. The request must now be voted on by the Skokie Village trustees.
On the positive side, the Village Board of Buffalo Grove granted approval for a new Jewish day school, lbrah Academy of Buffalo Grove, to open this fall at Congregation Beth Am in Buffalo Grove.
Although the July 16 Skokie Plan Commission meeting was considering only the re-zoning of Arie Crown's property, not the school's building plan, the emotional two-hour meeting went beyond zoning.
The standing-room-only crowd of about 150 people listened to, and voiced, accusations of anti-Semitism, references to the Holocaust, charges that the school is a drain on Skokie's resources and concerns by area residents about property values and quality of life if the school expansion goes ahead.
Building up
Arie Crown Hebrew Day School, at 4600 Main St., has been at this Skokie location since 1987, and a school has been on the site since the mid-1950s.
The Orthodox day school, which was founded in 1947, currently has an enrollment of 670 (preschool through grade 8).
It was seeking to have a portion of its property rezoned to permit it to demolish the old school and replace it with a three-story building, which would allow it to expand to around 800 students. The plan also includes a parking garage.
The property as presently zoned is divided one part is R-1 (single family residential), another is R-4 (general residential). R-4 allows building to a 40foot height, thus permitting a three-story structure, explained Steve Marciani, Planning Supervisor of the Community Development Department of the Village of Skokie.
In their report, Marciani and his staff recommended the re-zoning to R-4, bringing the entire school property into a single zone.
While acknowledging the legitimate concerns of area residents about the proposed expansion, Marciani told the JEWISH STAR that he and his staff felt that "the re-zoning would have allowed for the alleviation of a number of things,-" including issues of traffic, parking and access.
He added that the Village's Appearance Commission found the school's plans to be "compatible with the neighborhood."
The school's re-zoning application - recommended by the Village's planning staff but turned down by its planning board will now go to the Village board of trustees for consideration.
Marciani sad that it is unlikely to be on the agenda before mid-August.
Anonymous flyers
As the school's representative, attorney John George, of the Chicago firm Daley & George, came to the meeting prepared to offer a full presentation, bringing with him the project architect, a real estate appraiser, a traffic expert and the school's principal.
Commission chairman Paul Luke, however, made it clear at the outset that the issue at hand was zoning, which did not necessitate a presentation of the entire project.
Although the commissioners had very few questions, the deep emotions of those attending were evident as soon as the time came for public comments.
The first speaker was Ralph Ruebner, a law professor and member of the Skokie Human Relations Commission, who said he had received two flyers in which anonymous writers "spewed the venom of antiSemitism". Both flyers were headed "No Arie Crown Expansion".
One states that the expansion will "dump more stehch, noise, & poison gas. on its neighbors", and concludes its protest with the statement that the school "will continue to contribute exactly nothing good to our community."
The other flyer suggests four "perfect [alternative] locations for a dreamy new Arie Crown School" and then asks, "Why does Arie Crown instead prefer to torpedo the health, wealth, and happiness of its current neighbors? ... (Could it be that it's cheaper to torpedo thy neighbor than to buy new land?)"
Such remarks, Ruebner said are reminders that "bigotry and anti-semitism still exist in our society."
Residents' objections
Ren�e Brin, who lives on Elm Terrace, the street immediately to the north of the school, complained that "the school acts as if the residents dont exist." She said that the expansion "will destroy our way of life."
Jean Goldrich, who moved to Elm Terrace in 1965, agreed. She described herself as Orthodox and a teacher who tutors students from Arie Crown, but said she is against this expansion.
Anita Ross, who lives to the east of the school, suggested that with its increasing enrollment, the school can no longer be accommodated at its present site, and should therefore look for a new location.
The harshest words against the expansion came from Elm Terrace resident Joel Bauer, who had already submitted a petition against the plans with more than 100 signatures.
Bauer said he was "vehemently opposed" to the plans, especially the parking garage, which "has no place in a residential neighborhood".
Homes on Elm Terrace back up to the school's property, and the new plans will leave them without any buffer zone, he said.
"The school impacts and disrupts in a disproportionate manner," Bauer said, adding that it is a private school with a majority of students coming from outside Skokie.
"It contributes nothing to our village," Bauer concluded.
Another Elm Terrace resident, David Freer, predicted "certain consequences" for Skokie, such as nuisance lawsuits, and decreased revenue due to lower property values if the expansion is approved.
He said he intends to move, "because I'm not going to feed my kids construction dust for three years", and to avoid the "parade of vehicles that stink, make noise" and will bring noxious gases into his back yard.
Addressing concerns
Those who spoke in favor of the school's expansion plans stressed their good will towards the school's neighbors.
In his opening remarks, John George noted that "the project has changed through community discussion over the last six months."
School parent Ellen Rashkow pointed out that although she pays Skokie property taxes, her children don't attend Skokie public schools.
Yigal Yahav, another parent, said, "We must work together in creating an environment of quality."
"It's imperative to be sensitive to the neighbors," said Reuven Brand, a school parent who moved to Skokie a year ago from New Jersey, "but the school needs to be allowed to mature."
Michael Rosenberg, who has lived at Main and Kolmar for 35 years, said that he intends to listen to what the experts have to say about the plans.
"Ignore the slander," he counselled, and instead "look at the plans. Let's keep a great educational institution" in Skokie.
[Sidebar]
REAL ESTATE
Local residents exhibit the NIMBY principle
[Author Affiliation]
By GILA WERTHEIMER
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
