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A Planning Process that Works: Compromise Reprinted with permission from the Wednesday Journal October 14, 2004 By KATHARINE GRAYSON Viewpoints Editor/Staff Reporter

It’s rare that a Plan Commission meeting in Oak Park isn’t either mundane or contentious, but last week’s hearing for the development at the vacant Mar Lac banquet hall fell into a rare third category: A virtual love fest. Developer John Schiess presented a shorter, less dense project, that addressed concerns raised by neighbors, the historic preservation commission and plan commissioners. While, as always, there were some lingering concerns, neighbors who testified last week all lauded Schiess for his willingness to compromise. And they all expressed solid support for his final project. The meeting ended with a quick and unanimous vote, and Schiess shaking with hands with former opponents. And though we were just fine with the seven-story building first proposed, we can’t argue with a development that achieved such rare consensus. Schiess’ style has been one of the more successful in Oak Park, and should in many ways be viewed as a model. At Plan Commission hearings, there’s no open dialogue between neighbors and the developer. And even at larger public meetings where residents can ask questions, such as the series recently held by Whiteco, sometimes little is accomplished. The real compromise is reached early in the process, through painstaking and genuinely open discussions between developers and neighbors. We've seen this approach work multiple times on Schiess projects as well as at The Ridgeland, a retail and residential project at Ridgeland and South Boulevard. The dedication to dialogue is not something village government can force on developers, but something that to be successful, developers should take upon themselves. And we don’t want to fail to note that this project reflects well not only on the developer, but also on neighbors. Many in the community often accuse residents of opposing all development. This shows that neighbors can have legitimate concerns and still be pro-development.  Contact: kgrayson@wjinc.com < BACK