GGNA Board Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes by Carl Wasielewski

Attendance included Bryan, Carl, Clarence, Dan, Sally, and Wayne

The meeting opened at 7:00 and Carl outlined the agenda, including putting on a GGNA event in the Fall/Winter, and reviewing a driveway permit for the developer of a single-family home at 2214 N Rockwell.

The developer had already started construction on the building, but apparently, had yet to get a zoning variance for the curbcut necessary for construction. There was some confusion as to how the developer could have started construction without getting a curbcut for his building. Nonetheless, given the developers desire to move forward, GGNA agreed to look at the project at our board meeting, as opposed to waiting for the regularly scheduled zoning committee meeting.

The building at 2214 N Rockwell is located in an area of the neighborhood that the GGNA had previously brought to the attention of the alderman. The west side of Rockwell and the east side of Talman, from Fullerton to Milwaukee, has no alley. As a result, any new construction will likely require a curb cut. The Zoning committee was concerned about future development like that of 2146 N Rockwell, where there is a two car garage facing the street, and a two-car wide driveway paving over the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the developer never showed at the meeting, so the Board was unable to review plans, however, much discussion was had on the advantages of putting the driveway on the side of the building with a garage in back, as was done on 2338 N Rockwell. There was also discussion that this may or may not be possible, given the small confines of the lot, and that surprisingly, the developer has already started construction.

The board then discussed holding an event/fundraiser for the neighborhood sometime in the Fall/Winter. Carl originally proposed using a neighborhood resource like the Congress Theatre to do a unique event, however, the general consensus was that smaller is easier and better, and that maybe a nice bowling event at the Fireside would do great, possibly with catering done by a local restaurant.

Sally volunteered to talk to the owner of the Fireside, Clarence offered to create the flyer, and Dan offered additional general assistance.

The group also discussed crime briefly. In general, the consensus was that it has been relatively quite. One problem building was discussed, and it was recommended that it is possible to find out who owns a building by going to the Cook County Assessors Office and searching by address to get the PIN number for the building, and then going to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and using that PIN number to find out who the owner is. By working directly with the owner, problems can potentially be solved.

At 8:00, with much conviviality over the new meeting space at the Bob Inn, but with some annoyance at the developer never showing up, the meeting was adjourned.