Highland Park City Council reverses course on subdivision of historic property

Less than a month after voting 5-1 to support the subdivision of 147 Central Ave., a property that reportedly holds Highland Park’s first home, the Highland Park City Council is taking a step back. 

Instead of providing final approval, the council voted Sept. 14 to return the proposal to the Planning and Development Commission for a public meeting and full consideration on the condition that all members are present. The decision follows the absence of key council and commission leadership during previous proceedings. 

The proposal asks to turn 147 Central Ave. into two 89,000-square-foot lots, one of which would remain for the historic home and the other would accommodate a new single-family home, The Record previously reported. 

The Historic Preservation Commission as well as the Plan and Design Commission reviewed the request and recorded differing opinions — HPC in opposition and PDC in support — prior to the Aug. 17 City Council meeting. 

Mayor’s thoughts

The 5-1 council decision on Aug. 17 did not seem fair to Councilmember Yumi Ross, who said, “not all leadership was present” at that meeting. 

Mayor Nancy Rotering was absent, and she expressed her concerns regarding the council’s ruling on Sept. 14, standing in opposition to the subdivision. 

“To me, a landmark is a landmark,” Rotering said. “I don’t understand, if this is a landmark, how we have gotten to this place of subdividing and then building on what is landmarked land. 

“I feel strongly that we as a city are committed to preservation. We have celebrated homes being landmarked, but that feels now a hollow victory if we can just subdivide the land from the house and ignore what was landmarked.” 

To stay consistent with what the city has stood for, which is keeping landmarks “preserved,” Rotering pleaded with her fellow councilmembers to “reconsider” their stance and to oppose the subdivision

Councilmembers’ response

Councilmember Barisa Bruckman was swayed enough by Rotering’s remarks Sept. 14  to change her stance and opposed the subdivision after supporting it on Aug. 17. 

She also was in support of pushing the subdivision back “to the PDC to have another look at it,” agreeing with Ross that leadership was short the day key decisions, including the PDC’s, were made. The PDC was absent its chair and immediate past chair when it supported the subdivision. 

Bruckman quoted from the previous council meeting, in which Councilmember Annette Lidawer suggested taking  the subdivision back to the PDC; however, during the recent meeting, Lidawer again expressed support for the subdivision.

“I feel that we have gone back and forth with this several times, and we listened to many members of the public on both sides,” Lidawer said. “What made me feel good about moving forward with approval of the subdivision (on Aug. 17) was ensuring this land was protected and that anything that was built on it will also be protected. I feel the same today.”

Ross, on the other hand, stood her ground in opposition of the measure, as she did on Aug. 17. The main reason for her rebuttal is that the subdivision would make the city “open to further litigation.”

Councilmember Jon Center was also still supportive of the subdivision, saying that real-estate taxes are “too high for any rational buyer” of the landmark, and a subdivision would split those taxes.

Similarly, Councilmember Andrés Tapia also stood in approval of the subdivision, citing the economics of the plan. He was convinced that selling the home “as-is was difficult,” in addition to the cost of “maintenance of the taxes and of the home.”

Tapia was concerned that the house would be lost to save the land, and finding a buyer would be crucial in preserving the home. 

Residents who were and are members of the HPC spoke out for and against the subdivision, showing the commission is conflicted.

Previous HPC members Danny Khan and Jim Ferman spoke in favor of the subdivision, saying that whatever is built in the newly created lot will have the “sensitivity” to still meet the HPC’s criteria. 

Current HPC members Anthony Gonka and Erica Weeder spoke in opposition to the subdivision as preservation to them means keeping the property “intact.” 

A council vote to take the subdivision to the next City Council meeting resulted in a tie (3-3), leading the council to vote in favor of sending the item back to the PDC for full consideration for a public meeting, with the contingency that they have all members present.. 

The next PDC meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 6. 

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