Central Street Neighbors Association Est. 2007

Winter in Chicagoland can be long and hard, as can some public debates. CSNA, with activities such as our annual musical entry in the 4th of July Parade, has always been about far more than City business, and we want to thank you for staying involved, and offer past, present, and potential future members a break from it all! 

Please come take a few moments and share some snacks and a drink with other north Evanston neighbors at a free, non-fundraiser social, this Wednesday, April 24, at the American Legion Hall, starting at 6:30. This is purely an open meet-and-greet: no donation pressure, no silent auction, no political speeches. Well, at least not from any podium. The first drink is on us, too! Hope to see you there: please click the RSVP link here to let us know you’re coming so we can plan chairs and chips!
(creates an rsvp email to: social@centralstreetneighbors.com)

Central Street Neighborhood Social
Wednesday April 24, 6:30 PM
American Legion Post 42 Meeting Hall
1030 Central St.

Many if not most cities with zoning, preservation, and similar codes also have periodic longer-range plans that serve as both aspirational documents and as touchstones to guide and evaluate development, including requests for variance from code. Evanston’s last comprehensive plan adopted in 2000 was the work of a citizen committee chaired by an Evanston architect and including many with planning and community involvement.

The saga of the magnificent Harley Clarke house and grounds, going back to the end of the Evanston Art Center’s tenancy, is almost as long and sad as that of the Civic Center, with a similar subplot of neglect of a public asset, and non-transparency at key moments. But maybe that’s changing.

In a 2007 referendum, Evanstonians by a 6:1 landslide voted to rehab the current historic Lorraine Morton Civic Center at 2100 Ridge Ave. (right, seen in 2007) and keep City government there. Sadly, City government over the next 17 years never respected that mandate with a maintenance or restoration plan for the building.

The university’s demolition of its historic 1920s football stadium is nearly complete. NU plans to build a temporary facility on the lakefill for, at minimum, football games, which the City will likely permit. Meanwhile, litigation by stadium neighbors challenges the legality of the Council rezoning. At least one count of the lawsuit will move toward trial, although the court this morning dismissed some procedural counts, finding that five votes of the 10-person Council were sufficient to pass the zoning amendment.