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We want development that enriches our quality of life

Sunday, May 27, 2007 1:32 AM CDT

Bulldozers and demolition equipment crawled across Reid Martin Recreational Fields recently, demolishing the athletic buildings at the old Carbondale Community High School.

A homeless person was evicted from one of the buildings as Mayor Brad Cole inspected the property on Wedwith Travis Loyd of Gelco Management, one of the owners.

This moment has been almost four years in the making.

A stabbing on May 8 between two homeless men precipitated the effort by the neighborhood to get the property cleaned up. It wasn't clear that these homeless men were living at the ball field. Indeed, homeless people move irregularly from place to place. But, it was clear that the property had been allowed to deteriorate until it had become a warren of graffiti covered hovels, with frequent reports of homeless men and women. And it was also clear that not only are homeless people sometimes dangerous, they are also preyed upon by thugs and bullies. In addition, "gang tags" and reports of drug abuse circulated in the neighborhood.

Site cleanup was not easily accomplished, despite complaints by neighbors and "continuous efforts" by the city to work with the property owners, according to one of the professionals at City Hall. Mayor Brad Cole had been in contact with the owners for some time. With the stabbing, the situation had become intolerable. City Manager Jeff Doherty moved to instruct the city attorney and the city to declare the property a nuisance on May 9, and to go to court if necessary to demolish the buildings.

The athletic fields had been added to Carbondale Community High School in 1926 and were the site of the clash and song of Terrier sports for almost a century. Interestingly, the land had been platted for housing development before it became part of the high school. Now, with the transfer of ownership, it has been rezoned to R-8 "residential".

The 11-acre parcel is located within one of our older neighborhoods and fronts on the "two-way couple" of Main and Walnut. Adjacent to Hickory Lodge, the land was bought from the School Board for around $175,000 by Gelco Management and Development of Vienna, Illinois, possibly for "commercial use".

The developers may encounter some problems. Unless they want to build houses with 8,000 square foot lots, we believe they will have to petition for a change in zoning. This property is within a stone's throw of the proposed site of CVS/pharmacy that was roundly rejected by the Arbor District Neighborhood Association, the Carbondale City planning department, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Will the developers trigger another zoning fight? Not necessarily.

What the neighborhoods want is appropriate development that enriches the tax base while enhancing our quality of life. Through a process of talking to neighbors, developers may discover things that make the property even more valuable. For instance, the property owners may not know that there is pent-up demand for faculty and other professionals to live near Southern Illinois University and Carbondale Memorial Hospital. High gas prices, expensive cars, and the time taken in commuting all contribute to this trend.

They may not know that people in this neighborhood value the local and the specific such as shopping for mushrooms grown in Alto Pass at the Neighborhood Co-Op. Our neighbors often go to the Farmer's Market on Saturdays. They like to sit with friends at Mugsy McGuire's. Many residents enjoy living within walking distance of a major grocery store, pharmacy, barbershop, churches, banks, City Hall, and the public library.

When the Park District Board moved to sell Hickory Lodge last year, the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the larger Carbondale community, mobilized in opposition. The Park District has now included neighbors in its planning process to find an appropriate use for Hickory Lodge. By engaging the surrounding neighborhoods, developers would have a head start in realizing their projects. Alternatively, by snubbing the neighborhoods and opposing the interests of homeowners, local professionals, businesspeople, and other residents, they would assure themselves of opposition. But, no one looks forward to another brutal zoning fight. Let's talk.

D. GORTON and JANE ADAMS live in the Arbor District neighborhood of Carbondale. They can be contacted at dgorton@dgorton.com.