Times change and our City needs to adjust and capitalize on the trends, innovations and climate of those changes.
As big box stores have gone and schools have closed or been renovated, it becomes crucial for planning and zoning to cooperate – leading, following and complementing those changes.
Annette has served as the liaison and former commissioner of the Plan & Design (PDC) Commission. The PDC, one of the City’s most hardworking, in-depth commissions, seriously impacts these changes. She has been very vocal in effecting these trends and changes to our city’s code.
When businesses, retail or commercial, come into a neighborhood, their impact can be tremendous. She worked to ensure
- Adding stipulations for berms and buffers to manage the impact in a neighborly fashion for all parties.
- Requiring a public benefit to developments integrate them more seamlessly into the neighborhood.
- Changing permitted uses in neighborhoods or business districts to infuse new businesses with support
- Adding a mural policy and approving facades that are tasteful and interesting for our community.
- Elimination of the POSO (pedestrian oriented shopping overlay), a formerly useful zoning restriction, in favor of less restrictions on potential merchants in the core retail area of Downtown Highland Park.
- Increasing tax revenues by permitting the sale of adult-use cannabis in a responsible, well-regulated manner.
- Regulation and permission for short term rentals to operate in an orderly, balanced and community friendly manner.
Working with sister governments also ensures smooth transition, cost and management efficiencies and better planning. The Park District of Highland Park and the school districts have done some tremendous work during my service and I’m fortunate to have weighed in on these projects, either as liaison to the Park District during the renovations to Park Avenue beach or to North Shore School District 112 as schools closed and repurposing was necessary at the former Lincoln School or renovations at Northwood, Edgewood and Ravinia Schools.
Annette’s seen petitioners work with neighbors, adapt and change to enhance our community while growing new neighborhood businesses or concepts. In reviewing the changes proposed, she carefully balanced all interests and continued this thoughtful and pragmatic approach on the Council.