6.1 Health and value of Austin Gardens
The Plan Commission spent many hours in consideration of the damage that the Albion proposal would inflict on Austin Gardens. This report will not attempt to review that issue in detail. The topic is covered in the earlier report of May 30, and extensively in testimony before the Commission. In nearly every case, independent analyses challenge those presented by Albion, finding negative effects to be more severe than reported. Here will only discuss the significance of some of the key points that emerged during or following the hearings.
Shade: Austin Gardens and beyond.
In its consideration of the effects of shade from its proposed high-rise, Albion focuses on one particular aspect, namely shade at tree-crown level during growing season. That is of course the thin slice of the picture that shows the least effect. Yet that omits a whole range of other times and places that are just as relevant. Those include consideration of the more extensive shading at ground level, and shading during all the months from late autumn and early spring, during which the shade from the Albion and Vantage constructions will stretch nearly the full length of the park. Affected trees are more prone to disease, which can then spread beyond the immediately affected area. Increased shading has effects well beyond the tree-crown level. Shading is more widespread at ground level, where ground temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles will be affected, affecting the health of the park’s broader ecosystem. Trees and other plantings are affected by shade at lower levels and during months of tree dormancy. For example, the amount of daily sunlight during early spring helps to determine when trees and other plantings emerge from dormancy. Longer shade translates into a shorter growing season. The Plan Commission hearings also included extensive expert testimony regarding the potential deleterious effects to the park’s soil ecology, which would have followon effects on vegetation and on usability.
The Park District of Oak Park gave compelling testimony that the building would irreparably damage Austin Gardens. Their shade studies show that 35 trees would be affected, including 14 memorial trees (trees donated in memory of loved ones), in contrast to Albion’s estimate of 11 trees. Already, the Park District attributes the loss of five trees to increased wind from the Vantage building. Albion’s own wind studies show increased wind in the southeast corner of the park, the exact part that is being affected right now. In addition, the children’s garden, located right outside the preschool classroom, would have to be relocated somewhere else to receive adequate sunlight, thereby losing the accessibility that is necessary for young children. The increased wind and shade would compromise the preschool as well, making the classroom site less desirable in the morning during fall, winter and spring. The native garden would also lose the sunshine necessary for the blooms that are habitat and food for endangered pollinators.
The award-winning Austin Gardens Environmental Education Center was built after carefully considering the site with the shade from the Vantage building and a potential zoning-compliant eight-story building. Existing conditions allow for a net-zero energy designation with the solar panels and geothermal energy generation. If the Albion building is allowed, the solar panels will be compromised. The building was designed to show residents how energy efficiency can be achieved, so this would be a significant loss to the community. It was revealed during the hearings that no viable alternatives are known for relocating the solar panels to return them to their intended effectiveness.
Albion seeks to promote its proposal by claiming that the destruction caused by its tower would be little worse than that created by an 80-foot-tall building built lot-line to lot-line. But such a building would not, in fact, be Zoning Code compliant. The 80-foot limit is only one applicable code—and Albion know this because it has requested three to five different allowances (depending on the version), including elimination of required setbacks, elimination of landscaping, and—most significantly—a 563% increase in residential density, which is zoned at a maximum of 40 units.
Furthermore, the width of a double loaded corridor residential building is functionally limited to around 60’. So on this 170’x 200’ lot, if you follow the Zoning Code, many different designs and configurations are possible, but they would likely not be more than 4 stories, or else there may be a single 60’ wide tower no more than 7 stories, and obviously there is room on the lot to move it to where it would impact Austin Gardens less.
Furthermore, Mark Burkland, attorney for the Park District, made a compelling case that Albion’s shade and wind studies were conducted by experts who did little research at the actual site. The shade study was based on observation of the trees in February, before the trees leafed out. The wind study was based on the expert’s previous experience, with no models made of the buildings and no actual measurements of wind made at the site. The solar study was also called into question, as the solar expert did not have the placement of the Environmental Education Center in the right place, which would affect the measurement of the amount of sun it receives on the solar panels. The Park District also called in the director of Millennium Park who testified on the detrimental effects of shade on the soil biome. These effects would take at least a year to study conclusively.
Nor is sunlight only for plants or solar panels. People are entitled to enjoy Austin Gardens even during winter months, when sunlight can make a major difference in conditions there (e.g., persistence of ice on walks) as well as the appeal of the park. A special consideration is that Austin Gardens is the one park that is easily accessible to the seniors who reside at Brookdale, who use it extensively all throughout the year.
The effects of a 200-foot tower extend beyond the park as well, blocking sunlight to other nearby buildings. The Vantage building, for example, has cut sunlight by as much as two hours a day from houses behind it on Ontario Street, residents there report. The Albion building would have similar effects, just slightly to the west.
Festival Theatre
Another issue that emerged during hearings, which was not considered earlier, is the effect of the proposed building on the Festival Theatre. There will be balconies facing Austin Gardens as well as an outdoor pool and terrace on the 5th floor. Personnel from Festival Theater explained how the increased traffic and noise from Cooper’s Hawk at Vantage is already competing with their shows and expressed concern that the noise from these other amenities could spell the end of outdoor summer performances from the oldest outdoor Equity theater in the state of Illinois.