Council Approves Harley Clarke Demolition Negotiations

EVANSTON, IL — Aldermen approved Monday a resolution authorizing city staff to open negotiations with a group of residents who has offered to pay for the demolition of the Harley Clarke mansion. The fate of the city-owned local lakefront landmark has been hotly debated for years, and the debate over the latest proposal for the site has illuminated contrasting definitions of preservation – historical, environmental and cultural – and the public good.

The resolution was approved by a vote of 6-3. It was supported by Alds. Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, Peter Braithwaite, 2nd Ward, Robin Rue Simmons, 5th Ward, Thomas Suffredin, 6th Ward, its sponsor Ann Rainey, 8th Ward and Cicely Fleming, 9th Ward. Votes against the resolution came from Alds. Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, Don Wilson, 4th Ward, and Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward. The vote followed about 45 minutes of discussion among all members of the council, except for Rue Simmons and Braithwaite.

With the approval of the resolution, whatever demolition financing agreement city staff would then develop would would have to come back for approval by aldermen in the future at least twice more. The initial funding agreement would require council approval and then aldermen would also need to sign off on the demolition plan – and possibly overrule the Evanston Preservation Commission.

The offer to donate demolition funding was made publicly last month, as two Evanston residents who live near the lakefront landmark told the council their group, Evanston Lighthouse Dunes, could completely cover the cost of removing the mansion and "restoring beach, park and dunes to their natural states." (Opponents of demolition assert out the dunes were only added in the 1970s.) The group argued that the mansion and coach house obstruct views of the lake and removing them would be consistent with the city's lakefront master plan.

"We feel it is time for a new vision. We look forward to working with the entire city and its garden and green space groups on what we think would be a wonderful project for Evanston," Nicole Kustok, an organizer of the group, told aldermen May 29.

Several representatives of the group made a presentation to the council prior to the vote at the June 18 meeting, describing it a plan for "re-naturalization."

Kustok said the Dunes group had been excluded from previous request for proposals because they were only looking for ways to restore and reuse the mansion. Seeking to respect the democratic process, she said, the group only made its offer public after the council had voted against continuing negotiations on a renovation plan.

"There's no personal gain here, there are no backroom dealing or trying to quickly force something through," Kustok said. "This process has been five years of neighbors against neighbors, and ongoing negotiations that have resulted in nothing."

The emergence of the offer from the Dunes group came less than two months after aldermen voted to reject a draft lease and cut off negotiations with a nonprofit group whose plan it had accepted for the site following a 2017 request for proposals.

In a letter to supporters ahead of Monday's council meeting, the Evanston Lakehouse & Gardens group, which has vowed to continue pushing for its proposal to use the mansion as an environmental education center said it remained "optimistic that the aldermen will operate with the same tenets of transparency, due diligence and public vetting" for the offer from the Lighthouse Dunes group.

Speaking ahead of the vote to begin negotiations on an agreement for donor-funded demolition, Fiske said she was saddened by the level of vitriol in community discussions of the issue. She was unsure if she would ever be able to support re-opening talks with the Lakehouse group.

"I don't see Lakehouse as being a particularly positive partner for the city," Fiske said. "And the idea that we would enter in a 40-year lease, and that those of that were on the council right now would be turning over that lease to colleagues that would be following us, I don't think I could do that either."

Among the issues Fiske raised when aldermen rejected a lease with the Lakehouse nonprofit was whether donors could remain anonymous. The Dunes group is not registered as a nonprofit and has not disclosed the source of its proposed funding. Mayor Steve Hagerty told the Evanston Review we "absolutely need to know who" would be paying for the demolition.

Kustok said ahead of Monday's vote that the group had raised over $300,000 in three weeks and the group was committed to funding the entire project before the city moves forward with it. The group has also allocated $5,000 for environmental scholarship programs, she told the council.

Supporters of preserving the mansion said an offer of private money to demolish a public landmark was unprecedented for Evanston.

"We don't demolish landmarks in this town. We've got one of the strongest preservation ordinances in the state,"said former Evanston alderman and preservation commission member Emily Guthrie, a board member of the Lakehouse group. "The reason that you designate a landmark is to prevent it from being demolished."

The mansion and coach house are not registered as state or federal landmarks, but as local landmarks they are governed by Evanston City Code, according to a memo from city staff ahead of the June 18 meeting. The code lays out the steps necessary for approval of the demolition of a Evanston landmark.

First, the City Council votes to ask city staff to file an application for a certificate of appropriateness with the Evanston Preservation Commission, which has 45 days to vote on the merits of demolition. A denial can be appealed to the City Council within 30 days. The applicant for the demolition permit can then ask for a certificate of special merit from the City Council. Such certificates are to be granted if the project is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan, necessary and with public interest benefits that "substantially outweigh" the loss of the landmark, according to the code.

Included in agenda materials with the resolution authorizing negotiations with the Dunes group, Ald. Tom Suffredin asked city staff to include informational materials about non-binding advisory referendums that aldermen could place on the November ballot.

While Suffredin voted to open negotiations with the Dunes group, he said it would be far better to get opinions from a wide swath of the population rather than rely on a survey from several years ago indicating little support for demolition.

A voter-initiated referendum would take require the signatures of fewer than 2,000 registered Evanston voters. If initiated by a vote of City Council, aldermen would need to approve a resolution before Aug. 19 and file it with the county clerk's office by Aug. 30, according to state law.

Based on discussions with the firm involved in the demolition of the Highland Park Theater, Lakehouse board member Guthrie said the estimated cost of "deconstruction and restoration" that the Dunes group is proposing is likely low. Meanwhile, the estimated cost of restoration provided to aldermen is misleadingly referring to the abortive 2012 plan to transform the mansion into a luxury boutique hotel, she said.

More accurate estimates, according to the former alderman, suggest either project would cost about $500,000 – before any potential lawsuits or other unforeseen costs.

Last Year's Key Dates In Harley Clarke Saga:

• July 24, 2017 : Evanston City Council approves the release of a request for proposals for a long-term lease agreement with a nonprofit organization to "invest in and renovate the Harley Clarke Mansion to create a high quality public use for the space consistent with the 2008 Lakefront Master Plan.
• Aug. 3, 2017: RFP posted with responses due back Oct. 9. The proposal from Evanston Lakehouse & Gardens was deemed the only responsive one.
• Nov. 13, 2017: City Council voted to instruct staff to negotiate a lease with the Lakehouse group and return to the council.
• March 12, 2018: Proposed lease with Lakehouse group approved for introduction, with changes recommended.
• April 9, 2018: Alderman vote down revised lease 7-2, reject further negotiations 5-4.
• June 18, 2018: Alderman vote 6-3 to open negotiations with Evanston Lighthouse Dunes.

Related:

• City Council To Consider Offer To Demolish Harley Clarke Mansion
• Alderman Reject Lease Of Harley Clarke Mansion To Nonprofit Group
• Harley Clarke Lease To Evanston Lakehouse & Gardens Set For Vote
• Lakehouse Plan Approved By Evanston City Council