Harley Clarke Mansion Referendum Cleared To Appear On Ballot

EVANSTON, IL — Voters in Evanston will be asked if they want to keep a city-owned landmark that the City Council last month promised to try to demolish. Evanston's election officials Tuesday rejected the second and third objections filed by citizens seeking to stop an advisory referendum about the future of the Harley Clarke mansion from appearing before voters this year.

Following a meeting of the city's Electoral Board punctuated by a profane insult from an alderman to a member of the audience, the decision of the three-member panel clears the way for a non-binding question to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. Evanstonians are set to be asked whether they want to keep the 1920s Harley Clark mansion and coach house intact.

"Shall the City of Evanston protect from demolition and preserve the landmark Harley Clarke buildings and gardens next to Lighthouse Beach, for use an access as public property, consistent with the Evanston Lakefront Master Plan, at minimal or no cost to Evanston taxpayers?" the advisory referendum will ask.

Last month, aldermen approved an amended agreement between City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz and a group of five citizens and a nonprofit foundation to accept a conditional gift of $400,000 in exchange for city staff successfully obtaining permission to demolish the building, as well as another $100,000 once the project is complete.

The city's electoral board consists of Mayor Steve Hagerty, senior Ald. Ann Rainey and Clerk Devon Reid. Last week, the board unanimously rejected the first objection it received, when Herbert Harms said the reference to the Lakefront Master Plan meant the question contained "false claims."

Two more objections were filed Aug. 13. The second objection, from Thomas Witt, suggested that the question was misleading because any plan for preserving the building at minimal cost to the public was been "decidedly proven to be illusory." The third objection was filed by Rosemary O'Neil, Matt Rodgers, Paula Twilling and David Leitschuh and asserted the referendum was "vague, unclear, irrelevant and misleading."

The referendum was drawn up by the group Save Harley Clarke, a citizens group created after the City Council began publicly considering the possibility to tearing down the mansion, which it described as "representing diverse cultural enrichment and revenue growth opportunities as one of the only public-owned, multi-use buildings on the North Shore lakefront."

Group spokesperson Allie Harned said it filed 3,300 signatures to put a Harley Clarke question on the ballot, describing it as the first citizen-led referendum effort in a decade. (In 2011, the Evanston City Council voted 5-4 to put the non-binding question of whether to consolidate Evanston Township on the March 2012 ballot, where it was approved by a margin of 67-33.)

At the Aug. 21 hearing, the group was represented by attorney John Walsh, who presented motions seeking to have 8th Ward Ald. Ann Rainey removed from her role as an electoral judge and replaced with the next most senior alderman. The group cited documents obtained through public records requests indicating Rainey had a conflict of interest due to one of the signatories on the objections being her campaign manager in last year's election, her calls for a public relations campaign in favor of demolition and her solicitation of donations for the pro-demolition Dunes group so they can "say they have financial support from all the wards."

Rainey was uninterested in recusing herself, saying it was clear she could be impartial on the matter because she had rejected the first objection considered by the board. Reid motioned for her to be excused, but Hagerty did not provide a second. He said it would be dangerous precedent to start expecting people to recuse themselves because of previous relationships with fellow community members, especially considering how close-knit Evanston is.

Witt's objection was rejected by a 2-1 vote after Walsh motioned to dismiss it on the basis it lacked an address, a requirement under the law, with Rainey voting to sustain it. She said Reid's office had every obligation to help Witt complete the form properly.

The second objection, from the group of four citizens, was rejected by a 3-0 vote following comments from the public. The public comment period included an incident in which Rainey left her seat and told an attendee, "F--- you," according to several people in the room. (Rainey was the target of a profane outburst herself at a City Council meeting last month.)

Explaining his vote, Hagerty acknowledged different people may have different definitions of the term "minimal," which could make it harder to interpret the results of the vote.

"I'm not sure, for those that want to see the referendum pass, I'm not sure that's helpful," he said. "I know that this is an issue that this community has struggled with for a long, long time. And, you know, my sense of the community is that people would like to see the mansion saved. It's all been about 'how do you save the mansion,' I'm not sure this referendum answers that question, per se, but I think it should move forward."

The city has owned the Harley Clarke mansion since 1965, when it took control of the building from a fraternity. For many years, it was leased for free to the Evanston Arts Center, which allowed the building to fall into disrepair. Aldermen have considered and rejected various possible future uses of the site, including a luxury boutique hotel and an environmental education center.

The citizen's group called Evanston Lighthouse Dunes argued the demolition is the only financially and environmentally responsible decision as it offered to fund it. Opponents of demolition have claimed the group consists of wealthy neighbors to the site of the mansion who interested in the property for personal reasons like increasing their own property values or keeping groups of children from other parts of town away from their neighborhood.

Bobkiewicz appears poised to sign a final draft of a memorandum of understanding with the group this week, although it was not clear how it incorporated an amendment added by Rue Simmons at the July 23 City Council meeting.

"I move to amend that the Dunes group organization pays the full cost of the project," the 5th Ward alderman said. "Period. That it's no cost to the city. That was the whole thing of this proposal and I don't want to get too far away from that."

A version of the memorandum signed by the members of the Dunes group – but not Bobkiewicz – includes only a provision saying the parties would "meet and confer on the bid costs" if the bids for demolition, site grading and tree removal exceed $400,000.

The City Council appears split between those who fear creeping commercialization on the lakefront, those concerned about the city's future financial liability if it keeps the building and those who want to keep the building intact.

Votes to cut off lease negotiations with a nonprofit group from which the city had accepted a proposal from and to approve a deal with the pro-demolition group carried with the same five votes: 1st Ward Ald. Judy Fiske, 2nd Ward Ald. Peter Braithwaite, 9th Ward Ald. Cicely Fleming, Ald. Rue Simmons and Ald. Rainey

Related:

• Aldermen Approve Amended Harley Clarke Demolition Agreement
• Harley Clarke Demolition Donation Deal Comes Before Council
• Council Approves Harley Clarke Demolition Negotiations
• 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

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