In the last several weeks, I have had conversations with many residents in our community about the potential interest in a park in place of the Edgewater Medical Center. So we decided to gauge the interest in a more comprehensive way by establishing an online petition. In a little over a week, 339 residents have signed this petition, many of which have also posted additional comments about why they support a public park on this site which they understand will require, at least in part, their tax dollars to support.
We believe that the results of this petition and associated comments form a consensus of the community that far exceeds any other outreach that has been conducted by the WEAR Board or the Ward operation over the past decade. We ask that this subject be the basis for discussions at the meeting with our community on Wednesday, April 21st.
In short, in consideration of the interests of the community, it should be clear to all parties involved that a public park covering more than 75% of the site, would be the strong preference of the community. Furthermore, we believe that the assumption that the area adjacent to Ashland Avenue should be developed as homes or businesses is not supported by the residents of the area.
We are fortunate to have residents skilled in building community consensus and developing park plans. With some modest support from the City of Chicago we believe we can create an economically viable option for the city and the land owner that creates a public space suitable to be the cornerstone of our community.
Best regards,
Chris