Winnetka affordable housing - Trey T

Dear Village of Winnetka,

It really troubles me to find that David Trandels (developer of One Winnetka) now has the green light to knock down such a amazing historical building like Phototronics so he can put this giant monstrosity that he calls One Winnetka. Not only is he going to do this horrific act but he is setting the price of his estates at a grand total of $4,000. Yes, I do believe that that is definitely affordable for the people who live in Winnetka, if we were supposed to grow as a village is it really a good idea to block out people who are not from this area and people who may not be able to pay that type of charge? I believe that Winnetka needs something new and something different from what people see every day. I believe that if we had some sort of affordable housing in this village we would get that change we need

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Currently we are nowhere close to where we should be when it comes to affordable housing and it is hurting us more than ever. This unfair advantage for the wealthy and although having a village covered in gold is good a village with a good community is better. Our village as it is now is really lacking a great active community with binding cultures and talents. Even when the affordable housing law is a start the consequences are dull and insignificant and should be properly enforced. Even without consequences It would be only right for the village to meet that bottom line and set a standard for other communities around the North Shore. Are we really trying to teach our youth that if a rule is not enforced that it is ok to find a loophole around responsibility?

Trey Teamer

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Winnetka should be more diverse - Natalie S

Dear Winnetka Village Council,

After reading Gail Schechter's (executive director of Open Community) letter to Davis Trandel (CEO of Stonestreet Partners) it gave me some ideas about the housing in Winnetka. I believe Winnetka should be more diverse in more ways than one. By adding affordable housing. She sates that she wants 15% of the new One Winnetka building. I believe this is not to much to ask for considering that Winnetka has less affordable housing than the state law as seen in this photo. The Affordable Housing Planning and Appel Act is show with a red line. That line in the 10% required by Illinois that every town must have. What affordable house is, is stated in the Open Communities letter "Affordable housing is considered a family or individual that pays no more than 30% of their income". People who need affordable housing are those with low income or single parents what want there kids to go to a good school.

The staryotypes of those with low income are any other race or ethnicity than white. The act is in place to make the North Shore more divers. I feel that being diverse in not a bad thing. Relaters try to keep the north shore while because when a colored couple tries to buy a house they show them houses they don't want. There also the ones who tell other neighborhoods to sell there house because a low income family is moving in these are called "blockbuster" from The Value of Diversity in Housing article. This makes the relater get more money and leaves neighborhoods back to one race. With having the 15% of One Winnetka would help with the diversity. Not only with race and culture but financially as well.

The would give many opportunities for local workers to live closer to their jobs. Examples of local jobs are teachers, shop workers, and even student jobs. Being able to live close to your job is a big evantage. You would be close so the use of public transportation would be less of a need. Saving money on transportation fees means they have more money to spent, and more money to stay and continue to pay rent. In the latter Gail said, "To demand the developers a started community benefit". This quote means that we need to benefit the community that One Winnetka is being built in. One way to benefit the community is to add that affordable housing. This will make public transportation less crowded and more safe for those who need to travel. Finally One Winnetka should help out the community by adding the affordable housing.

Thank you for your time, Natalie Shumate (senior at New Trier High School)

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Cooper Fredricksen; There needs to be more affordable housing

Dear Village Counsel of Winnetka,

I believe that there should be affordable housing in Winnetka and in most communities.

I believe this because if you are working in a community, you should have the opportunity to live in that community. This reasoning attracts stronger professionals and provides continuity of the workforce over a period of time. Trustee Kruck, from the counsel, states his opinion that Winnetka that “It’s the people. It’s the institutions and schools” Surely that is true for the workforce as well.

Gail Schechter, the executive director of Open Communities believes One Winnetka, a development in Winnetka, should include at least 15% of all units to be affordable under the IAHPA Act. She notes that when a community “accommodates a broad level of income, it is economically healthier” Clearly, as can be seen in the graph below Winnetka falls far short of the 10% affordable housing required by the states IAHPA Act.

One Winnetka_see think wonderpng

It should be clear that affordable housing attracts working people often young who may have children. These are fine people who are potential consumers, volunteers, taxpayers, and contributors to our schools. According to PowerPoint: “One Winnetka Development and Affordable Housing” In our metropolitan area, people qualifying for affordable housing is as follows “$60,000    AMI-Owners, $45,000   AMI-Renters” These breadwinners bring diversity both socioeconomically and culturally. They will add to the rich fabric of our community.

Sincerely,

Cooper Fredricksen, New Trier High School senior
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Wil Schinderle: Winnetka needs more affordable housing

Dear Village Council of Winnetka,

My name is Wilson Schinderle and I am a resident of Wilmette. I deeply care about the housing in Winnetka because I go to high school in that district of the North Shore. I believe that I wish to ask if you have taken into account these issues that your community faces in regards to establishing the new apartment complex known as One Winnetka. I believe that One Winnetka should offer affordable housing in order to increase the percentage of affordable housing in Winnetka.

Are you aware that Winnetka is at an all time low in affordable housing? This is a important issue that your community faces and I want to know that One Winnetka is aware of this problem as well. David Trandel (developer of One Winnetka) when asked how expensive the apartments for sale at One Winnetka would be said the apartments "are going to be expensive". 

How is One Winnetka going to help the community if it does not provide more affordable housing to increase the towns percentage closer to ten percent?

After reading Gail Schechter's (Illinois affordable housing representative) letter to David Trandel regarding affordable housing I agree with her first demand, "Include at least 15% of all units as affordable...".

If anything the One Winnetka development should be trying it's hardest to offer affordable housing for all units in order to boost the percentage of affordable housing in Winnetka to the required percentage stated by the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act.

Another issue in your community is the lack of diversity. Winnetka is sitting at a very low percentage of both Latinos and Black's accounting for only 2.5 percent of the people living in Winnetka. And without diversity the community can be described by Justice Pashman (a member of the New Jersey supreme court in 1975) as, "A homogenous community, one exhibiting almost total similarities of taste, habit, custom and behavior is culturally dead, aside from being downright boring".
 


​As you can see from the graph above, there is a major lack of diversity in Winnetka and in the North Shore. Without a larger abundance of diversity you risk this community turning into a group of racist people who have unrealistic expectations of the rest of the world. This is a problem that requires your attention.

The lack of diversity and affordable housing are both great issues that I believe you, The Winnetka Council, must attempt to fix or create. If One Winnetka is not helping solve both problems then what is One Winnetka doing to help this community? How can One Winnetka be a good thing if it doesn't provide any solutions to fixing these problems?

Sincerely,

Wilson T. Schinderle
Posted

Affordable Housing In Winnetka Is Falling Short - Luke P

Dear Winnetka Village Council,

With the new apartment complex, One Winnetka, going up I have heard some concerns of the affordable housing issue. I for one believe that affordable housing is a great thing to have, however I believe that making Trandell sell 15% of his apartments, as Gail Schechter asked “Include at least 15% of all units as affordable under the definition of the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal act”, is a very inappropriate and naive thing to ask. Just because you guys failed to make sure that the City of Winnetka failed to follow the 10% of affordable housing requirement, does not mean that you should force it upon developers to clean up your mess.

 what-is-affordable-housing-19-638jpg


As you can see Winnetka is at about 2.5% affordable when the minimum requirement is 10%. If you are to make a developer sell his apartments at a certain rate you should have that be made clear the first time the building is proposed. “... Such housing meets a major community need in Winnetka.” (Gaile Schechter). It has been made very clear that the affordable housing in Winnetka is falling short of what it should be by many sources. This is an issue that must be brought to debate in a village meeting and not shoved upon developers to fix.

Feel free to contact me with your questions or concerns.

Luke Parks

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Carter Breen, Affordable Housing in Winnetka

Dear Council,

I am writing to you today regarding the affordable housing in our community. After reading Gail Schecter's letter to David Trandel, I have noticed that there is a problem with the One Winnetka Project. As portrayed in this picture:

what-is-affordable-housing-20-1024jpg

The state of Illinois requires that 10% of housing in every town should be affordable. The cheapest option in the One Winnetka project is $4,000/mo for a 1 bedroom apartment. The limit for affordable housing is $855/mo for a 1 bedroom apartment. These prices are way too high to be affordable. In Gail Schechter’s letter to David Trandel, she asked for two things, one of which was to “Include at least 15% of all units as affordable under the definition of the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act.” This is a plan that would be wise to follow and should be followed. Trandel did also state that the apartments “Will be expensive.” This is just completely unacceptable. There should be at least some apartments that are affordable so some people can actually live in them if they want to be in this community. Schechter also stated that, “Affordable housing is not only economically feasible within a larger development but such housing meets a major community need in Winnetka.” This is very true. This would help bring diversity, and give people chances that they wouldn’t have gotten around here before. Therefore this would be quite a wise choice. I think it would be respectful and good to do all of these things that Schechter has said, and they should be listened to and not pushed off or ignored.

Posted

Austin - title?

Dear village council of Winnetka,

My name is Austin Miranda and I am a high schooler at New Trier High School. I am here to talk about affordable housing in Winnetka. In Gail schecters letter, she states that “ Include at least 15% of all units as affordable under the definition of the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal act.” She is stating that the apartments are not in that range because each one is $4000 a month. 

In this photo David Trandel states that the apartments will be expensive. He did give the people a warning but yet, people still chose to listen to him. I think that the one Winnetka building should not be built unless it is affordable to everybody. There should be some apartments that are that expensive but, they should bring down the price by at least $2000.

 

Another thing is that in this photo of affordable housing act, Winnetka already has went down by 2% of affordable housing. If this new building comes in, it will decrease it even more and less and less people will be able to live in Winnetka. “To demand of the developer a stated community benefit.” Gail schecter wrote this asking for what benefits it would have doing this project because she doesn't see any benefits in it. I don't see any benefits either for the community it is just bringing him in more money. It is just going to raise taxes in Winnetka just to be able to build the One Winnetka Project. I believe we shouldn't build it.


Sincerely,


Austin Miranda
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