Instead Of Suing Evanston Over Ryan Field Zoning, Wilmette Cuts Deal

WILMETTE, IL — Citing confidential legal opinions and the impending demolition and reconstruction of Ryan Field, Wilmette village trustees opted against filing a lawsuit in an attempt to reverse the rezoning of the area Evanston alderpeople approved last year.

Instead of joining on to a lawsuit already filed by a group of Evanston and Wilmette residents, or filing its own lawsuit ahead of Friday's deadline for suing to stop a zoning change within 90 days of its approval, the Wilmette Village Board on Tuesday unanimously signed off on an intergovernmental agreement, or IGA, with Evanston.

Village President Senta Plunkett said Wilmette was able to obtain substantial concessions from its neighbor to the south through negotiations for the IGA, the approval of which was recommended by both in-house and outside village attorneys.

"Lengthy and costly litigation cannot guarantee to secure our community like this IGA will now," Plunkett said ahead of the vote.

"We did consider that filing a lawsuit against Evanston might nevertheless prompt meaningful concessions. Concessions, such as a reorientation of the stage or a reduction in the number of concerts or other events, could not be given without the reopening of Evanston zoning process, and are therefore highly improbable outcomes as a part of a settlement agreement or litigation," she said.

"A lawsuit would therefore likely drag on until a final judgment on its merits — years down the road, and in all probability after construction on the new stadium is complete."

The village president said Wilmette was able to secure some protections with the IGA, especially with regard to traffic. The Evanston City Council approved the IGA at its Monday meeting.

Trustee Gina Kennedy said she was unable to express her level of disappointment and disillusionment with the actions of the university and neighboring town.

"It is impossible for me to express how deeply disappointed and disillusioned I am at Northwestern's decision to proceed with a plan to use its new stadium, and the campus surrounding it, as a revenue-generating concert and event venue that is completely inappropriate for a stadium located in a residential neighborhood, deeply harmful to the surrounding community and wholly unrelated to its educational mission — simply because it wants to generate revenue to support a stadium that can't or won't pay for itself," Kennedy said.

Kennedy said the IGA gives Wilmette a seat at the table to discuss construction-related issues that a lawsuit could not have provided, while acknowledging she and the rest of the trustees empathize with concerns from residents.

"It breaks my heart that a neighboring community has been so thoughtless and self-interested, and that a well-endowed university has chosen to turn a blind eye to the welfare of a community which has hosted and supported it for over 170 years," she said. "But here we are."

The redevelopment and commercialization of Ryan Field has been controversial since Northwestern announced plans to spend about $800 million to demolish and rebuild the nearly century-old stadium and replace it with a smaller-capacity venue that would then become the fifth-largest concert venue in Illinois.

The re-zoning of the stadium was approved by a narrowly divided Evanston City Council on Nov. 20 — despite the Land Use Commission's 7-2 vote to recommend its denial — thanks to the tie-breaking vote of first-term Mayor Daniel Biss in exchange for a public benefits agreement worth about $10 million a year.

The Evanston mayor would not have voted at all but for the recusal of 9th Ward Ald. Juan Geracaris — a Northwestern employee who the mayor first appointed to his seat after the university revealed its planned stadium rebuild.

Following the vote, a group of Evanston and Wilmette residents and the Most Livable City Association filed suit against the city, alleging that the re-zoning vote was invalid and the Ryan Field rebuild was approved as the result of a "backroom deal."

Ahead of Tuesday's vote on the IGA, Wilmette village Manager Michael Braiman said the key components of the agreement were drafted in response to feedback from Wilmette residents.

They include a restriction on directing concert or construction traffic into Wilmette, installation of vibration monitoring devices, sharing of revenue from fines assessed for noise violations, the opportunity to provide feedback and be consulted and have a representative on an advisory council.

"Reaching such an agreement delivers immediate tangible protections to Wilmette residents which could not be assured through litigation which is a lengthy and uncertain endeavor and preserves an important working relationship between Wilmette and Evanston," Braiman said, in a memo to trustees.

"Significantly, the Village retains the option to protect its residents through future litigation should it be determined that concerts or other activities associated with the Ryan Field complex subject residents or the Village to substantial harm," he said.

Nearly 20 residents spoke during public comment. None of them supported approval of the IGA, and most encouraged village officials to file a lawsuit before Friday's expiration of the 90-day deadline.

Resident Lisa Esayian compared the board's decision the right to sue over the re-zoning before the deadline as something "golden," referencing former Gov. Rob Blagojevic's famous wire-tapped remarks about his opportunity to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat.

"I didn't want to raise my voice, because I was in a meeting with some of you last week where some of you raised your voices," Esayian said.

"But I'm, like, more frustrated than ever, because you're giving up the one thing that we have in exchange for nothing," she said. "In addition, you are prejudicing the lawsuit that the village residents and the Most Livable City [Association] of Evanston have filed — and I think you know, you're prejudicing it and you don't care."