City of Champaign November Roundup

 

The search continues for a new Chief of Police with the City reviewing candidates along with various community stakeholders. The interim Chief of Police will be retiring in December and will be replaced with another interim Chief from within the Department. The News-Gazette had coverage:

On Thursday, the city announced that Matthew Henson — who had run the department since Aug. 6 and been a part of it for 20-plus years — would retire Dec. 16 to become director of the Coles-Moultrie County Emergency Communication Center.

City Manager Dorothy David said she’d appoint Deputy Chief Tom Petrilli, a 20-year Champaign police veteran, to succeed Henson next month...

Meanwhile, the search for a full-time replacement for Cobb continues. The city began accepting applications for the top job last month, with the goal of bringing in finalists in January and having the next chief hired in February.

That full article here. WCIA had coverage of interim Chief Henson's retirement announcement here. Other recent Champaign Fire and Police hires were mentioned in another recent article here. The City's annual awards ceremony highlighted other public safety officials and staff for their efforts over the year as well. Also from WCIA:

The City of Champaign recognized police officer Jeffrey Creel Wednesday for the courage and honor he showed on a day the city will never forget.

Officer Creel was the first of dozens to be recognized during the city’s annual awards ceremony.

The award recognized his actions on May 19. That morning, Creel responded to a call with his partner officer Chris Oberheim. It was something they did every day, but that morning, officer Oberheim was shot and killed while doing his job...

The Champaign Fire and Police Departments and METCAD were also awarded for their heroic actions during a house fire in April. The Neighborhood Services Department was awarded for teamwork when putting together the “Lovin’ U Neighborhood Tour”, and the Champaign Police SWAT team was awarded for its actions following a recent spike in crime.

Several other people and agencies were recognized during the virtual ceremony.

That full article here. Over this past weekend the News-Gazette highlighted the difficulties with hiring for the Champaign Police Department at the same time as cities across the country are facing spikes in gun violence, including Champaign and Urbana. Excerpt:

While the search continues for a new chief, the city is also looking for about 25 people willing to step up to support that person.

In the last two years, 28 officers with experience ranging from a few months to 28 years have left, many for retirement, others for different job opportunities. Two others died — one killed in the line of duty and another felled by cancer...

At a study session Tuesday, city council members will continue their discussion about how to streamline and improve the hiring process to get those vacant positions filled faster with the right people.

More at the full article here. There was an additional article on the years of experience leaving with some of the retirements in leadership positions here.

The News-Gazette had an update on the Garden Hills infrastructure work and plans:

Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen detailed on WDWS with Dave Gentry this Wednesday:

“We approved American Rescue Act Plan money toward (Garden Hills) infrastructure, it’s a long process when you’re talking about giant infrastructure projects,” she said. “We’ve put about $2 million toward engineering, we also put in additional money for the SLEEP program which is basically helping to pay for yard lights and video doorbells in houses to get some lighting and security in the neighborhood.”

The drainage improvement projects for Garden Hills include installing a new basin along a reconstructed Hedge Road — costing an estimated $22.7 million in total — and building additional storm sewer infrastructure, for approximately $17 million.

The city expects to spend $4 million to $6 million to install around 120 streetlights in the neighborhood with additional cameras.

More at the full article here.

There was more discussion on "tiny homes" as part of efforts to address the affordable housing crisis locally. From WCIA:

Some discussions were going on tonight at Champaign City Council, regarding accessory dwelling units, or ADU’s.

There was a presentation to council about possibly allowing the tiny homes. The council is debating approving ADU’s. They are essentially little homes that people build typically in their backyard.

The homes can also be attached to your main home. The ADU’s can be used to house grandparents or young adults, or be rented out to anyone, which could helping with affordable housing in Champaign. People who spoke during public comment had opposing views. One wants the ADU’s to be passed.

Full blurb and video segment here. Page 4-5 of the Study Session report had an overview of the long standing prohibition on ADUs locally:

Prohibition of Accessory Dwelling Units in Champaign. 42% of all the property in the City Champaign is zoned SF1, Single-Family Residential which is the most exclusive and restrictive zoning district. The district only permits one dwelling on a lot. The broad prohibition on ADUs does not extend back to Champaign's founding, or even the City's first zoning regulations from the beginning of the 20th century. Rather, the City of Champaign first chose to not allow ADUs with amendments to the Zoning Ordinance in the 1950s and then again in 1965, when many of the City's residential properties were downzoned from duplex or multifamily zoning to single family zoning. In 1988 much of the In-Town Neighborhood was downzoned from multi-family to single-family and two-family although there were provisions to continue to allow “Accessory Apartments.” Today that concept is still carried on by allowing a single-family home to be converted to two units and a duplex to be converted to three units. However, new freestanding ADUs are not allow in In-Town either under these provisions. 

These downzonings are situated within a broader national context, as cities around the country aggressively restricted ADUs and multifamily living beginning in the middle of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Homeowners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) infamously began their implementation of redlining. This practice denied Federal mortgage insurance to properties in “hazardous” neighborhoods while subsidizing mortgages in neighborhoods deemed “higher quality.” The greater percentage of non-white residents in a neighborhood, as well as the number of duplex or multifamily properties, was the primary factor in determining a neighborhood’s quality for insurability purposes. The FHA actively encouraged cities to enact zoning regulations barring ADUs and multifamily buildings to promote homogenous neighborhoods of owner-occupied single-family dwellings. This essentially allowed local governments to mirror the practice of bank redlining through the public policy of zoning exclusions. This public policy has longstanding impacts on residents’ quality of life and equal access to housing choice and economic stability. Today many communities are seeking ways to reverse these long-standing policies that contributed to inequities. Incremental development provides one tool to help accomplish that goal.

Meanwhile, a number of ADUs remain scattered across Champaign to this day. Many of these were built prior to their prohibition and are allowed to continue as legal nonconforming uses. A few were likely constructed illegally and have never been the subject of a zoning enforcement action. Still other residential construction and renovations have resulted in the conversion of garages, basements, and other spaces into areas that do not meet the legal requirements of a separate dwelling unit (separate kitchen and restroom facilities) but can nevertheless function somewhat as such, depending on how residents use the space.

That full Study Session report along with a lot of other current local issues is available here. Video of the City Council Study Session and presentation is available here.

In other Champaign related news, the Champaign Park District and the City are collecting donated winter clothing. More information from Smile Politely here.