With gentrification transforming Pilsen, community groups Tuesday announced a strategy aimed at slowing expensive developments–a referendum that would require public meetings before any such plan could be approved.
The Coalition of Pilsen Residents and Community Agencies announced it had gathered enough signatures to put the proposal on the presidential primary ballot in March, part of an ongoing effort, leaders said, to give the primarily Mexican-American community more of a say in its own growth. Seven hundred signatures were gathered; 294 were required, officials said.
“We hope this is the first step toward building a relationship with our elected officials to make sure that the development that takes place benefits our working-class community,” said Victoria Romero, a Pilsen resident who is active in the coalition.
The tensions stem from a demographic makeover in which Pilsen now finds itself embroiled. Located southwest of the Loop, the neighborhood, many residents say, has long been ripe for gentrification. Downtown is just minutes away. The region’s major expressways are easily accessible. And developers have poured millions into the neighborhood.
That last fact has many longtime residents complaining they are being priced out.
But developers like John Podmajersky Jr., patriarch of the firm that has owned and managed much of Pilsen for three generations, said that it’s been undertakings like the self-proclaimed arts district on Halsted Street that bring money into the neighborhood’s commercial areas.
“Pilsen was always working class. It’ll take generations for this to disappear,” Podmajersky said.
But franchises have already surfaced in the new University Village development, which borders Pilsen on the north. The development includes a 7-Eleven and a Caribou Coffee.
The petition for referendum, whose signatures still must be validated before appearing on the ballot, would require Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) to hold public meetings on all zoning-related changes in the Pilsen community.
Solis was unavailable for comment, but city officials and representatives from his office said residents already receive letters informing them about zoning meetings.
The emphasis on zoning began earlier this year, when a developer was given approval to build $200,000 condos in an area of Pilsen previously designated for light industrial use. Residents said they found out about the plan only after it had been finalized.
After a public meeting in which about 200 residents said they wanted jobs–not condominiums– the city revoked the change in zoning, in effect halting the project.
Backers of the referendum are optimistic that public meetings can force city officials to take the views of the neighborhood into account.
“This will create democracy and accountability in Pilsen,” said referendum organizer Alejandra L. Ibanez.
