In the aftermath of the 2013 debate about turning the Harley Clarke Mansion into a boutique hotel, a group of Evanston residents continues to call on the city to implement an ordinance prohibiting the private sale of the lakefront and maintaining its availability for public use.

Under the name of the Evanston Parks and Lakefront Alliance, community members are asking city officials to establish a lakefront protection ordinance that would codify the city’s 2008 Lakefront Master Plan. The plan acts as a blueprint for any renovation projects that would take place on the lakefront. Although the plan outlines a non-commercial future for the lakefront, the city is not legally obligated to follow the recommendations, EvPLA member Barbara Janes said.

Members of EvPLA said they want the lakefront to have a relatively passive use, acting as green space that is not in any way restrictive to any residents.

Once the city gives land away to private entities, it can’t be reversed, alliance member Jeanne Lindwall said. EvPLA wants to ensure that the space along the lakefront stays non-commercial, she said.

“If you look up what makes a healthy and vibrant community, open spaces are one of them,” Lindwall said. “In a densely populated community like Evanston, the open space we have is precious … you can’t easily recreate park land.”

EvPLA is dedicated to preserving the open space on the lakefront “for you and your kids” and maintaining the presence of public domains “in perpetuity,” member Linda Damashek said.

The city’s master plan, approved by council in January 2008, was the result of 18 months’ worth of staff and community input, according to the city’s website. It outlines the city’s efforts to maintain the high quality of the lakefront and make it environmentally-friendly to continue to provide the community “with a range of active and passive recreational opportunities, including beaches, playgrounds, flexible green space, trails, and a range of boating facilities.”

“Some cities are more inclined to follow their policies than others,” Lindwall said. “But not so much in Evanston.”

One of the objectives in the plan is to evaluate a policy to eliminate commercial use of the lakefront. Last year, City Council members considered a bid from local billionaire Jennifer Pritzker to buy Harley Clarke Mansion for $1.2 million in order to turn it into an upscale hotel.

Although the proposal was eventually rejected in July 2013, Evanston residents, including the alliance, voiced their opposition that the city would consider selling public land that staff said would stay private.

Under the name No Park Sale, members of the alliance doled out more than 100 yard signs for Evanston residents to visibly show their support for keeping the land in the hands of the city, Janes said.

In the aftermath of the Harley Clarke debate, No Park Sale members first formed the EvPLA to fight for the non-commercialization of the entirety of the lakefront, instead of just land that the mansion takes up, Janes said.

With no current pressing issue like that of Harley Clarke, city members are less concerned about meeting with the group and developing an ordinance to protect the lakefront privatization, Janes said.

City manager Wally Bobkiewicz said that residents had come to the city about implementing an ordinance.

“My sense is Council believes there is no need to adopt an ordinance supporting an action they have already taken,” Bobkiewicz said in an email to The Daily.

The alliance wants to also ensure that if the city is to revise any part of the master plan or wants to change the lakefront, officials consult the public for its input, Lindwall said.

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