The Development Services Department confirmed this week that developer Oak Park Madison Street, LLC. has met the Nov. 10 deadline as established in the Village’s sixth amendment to the redevelopment agreement (RDA) for the new Pete’s Fresh Market grocery store on Madison Street. The deadline involved the requirement that the primary structure’s horizontal, below-grade foundation concrete work had to be underway as of Nov. 10. The photo included here shows the start of that required work. Additionally, major progress has been made towards the completion of the new cul-de-sac on Euclid Avenue to the north of the future store - click here to view. The contractor also milled Euclid from Randolph Street to the new cul-de-sac and Washington Boulevard from Euclid to the alley. The first and final lifts of asphalt are being placed this week with pavement striping planned for next week.

The Oak Park Police Department Honor Guard Unit is presenting the colors at a special Veterans Day ceremony at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association. The event will feature remarks from Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, Village President Vicki Scaman and others.

A total of 11,950 Suburban Cook County voters cast a ballot during the early voting period at Village Hall from Oct. 21 to Nov. 4. This was up from the 10,433 voters who voted early at Village Hall during the 2020 election. The final day of this year’s early voting period was also the busiest as 953 individuals cast their ballot at Village Hall on Mon., Nov. 4. The Village Clerk’s Office also coordinated with Oak Park Township to provided free transportation to and from the Village Hall early voting site for 30 residents of Heritage House and Mills Tower.

With the 2024 Presidential Election now complete, Oak Park residents are invited to recycle political yard signs through a special collection. Corrugated plastic signs and aluminum frames can be dropped off for recycling between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays through the rest of November in the first-floor lobby at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd. The corrugated plastic and aluminum frames used in yard signs are not eligible for recycling through the Village’s residential recycling program, so residents are asked to refrain from disposing the signs in their recycling carts and instead use the drop-off system at Public Works. For more information, contact 708.358.5700 or publicworks@oak-park.us.

The Plan Commission on Thursday unanimously approved Housing Forward’s request for a text amendment to the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance to add “Community Service Center” as a special use in the NC – Neighborhood Commercial zoning district, and to amend the Use Standards in order to allow the overnight hours for its potential residents to be 5:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. instead of 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. The applicant also requested a special use permit that was approved to allow a community service center to be approved at 112 S. Humphrey Ave. (rear portion of 21 South Blvd.). This comes after Housing Forward approached the Village earlier this year with a need to establish a permanent site that could provide overnight accommodations for the unhoused population in a manner similar to the former “P.A.D.S.” model. The original applications were supported by the Plan Commission and adopted unanimously by the Village Board at its Aug. 27 meeting. The previous text amendment language permitted a community service center within the I-Institutional zoning district where the majority of uses are government agencies or private and public school-affiliated institutions. That space needed considerable funding to support the intended use, which was not realized. Therefore, the new location on Humphrey was identified as an alternative location. The request is expected to be presented to the Village Board in early December.

Join the Historic Preservation Commission for a presentation titled “Neighbors in Preservation,” featuring an overview of Maywood’s historic preservation efforts, and what Maywood and Oak Park share in common. This latest installment of the HPC’s speaker series will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thurs., Nov. 14 in Council Chambers at Village Hall. The guest speaker is Thomas Kus, Chair of the City of Maywood’s Historic Preservation Commission. Highlights of Maywood’s successes, challenges and how to make historic preservation work for both communities will be discussed. The presentation will take place prior to the Historic Preservation Commission's regular monthly meeting. Find more information about the HPC Speaker series, including recordings of past events, at www.oak-park.us/hpc.

The Village is hosting a discussion about constructive approaches to addressing the hunger and homelessness that creates the need for panhandling. The community forum will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 18 in the Veterans Room at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. Deputy Chief of Police Dave Jacobson will participate in the panel discussion along with Jayne Furlong, Events & Communications Manager for the Downtown Oak Park Business Alliance, and John Harris from the Oak Park Homelessness Coalition.

A draft of Oak Park’s Vision Zero Action Plan is being presented to the Transportation Commission for review and consideration during its upcoming meeting at 7 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 11 in the Council Chamber at Village Hall. The Vision Zero project team spent the past year engaging with residents and stakeholders, analyzing data and reviewing Village policies in order to create this draft plan. The Village is making a commitment to consistently having zero deaths or serious injuries caused by traffic crashes on its streets by 2035. The Vision Zero Action Plan outlines a set of 10 strategies with associated action items that set up the Village to achieve this goal. The final plan is anticipated to be brought to the Village Board in 2025 for approval.

The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) is hosting two training sessions at Village Hall to provide attendees with information about the Illinois Stretch Code, covering the requirements under the state-developed code that are aimed at improving building energy efficiency. There will be two sessions, with one on Nov. 13 covering residential code and the other on Nov. 20 covering commercial code. Both training sessions will run from 9 a.m. to noon in Council Chambers. Click the following links for more information and to register for the Nov. 13 residential code training and Nov. 20 commercial code training.

The Oak Park Arts District is hosting its Art & Wine Walk from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 14. More than 300 guests will enjoy small bites, live music, art exhibits and wine tastings at 12 businesses along Harrison Street. Tickets are $50 and are expected to sell out. Find more information and purchase tickets at www.oakparkartsdistrict.com/art-wine-walk. This Arts District event is sponsored by Anfora Wine, Byline Bank, House of Heat, Oak Park Apartments and Publican Quality Bread. Media Production Manager Joe Kreml recently produced a video to help promote the event – click here to view.

Water & sewer improvements – Pavement striping for South Boulevard between Home Avenue and Kenilworth Avenue is scheduled for Monday. Bike lanes along the roadway will be installed next Thursday. Minor traffic delays are anticipated during striping operations.

Pavement preservation project – All micro surfacing, crack fill and patch work is complete. Next up the contractor is working to complete rejuvenator treatment and pavement markings in the coming days. Roads receiving rejuvenator treatment will have parking limitations during the day between 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. However, roads will be reopened to traffic and parking within the same day. Pavement markings are initially being applied on Harrison Street and Jackson Boulevard. Parking will not be restricted during this work. If a vehicle is preventing the contractor from marking the pavement, crews will return to the location at a later date. The 2024 capital improvement map displays locations scheduled for pavement preservation work this year.

Madison Street improvements –The contractor is working on installing brick pavers at the south end of the raised intersection at Madison Street and Wesley Avenue. Traffic remains shifted to the north side of the street while work in the intersection is ongoing. The contractor is also installing new traffic signals and pedestrian push buttons. The final lift of asphalt will be placed on Madison next week.