I am a frequent criss-crosser through the center of Champaign in my daily travels, and over the past several months I’ve noticed a handful of yard signs (at one point mixed in with the candidate signs) with “No Giant Houses on Our Small Lots” dotted across yards. Tuesday, January 15th, the Champaign City Council will make a decision about a proposal that’s been born out of this “no giant houses” movement.
Here’s the gist:
Homeowners in the Clark Park area are concerned with the City of Champaign exploring the possibility of allowing larger homes to be built on the smaller lots in their neighborhood.
A group of these concerned homeowners formed a steering committee to apply for Clark Park to be designated a Conservation District. This is not quite as intense as a Historic Preservation District, but it would put some restrictions on new construction or at least slow down the process and subject it to more scrutiny.
This proposal has passed through the first two steps in the process: the Historic Preservation Commission and the Plan Commission, and will now face a vote by the City Council this Tuesday.
You can read up on the specifics of this on the City of Champaign website, and also dig into the concerns of the residents here. The city’s site also gives information about how to give your input in the matter, if this is an issue that you feel strongly about.
Photo from the nogianthouses.com website