Letter: Miracle on Riverside Avenue

On Dec. 12 at St. Charles’ Municipal Center, I had the privilege of witnessing one of modernity’s increasingly rare occurrences – a functioning, representative government which listened to its constituents.

The proposed redevelopment of St. Charles’ old police station, prime river adjacent property, elicited one of the strongest grassroots local political movements that I can recall in the Fox Valley. Frontier Development’s proposal, a garish Atlantic City-esque esplanade, provoked the most vocal resistance from residents understandably concerned about traffic, fire station egress, the health of the Fox and the proposal’s total dearth of green space.

Having just returned home to the Fox Valley after nearly eight years, I had deep reservations about the project myself. Among its litany of objectionable qualities, Frontier’s proposed development would have marred the unique architectural character, and human scale, of downtown St. Charles (possibly claiming the city’s historic original City Hall as collateral damage).

I’d certainly recoil at any accusations of NIMBY-ism and I empathize with the residents who decried the lack of a downtown grocery store and pharmacy (I especially lament the loss of Blue Goose’s bakery and its deli’s fried chicken). However, achieving the necessary density to support essential business should not require the sacrifice of a litany of obvious public goods.

Ultimately, these and other concerns received a fair hearing by the City Council committee. For those interested in the hurly-burly of politics, it wonderfully illustrated Alexis DeTocqueville’s remark that “Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people’s reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it.”

There was no shortage of humanity on display – attempted grandiloquence from the dais, moments of booing and jeering from the assembly and some repartee during the public comment section. Yet, compromise and community solidarity prevailed.

A comprehensive study will be undertaken and, presumably, further community input elicited. Until then, I intend to honor this commendable compromise with a green and serene walk along the Fox.

Joe Phelan

St. Charles