Ravinia Festival’s Cash Cow – Crown Castle – Has Escaped to a Greener Pasture

You probably haven’t read in the Chicago Tribune, or any of the other local newspapers, about the outcome of the residents’ battle at City Hall over the Ravinia Festival Association’s (RFA’s) attempt to build a 1500 sq. ft. structure to house a “head-in” cellular hub for Crown Castle International Corp. – smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The structure was to provide connectivity for a proposed Distributed Antenna System (DAS) comprised of node antennae to be placed throughout Ravinia Park during concerts – which is still on the table and likely to be passed at the Plan and Design Commission meeting March 15, 2016.  Yet, the cellular hub would be used all year long to provide distribution services to all the major cellular phone providers, such as Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.  Both the RFA and the City of Highland Park asserted that the cellular hub structure was essential for public safety, while the residents in opposition denied this.

Frankly, some of our local newspapers seem determined to prevent residents from accessing news, unless the news has been issued directly from City Hall.  Consider that the Chicago Tribune published an article articulating the City’s support of Ravinia with their headline article, Fixing Ravinia Cell Logjam A Matter of Public Safety, Highland Park Mayor Says the very same day as the October 20, 2015 hearing at the Plan and Design Commission. Published before the meeting, not after. Not a single resident was interviewed for that article.  Yet when residents directly requested that the Tribune investigate and report on the issues further, the response was that this was too complex for the newspaper.  If our small city politics is too complex for the Chicago Tribune, heaven knows how they handle Chicago! 

To be fair, I waited a few weeks since City Hall notified Ravinia’s neighbors by letter about a crucial decision concerning the Ravinia’s proposed cellular hub to see if would be reported in the local press. Their report is simply not happening – likely because the City of Highland Park didn’t furnish the information as a press release – so here is all the news about the Ravinia Festival/Crown Castle Proposal that is fit to print but our local newspapers won’t deliver to you.

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In a surprise move, Crown Castle decided to take the “head-in” function – its cellular hub – out of Highland Park. It will lease space at an undisclosed location, according to reports, no new structure is planned. The Ravinia neighbors who fought the Ravinia Festival Assocation (RFA) and the City of Highland Park may claim this as a victory, as surely their tireless work at least resulted in several delays before the HP Plan and Design Commission, extending the process to nearly one full year.  

This is very good news for the Ravinia neighborhood (not to be confused with the Ravinia Neighbors Association that refused to assist the 60+ active Ravinia neighbors who opposed the RFA proposal). This is also a positive outcome for any Highland Parkers who care about Ravinia’s cultural and historic importance, as well as the environment and preserving open spaces.  Yet, overall, this is a monetary loss for Highland Park, and it didn’t have to be that way.  It could have been a win-win resolution if Highland Park had been more sophisticated and strategic. Ultimately, Crown Castle made its own decision without Highland Park.  Who can blame them? After all, providing cellular connectivity to Verizon, Spring, and AT&T is a very lucrative business and every day that cellular hub wasn’t up and running was costing them money – no matter how good the deal was that they struck with the RFA.  

 

The cellular hub never belonged on RFA property for several reasons, not the least of which was the moral, ethical, environmental and, perhaps, legal obligation to support the legacy of the RFA’s major benefactor, Mrs. Elsie Eckstein, who donated all the property subject to certain legal covenants. Without Mrs. Eckstein’s brilliant foresight and generosity, the RFA would likely have ceased to exist long ago.

When Elsie Eckstein gifted this prime and valuable land to the RFA, she prohibited the building of commercial property on it, requiring the new owner to maintain its natural open space as a park. She gave the property a distinct not for profit purpose. She didn’t give the land away so other people could make a profit on it. If that were her intent, the she could have sold the property to developers for residential or commercial purposes.  When Crown Castle abandoned Ravinia, the legacy of Elsie Eckstein was upheld, not by the Ravinia Festival Association, not by City Council, and not by the Ravinia Neighbors Association, but by the neighbors who live around the property.  They actively set out to preserve the unique history of our community, and were vigilant and tireless in defense of Ravinia as it should be.

The departure of Crown Castle is also good news for the neighbors, some of whom live as close as 230 feet (that’s less than a football field away) from where the cellular hub would have been built. Serious noise would have emanated from six five-ton HVAC units in the building, at least half of them running 7/24/365. There was another large noisy generator to be put into place on an outside cement block whenever power would go out.  The City never required Crown Castle to disclose the decibel levels for that generator that could run as long as several days based on past power outages in Highland Park.  It could have been deafening, yet no one protected those residents. Records indicated that neither the City nor the Plan and Design Commission was concerned that the nearest residents would have been subject to, at least, a decibel level equivalent to a living room conversation at all times, night and day. With Crown Castle out of Ravinia, these neighbors will now be able to continue enjoy their backyards and bedrooms without an incessant hum, and their property values will remain intact. They also so not have to worry about being bombarded with additional radiofrequency radiation, although the cellular hub would certainly have been installed according to federal standards. Still, who wants to live next to cellular hub?

What about our public safety problem?  Again good news – the absence of this cellular hub has no impact on safety whatsoever, even though Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said the DAS structure had to be built as a matter of public safety (see, News from Nancy and Chicago Tribune). Her public safety argument was that on busy RFA nights, later established to be 8-12 nights per year, the cell phone activity of Ravinia’s patrons overwhelms the nearby cell towers, compromising the ability for ambulances to communicate with the Hospital’s emergency room.  (We should note that city’s Fire and Police chiefs were unable to provide any documentation of this at the October 20 hearing, and, if it is so, the residents should be asking them to keep records to support public safety.)  Mayor Rotering reported that she personally approached Ravinia, along with the City Manager and the HP Fire and Police Chiefs, to address these safety concerns. In her press releases, she stated that the DAS system was simply the best solution and “to install the DAS, Ravinia will need to build a new building on its property.”  Not so.

As stated in my report on October 20, 2015, and as I testified at City Hall later that day, it was always clear the “head-in” cellular hub did not need to be on RFA property.  While the cellular hub needs to communicate with the DAS antennae nodes proposed to be placed throughout the entertainment section of Ravinia Park, the cellular hub could be off-site. It’s all about RF – Radio Frequency.  No cords, no cables, just RF. That’s why they call it wireless.

Exactly how far away can a cellular hub be from DAS nodes?  Frankly, I can’t answer that technical question because the City of Highland, the RFA and Crown Castle would never answer that simple question.  I wrote to the City of Highland Park on October 27, 2015 with several important questions, including:

“Technically speaking, how far away can a “head-in building” be from the nodes intended to be placed on Ravinia Festival rooftops and other places at the Park?...What is the farthest from Ravinia that it can be placed and still effectively serve the nodes?”

Months later, with that question and others unanswered, I met with the City Manager and staff on January 4, 2016.  How far away could the cellular hub be? Staff replied that this was unknown but it was asserted that it could not be too far, because it would be difficult to “lay the fiber optic cables.” My reply, “There are none. It’s all about RF – Radio Frequency.”  As I explained to another city leader on October 20, “there are no cables, take a look at your cell phone, it’s the same principle.” After nearly a year of review at the City, no one could answer a very simple question – how far away could the cellular hub be?  

The answer, if given to me in October 2015, would have enabled me to provide assistance to Highland Park in resolving this contentious matter. We could have located other suitable local sites to propose to Crown Castle.  Sites that would not have been on land owned by not for profits who pay no real estate or revenue taxes, such as the RFA.  Sites that might have been on City of Highland Park, District School or Park District property – open real estate that could have been monetized for the betterment of Highland Park.  Or, sites in Highland Park’s commercial buildings where the income earned by Crown Castle from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint could be taxed. Highland Park’s commercial properties need lessees. Whatever the other location, it would be intended to help reduce our tax burden in Highland Park. Crown Castle doesn’t just provide DAS services, it is a Real Estate Investment Trust that monetizes land, and the City of Highland Park should have recognized this.

It seems Crown Castle was the only one who knew how far away from the Ravinia Festival the cellular hub could be built. According to HP City Staff, they don’t know where Crown Castle will be. It wouldn’t be surprising to find it in Glencoe, just south of Lake Cook Road. There is a fine golf course there with a corner for mechanics there.

Unfortunately, City Hall did its utmost to ensure that the RFA, a not for profit organization that pays no real estate or income taxes to the community, would reap the significant financial benefits of the cellular hub. Crown Castle is a substantial REIT, publicly traded on the NYSE:CCI, yet the City of Highland (including its lawyers), along with the RFA, continued to represent at public hearings that a cellular hub providing services to Verizon, AT&T and Sprint was not a commercial endeavor, and that there were no significant zoning issues for placing the cellular hub on property zoned residential.  Indeed, the Highland Park lawyer in attendance on October 20 specified that the Plan and Design Commission could not consider the legal covenants on the land while several other resident lawyers there would argue with that position. Neighbors have been left to wonder what the underlying motivations were in this scenario.  So, another unfortunate outcome from the Ravinia/Crown Castle Proposal is that there are more Ravinia neighbors who have gained a healthy cynicism about the City and Ravinia Festival Association.

To some it appears the leadership of Highland Park was so focused on assisting the Ravinia Festival Association that they neglected to understand either the relevant technology or the commercial opportunity associated with the Crown Castle/RFA proposal.  Crown Castle, the cash cow, has now escaped the barn or, another metaphor, Highland Park failed to see the forest for the trees.  Another community will enjoy the taxes benefits.

The good news, the bad news, and an opportunity lost.

Ravinia Festival to Build Cellular Hub for Crown Castle REIT

Please join your neighbors at a meeting tonight, October 20, at 7:30 pm at Highland Park City Hall with the Plan and Design Commission concerning Ravinia Festival’s proposal to build and lease a new 1500 sq. ft. structure in the “West Park” (the parking lot west of the train tracks).  Only contiguous neighbors were notified about the structure and that it will house a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) for personal wireless telecommunication.  Unfortunately, most of us don't know what that means and are not familiar with its implications.  Also, there is no notification to the rest of Ravinia and Braeside residents, so few others know about this proposal that may have a profound impact on their lives, real estate values and our community.

In essence, the DAS structure will house a cellphone hub, functioning like a tower - just lower to the ground in a one story building.  The services provided from within this building will be sold to Verizon, AT&T and other cellular providers. The DAS hub will run 24 hours a day, every day, all year long.  DAS is usually associated with poll mounted nodes that are placed on existing infrastructure, such as electrical polls, street lights, and cell towers, pointing up, but the Ravinia Festival's proposal includes this 1500 sq. ft. structure.  The Commission will also review this evening extensive “Appurtenant Equipment” throughout the park (likely the poll mounted nodes but we’ve more to learn).  This is a complicated technical system and you may review the full proposal, including technical drawings, online at the HP City website (click here: http://www.cityhpil.com/Archive.aspx?AMID=70).

Let us not be fooled by a Trojan horse that appears with the face of a Ravinia Festival proposal.  The guts of this proposal is to build a structure housing Crown Castle, a publicly traded (NYSE: CCI) company that is the nation's largest provider of wireless infrastructure.  In January 2014, Crown Castle officially became a REIT - explained on their website as a conversion to align their business structure with their "long term commitment to provide the nation's wireless carriers with the prime real estate they need to meet the demands of their consumers."  Yes, it is undeniable that Ravinia Festival's West Park is prime residential real estate, but don't you think Crown Castle could buy some prime commercial real estate in Highland Park? So, let us strip away the image of this as a Ravinia Festival proposal.  This is a Crown Castle proposal.

You may well be asking yourself - what’s the problem with building a new DAS structure in the Ravinia Festival's West Park? Is it something we need? What are the problems associated with it? Let’s first consider the purported reasons for building it.  

Mayor Nancy Rotering issued an e-mail yesterday in support of the Ravinia Proposal. If you did not receive it, here is a link(click here).  She clearly supports the Ravinia Festival/Crown Castle proposal, primarily providing public safety concerns.  She informs us that more than a year ago she approached the Ravinia Festival with safety concerns about cell phone connectivity, along with the Highland Park Fire and Police Chiefs, and our City Manager.  She is concerned that "On busy Ravinia nights paramedics in ambulances cannot get telemetry signals (EKG’s) sent to Highland Park Hospital until they are near Lincoln School, losing critical minutes for communication with the Hospital’s Emergency Room.” 

In a recent August 2015 memo from Fire Chief Daniel Pease (in the proposal package and likely required by the Mayor for support of the Crown Castle proposal), he stated that “although phone communication is the primary and preferred method of communication for ambulance calls . . . all fire service vehicles are equipped with radios that can communicate with area hospitals.” 

Whether or not cardiac rhythm strips are sent from ambulances by cellphone or through the radio (more likely radio at this point in technology but moving toward cellphones), we can take, as a given, that it is very important for everyone to be able to use our cellular phones in an emergency to contact the authorities. So, I agree with Mayor Rotering, this qualifies as a life safety issue at some level and certainly one that should be concerned as more people drop their landlines.  (We can also pause for a moment to consider why the Mayor and City Council have been concerned that our current infrastructure is delaying the relay of vital health information to Highland Park Hospital, or that people without landlines might not be able to request an ambulance, yet residents have not been so informed.)

I have worked in the interest of public safety for my entire career.  Seeing that there is a life safety concern, there is no choice but to provide the necessary infrastructure.

However, wanting to fix the connectivity issues associated with busy Ravinia Festival nights doesn’t mean that the DAS structure is the only solution, nor does it require that it has to be placed in Ravinia Park (east or west).  It also doesn’t justify that the DAS structure will be running 24/7/365 when Ravinia Festival is only open for a few months, and within that time, there are relatively few “busy events.”  It would appear we are being sold a bill of goods.

Reading up on the technology, it appears that a DAS structure could be built remote from Ravinia Park on existing commercial property.  Additionally, if not alternatively, many DAS systems use existing infrastructure.  Crown Castle specifically states in its website, explaining why the company is an “ideal partner” to municipalities with regard to public safety:

“It’s already there: Using existing infrastructure gets you on the air quicker, saves you money, and puts you in accordance with federal mandates to leverage existing infrastructure.”

Building a DAS at Ravinia Park is definitely not the solution to Highland Park's public safety issues.  There are alternatives but they have not been presented to the community, and apparently not pursued by our city's leadership.

There are many reasons for not building the DAS at Ravinia Park but here are a few:

• Will we be trading one life safety issue for another?  There are many communities in the US and globally who have rejected DAS structures and nodes in their residential areas. Here are a few reports: http://www.rcrwireless.com/20150415/cell-tower-news/tower-removed-over-health-concerns http://www.rcrwireless.com/20150413/hetnet-news/das-residents-oppose-crown-castle-das-deployment  While I'm confident that Crown Castle can do a lot to reassure our community about the safety of DAS nodes, the hub structure is another matter.  Here is a sampling of the warnings to be placed with this building, would you want this next door to your home?
  

• The health effects, if any, from this structure will affect the closest neighbors - many of whom didn't receive a notice of the proposal. Additionally, those neighbors may find their homes devalued when they go to sell.  It's one thing to say you live next to one of the finest, oldest and busiest concert venues in the world, it is another to say that the house is next to or near a large communications hub.
• Ravinia Festival pays no real estate taxes on this property.  In effect, they will be passing through this benefit to Crown Castle.
• Ravinia Festival’s property is R-5: Moderate Density Residential District. Residential districts are not intended to allow commercial, industrial, governmental, recreational, or like uses. Yes, there are exceptions for certain organizations and not for profits, like the Ravinia Festival, but the use of the property must always preserve and protect the residential character – and a DAS structure completely fails in this regard. 
• The property was generously gifted to the Ravinia Festival by Mrs. Elsie Eckstein with certain restrictive covenants in the deed to specifically prohibit its use for commercial enterprises.  While the Ravinia Festival has many commercial enterprises in the park, primarily serving food, such services are a normal part of an entertainment venue.  Ravinia Festival, a not for profit, could never deed any of this property to Crown Castle, a publicly traded company, so why are we looking at setting up a lease arrangement as a get around? Perhaps this is being done in collusion with the City of Highland Park as there is a very close relationship between Highland Park and Ravinia Festival leadership. As we usually say in our neighborhood, “Ravinia will get whatever they ask for, whenever.”
• The West Park of Ravinia has always been open to the public, 365 days a year.  Parents teach their children to ride their bicycles in that park.  Families take leisurely walks there in each season. I happen to enjoy the dragonflies throughout the summer. It’s a fine open space, soon to be despoiled by ancient oak trees being felled and a new building emitting RF and electromagnetic waves every day, every hour, every minute.  Additionally, some of the neighbors believe that after the new structure is built, Ravinia Festival will close off the property to all, except for parking for performances.
• The DAS structure will displace numerous cars that would otherwise park in the lot.  These cars will place more of a traffic burden on our community in various ways, such as using up spaces in the uptown and Ravinia shopping district - displacing shoppers.

I refer to Ravinia Park as “my backyard” because my backyard is edged by the entrance to Ravinia off Green Bay Road.  In the 25 years I have owned my home, I have taken great pride in the Ravinia Festival, and have been a good neighbor.  I have never objected to any of their proposals, even if not entirely in agreement, thinking it was for "the greater good." I should also make it clear that this DAS structure will be relatively far away from my home - much closer to other people’s homes on the north end of the park. It’s really not about me – this should be an issue of importance to all Highland Park residents and the people who have a stake in the Ravinia Festival as a not for profit.

This proposal is not for "the greater good" of the Ravinia Festival, except a unrelated business taxable income, and they should be earning their revenue by selling tickets and associated entertainment, not by foisting a commercial enterprise into a residential neighborhood (for shame!).  Let's make no mistake - allowing this proposal to proceed in any manner (other than placing DAS nodes on the polls at Ravinia) will set a terrible precedent.  This is the camel's nose in the tent.  Wait 'til you see the camel.

This is the time for everyone to object – tonight (Tuesday) - even if you’re not a neighbor, even if you don’t live in Ravinia or Braeside.  This isn’t just about ensuring that the Ravinia neighbors can have daily access to the park.  It is about ensuring that the City of Highland treats every neighborhood respectfully – that residential property remains residential and not commercial.  If you wouldn’t like this building next door to your home, it’s important that you stand with others who will be impacted.

This is also about requiring Ravinia Festival to live up to its charter as a not for profit and to honor its legacy.  If they proceed with this, we should inquire further about the real business of the Ravinia Festival. As a not for profit, it currently enjoys a real estate tax exemption yet, certainly, the City of Highland Park, Lake County and the State of Illinois should be paid real estate taxes from any commercial enterprise. Crown Castle may lease the building from Ravinia Park, but Crown Castle has designed the building for itself, and will use it to sell its services to Verizon, AT&T, and other carriers. A rose is a rose.  Crown Castle isn't a large REIT for nothing.  In essence, though not in deed, Crown Castle will own that building.  Just look at the attached proposal. As a City, we are about to be had if the Plan and Design Commission approve this proposal to build a structure.

Many of my friends complain to me, after the fact, that they don’t like certain decisions made by City Hall, particularly with regard to its impact on real estate zoning. Write an email today to HP's city manager (gneukirch@cityhpil.com) or the mayor and city council members, to express your thoughts and join your neighbors at City Council this evening.

And, please share this report with your neighbors.

The Park District's Beach House...

In an e-mail sent to Executive Director Liza McElroy on September 20, 2012, Highland Park resident Daniel Shure asked the Park District of Highland Park (PDHP) a few simple questions:

·         Who lives in the building at Ravine Beach [Millard Park]?

·         How is it decided who lives in that building?

·         What is the lease or financial deal for those living there?”

He further indicated that he had previously asked this question through the general info e-mail address at the PDHP but had received no response. His e-mail also mentions that he had asked a couple of commissioners, as well as other PDHP employees, about the tenants and “no one seems to know who it is other than they assume it’s a park district employee.”

Ms McElroy provided an incomplete response on September 21 as follows:

“Hi Mr. Shure:   The Park District no longer rents the space at Ravine Beach.  The Park District is looking into demolishing this building and this is something that Park Board will address over the coming months.  Thanks for your inquiry. Liza” (McElroy to Shure) [emphasis added]

Desiring a complete and transparent response from Ms. McElroy, Shure sent an e-mail the next day pointing out the disparity that, even though she said the Park District no longer rents the space at Ravine Beach, people continue to live there:

“If the Park District no longer rents the space does that mean the couple that live there are living rent free?  They are still there. Who are they?  How were they chosen to live there?  And, what was the financial arrangement between the Park District and the couple?” (Shure to McElroy)

By this, Dan was indicating that he continued to see individuals who appeared to be residents there even after Ms. McElroy's initial reply.  

Not receiving a timely reply from Ms. McElroy, Shure sent another e-mail on September 25 as a reminder.  He sent yet another reminder on September 27, and, finally, on October 1, he sent a brief e-mail with one additional question:  “Is there a reason you are not answering?”

Executive Director McElroy ultimately replied to Shure’s September 22 e-mail on October 2 as follows:

"Hi Daniel:  I am sorry, I have been out of the office and am still catching up.  At this point, I have nothing further to add to my previous comments.  Liza” (McElroy to Shure) [emphasis added]

Dan is entitled to answers, and we should be interested in them. The PDHP needs to provide all relevant information about the rental of the Ravine Beach house -- how long people have been living in the Ravine Beach Field House, how the property was evaluated for rent, how much the rent was, whether it was paid, whether the tenant was an employee of the Park District or the City of Highland Park, etc.  At the very least, from a compliance and governance perspective, it is appropriate for Dan to have asked about the policies and practices for determining who could live at the beach and if they were paying full value for the enjoyment of living in what might be the only house directly on the beach in Highland Park. 

After reviewing the PDHP’s financial statements made available on the web, there doesn’t appear to be any distinct line item for rental of the Field House (although it would appreciated if the PDHP could point out where it is, if it exists).  Clearly it was reasonable for Shure to ask the Executive Director about the arrangements concerning the Ravine Beach Field House.  It is unacceptable to provide him with wholly inadequate and mostly non-responsive answers. Why no answers to simple questions?

Ironically, for those who have been following the PDHP’s roughshod treatment of more than 1000 residents who signed a petition to oppose placing another beach house on the Rosewood Beach shore, the Millard Park/Ravine Beach Field House was mentioned several times by residents in public meetings as an existing building on the lakefront that could serve as viable location for Park District programs in lieu of sacrificing the shoreline at Rosewood.  Apparently, Ravine Beach was fine as a lakefront home for unidentified lessors, most likely PDHP employees, perhaps for decades.  Now the PDHP has determined that it should now be demolished. 

Answers to Dan's questions?  Dan has been forced to take a path that is becoming increasingly too familiar with the PDHP.   On October 4, he filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to gain access to relevant records.  He has received no response to date.  If the information is noteworthy, it may be reported here.  Regardless, isn’t it time for the Park District of Highland Park to stop acting like a fiefdom and start being open and responsive to the residents who pay dearly for the PDHP?

The Park District of Highland Park’s (HPPD’s) organization chart, approved March 3, 2012, states that the CITIZENS OF Highland Park are at the tippy-top of the org chart.  Everyone at the PDHP ultimately reports up to the residents.  Even the executive director.   Looks good on paper, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works at the Park District of Highland Park.