Palos Heights City Council advances 71st Court parking lot

The debate over two proposed municipal parking lots on 71st Court resurfaced at the Dec. 2 Palos Heights City Council meeting, where residents again asked the city to halt the plan and city officials said the vote was only an early procedural step.

The council voted to direct the city attorney to draft two special-use ordinances that would allow municipal parking lots at 12313 S. 71st Court and 12303 S. 71st Court. The vote does not authorize construction, demolition, or spending. It only allows the drafting of ordinances that would come back for a future vote.

Residents repeat concerns 

Kristin Restivo, who lives on 71st Court, told aldermen that residents have been raising the same concerns since 2022 without getting meaningful answers. She said neighbors are still waiting for the city’s parking analysis, stakeholder input, and draft redevelopment plans.

“From a resident’s perspective, this has felt like the only solution the city has been focused on… despite residents consistently voicing concerns against it,” she said.

Restivo asked whether the city has pursued alternatives before considering the demolition of additional homes:

• Shared parking agreements with nearby businesses that do not operate during peak evening and weekend hours.
• Underused commercial lots, especially with more employees working remotely since the pandemic.
• Basic maintenance of existing private lots, noting about 30 spaces behind nearby buildings remain unusable due to potholes and faded striping.

Caitlin Drottar, who lives on 71st Avenue, asked aldermen to vote “no,” saying the city’s special-use application indicates certain studies have been completed when they have not.

“At the zoning committee last week, I was told that the needed studies will not be completed prior to the vote this evening,” she said. “To approve the drafting of this ordinance tonight, you would need the required studies– and they do not exist.”

She also said that when the concept was discussed in 2022, early estimates suggested the lots could cost the city “upwards of $2 million.”

Bradd Lorch, Drottar’s neighbor, said the council previously rejected a similar version of the project.

“Three and a half years ago, I was up here multiple times,  it was voted at that time not to move forward with the parking lot,” he said.

Lorch said the city should redevelop aging commercial buildings near Lucky Burrito instead of removing homes. “Why don’t we take those three end properties that pretty much are a complete disaster?” he said.

Straz explains what the vote does 

Mayor Robert Straz addressed residents’ comments directly. He said the vote was not an approval of the parking lots but a procedural step. The city’s consultant, MKSK, must know whether the parcels can be included as potential options in the Old Palos redevelopment study.

Straz said a former owner of a commercial property at Harlem Avenue and College Drive told him he sold his building “because we never dealt with the parking two years ago,” and believed the unresolved parking issue limited how he could use the site.

He also said the city does not want to convert Harlem Avenue commercial parcels into municipal parking because those properties have retail potential that could generate tax revenue.

Straz told residents the city may ultimately find enough parking through existing resources, which would be a less costly approach, but consultants cannot make that determination without knowing whether the 71st Court parcels are available.

“This is the motion to draft the ordinance, not to pass it,” Straz said.

What happens next

The city attorney will now draft the special-use ordinances. Once completed, they would go through the standard approval process, including a future council vote. The redevelopment study and parking analysis referenced by residents are expected in 2026.

The council did not announce when the attorney’s draft ordinances will be finished or when a final vote will be scheduled.