Highwood council directs staff to draft redevelopment agreement for Sheridan Road properties; 4-1 vote

The Highwood City Council voted 4-1 on April 15 to direct the city manager and city attorney to draft a redevelopment agreement with the Highwood Redevelopment Association concerning properties at 416 through 424 and 430 Sheridan Road.

Council members said representatives related to the project were present across the street at Washington Gardens as the item came up for a vote, and some council members asked whether the vote should be delayed for further discussion. The council majority proceeded to approve the direction to staff.

The council motion—directing the city manager and city attorney to prepare a redevelopment agreement with the Highwood Redevelopment Association for the listed Sheridan Road parcels—carried with recorded yes votes from Aldermen Levy, Slavin, Hospadarski and Fallberg. Alderman Peterson recorded the lone no vote.

The resolution does not itself enter into a redevelopment contract; it instructs staff to draft an agreement for future council consideration. The motion did not specify funding, deadline for a draft, or substantive terms of a proposed agreement. The transcript records council members debating whether to delay the vote because interested parties were nearby, but no formal delay or amendment was made.

The matter will return to the council when a draft agreement is prepared by staff and the city attorney.