Highland Park holds workshop on rezonings for Bartlett and Oakman as owners and residents press concerns

Highland Park planning staff presented proposed rezonings for two corridors at a Jan. 12, 2026 council workshop, arguing the changes would correct longstanding mismatches between how property is used and how it is zoned and would allow existing commercial operators to obtain proper permits.

Donovan Smith, the city's planning/CED presenter, told the workshop the two-area request covers parcels on Oakman and Doris and a section of Bartlett (including 52 Bartlett, the former Red Apple site). Smith said the blocks currently labeled single-family residential on the city's zoning map contain commercial and quasi-industrial uses and that the rezoning would move those parcels into a Mixed Urban Village (MUV) or, where appropriate, an industrial designation so owners can legally occupy and develop the sites. "Before you can put a use or a business in a building, it has to comply with the zoning ordinance and the district," Smith said. He added that the change is a comprehensive corridor correction, not a single-parcel 'spot zone.'

Residents and property owners pressed city officials about several concerns. Multiple speakers asked whether the rezonings could open the door for detention or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. Smith repeatedly responded that the city’s zoning table ‘‘does not’’ list detention or ICE facilities as permitted uses in the MUV district and that allowing such a use would require a separate zoning-text amendment and approvals by planning commission and city council. "Go to that table and find a use that would permit a ICE detention center… You will not," Smith said, referencing the city's zoning ordinance.

Property owner Anwar Matty, who identified himself as the owner of 52 Bartlett, said the parcel has historically been commercial and described the map change that labeled it residential as erroneous. "This building's got changed without any of our knowledge," Matty said, adding that he has paid taxes on the property and has sought to redevelop it. John Taylor, a prospective buyer who identified himself as a dealer, said he planned to hire locally and called his approach "community-minded." Several residents, including Carla Oliver, said rezonings should produce jobs for Highland Park residents and preserve the master plan's neighborhood integrity.

Smith and council members described technical consequences of the current mislabeling: properties operating commercially today are often nonconforming on paper, which can create rebuilding issues if a structure is more than 50% damaged by fire. He said the proposed map changes would allow existing multifamily and commercial uses to be rebuilt under the current code. Smith also noted that longstanding businesses in miszoned corridors continue to face code-enforcement fines and that rezoning is intended to address that disconnect.

The workshop was informational; no council vote was taken. Smith said the planning commission recommended the change and that the rezonings will return to the council for formal consideration at a future meeting (he referenced "the twentieth" when describing the next step). Residents asked the council to consider additional safeguards in a future zoning-text amendment if they want explicit prohibitions beyond the current use table.

The workshop ended with a motion to adjourn; the meeting was dismissed at about 7:35 p.m. The council did not vote on the proposed rezonings during this session.