http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/3...zone08.article
Zoning merger in works?
CITY | Chief might be one who led 'crash pad' crackdown
May 8, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com
Mayor Daley is exploring the possibility of merging the city's Zoning Department with the Planning and Development Department and putting the new superagency in the hands of Zoning Administrator Patty Scudiero, City Hall sources said Monday.
The proposed merger would elevate the status of Scudiero, a longtime aide to Zoning Committee Chairman William Banks (36th). She marshalled crackdowns against illegal conversions and "crash pads" near Midway Air-port.
As zoning administrator -- and as a project manager in the Planning Department before that -- Scudiero forged a close working relationship with Lori Healey, the former planning chief now serving as Daley's 11th chief of staff.
Healey is in the process of reshaping the mayor's cabinet and filling six vacant or interim positions. Since her appointment, speculation has run rampant in anticipation of the latest round of musical chairs and a possible downsizing of city government.
The proposal to create a superagency comprised of Zoning and Planning and Development could be the biggest change of all.
At a time when Chicago is vying to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, it would merge a $17.9-million-a-year, 129-employee agency that oversees planning and land use with a $2.5-million-a-year, 41-employee department charged with implementing zoning changes, policing zoning violations and enforcing Chicago's newly revamped zoning code.
"It would be a very positive move. It would create more speed and cohesiveness dealing with . . . development issues," Banks said.
"I've never favored the idea over the years, but that doesn't mean it's not a good idea now. In the past, the departments were more independent and didn't work as closely as Zoning and Planning do now. A lot of that had to do with the personalities involved."
Not everyone was gung-ho about the merger.
Ald. Tom Allen (38th), who has crusaded against illegal conversions in his Northwest Side ward, expressed concern zoning crackdowns would get short-shrift if Zoning and Planning are combined.
The Zoning Department has 11 inspectors responsible for the entire city, a level aldermen call "woefully inadequate." Because of illnesses and injuries, they're down to nine.
"Zoning inspectors are important in the Bungalow Belt. I wouldn't want them to get swallowed up by a think-tank, which the Planning Department is. The bigger the department, the less control and the harder it is to maneuver -- just like the federal bureaucracy," Allen said.
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) added, "Planning people go out in the field. They've got to deal with the community and the alderman on what the community wants and build up economic development. Zoning deals specifically with the zoning code. It would take something from one of them if you put them together."
Although Scudiero's expertise is on the zoning side, Banks said he has no doubt that his former aide could handle the mega-department.
"She's been involved in the concept of zoning and planning and for many, many years -- right on the front lines. She attended every zoning meeting I had. She is very knowledgeable with regard to these issues," said Banks, who hired Scudiero to work part-time while she was still in high school.