March 7, 2026
Date: January 19, 2026
Location of meeting: Via Zoom
Time meeting was called to order: 7:20pm (delayed due to invalid Zoom link)
Attendees: Kristin Berg, Nan Parson, Marilyn Novak, Kate Kerin, Kathy Rolsing, Melani Kaplan, Erik Olijnyk
1) Housing Plan
a) Housing Plan Implementation
i. Kristin and Nan met with Alderperson Kelly Muno at her request to learn more about the Affordable Housing Plan and what next steps should be taken. She intends to set up a meeting with Drew Awsumb. We did discuss the possibility of creating a Housing Task Force to assist city staff and involve the community.
ii. We discussed what to do to keep the pressure on city hall to prioritize the AH Plan. It has been 2 years since the AH Plan was approved and 6 months since we sent our petition urging immediate action. Ideas included posters, yard signs, and sharing more on social media. We decided to draft a letter to send to city council, P&Z, Director Awsumb, city manager, and the mayor. The letter should stress the urgency of implementing the plan and the formation of a Task Force to assist staff and involve the community. It should also request a response. Kate offered to draft the letter. If there is no response or action on the plan, we will ask residents to send either our letter or their own in support.
b) Monitor City Council/COW agendas for any Housing Plan discussions/actions/proposed multifamily and senior housing development
i. No new discussions in December or to date in January
c) Monitor PZC Agendas for any Housing Plan discussions/actions/ proposed multifamily and senior housing development
i. No new discussions in December or January to date
2) Comprehensive Plan
a) Comp Plan dedicated website: https://park-ridge-il-comprehensive-plan-hlplanning.hub.arcgis.com/
i. Community Survey now on the website
ii. Mapping tool on website
iii. Meetings to be scheduled with PZ commissioners and city staff
3) We briefly discussed our 2025 actions and opened the floor for new leadership of this committee. At this time no one new volunteered to be the chair. Kristin and Nan will continue to lead the group for now. In 2026, we will continue our push to implement the AH Plan. We will also meet with Director Awsumb and the new State Rep from Des Plaines, Justin Cochran.
4) Kathy reported that Mayor Maloney attended the regional round table event for mayors led by the state’s Chief Homelessness Officer, Christine Haley. The topic was how to end homelessness. Some communities have a Housing Specialist on staff. Mayor Maloney posted positive comments about the event and his support for ending homelessness on his Facebook page. Kathy will send a write-up of this and the Center of Concern’s 2 home-sharing programs for the next Action Ridge email update.
5) Time meeting adjourned: 8:25pm
6) The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 2/24 at 7:00pm on Zoom We now have a NEW Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2644814263?pwd=clJCSWJmRnpnSjlyYmY0clJBRkJGZz09
Meeting ID: 264 481 4263
Passcode: 588190