Updates from the 6/9 membership meeting

[Mayfair Civic]

New business coming to the neighborhood: Doggy Dojo

At the June 9 membership meeting, Oscar Cruz and Carlos Zambrano from The Doggy Dojo (https://www.thedoggydojo.com) presented their plans to expand their growing business into a second location at 4207 W Lawrence Ave in Mayfair. The Doggy Dojo is a crate-free dog daycare with transportation and overnight services. The dogs all hang out together, separated by size and temperament, and are attended around the clock by staff. The Doggy Dojo has been in business since 2010, with an existing location in Avondale at 3735 W Belmont Ave, and have grown from 2 to 17 employees. They expect to have between 10-20 dogs at each location. For more information about the business, see their website.

The Doggy Dojo has the capital to begin construction, but they first need zoning approval that is based in part on public input, which is why they were presenting at the meeting. The Mayfair property that The Doggy Dojo is looking to purchase is 5,000 square feet. During the meeting, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Zambrano said that the dogs really like natural light, so they plan to have big front windows and skylights put in. The general concensus at the meeting was that this would be a big improvement on the current building, and would contribute to the beautification efforts on Lawrence Ave that are currently underway. They are currently scheduled to close on the property on July 29 if everything goes as planned. Mr. Cruz said that he's been working with Adam Roberts at the Alderman's office to appropriately zone the location, and they plan to use some type of B3 classificaiton, though Mr. Cruz wasn't sure about the zoning details or rationale at the meeting.

For more information on The Doggy Dojo, their website at https://www.thedoggydojo.com has some good info. If you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding the business moving into the neighborhood, please reach out to Mayfair Civic Association President Ron Duplack at rdup...@rieckcrotty.com. If you have questions about the zoning, you may want to reach out to the Alderman's office at 773-736-5594 or war...@cityofchicago.org. The Chicago Zoning Ordinance may also be a useful reference, which you can access at https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicagozoning_il/0-0-0-49121.

Raising funds for sculpture in Mayfair Park

Also at the June 9 membership meeting, MCA President Ron Duplack shared the news that funding has been secured for the "Bountiful Bench" sculpture installation in Mayfair Park. The installation will be funded jointly between Mayfair Civic Association (http://www.mayfaircivic.org) and Mayfair Park Advisory Council (https://www.mayfairpac.org/). The installation will be in late August or September. For a picture of the sculpture, see the June issue of the MCA newsletter at http://www.mayfaircivic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/newsletter-202206.pdf.

The total cost of the sculpture installation is $5,000. The Mayfair Civic Association would like to raise funds to cover some of those costs. If you'd like to contribute to this project, reach out to Ron Duplack at rdup...@rieckcrotty.com.

North Park Village Nature Center reached their brush cutter fundraiser goal

In the April issue of the MCA newsletter, a fundraiser was mentioned from The North Park Village Nature Center Advisory Council, to raise $3,500 to cover the costs of brush cutters to deal with buckthorn at the Nature Center. They have informed us of the good news that their fundraising goal has been reached, and they thank you for your generosity!