City of Aurora Reports Reveal Misrepresentation by Planned Parenthood is Not Enough to Deny Occupancy
Monday, October 1, 2007, the City of Aurora released reports from Phillip Luetkehans (updated October 1) and Richard Martens revealing that Gemini Office Development’s failure to disclose the tenant information during the development process is not a sufficient basis to permanently withhold occupancy. The findings come on the heels of Kane County State’s Attorney John Barsanti’s opinion released earlier this morning, which cleared Planned Parenthood and Gemini Office Development of criminal wrongdoing in the development of a 22,000-square-foot facility on 3051 E. New York Street in Aurora.
In response to the findings, Aurora Mayor Thomas Weisner issued the following statement:
Last month, serious questions were raised about whether Gemini Office Development and Planned Parenthood were forthcoming in their dealings with the city and followed all local laws. As Mayor, I felt that I had a responsibility to the citizens of Aurora to investigate those allegations and with the support of the City Council initiated three independent reviews of the process.
Earlier today, Kane County State’s Attorney John Barsanti cleared Planned Parenthood and Gemini Office Development of criminal wrongdoing. Both the Martens and Luetkehans reports indicate that Gemini and Planned Parenthood misrepresented certain tenant information. However, their reports also indicate that this is not a sufficient basis to deny an occupancy permit.
The Luetkehans report found that while a medical clinic is a permitted use for that property, medical clinics are excluded from performing major surgeries under the City of Aurora’s zoning definitions. Based on a review of this finding, the city has contacted Planned Parenthood for clear written assurance that only minor surgeries as defined by the Luetkehans report would be performed at this facility.
Over the last few weeks, the City of Aurora has been inundated with thousands of phone calls, letters and requests from people who feel passionately about the abortion issue. As elected officials, we are sworn to uphold the law regardless of our personal, emotional or even religious beliefs. Based on the opinions of these three attorneys, the City of Aurora has no legal basis to deny Planned Parenthood an occupancy certificate and thus the Building and Permits Division will move forward with issuing Planned Parenthood an occupancy certificate.
With the support of the Aurora City Council, Mayor Weisner initiated an independent review of the entire development process after allegations surfaced that Gemini officials misled the city by not revealing the tenant to be Planned Parenthood on development documents and at least one public meeting when tenant information was requested. Gemini’s temporary occupancy certificate expired on September 17, 2007.
On Thursday, September 20, 2007, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle upheld the city’s right to complete a thorough review of the facts surrounding the development process prior to issuing a new occupancy certificate. City officials indicate once the necessary inspections are completed an occupancy certificate could be issued as early as the end of the day.
The Luetkehans (updated October 1) and Martens reports are available online via the links below, along with supporting documentation, in PDF format.