Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/11/1999 ZBA minutes 34-99 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS ZBA CASE NO. ZBA-34-99 Hearing Date: November 11, 1999 PETITIONER: Village of Mount Prospect 100 S. Emerson St. Mount Prospect, IL 60056 PUBLICATION DATE: October 27, 1999 DAILY HERALD REQUEST: Text Amendment to Sections 14.306, 14.1802, 14.1803, and 14.2401 of the Village Code MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene luracek, Chairperson Leo Flores Elizabeth Luxem Richard Rogers Keith Youngquist MEMBERS ABSENT: Merrill Cotten STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Michael Blue, AICP, Deputy Director of Community Development Jeffery Perkins, Planner INTERESTED PARTIES: None The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. Minutes of the August 26~ and September 23rd meetings were approved. Approval of the October 28~ meeting was postponed to the next meeting. Board members heard one case before Chairperson Juracek introduced Case No. ZBA-34-99, a request for a Text Amendment to Sections 14.306, 14.1802, 14.1803, and 14.2401 of the Village Cede. Ms. Jumcek opened the public hearing and inquired if notice of the case had been given. Mr. Perkins stated that public notice for this case had been given in the form of a newspaper legal ad. Mr. Perkins then introduced the staff memorandum for the item. He stated that proposed changes to the B4 district Were initiated by the Village Manager's Office in response to concerns about the possible proliferation of used car lots on small comer sites, particularly abandoned gas stations. He added that the change would make attach a minimum lot area requirement to auto sales and would give the Village an oppommity to review conversions of gas stations as Conditional Uses and require improvements to the appearance of those sites. He informed the Board that the proposal would also make several other uses with significant potential for nuisance conditional uses in the B4 district and that those uses are hotels and motels, drive through lanes, and boat, motorcycle, watercraft, or snowraobile sales. Mr. Perkins described proposed changes to Section 14.306.E 1 and 2 and to the Zoning Definitions stemming from the recent construction of' a few open steps that were large but did not meet the Village,s porch definition. He stated that the changes set a specific size limit, 5' by 5' for stoops and canopies over stoops. Anything over that size would be considered a porch. He further stated that current code requirements specify a maximum width for sidewalks in the front setback of 5 feet and that the change to paragraph four places the same requirement on steps and handicap ramps. Mr. Perkins sta~d that thc items added to Section 14.306.E 1 are related to problems with decorative fences in front yards. He said that Staff has typically treated these as "landscape features," rather than structures, as they are not usually permanently affixed to the ground. He briefly described some recent cases that have created conflicts between neighbors, when residents have anchored this type of structure in concrete and/or creat~d ad-hoc fences in oning Board of Appeals ZBA-34-99 Arlene Juraeek, Chairperson Page 2 their front yards. He stated that the proposed change would permit small sections of decorative fences in front yards and that the change would place strict limits on these structures to insure a primarily decorative function. Based on its review of the proposal with respect to the Zoning Code Text Amendment standards, Mr. Perkins gave Staff's recommendation of approval of the proposed Text Amendments. He informed the ZBA that the Village Board's decision is final for this item. He stated there was an error in the staff memo - that the last word in the definition of stoop should be depth, not width and that change should be reflected in the motion. Ms. Juracek said that, in looking at the zoning map, she noted small pockets of B4 zoned properties scattered throughout the Village. She asked what uses would generally be found in a B4 zoned property. Mr. Perkins answered that typical uses would be gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants with drive-through lanes, car washes; he said the only sizeable B4 zoned property was the Big "K" property. Ms. Juracek asked if those properties had originally been zoned B4 or had they been changed through the years. Mr. Perkins said they had been initially assigned the B4 Zoning to accommodate existing uses, Ms. Juracek explained that, in continuously reviewing the Code, it is necessary to correct typos and address various concerns caused by changes in trends of construction. She said she views these as general "housekeeping" tasks, with the exception of the change to the automobile sales area, which appears to be a result of the impact on gas stations of removing underground hazardous tanks. Ms. Juraeek stated she agrees with the intent to put some control on small used car lots, which seems to be the quickest and easiest use of many of these parcels of land. Richard Rogers asked how this will affect the existing uses of auto resale lots on old gas station property. Jeff Perkins said they would probably be grandfathered in as Conditional Uses and that Staff would ask the Village Attorney for an opinion on their status. Elizabeth Luxem inquired about a former Amoco station at Rte. 83 and Kensington, which had gone from a station to a repair shop to a leasing facility. She asked if that had been approved as a Conditional Use. Jeff Perkins said that site was one of the reasons for this proposed Amendment, and explained that site would be improved in appearance. He said staff had received a site plan for improvements to add landscaping and striping, and resurface the lot. Arlene luracek said she had noticed several used car lots on Northwest Highway that would now become Conditional Uses. She referred to the proposed Northwest Highway Corridor Plan and the proposed new guidelines, saying it would improve the appearance and functionality of that area. Chairperson J'uracek closed the public hearing at 8:10 p.m., making note that no audience members had come to approach this .case. Richard Rogers made a motion to approve the request for a Text Amendment to Sections 14.306, 14.1802, 14.1803, and 14.2401 of the Village Code. Elizabeth Luxem seconded the motion. UPON ROLL CALL: AYES: Floros, Luxem, Rogers, Youngquist, luracek NAYS: None Motion was approved 5-0. At 8:14 p.m., Richard Rogers made motion to adjourn seconded by Elizabeth Luxem. Meeting was adjourned. Barbara Swiatek, Planning Secretmy Jeff Perkins, Planner H:\GEI',~PLNG~ZBA~.BA 1999~tfinutes~BA_34-99 Text Amendm~ntdoc