Planning & Zoning - Regular Meeting

Spain, home, food.

Thank you.

okay let's let's go ahead and call the meeting to order mr. Brady here miss Salo here mr. Spirk here we have quorum thank you Any changes in the order of business, additions, deletions, or deferrals? OK. Hopefully we'll do a better job of procrastinating the length of this meeting than the last one. Are there any public comments? General public comments. OK. Do we have any public disclosures on the part of the board members? Minutes? 5A, approval of the minutes of the November meeting.

Make a motion to approve.

Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. 5B, approval of the minutes from the December 8th meeting.

Motion?

I'll make a motion to approve.

Second.

Okay. Would the clerk like to swear in who's over here?

I'll just make my quick little spiel.

Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Yes. Item 6.

So please be advised that the following items on the board agenda are quasi-judicial in nature. If you wish to comment upon these items, please indicate the item number you would like to address when the announcement regarding the quasi-judicial item is made. An opportunity for persons to speak on each item will be made available after the applicant and staff have made their presentation on each item. Please be aware that all testimony, including public testimony and evidence, will be made under oath or affirmation. In accordance with section 2-100 of the village code, any lobbyists must register before addressing the board on any of the following items. board members must disclose any ex parte communications concerning any items on the agenda pursuant to section 2-86 of the village code so at this time I'll just give the board members the opportunity to disclose any ex parte communication and since we only have three members present and this is just a caveat for the board members that Any item for tonight's agenda for it to pass it has to be by unanimous voting Just because we only have three members present So at this time the board clerk will swear in any persons who wish to testify on any quasi judicial item Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing with the truth your application Thank you

Okay, new item, 7A, RSP25-91. Mr. Director.

Thank you, sir. The property address is 441 Grand Concourse. The lot is approximately 16,250 square feet in size. It contains a two-story single-family home originally built in 1947. The existing structure is a living area of 5,024 square feet. It's configured with seven bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, a two-car carport, and a double-height entry porch. The applicant proposes a facade modification with interior reconfiguration of the home with no increase to the interior square footage. The proposed modifications would change the exterior architectural style from classic colonial to a more contemporary modern design, intended to align with the proposed interior design updates. The scope of work includes modifications to window and door roof openings on the exterior facades. The request also includes the conversion of the existing two-car carport into an enclosed two-car garage. As part of the proposed interior reconfiguration, the residence would consist of six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a two-car garage, and a renovated main entry porch. Staff has confirmed that all of the submitted technical drawings align with the village's zoning district and found that it meets the single-family future land use map, and therefore we're recommending approval along with all of the stipulated conditions as found in your report. Thank you.

Thank you, Eddie. Any questions for Eddie? Would you like to make a presentation?

Well, my name is Ana Maria Bibi. I'm the architect of record. As Eddie mentioned, this is a two-story – a combination of two-story and one-story house. We're doing an interior renovation, keeping the same amount of bedrooms and – well, we added one bathroom, but with same – similar layout, but the owner were looking to to have more contemporary look on the exterior elevation. So we propose a change to more contemporary instead of classic that we actually have right now. So we're playing with the same volume and the same shape of the porch. We just eliminate the center column and keeping the other two and just enclosing a little bit more the edges so we can provide this more contemporary look. Also accented with the finishes.

IT, can we scroll to page G102, please?

Our clicker's not responding, so they're going to have to navigate. Yeah, G102.

Thank you.

There, you can see from this is the existing condition and what we're proposing, including the enclosure of the garage. And then, so the same materials we carry on the side and the rear elevation to have everything in balance.

Do you have any questions for the director? The applicant, no? No. Members of the board have any questions for the director?

For the director, no. For the applicant, possible.

OK.

I have a question. So the front of the house has a nice modern look to it. Is the intent to also put a new roof on the rest of the house?

No, right now, the roof, we're not touching the roof. That's an existing condition. The porch has a flat roof, and then you continue with the roof, and we're not touching the roof, just the side walls and the columns and the windows.

Okay. Are you replacing all the existing windows with impact windows and taking the shutters off the building?

Yeah, we're pretty much replacing all the windows.

Go ahead.

I'm a little confused how the transition from the modern facade that you're showing in your main elevation, but it's most notably shown in the rendering on sheet G102. I noticed that your view that you've taken is head-on and close-up so that it masks the pitched roof that is peeking out behind it, which you see in the adjacent photograph to the left. Now, if this were an historic home, I think that my criticism would be much more drilled into the harmonious nature of that structure versus what you're doing. But I think it was changed in the 90s or the 2000s anyway. So I think the facade wasn't a colonial before. It was a different architectural language, and they changed it to colonial. So I think changing it to a modern aesthetic isn't something that is unharmonious. But I do have a concern that the visual appeal of it will only look good from that particular angle. And then once you start skewing the angle so that you see that rendered on top of the existing facade, that the juxtaposition of the modern with that pitched roof and more traditional chimney coming through it is going to look out of place. That's the only reservation that I have with it.

Well, like you're saying, yeah, this house had a renovation where they actually added the porch. They didn't have any porch at all, and they added the porch to store the porch. Like I said, we're not touching much of any of the volume, per se. So it's just, yeah, we're bringing – we enclosed the side walls to – to gain this appearance. But I don't feel like it's going to look too much of a difference if you just rotate a little bit the view.

Well, the problem that I have is if you go to sheet A102, Drawings at the Bottom of the Page, That's the proposed west elevation. That's the side elevation. That, I think, reinforces my concern in that the existing porch has a bit of a sloped roof to it. And when you see that from the side, the colonial facade matches that aesthetic. But when you start constructing your modern facade, I think that that part you're adding to the facade might not be compatible with what's behind it. I don't know if IT can get to sheet A102. This is page 16 of 18 in the PDF package.

202.

Sorry, 202, yeah.

So you mean the blank wall on the side, the A202. You're talking about this portion.

Because your rendering, I think, looks good. And I think as a design element, it would be harmonious with the street. So I wouldn't have concerns with that. But what I do have concerns with is that juxtaposition with what still is a colonial-esque or definitely a period structure. I just don't know that's going to look good.

On this elevation, maybe not on the other side because we have the carport and now the garage and there's less intrusive, but in here we could analyze the possibility to just close a little bit more farther from the column but still keeping an opening. I don't think that that's going to be a problem if we... if we open it probably to a certain proportion just to to at least have the feeling that is still a wall coming down and no just a leg so but I think that we can we can if you change if you be inclined to proffer that you'll study that I'm not looking to hold you guys up just then you'll study it and look at it a little bit more closely I mean at the end of the day this is your house and

The neighbors are obviously all going to have opinions about the change of the house. And you're the ones that have to deal with them. But I think if you study that and just feel comfortable that you've really addressed that. Because I wish I could take that 3D model and pan it to the side to see it. Because it could be that what I'm concerned about with the side elevation in A202 wouldn't be reflected in the three-dimensional model. It's just that there's not an oblique or perspective of that front facade to see it.

I definitely see a valid comment, and yeah, we can make the changes, adjust those changes, and without really losing still the contemporary look.

Public comment? There's no public comment. Public comment is closed.

Let me just check really quick to make sure. If she didn't copy you, then I'm not inclined to read it.

In the past, they've sent it to me, and then we've introduced it. But I was made aware, I don't know if it's on the Village server, but there was an issue with Microsoft for actually all of North America. So it could possibly be that I didn't receive it due to that.

She's pretty good about carbon everybody.

I know I I'm actually looking for it here and I don't I don't find it. So I don't think there's any public comment.

Any further discussion for the board. Your motion.

Yeah I'll make a motion that if you were to proper studying that kind of connection to the front and city staff recommendation.

Second.

Second. I just think that we might need to amend that motion a little bit. If you don't mind, I'm going to go the same route. I'm going to make a motion to accept the applicant's proffer to study the front facade as it relates to the existing structure behind it, notably the pitched roof. And in addition to that, the acceptance of all the staff conditions.

Thank you.

think for staff I'm just trying to understand what we're measuring right so we're asking the applicant to conduct the study but how does staff kind of administer like what we don't we whatever they bring back you're gonna leave it to them for their for them to their determination maybe they do nothing

Yes, so it's basically a motion to approve staff recommendation, and then it's on the record that the architect will make a good effort of analyzing the board's comments as it relates to this design. Other side.

Okay, we have a motion. Second, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Passes unanimously.

Thank you.

8A, discussion, possible actions, RSP 2517. Hey, everyone.

So I'll briefly introduce it.

So this is a... Your name and address, please.

Tina Fernandez, and it's 253 Northeast 92nd Street. Thank you.

So this is RSP 25-17, property address 253 Northeast 92nd Street. At its May 22nd, 2025 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Board approved development order RSP 25-17 for a garage conversion of approximately 336 square feet where the garage would be converted into a cabana area. The development order was conditioned upon approval whereby the applicant proffered a six-foot CMU privacy wall in accordance with Code Section 518 at the rear yard area along Northeast 3rd Avenue. The applicant requests an amendment to modify the concrete wall requirement due to unforeseen site conditions. A mature oak tree makes installation impractical and alternative screening solutions are proposed to provide comparable visual and functional screening while avoiding tree disturbance. So in essence what you have here is The approval is still valid. However, there was a condition that was drafted as part of that approval, and the applicant is seeking the board's amenable discussion as to alleviating that condition and proposing alternative methods. So I'll let the applicant further explain.

Thank you. So the condition was specifically a CMU wall, which when we started quoting, we find out that in order to do that and the linear foundation that we need to build that wall, we need to remove that oak. Not only that the house itself changes a lot because it's the only private garden that we have in the center of the property. It's a triangular land, so it's a little complicated. That's the only place that we have to share in family privately. And that oak is really old, it's huge, it's beautiful, and you can see it from all the points from the house. So, removing the oak, of course, is an extra $8,500, but even though it's also for the money, and the money itself of the wall is also because we don't want to lose it. Besides that, the wall itself is an extra really high cost and if it's only for privacy, our question was can we change the material itself, we can maintain the height and everything for a material that allow us to have columns instead of a linear foundation so we can avoid taking that oak out. It could be wood or PVC, whatever you prefer. We don't mind and also we spoke with our neighbor Since it was for privacy, we spoke with our neighbor. We told him in order to have the wall, we should remove all the plants that we now have. We added some pictures on the LOI. I don't know if you have them here. If not, it's fine. But it's huge. It's enormous. And he said if we paint the wood fence in the same color of his property, of course, he doesn't mind. So that's the situation.

Where exactly is the tree?

The tree is, if we see it, the first thing in magenta that we see is the house. The little square that we have in the back is a one-story garage. Between the house and that one-story garage is where the wall is.

I.T., can we go to sheet A2? It might be a little better view.

There's a circle right there, and that's a tree.

Does that work?

No, it's not on there. I want to point it, but it's right here. Right there in the middle.

Oh, okay. Was that an alley you sit on?

What was that?

Is there an alley?

No, no, there's not. That's just your backyard. We have an existing new wall. Here we have the IC units. And then this goes straight to the garage.

And I...

Separate part of the property all the way down.

What I halfway remember was when they opened up the garage to make it accessible to the yard. neighbors had some desire to increase the privacy of the area. I mean, it sounds to me, after reading the material, a reasonable expense. Does the board have any questions for the applicant?

Yeah, I have a question. So you're saying instead of the CMU wall, you're proposing a fence?

Yes.

I think there's a picture of the material on the back of the packet. PVC or wood we like them both Any further questions for the applicant? Do I hear a motion?

Motion to approve as submitted with staff's general conditions.

We're okay with either alternative that's being presented?

I don't think we can make a decision on wood or PVC.

Yeah, we would just ask your neighbors to see if they have any preference.

We talked with them already. Okay, I'm going to just ask them if they prefer PVC or wood. Quick question. So I proceed with the construction and when the inspector comes?

he will we're gonna modify the development order okay and then we're gonna give you a fresh development order that's gonna reflect this updated condition and then you can submit that with your permit and then everything will be nice and Well, it'll take a few weeks for us to get that, but yes, once I have it ready, I'll share it with you like we did for the garage converter.

Yeah, amazing, amazing. Okay, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good night.

That concludes our agenda.

I'll second that.

Is there any public comment? No. Okay, that concludes our agenda. Do we have any board comments?

general question do we know when we're gonna pick up the our district again

We are aiming for the February meeting. This February meeting?

Yes.

Do we know currently how many applicants are on the February meeting?

Right now it's five, two tabled items, and a garage conversion, an addition, and one new single-family home. So that's why we felt it may be manageable.

Yeah, I would think that if we add any more that we might want to do a dedicated meeting.

Agreed. Yeah.

Okay.

Motion to adjourn?

Motion to adjourn.

Okay. Thank you. Oh, my goodness. You have to tell them we did it just for you. I know. The last one when we said it was only going to take a half hour. Two hours is, the one you were out. Both of you, yes.

We had some... Eddie? Can I get you to give me a ride home?

Yeah. Thank you.

Keep it in this configuration.

Same configuration. Same flag here and here. This is it.