Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

i'm gonna kick i'll kick this off so welcome to the zoning board of appeals meeting for thursday june 18th of 2026. first we will have a call to order roll call yes mr bias mr leon yeah mr noctre here

Ms. Radakovich? Here. Ms. Schmig? Here. Mr. Stiff?

Here.

All right, we have quorum. Before we proceed tonight, or today, it's not evening yet, we do need to take a vote among the ZBA members who are present today for a chair for this meeting.

I'd like to nominate Bob Nachtrebe.

I second.

Okay, we have a motion and a second for Mr. Bob Nachtrebe to serve as chair for this meeting today. Any discussion? All right, please poll the board.

Mr. Leon?

Aye.

Mr. Nachtrebe?

I abstain.

Ms. Rudakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stiff?

Aye.

OK. Next on the agenda is the approval of the minutes for the May 21, 2026 Zoning Board of Appeals. Motion to approve.

Second.

Mr. Leon?

Aye.

Ms. Rudakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stiff? Aye. Chairman Nocturne?

Aye. So minutes have been approved. What do I do next? Call the roll, right?

We did the roll so I can next is citizens to be heard on agenda items. I Can read this off if you'd like So this section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding items listed on the agenda except for items listed under public hearing Everything we have on the agenda today is a public hearing so if you're here for one of those items you can speak during that time and This is not a question-and-answer period and staff in the Zoning Board of Appeals do not generally respond to public comments. Is there anyone here who would like to speak on a non-public hearing agenda item? Okay. With that, we can move to old business public hearing. We have three petitions which are all companion cases. And I will read our staff report into the record. So we have these are petitions 2026-7, 2026-8, and 2026-9. The applicant and owner of the property is Mr. Robert Casey. The location is 1216 Fairview Avenue, and this is Council District number 4. The requests. 2026-7 is a special use permit to allow a duplex. 2026-8 is a variation of use for R3, which is a one and two family residential use in the R2, which is a single family residential zoning district. And then the other case is 2026-9, and that is for a series of variations to deviate from the zoning ordinance standards for a lot located within an R2 single-family residential zoning district. The applicant is requesting a variation of use to allow a new two-unit residence, which is an R3 one and two family residential use, within the R2 single family residential zoning district located at 1216 Fairview Avenue. The applicant is also requesting a special use permit for this two-unit use because two-unit dwellings that are not located within a planned unit development require special use permit approval per section 47-7.2 of the city's zoning ordinance. And finally, the applicant is requesting a series of variations. There is a variation to reduce the required front yard setback from 30 feet to 12 feet. A variation to reduce the required side yard setback on the north side from 8 feet to 6 feet. A variation to reduce the required lot width from 60 feet to 50 feet wide. A variation to reduce the required lot area from 7,500 square feet to 6,565 square feet. And a variation to reduce the required lot area per family from 7,500 square feet to 3,282.5 square feet per family. The variation of use request and special use permit requests must be considered by the City Council following the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Zoning Board of Appeals makes the final decision on these variation requests. for site-specific information. The subject property is a vacant lot within the Forest Park neighborhood. The property previously had a single-family house but has been a vacant lot for the past few decades. The property is zoned R2, single-family residential, as are the surrounding properties. The vacant lot is approximately 6,565 square feet in size and has a 50-foot lot width. It is therefore a non-conforming lot in the R2 zoned and as R2 zoned lots require a minimum lot area of 7,500 square feet as well as a lot width of 60 feet. For surrounding zoning land use and character, all nearby properties are zoned R2 single family residential zoning. The property directly across from the subject site is zoned R3 one and two family residential. For applicable regulations, we have section 47-6, R2 single family residential district. Section 47-7, which is R3 one and two family residential district. Section 47-1728, and that is for variation of use. For discussion, the petitioner wishes to construct a two-story duplex on the existing vacant lot. The proposed structure would have a front yard setback of 12 feet, which is subject to this variation request, and a 50-foot rear yard setback, which exceeds the 25-foot rear yard setback requirement. Or in other words, it meets our requirement. The proposed structure would have a side yard setback of six feet, which is subject to this variation request, as the minimum required side yard setback is eight feet for a two-story structure. His proposal includes four off-street tenant parking spaces at the rear of the property. Each unit in the proposed duplex will be 1,100 square feet in size. Each unit will maintain a separate entrance with Unit 1's entrance at the front and Unit 2 at the rear. Each unit will have living space, including a half bath on the first floor and three bedrooms and full bath on the second floor. The petitioner intends for the units to be rent or occupied, and both units will be enrolled in the rental inspection program. The site plan, building renderings, along with elevations are included in the staff report packet. For recommended action, staff recommends considering the variation of use special use and variation requests separately and voting on these requests as separate items. Staff does not find that the variation of use request for a two unit in a single family zoning district meets the criteria for hardship or practical difficulties. However, the proposed two-story duplex would not alter the essential character of the area, as the area has a mix of one- and two-story buildings. The property will also accommodate the required number of off-street parking spaces. Staff finds that the proposal meets the criteria for a special use permit. The establishment of a two-story structure would not be detrimental to the health or general welfare of the public, nor will it impede the use and enjoyment of neighboring properties. The approval of the variation of use, special use, and variation on lot area per family would allow one additional dwelling unit within the neighborhood. Staff supports the variation request to reduce the required front yard setback of the proposed structure from 30 feet to 12 feet, as it would enable the proposed structure to better align with the existing setbacks of the adjacent properties. And it would allow more usable rear lot space for off street parking and tenant enjoyment. staff also supports the variation request for lot with reduction and lot area reduction as it enables the possibility for a future residential structure on this lot while staff does not find a hardship for the variation to reduce the side yard setback from eight feet to six feet staff does not find that it would alter the essential character of the area as there are other examples of this side yard setback in the neighborhood For conditions, if the Zoning Board of Appeals desires to approve the special use permit and variation of use to allow a duplex in R3 one and two family residential use in the R2 single family residential zoning district, staff recommends that the following conditions would be included. One, that a building permit shall be applied for and approved prior to any construction commencing. Two, that the property shall be enrolled in and comply with the city's rental inspection program. And three, that the use of the property shall not be expanded in the future. and before i conclude staff's report i did start off the conclusion by stating that we would recommend taking separate votes my recommendation would be to consider the the variation of use special use permit and then the variation on lot area per family as kind of one one vote you could vote on all of those at the same time because they're about whether or not a two unit would be allowed at this location and then the other variances you can think of could go together so that could be a second vote so those are about the placement of a structure so what you know outside of the use would a structure regardless of the use inside would that meet Would you feel like that would be appropriate at this location? So that would be our recommendation is to think about the variances and especially use and variation of use in that way and we I can help with that when the time comes to Okay, that concludes staff's report.

Okay Is the petitioner here for this item? Step forward, please Do you swear that any statements you make will be true?

I do.

Okay, please state your name and address for the record.

Robert Casey, owner of 1216, wherever you at.

Can you touch the microphone and make sure, okay. We can't hear you. You may have to put it a little bit closer to you, yeah. In here? Yeah, that's better.

Okay, that's better. Any questions for us or comments which you'd like to make?

Not really. I think you guys did a great job covering everything. It's more or less the questions for me. I think everything was covered pretty well.

Okay. Do we have any comments or questions for this petitioner?

The question I have, I didn't hear your address. Are you a neighbor of this proposed new home or new homes?

Yeah, I live here in Joliet.

Right next door?

No, I have a property next door as well.

Any comments or questions from the audience?

okay hearing none how about a motion for this petition would you like to which um what what what's what's that would you like to tackle first if you could read those again or just suggest which ones we should couple and which one is alone Sure, I guess I would recommend starting with the variation requests. And those would be the, you could refer to the first part of your staff report packet under purpose. So that would be a variation to reduce the front yard setback from 30 to 12 feet, a variation to reduce the side yard setback from 8 feet to 6 feet, a variation to reduce the required lot width from 60 feet to 50 feet, and a variation to reduce the required lot area from 7,500 square feet to 6,565 square feet. So I would recommend taking that vote first.

Okay. Any questions from anybody? Is there a motion in order for this petition?

I motion to approve. Second.

We have a motion, and it's been seconded. Call the roll, please.

Ms. Rudakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stiff?

Aye.

Mr. Leon?

Aye.

Chairman Nachtweid.

Aye.

OK. So those set of variances passed. So I would recommend taking, actually, this will be three votes. The second variation request is to reduce, and this goes with the use, but since it is a variation, we should take that separately. So the second vote would be a variation to reduce the required lot area per family from 7,500 square feet to 3,282.5 square feet per family. So it gets back to a two-unit use.

Any comments or questions from board members or from the audience? If not, how about a motion and order for this petition?

Motion to approve.

Second. It's been motioned and seconded. Call the roll, please.

Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stiff?

Aye.

Mr. Leone?

Aye.

Ms. Rudakovich? Aye. Chairman Nacktree?

Aye.

Okay. All right, the third set of votes would be for a variation of use for an R3 one and two family residential use in the R2 single family residential zoning district, as well as a special use permit to allow a duplex.

Motion to approve?

Second.

Call the roll, please.

Mr. Stiff?

Aye. Aye.

Mr. Leone?

Aye.

Ms. Radakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Chairman Nocte?

Aye.

Okay. So the variances are approved here at the Zoning Board of Appeal level, and then this request for a variation of use and special use permit will move on to the City Council with a recommendation of approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals. the date of the City Council meeting we will keep you updated but they do meet the first and third Tuesdays of the month so July would be your your dates that you were looking at but we will let you know which one to get scheduled for okay thank you thank you do we have any other business to consider No. So we have nothing under new business public hearing, nothing under old new business, not for final action or recommendation. Which brings us to public comments. Is there anyone here wishing to speak regarding non-agenda items? OK. Which brings us to adjournment.

Is there a motion, please, for adjournment? So moved.

Second.

Call the roll.

Mr. Leon?

Aye.

Ms. Rudakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stiff? Aye. Chairman Noctrebe?

Aye.

All right, meeting adjourned. Thank you.