Planning & Zoning Commission

VILLAGE OF HOMEWOOD MEETING MINUTES DATE OF MEETING: September 14, 2023 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Village Hall Board Room 7:00 pm 2020 Chestnut Street Homewood, IL 60430 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Sierzega called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: In attendance were Members Alfonso, Bransky, Cap, Castaneda, Johnson, O’Brien, and Chairman Sierzega. Present from the Village was Staff Liaison Angela Mesaros. There were approximately 25 people in the audience. The public was able to watch and listen to the meeting via Zoom webinar. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Chair Sierzega asked if there were any changes or corrections to the minutes of August 10, 2023. Member Cap stated that page 5, last paragraph, “nameplate generation capacity,” should explicitly say “DDS” is going to own the equipment. Member Castaneda had corrections: page 3, second sentence main environmental… of all industrial emissions; page 5, “he did not know answers to that offhand”; and page 6 “he stated it must be disconnected manually.” Member O’Brien moved to approve the minutes as corrected; seconded by Member Castaneda. AYES: Members Bransky, Cap, Castaneda, O’Brien, Johnson, Chair Sierzega NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: Alfonso ABSENT: None REGULAR BUSINESS: CASE 23-26: Special Use Permit for a Tattoo Studio/Body Piercing Facility at 18661 Dixie Highway Chair Sierzega read the description of the case and swore in the applicant, Robert Garrity, 18337 Perth, Homewood. Mr. Garrity presented his case. Ms. Mesaros stated that she had received at least 52 emails in support of this application. Mr. Garrity stated that he is moving his business from Calumet City to Homewood. He grew up in Homewood and has always wanted to have his business here, to be part of the community and closer to home. He just moved his business out of 621 Vernon in Calumet City where he had been for 26 years. He shared some of his contributions to the community in Homewood – he painted the basement of Lassens, signs at the HF ice rink and donated to baseball teams. Meeting Minutes | September 14, 2023 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2023\4.MINUTES\drafts\2023-09-14 PZC Minutes.draft.docx Last Revised: 10/25/2023  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Chair Sierzega asked if he would be the only one working in the studio. Mr. Garrity said currently, yes, but he might use other artists in the future. Chair Sierzega asked how large the studio is. Mr. Garrity stated 1,250 square feet. Chair Sierzega asked about the number of customers daily. Mr. Garrity stated tattoos are one-on-one, and one tattoo can take many hours to do at a time. Piercings can be 2-3 people at one time. Member O’Brien stated that when he measures the dimensions of the space provided in the application, he comes up with about 1,036 square feet. This might be because the area in the back of the alley is not reflected on the site plan. Mr. Garrity stated that he got as much of the space as he could from the measurements taken inside and working off the old drawing. Member O’Brien stated that the space to the north (on the survey) must be the missing interior space. Member Johnson stated that looking at the lease, Mr. Garrity has one year with an option for five years. Is he planning to stay? Mr. Garrity stated yes, that is a good question. He is starting off with a year and see where it goes. He hopes to remain here for a long time. Chair Sierzega stated that Mr. Garrity has been trying to move his business to Homewood for many years. Member Castaneda asked about waste disposal. Mr. Garrity stated that he is using the same waste management contract for biohazards as his previous business. Member Cap had no questions. Member Bransky stated that this business is a welcome addition to Southgate. He can tell from all the emails that it is a stable business. Member Alfonso wished Mr. Garrity congratulations and said that he has a lot of support here based on the emails and comments about how clean and nice his place is. She has never seen anything like it. It is good that the Village now has a district to support this business. Chair Sierzega asked about the hours of operation. Mr. Garrity stated Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Chair Sierzega asked how many customers were estimated per day. Mr. Garrity stated one to twelve on average. The average time it takes a tattoo is 30 minutes to 30 hours; 1-3 hours is an average sitting. Chair Sierzega asked if anyone in the audience had any questions. There were no questions from the audience. Member O’Brien moved to recommend approval of Case 23-26 to grant a special use for a tattoo studio and body piercing facility, Ink N Um, at 18661 Dixie Highway. Seconded by Member Bransky. AYES: Members Alfonso, Bransky, Cap, Castaneda, Johnson, O’Brien, and Chairman Sierzega NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: None OLD BUSINESS: None ADJOURN: Meeting Minutes | September 14, 2023 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2023\4.MINUTES\drafts\2023-09-14 PZC Minutes.draft.docx Last Revised: 10/25/2023  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Member O’Brien moved to adjourn the meeting; Member Cap seconded. All members voted in favor. The meeting adjourned at 7:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angela Mesaros Director of Economic and Community Development Meeting Minutes | September 14, 2023 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2023\4.MINUTES\drafts\2023-09-14 PZC Minutes.draft.docx Last Revised: 10/25/2023