Planning and Zoning Board

APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 The Niles Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals was called to order at 7:04 P.M. Chairman Kanelos asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Present with Chairman Thomas Kanelos were Commissioners Ted Karabatsos, Susan DeBartolo, Angelo Troiani, Barbara Nakanishi, Robert Schulter and Morgan Dubiel. Charles Ostman, Director of Community Development and Bruce Sylvester, Senior Planner, were also in attendance. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were any additions, clarifications or corrections to the minutes of July 6, 2015. There were none. Commissioner Dubiel moved to approve the minutes of July 6, 2015. Seconded by Commissioner DeBartolo, on roll call the vote was: AYES: 7 Dubiel, Karabatsos, DeBartolo, Troiani, Nakanishi, Schulter, Kanelos NAYS: 0 There being seven (7) affirmative votes the motion carried. NEW BUSINESS 15-ZP-25 Requesting approval of a Special Use Permit as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section VIII(B)(3)(tt) and a variation from parking requirements as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section X(B)(10)(q) for a proposed Dunkin Donuts restaurant with a drive- through lane and menu and order board signage at 8080 Milwaukee Avenue. 15-ZP-26 Requesting approval of a Special Use Permit as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section VIII(B)(3)(tt) for a proposed Panera Bread restaurant with a drive- through lane and menu and order board signage at 9400 Milwaukee Avenue. 15-ZP-27 Requesting a variation from 2 provisions of Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section X(A)(3) so that additional pavement can be added for off-street vehicle parking in Page 1 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 the front yard of the single-family home located at 8028 Wisner Street. DISCUSSIONS Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance and Milwaukee Avenue Plan Workshop No. 4. Chairman Kanelos called for the first item on the agenda tonight. 15-ZP-25 Requesting approval of a Special Use Permit as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section VIII(B)(3)(tt) and a variation from parking requirements as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section X(B)(10)(q) for a proposed Dunkin Donuts restaurant with a drive- through lane and menu and order board signage at 8080 Milwaukee Avenue. Bruce Sylvester, Senior Planner, presented this case. This is currently the site of Celli's Restaurant. The new business owner of a proposed Dunkin Donuts wants to put in a drive-through lane. This requires a Special Use. The current restaurant and the proposed one requires a certain amount of parking which is not available on site. That requires a variation from parking requirements. A site plan is shown on the overhead screen. The proposal is to remove a small portion of the original building [along the western side] to accommodate the drive-through facility that will lap around the building and exit back onto Milwaukee Ave. In addition to removing the western portion, the owner proposes to add on to the side of the building closest to Milwaukee Ave. In the end the building will be slightly larger than the existing one. Staff was concerned about the potential impact of a high volume business at this location in relation to traffic on Milwaukee Ave. There are currently two driveways along the site: one further north along Milwaukee Ave. and one further south along Milwaukee Ave. The original proposal from the applicant was to keep both and make the exit from the drive-through at the southern end of the property. Staff feels there should be only one driveway to and from the site and that all traffic into and out of the site should be from one driveway. The applicant revised his plans as requested by Staff. Since there is a concern about traffic, the Village hired traffic engineering company Gewalt-Hamilton to do a traffic analysis. A copy of that analysis is included in the Commissioners' packets. One of their Page 2 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 recommendations was that there be just one driveway as Staff had requested. The study indicated there would not be a negative impact on traffic on Milwaukee. One of the reasons is the drive-through lane creates a large amount of stacking. There can be a vehicle at the pick-up window and one or two cars behind that; then another vehicle at the order board and behind that there can be several vehicles stacking or waiting. None of that spills out onto Milwaukee Ave. He then showed elevations and building materials to be used. It will be an attractive building after the renovation and conversion to Dunkin' Donuts. Staff asked the applicant about noise levels as the west side of the building on Oriole Avenue is a residential area. The applicant will put in shrubs to help with visual and sound screening. The volume of the speaker box will not impact the neighbors. The volume of the speaker box is adjustable so if there are complaints the volume can be adjusted down. The Findings of Fact for the Special Use Permit are as follows:  Is the special use necessary for the public convenience at the proposed location? o The proposed special use would provide drive-through service for a new restaurant in an existing building and therefore would provide a public convenience.  Is the special use designed, located, and proposed to be operated so that the public health, safety, and welfare will be protected? o The proposed special use will not have a negative effect on public health, safety, or welfare. The Village has conducted a traffic study which indicates that traffic on Milwaukee Avenue will not be negatively impacted and the applicant has provided information indicating that noise levels from the order-boards will not negatively impact near-by residential properties.  Will the special use cause substantial injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be located? o The proposed special use will not cause injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood. The following are the requirements for variation for parking: (1) That the property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations governing the district in which is it is located; Staff Comment: The existing business at this location has struggled to attract customers. A new business—Dunkin Donuts—states that to be viable, a drive-through facility is necessary. (2) That the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; Page 3 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Staff Comment: The existing lot is triangular in shape and therefore it is difficult to provide adequate parking on-site. (3) That the variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. A legal notice was provided in the newspaper as well as notices to all owners of property within 250 feet. Chairman Kanelos questioned the traffic study. There are fourteen Dunkin' Donuts shown as comps. There are two Dunkin' Donuts in the area. Why wouldn't he include those? This traffic report is not really worth much. Mr. Sylvester said those are sites the company did traffic studies for but he is not sure why the two in the area were not included, since they are high volume for traffic as well. Chairman Kanelos quoted the report as saying the parking supply of eleven spaces should be adequate. However, there are only nine spaces. Finally, the percentage of traffic on Milwaukee Ave. is not defined. We have no idea how many people travelling north will try to turn in. There are questions that remain unanswered. Mr. Sylvester pointed out that a recommended condition of approval is that this site have a shared parking agreement with the property to the south. This addresses some of the questions about the availability of parking. This used to be part of the property to the south but a few months ago there was a plat of subdivision to divide this off. The multi-tenant building to the south does have ample parking behind it. The applicant provided the shared parking agreement as part of the lease that was drafted by an attorney. That parking would be available for the employees of this business. Chairman Kanelos said for the record he did ask Mr. Ostman if Gewalt- Hamilton should be present at tonight's meeting. Chairman Kanelos was on vacation and didn't think Gewalt-Hamilton needed to be present. Remind him of this if he again suggests they don't have to be present. Another question he has is about stacking. Is it from the order board or the pick-up area? Commissioner DeBartolo asked how many employees will be there during peak times and where will they park. Page 4 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Mr. Sylvester said the applicant can explain that when he is presenting to the Board in a few minutes. Commissioner Dubiel asked if the petitioner took care of the sound issue for the order boards on his own or was that a request from the Village. He also didn't have a copy of the letter in his packet for the need of space sharing to the south. Where will this be? Mr. Sylvester said it would be in the rear of the building to the south. It is not included in the packet because Staff received it late last week and the packets were already out. Commissioner Dubiel said now they have to consider the future development of the property. He is concerned about the existing driveway. Gewalt- Hamilton is showing 20% making a left hand turn coming into the drive- through and 20% making a left hand turn exiting to go northbound on Milwaukee. And when winter comes there is no way there will be nine spaces here with snow piled up. Mr. Sylvester said because this site is a triangle there is plenty of room for snow storage. In answer to the other question, to keep two driveways would hinder traffic flow for the building to the south. With the beautification of Milwaukee Avenue in progress, there will be planter boxes in that area which would eliminate that southern most driveway. Both the Village engineers and Gewalt-Hamilton feel that having just one driveway is safer. Commissioner Dubiel had questions about possibly reconfiguring parking. Mr. Sylvester said they pushed the architect who drew these plans to maximize parking. This is the most efficient layout. Commissioner Dubiel said with the stools and seating in the restaurant, you could be looking at sixteen people wanting to park in nine spaces. Mr. Sylvester said it does require a variation because of the parking constraint. Chairman Kanelos said if passed, it could have a contingency to exit only going south on Milwaukee, correct? Page 5 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Mr. Sylvester said he didn't think the Board could do that because that is taking away some of the petitioner's access and there are rules. Mr. Ostman said per IDOT rules they are entitled to the full access and IDOT can't pull it away. If that is a condition of granting the Special Use, the Board can do that. Mr. Sylvester said they can ask the applicant if he would agree to it. Chairman Kanelos asked if the Board can make that a condition of approval. whether or not the petitioner agrees to it. Mr. Ostman said yes. Commissioner Dubiel asked about the 20% departure onto Oriole. He feels it is not clear. Chairman Kanelos said it is possible people will exit onto Oriole and go north to Milwaukee to exit northbound on Milwaukee. It would be a safer way to go to the intersection of Oriole & Milwaukee to pull out than trying to exit from a driveway. He then called the petitioner to the podium. Paul Matyja, 1409 Ashland Ave., Des Plaines, IL is the architect. Pyarali Merchant, Merchant Network, 7240 W Devon Ave, Unit 102, Chicago, IL is the petitioner. They came forward and were sworn in. Mr. Matyja felt Mr. Sylvester covered everything. They tried to incorporate as many elements of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan as possible. This is a business with a national presence. The building will be updated. It will be safer ingress and egress. They are adding trees and shrubs and will provide a bike rack. Chairman Kanelos said he agrees with everything but there is still concern about exiting and turning north onto Milwaukee Ave. from the site. We can make it a condition but would like to do things amicably. Would the petitioner be willing to accept that condition? They can come in only from the north and exit only going south. Mr. Merchant said yes, he would accept that. Page 6 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Commissioner DeBartolo asked about the number of employees and where will they park. Mr. Matyja said the employees will park in the rear area where they are leasing parking spaces from the neighbor. There will be five employees during the peak hours of the morning rush. Perhaps not every employee will be driving to the location. Commissioner DeBartolo asked if there would still be room in the back for overflow of customers wishing to park there. Mr. Ostman said the area contains many parking spaces so there is plenty of room to park. Commissioner Dubiel asked if this would be part of the employee rules. Mr. Merchant said he has a handbook. They will know where they have to park. There will be five people in the morning; second shift is two people and then two people at night. Mr. Ostman said if the property to the south would be sold or redeveloped, it is up to the owner of that property and the applicant to make arrangements to retain that parking, otherwise the applicant would be in jeopardy of losing the Special Use. Commissioner Dubiel asked if that property is sold this agreement doesn't extend to the new owner? Chairman Kanelos explained if this gentleman sells the Dunkin' Donuts store to someone else, the parking agreement goes with it. If it is sold and becomes another business……… Mr. Ostman said if the parcel next door [where there is to be a parking area for Dunkin' Donut's employee use] is sold, then the owner of Dunkin's Donuts is in violation of the Special Use if he doesn't somehow retain those spaces. Mr. Merchant said he has a lease of twenty years and this is part of the lease also. Page 7 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Mr. Ostman said the Village does retain a list of all the Special Uses. They do not have the staffing to go out and look at all the Special Uses to make sure they are up to date. The only way they'd know is if a complaint came in. Chairman Kanelos asked if that extra parking area is sufficient for the businesses in the building next to Dunkin' Donuts or are they short of parking also. There was more discussion back and forth about the extra parking. Mr. Merchant said two employees will open the store at 5:00 a.m. The rest come in at 7:00, 8:00 and up until 9:00 there are five employees working. Verica Vojcic, 6609 W. Belmont Ave., Apt. 2, Chicago, IL 60634 came forward and was sworn in. She represents the neighboring building. The building has twelve apartments on the second floor. The stores on the first floor have parking in the front. Sometime the owners of the businesses park in the back. She has not seen that parking lot full. The spots in the back are not marked but will be by the end of the summer. There are twelve apartments from 8074 to 8058. There are approximately twelve businesses. Commissioner Dubiel is trying to understand exactly how many units - apartments and stores - and how many apartments are in that first building next to the proposed Dunkin' Donuts. Ms. Vojcic said when you look at the back parking lot [which runs along Oriole] there are parking spaces against the building and also along the outside of the parking lot. It is wide. Commissioner Dubiel asked if this Board were to make it a condition there be eight spots designated to the business, would that be acceptable? Ms. Vojcic said she would have to discuss it with the owner of the property first. Mr. Ostman stated there is also more parking available at the triangular portion at the northern most part of the property. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were more questions from the Commissioners. There were none. There was one comment from the public. Page 8 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Harry Major, 2211 Crestview, Wilmette, IL came forward and was sworn in. He said he has developed three properties similar to this. He gets a cross easement agreement that runs with the property. This way the Village doesn't have to be checking on it. It's for the benefit of the owners. Commissioner Schulter said what if the property is redeveloped and the spaces don't exist anymore. What if the seller doesn't want to honor that and ends up selling the property including the spaces? Mr. Major said if that is put in the agreement, it impacts the property. He isn't sure but thinks if he could get a choice tenant and was required to make those spaces available, then it might limit what he could do with his other parcel. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were any more questions from the public. There were none. He entertained a motion. Commissioner Dubiel recommended the Village Board approve 15-ZP-25 requesting approval of a Special Use Permit as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section VIII(B)(3)(tt) at 8080 N. Milwaukee Ave. and recommend the Village Board approve the variation from parking require- ments as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section X(B)(10)(q) for a proposed Dunkin Donuts restaurant with a drive-through lane and menu and order board signage at 8080 Milwaukee Avenue. The following conditions of approval are: that the permanent shared parking at the adjacent parcel to the south be part of the cross easement; that there will no employee parking on the proposed site. There would also be a directional so when you exit the property you can only exit southbound on Milwaukee. Likewise as far as entering - can only enter if travelling southbound on Milwaukee Seconded by Commissioner Schulter, on roll call the vote was: AYES: 7 Dubiel, Karabatsos, DeBartolo Troiani, Nakanishi, Schulter, Kanelos NAYS: 0 There being seven (7) affirmative votes the motion carried. Chairman Kanelos stated this Board is a recommending Board to the Board of Trustees who can either confirm or negate this decision. It will be necessary for the petitioner to contact Mr. Ostman and ask to be placed on the Board of Trustees agenda. The petitioner will then be notified of the date. Anyone in the audience who would like to be informed as to the date Page 9 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 this will be heard by the Board of Trustees, leave your name and address with the recording secretary. Chairman Kanelos called for the next item on the agenda. 15-ZP-26 Requesting approval of a Special Use Permit as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section VIII(B)(3)(tt) for a proposed Panera Bread restaurant with a drive- through lane and menu and order board signage at 9400 Milwaukee Avenue. Bruce Sylvester presented the request. This would be a new construction in a large, open portion of the parking lot of Golf Mill mall. It is actually a separate parcel outlot and has been designated as such for many years. There is a lot of room and a lot of parking. The site plan is being shown on the overhead. The entrance to the drive-through facility would be in the northeast corner. Cars would drive west to the order board, then to the pick- up window on the south side of the building, then head east and turn either left or right to get back on the internal drive of Golf Mill. Cars can then proceed to nearby exits from Golf Mill onto Milwaukee Ave. Landscaping meets all the Village requirements. It is an attractive building and Staff has leaned on the applicant to make it as attractive as possible. It will have a very modern, urban and angular design. Staff feels it will accomplish some goals of the Comprehensive Plan including strengthening the tax base and it helps create an appropriate mix of commercial/retail uses throughout the Village. This does meet parking requirements. Last, the three Findings of Fact for Special Uses need to be met before the Village can grant the Special Use. They are as follows:  Is the special use necessary for the public convenience at the proposed location? o The proposed restaurant with a drive-through facility would provide a new building for restaurant services in Niles and therefore would provide a public convenience.  Is the special use designed, located, and proposed to be operated so that the public health, safety, and welfare will be protected? o The proposed special use will not have a negative effect on public health, safety, or welfare.  Will the special use cause substantial injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be located? Page 10 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 The proposed special use will not cause injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood. Staff recommends approval of this request. Legal notifications have been satisfied by being published in the newspaper and by mailings to the neighbors. Commissioner Dubiel said the color choice of the building seems dark grey. Mr. Sylvester said there are other Panera stores in the area that look more attractive than the proposed new one. However, Panera is taking their current design in a different direction. Mr. Ostman said they looked at a Panera store in Lake in the Hills that used many different materials including stone and had awnings. That was probably fifteen years old. But this is not the direction they are going. They also looked at a new one in Vernon Hills and are accepting of the new design. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were any more questions for Staff from the Commissioners. There were none. He called for the petitioners to come forward. The following three gentlemen were sworn in: Bryan Slonski, 3618 N. Leavitt Ave., Chicago, IL, architect Nick Zager, 2032 N. Keeler Ave., Chicago, IL, architect Jessie Conrad, 4345 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago, IL, civil engineer Mr. Slonski works for Norr Architects who in turn works for Panera Bread nationally. They are presenting the latest design standards for Panera Bread. They are going for a more modern look. They are using simple materials to frame the glass. Commissioner Schulter asked how many of this new style have they done, besides the one in Vernon Hills. Mr. Slonski said this year they will complete between fifty and sixty projects with them nationwide. This year maybe twenty will be completed with the new model. So far twelve have been completed. Panera doesn't have just one design. Commissioner Schulter asked if this was similar to what Staff looked at in other locations. Page 11 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Mr. Sylvester said they are pleased with this design, although it does look quite different from those in the past. The requirement is that it must be 100% masonry and it will fulfill that. Chairman Kanelos is curious as to why the changing of the sign [logo]. Mr. Slonski thinks it has to do with trying to streamline the entire look. Chairman Kanelos asked if the Panera across the street in Four Flags shopping center will be closing. Mr. Ostman stated yes and possibly the one on Dempster near Waukegan. They are trying for drive-throughs now. Commissioner Dubiel had questions about aesthetics - specifically color. It looks to be grey. Mr. Slonski said the building will have a purple hue. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were any questions from the Commissioners or from the public. There were none. He then entertained a motion. Commissioner DeBartolo moved to recommend the Board approve 15-ZP- 26 requesting approval of a Special Use Permit as provided in Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section VIII(B)(3)(tt) for a proposed Panera Bread restaurant with a drive-through lane and menu and order board signage at 9400 Milwaukee Avenue. Seconded by Commissioner Troiani, on roll call the vote was: AYES: 7 DeBartolo, Troiani, Nakanishi, Schulter, Dubiel, Karabatsos, Kanelos NAYS: 0 There being seven (7) affirmative votes the motion carried. Chairman Kanelos stated this Board is a recommending Board to the Board of Trustees who can either confirm or negate this decision. It will be necessary for the petitioner to contact Mr. Ostman and ask to be placed on the Board of Trustees agenda. The petitioner will then be notified of the date. Anyone in the audience who would like to be informed as to the date Page 12 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 this will be heard by the Board of Trustees, leave your name and address with the recording secretary. Chairman Kanelos called for the last item on the agenda. 15-ZP-27 Requesting a variation from 2 provisions of Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section X(A)(3) so that additional pavement can be added for off-street vehicle parking in the front yard of the single-family home located at 8028 Wisner Street. Bruce Sylvester presented this item. The homeowner is seeking a variation to add additional pavement in the front yard for additional parking in front of their house. On the overhead is an aerial view showing the property which already has a parking pad. It is not a driveway. A driveway would lead to a parking structure such as a garage - attached or detached - or a carport. The existing parking pad does not lead to anything except to the front of the house. It is a narrow lot - 30 feet wide. There is no garage of any kind on this site. Several years ago the homeowner explained they needed additional parking. At that time Staff found two conflicting items in the code. First, a driveway must lead to a structure. Another requirement said single family homes must provide some off street parking. Because of those conflicting rules from several years ago, Staff granted a permit for the pavement seen in the picture. It is not an ideal situation but the homeowner has since used this pad for vehicle parking. Now a month ago the applicant asked to have an additional pad in the yard so another vehicle can be parked in the front yard of the house. Staff informed the applicant it would require a variation this time. It was allowed once because there was no off street parking. Now they have at least one off street parking stall. There is street parking available. Staff is not comfortable issuing a permit for additional pavement in the front yard. The applicant chose to exercise his right to request a variation which is what brings him here tonight. Staff recommends this request be denied. In order to have additional pavement in his front yard he would need a variation of two requirements. One - he must have it lead to a parking structure. Obviously that cannot be the case. Another section in the same portion of the Zoning Ordinance states no more than 33% of a front yard can be paved for driveway. The additional pavement requested would be in violation of that rule. Following are the rules that have to be satisfied in order for a variation to be granted: Page 13 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 (1) That the property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations governing the district in which is it is located; Staff Comment: The property in question already has a non- conforming parking pad that does not lead to an approved parking structure. The property in question can yield a reasonable return without allowing additional paving for additional vehicles to be parked in the front yard. (2) That the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; Staff Comment: The existing lot is narrow but there are many lots in the Village that are narrow and so the plight of the owner is not due to unique circumstances. (3) That the variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. Staff Comment: The Village does not allow people to pave their front yards so they become parking lots. Allowing this property owner to increase the amount of front-yard parking would alter the essential character of the neighborhood. The Village has done a good job in the past preventing front yards from becoming parking lots. Staff believes the requirements have not been met. That is the basis of the recommendation to deny the request. Chairman Kanelos asked as a compromise does Niles ever do a dedicated spot on the street in front of a home, such as a sign saying no parking unless you have sticker a, b or c as an example? Mr. Ostman said he would not recommend anything like that because there are other parking issues throughout the Village and to start doing that would create more problems. Chairman Kanelos called the petitioner to the podium as there were no questions from the Commissioners for Staff. Mr. & Mrs. Amal Audish, 8028 Wisner St., Niles, IL came forward and were sworn in. She has two Niles police reports of total damage to their cars in the last couple of years. Now there is a cosmetic salon on the corner and that means more cars on the street. A neighbor has four cars and they park two Page 14 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 cars on the street. Another has two cars. When her husband goes out for a few minutes, he comes back there is no parking for him, especially with the cosmetic salon, it is very difficult. They want to add to the pad that is already there. She raised two children and now they too are driving. They are in university. Now it is three cars. Pretty soon it will be four cars. She can't park in front of her pad because it is against the rules so she has to park in front of the neighbors. Commissioner Schulter asked if she doesn't like to park in front of her neighbors homes. He also asked how long they have lives in that house. Mrs. Audish said she has no problem with that but neighbors have their cars too. The neighbors all have garages but they choose to park on the street. They have lived there since 2009. Before she bought the house there was an alley. But it was sold to the owners of the houses. Chairman Kanelos asked if they put another pad in front, then there will be parking for two cars. Where will the third car go? Mrs. Audish said it would have to be parked in the street. Chairman Kanelos asked how wide the current pad is. Mr. Sylvester replied 10 feet. Chairman Kanelos said if they go any more than 10 feet, then more than a third of the front yard is paved. He asked the petitioners how wide they want to make it. Mrs. Audish said 8 feet. Commissioner DeBartolo said there is a fire hydrant in the front. If another pad was added it may infringe on the fire hydrant area. Commissioner Troiani said Staff should not have promised they would be able to park cars in front of the house. Since 1929 (and since 1979 when he joined the Board) they have not given any permission to park on the front lot of the house. Page 15 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Chairman Kanelos said he can understand how the Village gave leeway to these residents the first time because of a parking problem. He just doesn't see how they can do it again. Mr. Ostman said before 2004 there were no regulations. People could pave their entire front lawn. Chairman Kanelos said now that he knows there is a fire hydrant there, he can see they have nowhere to park. Mr. Sylvester said they can block their own driveway/pad. Commissioner Dubiel asked when the alley was vacated. Mr. Ostman said it was an unimproved alley vacated prior to 2001. Commissioner Dubiel said to the petitioner she knew there was no alley there when she moved in. She chose to buy the property the way it was. Maybe the fire department can move the fire hydrant. Right now he cannot vote to approve this and he feels for the petitioner but perhaps they could get some administrative relief. Chairman Kanelos asked if the opening of the beauty salon has impacted the parking situation on this particular block. Mr. Ostman said he has not received any complaints. Chairman Kanelos asked if the Village would consider permit parking on that block since it is both residential and business. Mr. Ostman said no, there are many other areas like this one in the Village where there is business and residential parking together. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were more questions for the petitioners from the Commissioners. There were none. There was one comment from Mike Shields, 8104 Wisner, Niles, IL. He came to the podium and was sworn in. Mr. Shields said he agrees with Community Development to reject this request for a variation. He has lived on this street for 40 years. These are Page 16 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 good people and there are a lot of streets where accidents happen. He has never seen an accident on this street. There is ample and safe parking. This morning there was one truck parked on the street between Oakton and Keeney. There was a hair salon at the corner before this new hair salon recently opened. He sees no difference in the parking situation. He feels the owner of the salon has monitored the parking issue so it doesn't get out of hand. Everyone on the block works hard to keep the front lawns looking nice. He brought some pictures to reinforce his points. Concrete over the front lawn hurts the look of the neighborhood. Chairman Kanelos said it is not necessary to see the pictures. There were no more questions or comments from the public. He asked if there was a motion. Commissioner Dubiel said it is his understanding they make recommendations in the affirmative. They can be voted down for clarity sake. Chairman Kanelos answered - or they don't get made at all. Those are the two options. Either someone makes a motion to approve and it gets voted down or no one makes a motion. Either way the result is the same. Commissioner Dubiel moved to recommend the Board approve a variation from 2 provisions of Zoning Ordinance Appendix B, Section X(A)(3) so that additional pavement can be added for off-street vehicle parking in the front yard of the single-family home located at 8028 Wisner Street. There was no second. Chairman Kanelos said without a second this Board cannot take any action so this request does not go to the Village Board. He told the petitioners they will not be able to do the driveway. Mrs. Audish said then she will have to sell her house. Chairman Kanelos said that is a decision she will have to make. The Board is bound by certain rules and they have to follow them. Mrs. Audish was trying to plead her case regarding the fire hydrants. Chairman Kanelos said they were not discussing fire hydrants tonight. Page 17 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 Mrs. Audish said it is not fair. Mr. Audish said two accidents happened. Their cars were hit and run. Mrs. Audish asked if the rules were for the humans or the opposite. [Cannot understand what she is saying.] Chairman Kanelos said the code says something and she didn't give enough of a reason for the Board to change that. He's sorry and said he jockeys four cars around his house too. He's been very patient with her but she has her answer and the Board can't do anything else. Thank you. Any other items on the agenda? Mr. Sylvester said there is a reminder that on August 10 there will be the fourth workshop and they will dedicate the entire evening to reviewing the draft Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance. Chairman Kanelos heard that the gun club that was approved last year was given an extension of the Special Use permit because of the lawsuit. Would the Board be better off if the code said if there is an issue that is approved and then challenged in court, could the clock stop running? Otherwise, they are at the mercy of any group that wants to file a lawsuit and stretch it out. Mr. Sylvester said that is a good idea. Did he suggest that to Mr. Ostman a couple of weeks ago because they [Sylvester and Ostman] were talking about it the other day? Chairman Kanelos asked if that is something that can be put in. He thinks it is better and more fair for someone who has to go through the process. Commissioner Schulter asked what the extension is for. Mr. Ostman explained the extension is for the Special Use because it expires after one year. He thinks the lawsuit was thrown out last week. The petitioners of the lawsuit had until last week to appeal the judge's decision. He has not heard anything since. Chairman Kanelos entertained a motion to adjourn. Page 18 of 19  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NILES COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS August 3, 2015 There was a discussion about the appearance of the new Panera Bread store. A few things were said among the Commissioners about the aesthetics. Commissioner Dubiel moved to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Karabatsos, on roll call the vote was: AYES: 7 Dubiel, Karabatsos, DeBartolo, Troiani, Nakanishi, Schulter, Kanelos NAYS: 0 There being seven (7) affirmative votes the motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Kathleen Janessa, Recording Secretary Page 19 of 19