Zoning Board of Appeals

1 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 2 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 3 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 4 July 28, 2014 5 6 Call to Order 7 Chairman Decker called the meeting to order at 7:42 p.m. in the Board Room of Village Hall. Chairman 8 Decker and Members Craig, Geslicki, Lown, Schofield, Sussholz and Wolfmark were present. A quorum 9 was present. 10 Village Staff present included Tom Poupard, Director Development and Planning Services, Village of 11 Northbrook; and Denise Kauffman, Recorder. 12 Review of Minutes 13 Member Sussholz, seconded by Member Geslicki, moved to approve the minutes of the June 23, 2014 14 meeting, as presented. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 15 General Public Comments 16 Nick Rentzelos addressed the Board regarding Docket No. 14-Z-3 that was heard at the March 31, 2014 17 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. Mr. Rentzelos stated that he did not agree with the minutes of that 18 meeting as an accurate reflection of the actions of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) at that meeting. 19 Mr. Rentzelos recalled that the ZBA at that meeting voted against requiring Mr. Rentzelos to consolidate 20 two separate lots into a single parcel. Mr. Rentzelos stated that he believes the minutes of that meeting 21 are a summary and not actual record. 22 Tom Poupard, Village Staff, stated that he was present at that meeting and recalled lengthy debate 23 about the alley. Mr. Poupard asked Mr. Rentzelos for clarification about what he recalled from the 24 meeting. Mr. Rentzelos said he recalled that the ZBA did not want to burden him as the homeowner any 25 further by requiring the consolidation. 26 Member Schofield asked about the cost involved for the consolidation. Mr. Rentzelos said he believes 27 that the cost will be $5,000 and could take three months. Member Schofield suggested that Mr. 28 Rentzelos consult an attorney to determine what the consolidation entails. 29 Chairman Decker said he was not present at the meeting on March 31, but said that financial costs are 30 not usually a consideration for the ZBA when making a decision. 31 Member Craig said he remembers the discussion about the alley and believes that the minutes do 32 correctly reflect the actions of that meeting. 33 Tom Poupard said that the general practice is that lots are consolidated. He also said that Village Staff 34 would continue to work with Mr. Rentzelos to resolve his concerns. 35 Public Hearing and Consideration of the Following Petitions 36 Chairman Decker announced that four positive votes from Members would be required to pass the 37 variance proposed this evening. 38 Chairman Decker announced that the docket would first be heard in the public hearing portion of the 39 meeting. ZBA deliberation and decision regarding the docket would occur immediately following the 40 hearing, during the regular meeting. It was announced that if members of the audience are not able to 41 stay for the regular meeting, they can contact the Zoning Administrator for results. Petitioners will be  MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK July 28, 2014 1 sworn in and should address the Board. There was no notice published in the local newspaper since this 2 was a continuation of the public hearing from the May 19, 2014 meeting. 3 DOCKET NO. 14-Z-5(B)(1217 Western Ave) – Petition by Mark Eric Brenner Architects, Inc. of 4 Northbrook, Illinois on behalf of the property owners, Todd and Heidi Daniels, for a variation to reduce 5 the required interior side yard setback from 6 feet to 1.24 feet. The property is commonly known as 6 1217 Western Avenue (PREI No. 04-10-119-006-000) and is located in the R-5 Single Family Residential 7 district. The variation is requested to allow the construction of a back-up power generator in a required 8 side yard on the Property. 9 Petitioners Mark Brenner and Todd Daniels were sworn in. Petitioner Daniels thanked the ZBA members 10 for their time and consideration and gave a brief background of this petition, as well as background 11 information on several family events that have caused the project to have considerable delays. Issues at 12 hand that were discussed at the last meeting included the noise level of the generator. A generator 13 noise diagram was presented for the Board that showed the possible locations of placement for the 14 generator and the decibel levels of the sound from each location. 15 Neighboring houses were also displayed on the noise diagram. The manufacturer of the generator 16 provided that the generator noise level is at 60 decibels when it is running. No acoustical engineer was 17 consulted for the diagram. Mr. Daniels said that the neighbor has a home located 125’ from the 18 preferred location of the generator placement. 19 Member Sussholz asked what the Village requirement for noise level at the property line is and 20 according to the Village Code provided by Tom Poupard the limit is 63 decibels between 10 pm and 7 am 21 and is 68 decibels between 7 am and 10 pm. 22 The petitioner, Mr. Daniels, again confirmed that this generator would only cycle once a week for five 23 minutes and the time of day that it cycles would be with consideration to the neighbors. 24 Chairman Decker questioned whether it would cycle each time there was a power surge and Mr. 25 Brenner said it would not that the generator waits 30 seconds after power is lost before it would go on. 26 Member Schofield asked Mr. Daniels why it was necessary or desired to place it so far back in the yard 27 and Mr. Daniels acknowledged that it is costing him more to do that but it would actually be quieter for 28 neighbors for placement at the desired location. 29 Staff site photos were displayed of the desired placement site showing the site on May 14, 2014 and 30 again showing the site after the A/C unit had been installed and screened on July 23, 2014. 31 The email from Mr. Brenner to Tom Poupard was read into the record which shows the request is for a 32 total setback to the generator of 4.64’ or about 4’-8”. 33 Further discussion included information that there will be a gravel foundation with a concrete pad for 34 the generator. 35 The neighbor to the north side of the property at 12 17 Western, Thomas Suqi, addressed the members 36 to again express his concerns about the noise and the location of the placement of the generator. 37 Chairman Decker discussed with Mr. Suqi that other locations of placement on the lot would not need a 38 variance and would be closer to Mr. Suqi’s house. Member Wolfmark also encouraged Mr. Suqi to look 39 at the other possible locations as shown on the diagram to see that the generator would be closer to his 40 house. 41 Tom Poupard pointed out those locations on the overhead diagram for all to see. 2  MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK July 28, 2014 1 Further discussion included questions from Member Craig regarding the sound. Mr. Daniels said that 60 2 decibels was the sound level without any landscaping or screening. It was again discussed that the 3 generator was for both the house and the garage. 4 Member Schofield, seconded by Member Sussholz, moved to close the public hearing. On a voice vote, 5 the motion passed unanimously. 6 In the regular meeting, discussion continued and Chairman Decker said the sound level decibel diagram 7 was helpful. Member Wolfmark expressed concerns that screening would drop the noise level as 8 depicted in the diagram and said a sound engineer would be a method to determine that. Member 9 Lown recognized the concerns of the neighbor and said the generator with a 60 decibel sound for five 10 minutes once a week did not seem offensive. She also said that in studying the diagram, it would not be 11 possible to move it and put it in front of the doors. 12 Member Geslicki agreed that the scenarios presented, even without screening, are at 60 decibels and 13 that is within the limits. 14 Member Sussholz said he has a generator at his home and if you are outside it is noisy. He questioned 15 the accuracy of the sound decibels as presented in the diagram. Member Sussholz said he uses a 16 consultant for such calculations. 17 Member Schofield said that the cost of wiring to place the generator at the desired location is so great 18 that he can’t see why the homeowner would put it there. He had reservations about the sound decibel 19 levels as presented on the diagram and questioned the accuracy of such numbers that were taken from 20 a manufacturer’s internet website. 21 Discussion then turned to placement of the generator so close to a tree on the property. The Village 22 Arborist will review the plan and can reject the generator placement if it is too close to a protected tree. 23 Member Schofield moved, seconded by Member Lown, to accept the proposed variation request 24 (Docket No. 14-Z-5B) on the property commonly known as 1217 Western Avenue in Northbrook, Illinois 25 requested by Mark Eric Brenner Architects, Inc. of Northbrook, Illinois on behalf of the property owners, 26 Todd and Heidi Daniels, for a variation to reduce the required interior side yard setback in the R-5 27 District from 6 feet to 4.8”feet to allow the construction of a back-up power generator on the property 28 including that the generator be constructed in substantial compliance with the plans and materials 29 reviewed by the Zoning Board of Appeals May 19 and July 28, 2014 and pending location approval by 30 the Village Arborist. 31 On a roll call vote, Members Craig, Geslicki, Lown, Schofield, Sussholz and Decker voted aye and 32 Member Wolfmark voted no. The motion carries. 33 Old Business 34 There was no old business. 35 36 New Business 37 There was no new business. 38 39 Adjournment 3  MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK July 28, 2014 1 There being no further business, Member Craig, seconded by Member Geslicki, moved to adjourn the 2 meeting at 8:57 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 3 4 Respectfully submitted, 5 6 Denise Kauffman/ 7 Recorder 4