Zoning Board of Appeals

1 APPROVED 2 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 3 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 4 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 5 June 22, 2015 6 7 Call to Order 8 Chairman Decker called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Board Room of Village Hall. Chairman 9 Decker and Members Craig, Geslicki, Lown, Schofield, Sussholz, and Wolfmark were present. A quorum 10 was present. 11 Village of Northbrook Staff present included Jennifer Maisch, Zoning Administrator, and 12 Sue Anetsberger, Recorder. 13 Review of Minutes 14 Member Craig, seconded by Member Sussholz, moved to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2015 15 meeting, as presented. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 16 General Public Comments 17 There were no comments. 18 Chairman Decker announced that the docket would first be heard in the public hearing portion of the 19 meeting. ZBA deliberation and decision regarding the docket would occur immediately following the 20 hearing, during the regular meeting. It was announced that if members of the audience are not able to 21 stay for the regular meeting, they can contact the Zoning Administrator for the results. Petitioners will 22 be sworn in and should address the Board. Neighbors within 250 ft. were notified of each new petition. 23 As required by state statute, the hearing notice for all new dockets was properly published in the 24 Northbrook Star on April 9, 2015. 25 Public Hearing and Consideration of the Following Petition: 26 continued) DOCKET NO. 15-Z-3 (1620 MILLER ROAD – ADDITIONS) – Petition by Daniel and Dina and 27 Sebastian Capota, as property owners, for a Zoning Code variation to reduce the required corner side 28 yard setback requirement for a building in the R-3, Single Family Residential District from 35’ to 15’-7”. 29 The Property is commonly known as 1620 Miller Road (PREI No 04-17-200-014-0000) and is the site of 30 an existing single-family home. The variation has been requested to allow for a new first floor porch and 31 second story addition. 32 Dina Capota was sworn in and acknowledged that she had provided notice to her neighbors. Zoning 33 Administrator Maisch stated that nearby neighbors have asked when the construction would begin. Ms. 34 Capota apologized for not being present at the first hearing. She stated that she did not know that she 35 had to be present and thanked the Commission for a second chance. Ms. Capota wants to build a porch 36 in the front of the building and close up a balcony on the second floor for a bedroom. Ms. Capota is the 37 current owner, having purchased the property last July. She stated she did not know she had to obtain a 38 permit and made a mistake. Member Sussholz asked what is the hardship. Ms. Capota stated that she 39 does not have enough space for her parents when they come to visit and requires a first floor master 40 bedroom suite. Four persons live in the home.  1 Chairman Decker stated that there will be four bedrooms on the second floor and three bathrooms 2 when the construction is completed. The first floor has a master bedroom and powder room. Chairman 3 Decker asked Zoning Administrator Maisch how the home compared in size to others in the area. Maisch 4 replied that the home is probably smaller than some others. Ms. Capota stated an architect created 5 everything she wanted within the drawing. The date on the plan was questioned. Zoning Administrator 6 Maisch stated the date on the plan is February 16. Chairman Decker asked Zoning Administrator Maisch 7 the date of the work that was performed shown in the picture. Zoning Administrator Maisch replied it 8 was last fall and a stop work order was placed in September. The Village is not in possession of any 9 architectural plans before that time. There is no one to verify what has been constructed is what is 10 shown on the plans. Maisch interjected that the front porch has not been built and that the only 11 construction that has been started is on the second floor. 12 A motion by Member Craig, seconded by Member Sussholz was made to close the public hearing. On a 13 voice vote, there were all ayes and the motion passed. 14 There was continued discussion in the regular meeting. Chairman Decker stated that the neighbors see 15 the home as an eye sore. Membership questioned fine amounts. Zoning Administrator Maisch stated 16 that there are fines set in place. The fines are assessed at the time the permit is issued and it is based on 17 a percentage of the permit or $250. She stated that in this case the fine would be based on the 18 percentage and it would be more than $250. Member Schofield stated his concern of how to make sure 19 that the home is built correctly. Maisch stated that a permit would have to be issued. Once issued, 20 everything falls within the parameters of the permit. If anything was done incorrectly, it would be 21 inspected and if not built properly it would have to come down. Inspection takes place in stages and 22 would be monitored. However, the Village has not gone in because there is no permit. Discussion 23 followed that no one knows if the work performed has been built according to code. Member Geslicki 24 and Member Wolfmark favored that the architect stand in front of the Commission and explain how the 25 drawings relate to the structure. Member Lown would like stipulations that the construction is built 26 according to the plans and Village codes. At the present time, the Commission can only look at the 27 present drawings and make a decision based on them. Chairman Decker asked for a recommendation on 28 the west side elevation and maintaining the shrubs that are over the road along with perhaps adding 29 shutters to the west exterior wall. 30 Motion by Member Schofield and seconded by Member Craig to accept the proposed variation request 31 by Daniel and Dina and Sebastian Capota for a zoning code variation to reduce the required corner side 32 yard setback requirement for a building in the R-3, Single Family Residential District from 35’ to 15’-7” 33 for the property commonly known as 1620 Miller Road. The permit is to finish construction of a second 34 story renovation and add a first floor porch subject to the following conditions: that the owners would 35 submit updated as built plans that are in substantial compliance with what has been reported to the 36 Board today and that there be a framing specialist come in immediately because of the concerns 37 mentioned previously and that the owner clean up and trim the landscaping around the house and the 38 property and shrubs along Miller Road. On a roll call vote, Members Craig, Geslicki, Lown, Schofield, 39 Sussman, Wolfmark and Chairman Decker all voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. 40 Old Business 41 There was no old business. 42 New Business 43 The next meeting will be July 27. 44 Adjournment 1 There being no further business, Member Lown, seconded by Member Wolfmark moved to adjourn the 2 meeting at 8:15 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 3 The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. 4 Respectfully submitted, 5 Sue Anetsberger/Recorder