Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting
Regular MeetingUrbana, IL · January 20, 2021
Minutes
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
URBANA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
DATE: January 20, 2021 APPROVED
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
PLACE: Zoom Webinar
_______________________________________________________________________________
MEMBERS ATTENDING Joanne Chester, Ashlee McLaughlin, Adam Rusch, Nancy
REMOTELY: Uchtmann, Charles Warmbrunn
MEMBER ATTENDING Harvey Welch
AT CITY BUILDING:
MEMBERS ABSENT Matt Cho
STAFF PRESENT Kevin Garcia, Principal Planner; Katherine Trotter, Planner I;
Jason Liggett, UPTV Manager
OTHERS PRESENT Gary Apfelstadt, Mick Wolf
1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM
Chair Welch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken, and he declared a
quorum of the members present.
2. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
Mr. Garcia noted that Case No. ZBA-2020-MAJ-09 would not be heard due to an error in the
legal ad. Planning staff would re-advertise the legal ad and the Zoning Board of Appeals would
consider the case at the February 17, 2021 regular meeting.
3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The minutes from the December 16, 2020 regular meeting were presented for approval. Ms.
Uchtmann moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals approve the minutes as written. Mr. Rusch
seconded the motion. Roll call on the motion was as follows:
Ms. Chester - Yes Ms. McLaughlin - Yes
Mr. Rusch - Yes Ms. Uchtmann - Yes
Mr. Warmbrunn - Yes Mr. Welch - Yes
The minutes of the December 16, 2020 regular meeting were approved as written.
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January 20, 2021
4. COMMUNICATIONS
There were none.
5. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were none.
6. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS
ZBA-2020-C-05 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a
duplex at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family Residential Zoning District.
ZBA-2020-MAJ-07 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt to allow a duplex on a lot 50 feet wide
and 5,775 square feet in area at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family
Residential Zoning District.
ZBA-2020-MAJ-08 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt to reduce the number of parking spaces
required for a duplex from four to two at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family
Residential Zoning District.
ZBA-2020-MAJ-09 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt to allow a garage to encroach four feet
into a required 15-foot front yard at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family
Residential Zoning District. {This case was continued to the February 17, 2021 meeting.}
Chair Welch opened the public hearing for Case Nos. ZBA-2020-C-05, ZBA-2020-MAJ-07 and
ZBA-2020-MAJ-08 simultaneously since they relate to the same property. He restated that Case
No. ZBA-2020-MAJ-09 would be continued to the next regular meeting of the Zoning Board of
Appeals due to an error in the legal ad.
Kat Trotter, Planner I, gave the staff report for the cases. She explained the purpose for the
proposed conditional use permit and two variances requests, which are to allow a duplex on a lot
which is smaller than required by the Zoning Ordinance and to allow a reduction in the number
of required parking spaces. She stated the location of the subject property, described the lot and
talked about the duplex use. She noted the zoning and future land use designation of the subject
property as well as for the adjacent properties. She showed photos of the existing buildings on
the site. She reviewed the requirements for a conditional use permit from Section VII-2 of the
Zoning Ordinance and the requirements for a variance from Section XI-3 of the Zoning
Ordinance. She summarized staff findings, read the options of the Zoning Board of Appeals for
each case, and presented City staff’s recommendations for approval of all three cases. She noted
that the applicant was available to answer questions.
Chair Welch asked if any members of the Zoning Board of Appeals had questions for City staff.
Ms. Chester felt that the issue with the parking was tied to the garage variance, which the Zoning
Board of Appeals would not be considering until the February 17, 2021 meeting.
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January 20, 2021
Mr. Rusch asked how the issue with the duplex use come into question. Ms. Trotter explained
that the first case submitted was for the garage to be rebuilt in the front yard setback. At the
same time, the applicant had applied for a building permit to do internal renovations of the
house, which is when City staff discovered that the house was being used as a duplex. The
duplex use was never legalized by the City of Urbana. So, the City is requiring the applicant to
obtain approval for the duplex to make it a legal use.
Ms. Chester stated that she researched the tax records with Cunningham Township and noted
that the house was constructed and used as a single-family house. A previous owner must have
converted it into a duplex without informing the City. She felt that the use of the house tied into
the number of parking spaces. Ms. Trotter stated that regardless of whether or not the garage is
rebuilt, there are two existing parking spaces on site. One of the variance requests being
considered at this public hearing was to allow a reduction in the required number of parking
spaces from four spaces to two.
Ms. Chester asked if people are allowed to park in front of the house on Illinois Street. Mr.
Warmbrunn said no. Mr. Rusch agreed. He said that a person could park on Illinois Street a
block before this one, but that the street begins to narrow down on this block to allow for a
median. He added that there was room for about three cars off Cedar Street and more parking
was available across Cedar Alley.
Ms. Chester asked how wide Cedar Street was. Mr. Rusch stated that it was fairly narrow;
however, it was not frequently travelled. The majority of the traffic was from parents parking
along Cedar Street to pick up their children from Leal School.
Ms. Uchtmann asked if the two existing parking spaces were in the garage. Ms. Trotter replied
yes. Ms. Uchtmann asked when the garage was built.
Chair Welch opened the hearing for public input. He invited the applicant or the applicant’s
representative to speak.
Mr. Apfelstadt, applicant, raised his hand to speak. Chair Welch swore him in. Mr. Apfelstadt
stated that he was the current owner of 213 West Illinois Street. The house appears to have been
built before 1897, and the garage was constructed between 1897 and 1902 according to the
Sanborn maps.
Ms. McLaughlin asked if City staff had received any complaints about parking issues in or
around this property. Ms. Trotter stated that there have been no complaints about parking at 213
West Illinois Street. The email communication received from Michael Fuerst, which was in the
packet of information, stated that he had no objections to any of the four requests.
Ms. Uchtmann asked how many bedrooms were in the existing house. Mr. Apfelstadt replied
that there are two apartments. The first floor apartment has two bedrooms, and the second floor
apartment has two bedrooms.
Ms. McLaughlin asked if the applicant had any concerns about the number of parking spaces or
was two parking spaces enough. Mr. Apfelstadt replied that two parking spaces have been
adequate. It provides one parking space per apartment. If a tenant has more than one vehicle,
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January 20, 2021
then they refer the tenant to obtain a parking permit to allow the tenant to park one vehicle on the
street nearby.
Ms. McLaughlin acknowledged that there was not much space to provide additional parking
spaces on the subject property. Would the Zoning Board of Appeals need to consider the amount
of paved space on the lot should the applicant wish to increase the number of parking spaces on
site? Ms. Trotter stated that she did not calculate the Open Space Ratio (OSR) for this particular
property. One of the factors in the variance requests was the narrow lot size, which creates a
practical difficulty in providing more than the necessary amount of parking. This also factors in
to the discussion about Case No. ZBA-2020-MAJ-09, which would be discussed at the February
17, 2020 regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Rusch added that there was space
to provide two additional parking spaces; however, the applicant would have to remove a large
garden and doing so would remove all of the green space on the property.
Mr. Apfelstadt pointed out that the one variance was to reduce the number of required parking
spaces from four spaces to two spaces. The variance for the garage, which was not under
consideration at this meeting, would not be changing the number of parking spaces. The
proposed new garage would be the same size as the existing garage. So, the variance for the
number of parking spaces is needed the same as the variance for the reduction in lot width and
the duplex use were in order to bring the property into legal conformity.
With there being no further input from the audience, Chair Welch closed the public input portion
of the hearing and opened the hearing for discussion and/or motions by the Zoning Board of
Appeals.
Ms. Chester did not feel that the garage could be rebuilt in the same spot because it was located
too close to the sidewalk and created safety issues when a person backs out of the garage.
Ms. McLaughlin stated that with there being street parking available and given that the area was
known as being walkable and accessible to many destinations by either walking, bicycling or
mass transit, she was not concerned about there only being two parking spaces. There have not
been any note-worthy complaints about parking issues over the years since it became used as a
duplex. She did not want to increase the paved surface area on the property.
Mr. Rusch agreed it would be beneficial to not have any more paved area on the block. All of
the properties on this block, except for one, are used as duplexes or cooperative housing.
Preserving green space is a good thing.
Ms. Uchtmann moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals approve Case No. ZBA-2020-C-05 as
requested. Ms. Chester seconded the motion. Roll call on the motion was as follows:
Ms. Rusch - Yes Ms. Uchtmann - Yes
Mr. Warmbrunn - Yes Mr. Welch - Yes
Ms. Chester - Yes Ms. McLaughlin - Yes
The motion passed by unanimous vote.
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January 20, 2021
Mr. Rusch moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals forward Case Nos. ZBA-2020-MAJ-07 and
ZBA-2020-MAJ-08 to the City Council with a recommendation for approval as requested. Mr.
Warmbrunn seconded the motion. Roll call on the motion was as follows:
Ms. McLaughlin - Yes Ms. Chester - Yes
Ms. Uchtmann - Yes Mr. Warmbrunn - Yes
Mr. Welch - Yes Mr. Rusch - Yes
The motion passed by unanimous vote. Ms. Trotter stated that Case Nos. ZBA-2020-MAJ-07
and ZBA-2020-MAJ-08 would be forwarded to City Council on February 8, 2021.
7. OLD BUSINESS
There was none.
8. NEW BUSINESS
There was none.
9. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
There was none.
10. STAFF REPORT
There was none.
11. STUDY SESSION
There was none.
12. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING
Chair Welch adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kevin Garcia, AICP
Principal Planner
Secretary, Urbana Zoning Board of Appeals
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Agenda
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
REGULAR MEETING
DATE: Wednesday, January 20, 2021
TIME: 7 :00 P.M.
PLACE: Urbana City Council Chambers - Due to COVID-19, this meeting will be held
via Zoom Webinar
REVISED AGENDA
1. Call to Order, Roll Call & Declaration of Quorum
2. Changes to the Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting
Minutes from the December 16, 2020 Regular Meeting
4. Communications
5. Continued Public Hearings
6. New Public Hearings
ZBA-2020-C-05 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a
duplex at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family Residential Zoning District.
ZBA-2020-MAJ-07 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt to allow a duplex on a lot 50 feet wide
and 5,775 square feet in area at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family Residential
Zoning District.
ZBA-2020-MAJ-08 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt to reduce the number of parking spaces
required for a duplex from four to two at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family
Residential Zoning District.
ZBA-2020-MAJ-09 – A request by Gary Apfelstadt to allow a garage to encroach four feet
into a required 15-foot front yard at 213 West Illinois Street in the R-2, Single-Family
Residential Zoning District.
7. Old Business
8. New Business
9. Audience Participation
10. Staff Report
11. Study Session
Persons with disabilities needing special services or accommodations for this meeting should contact the City of
Urbana's Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at 384-2466.
January 20, 2021
12. Adjournment
NOTE: Please note that the details of a request or application related to an agenda item may
change during the public review process. For example, a Major Variance case may be revised to
require only a Minor Variance, which may be approved by the ZBA.
Persons with disabilities needing special services or accommodations for this meeting should contact the City of
Urbana's Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at 384-2466 or TTY at 384-2447.
January 20, 2021
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO JOIN THE MEETING and
HOW TO PROVIDE INPUT
Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting on Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Anyone can watch the meeting on streaming services or UPTV. You can attend virtually via Zoom
webinar if you wish to provide public input during the meeting. If you attend the meeting via Zoom
webinar, please turn off any sound from other sources such as UPTV, as there will be a lag in the
audio. The meeting will be recorded by the City as part of the record. The recorded video will be
available on the City's website by noon on the following Friday.
Providing Public Input by Email:
Staff asks that you submit your written public comments by email by 5:00 pm (Central Time) on
Tuesday, January 19th to Planning@urbanaillinois.us so that it can be included as communications
and become part of the official record of the meeting. Due to the high volume of emails, please put
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS - PUBLIC INPUT and the meeting date in the subject line.
Providing Public Input from a computer browser or the Zoom app on a mobile device:
You will be able to use a phone to call in:
• Call 1-312-626-6799.
• You will be asked to enter the Webinar ID number, which is 82532344774 followed
by the # key.
• All callers are muted by default. If you wish to speak, please "raise your hand" by
pressing *9 once (this toggles the raise/lower hand option. When called on by the
chair or host by your phone number, you will be unmuted and you should state your
name for the record per city code*. When you finish speaking, the host will "lower
your hand" and mute you - there is no need to press any more buttons.
You will be able to use a computer to address the Zoning Board of Appeals:
• Join the Zoom meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82532344774
• Make sure you have a microphone on your computer if you wish to speak. Please
identify yourself with first and last name in Zoom for the record. FCC Guidelines
will be followed.
• Public participants will be muted during public input. If you wish to speak, please
"raise your hand" using the option at the bottom of the screen.
• When called on by the chair or host, you will be unmuted and you should state your
first and last name for the record per city code."
• Video will remain off for all members of the public, even while they are speaking.
*Public Meetings - Ordinances No. 2011-05-033 & 2019-08-051. ILCS 120/2.06(g)
Persons with disabilities needing special services or accommodations for this meeting should contact the City of
Urbana's Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at 384-2466 or TTY at 384-2447.
January 20, 2021
PUBLIC INPUT GUIDELINES
The City of Urbana welcomes Public Input during open meetings of the City Council, the City Council’s
Committee of the Whole, City Boards and Commissions and other City-sponsored meetings. Our goal is to
foster respect for the meeting process, and respect for all people participating as members of the public body,
city staff, and general public. The City is required to conduct all business during public meetings. The
presiding officer is responsible for conducting those meetings in an orderly and efficient manner.
Public Input will be taken in the following ways:
Zoom Webinar Participant
Click on the link listed in the agenda to join the Webinar. You must provide your name and email address in
order to join the Webinar. If you wish to speak during Public Input, “raise your hand” and wait to be called
on by the meeting host. You must state your first and last name for the meeting record. Participants will be
muted except when they are called on to speak; video will remain off for all members of the public when
speaking.
Telephone Participant
Call the phone number listed on the Agenda. Enter the Webinar ID followed by the # key. All callers are
muted by default. If you wish to speak, “raise your hand” by pressing *9 once. When you are called on by the
host or presiding officer you will be un-muted. You must state your first name and last name for the meeting
record.
Email Input
Public comments must be received prior to the closing of the meeting record (at the time of adjournment
unless otherwise noted) at the following: Planning@urbanaillinois.us. The subject line of the email must
include the words “PUBLIC INPUT” and the meeting date. Emailed public comments labeled as such will be
incorporated into the public meeting record, with personal identifying information redacted. Copies of emails
will be posted after the meeting minutes have been approved.
Written Input
Any member of the public may submit their comments addressed to the members of the public body in
writing. If a person wishes their written comments to be included in the record of Public Input for the
meeting, the writing should so state. Written comments must be received prior to the closing of the meeting
record (at the time of adjournment unless otherwise noted).
Audience Participation
Protocol for Public Input is one of respect for the process, and respect for others. Ridicule, obscene or
profane language, lack of respect for others, and personal attacks are not acceptable behavior. Public Input
shall not be used to air personal grievances. Speakers should address all comments to the public body as a
whole and not to individual members or City staff.
Public comment shall be limited to no more than four (4) minutes per person. The Public Input portion of
the meeting shall total no more than one (1) hour, unless otherwise shortened or extended by majority vote of
the public body members present. The presiding officer or the city clerk or their designee, shall monitor each
speaker's use of time and shall notify the speaker when the allotted time has expired. All public comments
should be addressed to the public body as a whole. A person may participate and provide Public Input once
Persons with disabilities needing special services or accommodations for this meeting should contact the City of
Urbana's Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at 384-2466 or TTY at 384-2447.
January 20, 2021
during a meeting and may not cede time to another person, or split their time if Public Input is held at two (2)
or more different times during a meeting. The presiding officer may give priority to those persons who
indicate they wish to speak on an agenda item upon which a vote will be taken.
The presiding officer or public body members shall not enter into a dialogue with citizens. Questions from
the public body members shall be for clarification purposes only. Public Input shall not be used as a time for
problem solving or reacting to comments made but, rather, for hearing citizens for informational purposes
only.
Accommodation
If an accommodation is needed to participate in a Plan Commission meeting, please contact the Planning
Division staff at least 48 hours in advance so that special arrangements can be made using one of the
following methods:
• Phone: 217.384.2440
• Email: Planning@urbanaillinois.us
*In order to maintain reasonable decorum at a meeting, the presiding officer or any member of the public
body may call a speaker “out of order”. The presiding officer of the meeting shall have the authority to
provide a verbal warning to a speaker who uses abusive, harassing, threatening, or defamatory language, or
who engages in disorderly conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of a
meeting. If the speaker refuses to cease such remarks or conduct after being warned by the presiding officer,
the presiding officer shall have the authority to mute the speaker’s microphone and/or video presence at the
meeting. The presiding officer will inform the speaker that they may send the remainder of their remarks via
email to the public body for inclusion in the meeting record.
*Definitions of Types of Language and Conduct That May Warrant Verbal Warning:
“Abusive” means harsh, violent, profane, or derogatory language which would demean the dignity of an
individual or which is intended to humiliate, mock, insult or belittle an individual.
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/abusive-language
“Harassing” means to annoy or bother someone in a constant or repeated way; to make repeated attacks on
another person.
https://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/harass
“Threatening” means to say that you will harm someone or do something unpleasant or unwanted especially
in order to make someone do what you want.
https://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/threaten
“Defamatory” means a statement or communication that tends to harm a person's reputation by subjecting
the person to public contempt, disgrace, or ridicule, or by adversely affecting the person's business. A
statement that is likely to lower that person in the estimation of reasonable people and in particular to cause
that person to be regarded with feelings of hatred, contempt, ridicule, fear, or dislike.
Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019)
Persons with disabilities needing special services or accommodations for this meeting should contact the City of
Urbana's Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at 384-2466 or TTY at 384-2447.
January 20, 2021
Citations that Authorize the Presiding Officer to Bar Offensive Language During Public Comment:
The following citations provide the legal basis for adopting UCC Section 2-5(b)(1)(d) that allows the presiding
officer of a City Council, Committee of the Whole, or a City-sponsored board or commission regulate
“abusive, harassing, threatening, or defamatory language” during public comment. The following Attorney
General binding opinions and case law essentially classify abusive, “harassing, threatening and defamatory
language as “manner”, not “content”, of speech that can be reasonably regulated under the First Amendment.
UCC Section 2-5(c) (Ordinance No. 2020-09-049. Attorney General binding opinion numbers 2019 PAC
59187, 2018 PAC 55462, 2016 PAC 45349;
Milestone v. City of Monroe, Wisconsin, 665 F.3d 774, 783-784 (7th Cir. 2011); Vega v. Chicago Board of
Education, 338 F.Supp.3d 806, 811 (N.D. Ill. 2018); Sandefur v. Vill. of Hanover Park, 862 F.Supp.2d 840, 847
(N.D. Ill. 2012); I.A. Rana Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Aurora, 630 F.Supp.2d 912, 920-923 (D.C. N.D. 2009).
Persons with disabilities needing special services or accommodations for this meeting should contact the City of
Urbana's Americans with Disabilities Coordinator at 384-2466 or TTY at 384-2447.
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