Planning & Zoning Board

January 10, 2017 WHEATON PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL VOTE Chair Weller called the January 10, 2017 Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley Street. Upon roll call, the following were: Roll Call Vote Present: Ron Almiron Chris Derrick Bob Gudmundson Mark Plunkett Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Absent: Nicole Aranas City Staff Present: Tracy Jones, Staff Planner II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - December 13, 2016 The minutes were approved as presented. III. PUBLIC COMMENT There was none. IV. OLD BUSINESS ZA #16-28/ PUD/ 2040 S. NAPERVILLE ROAD/ THE GLAZIER CORPORATION Chair Weller reconvened discussion of the item on Tuesday, January 10, 2017. Dan Abdo, 1406 W. Fulton Street, Chicago was sworn in. Mr. Abdo apologized for not being at the initial meeting and stated that a revised site plan and parking memo had been submitted. He explained that the parking memo states that the proposed 62 on-site parking spaces should accommodate even the busiest customer and employee parking demands. The Board discussed the parking shortage in depth and ultimately recommended that the combined square footage of the restaurant users shall be limited to 4,700 square feet as proposed by the applicant but the restaurant users shall not be required to be alternating time users. The majority of the Board felt that future tenants would review the parking situation and would not lease space in the building if they felt that parking would be an issue. The Board also discussed the landscape plan in depth. They recommended the installation of a 6.0 foot tall fence along the south property line in lieu of the 8.0 foot tall fence shown on the site plan to make the property feel less boxed-in. The Board also recommended a continuous hedge along the east property line behind the public sidewalk to compensate for the lack of perimeter landscaping. Mr. Gudmundson moved and then Mr. Almiron seconded the motion to close the public hearing. On a voice vote, all voted aye. The Board decided to vote this evening.  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board January 10, 2017 Page - 2 - of 5 Mr. Gudmundson moved and then Mr. Plunkett seconded the motion to approve ZA #16-28, subject to the following conditions: 1. Restaurant users shall not occupy more than 4,700 square feet of the building at any one time; 2. A 6.0 foot tall solid wood privacy fence shall be installed along the south property line in lieu of the 8.0 foot tall fence shown on the site plan; 3. A continuous hedge shall be installed along the east property line behind the public sidewalk; and 4. A stormwater management easement shall be required for the on-site stormwater detention facility. Roll Call Vote Ayes: Ron Almiron Bob Gudmundson Mark Plunkett Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Nays: None Absent: Nicole Aranas Chris Derrick Motion Passed Unanimously Mr. Derrick had lingering concerns over the proposed parking shortage and decided to abstain from voting on the item. V. NEW BUSINESS ZA # 17-01/ CORNER SIDE YARD SETBACK VARIATION/ 830 AURORA WAY/ DAY Pursuant to notice duly published on December 23, 2016 and letters mailed to neighboring property owners on December 21, 2016, Chair Weller called to order the January 10, 2017 public hearing requesting a corner side yard setback variation to allow the construction of a new covered front porch with a corner side yard setback of 3.71 feet in lieu of the required 30.0 feet and the construction of a new two-car attached garage addition with a corner side yard setback of 10.86 feet in lieu of the required 30.0 feet. Shawn Gordon, 2193 Charlotte Court, Wheaton was sworn in. Mr. Gordon stated that he is the architect working on the project. He stated that the applicant is proposing to convert the existing one-car attached garage to additional living space which would include a new mudroom and home office. The applicant is requesting a corner side yard setback variation to allow the construction of a new covered front porch with a corner side yard setback of 3.71 feet in lieu of the required 30.0 feet. The new porch would be 30.83 feet wide by 6.66 feet deep and would replace an existing uncovered concrete stoop. The applicant is further requesting a corner side yard setback variation to allow the construction of a new two-car attached garage addition with a corner side yard setback of 10.86 feet in lieu of the required 30.0 feet. The new two-car attached garage would be 28.0 feet wide by 25.0 feet deep. Korey Day, 830 Aurora Way, Wheaton was sworn in. Mr. Day stated that he is the property owner. He stated that during heavy rains, the intersection of Aurora Way and Arbor Avenue floods. The proposed variation tries to mitigate the flooding issues by moving the stairs for the front door and the driveway location further south away from the intersection.  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board January 10, 2017 Page - 3 - of 5 Mr. Gordon addressed the variation standards as required by the Zoning Ordinance. He stated that the proposed variation would not be detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience or general welfare of the neighboring property owners. Staff Planner Jones stated that the standard corner side yard setback is 20.0 feet and the setback of the adjacent residence to the south is 40.0 feet. These setbacks are averaged to determine the required corner side yard setback of 30.0 feet for the subject property. In this scenario, the averaging method creates an abnormally large corner side yard setback requirement for the subject property compared to the standard corner side yard setback of either 12.0 or 20.0 feet (depending on block configuration) in the R-4 Residential District. Mr. Plunkett stated that the requested corner side yard setback seemed consistent with the other corner lots in the neighborhood. Staff Planner Jones stated that the existing home has a corner side yard setback of approximately 10.40 feet. Many of the other corner lots in the neighborhood have similar corner side yard setbacks. Chair Weller stated that the applicant has submitted a petition signed by 17 adjacent property owners who are all supportive of the variation request. The Board commended the applicant on getting so many signatures of support. Mr. Plunkett moved and then Mr. Derrick seconded the motion to close the public hearing. On a voice vote, all voted aye. The Board decided to vote this evening. Mr. Wanzung moved and then Mr. Almiron seconded the motion to approve ZA #17-01 as presented. Roll Call Vote Ayes: Ron Almiron Chris Derrick Bob Gudmundson Mark Plunkett Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Nays: None Absent: Nicole Aranas Motion Passed Unanimously ZA #17-02/ TEXT AMENDMENT/ ARTICLE 15/ O-R OFFICE AND RESEARCH DISTRICT/ HOMETOWN BUILDERS, INC. Pursuant to notice duly published on December 23, 2016, Chair Weller called to order the January 10, 2017 public hearing requesting an amendment to the text of the Wheaton Zoning Ordinance, Article 15, O-R Office and Research District. The proposed text amendment considers adding a use to the list of uses requiring a special use permit in the O-R Office and Research District. Scott Pointner, 300 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton was sworn in. Mr. Pointner stated that he is the attorney representing Hometown Builders. He stated that the O-R Office and Research District zoning classification exists mainly along high traffic corridors on Roosevelt Road (between Carlton Avenue and Chase Street) and on  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board January 10, 2017 Page - 4 - of 5 portions of Naperville Road, County Farm Road, Main Street and Gary Avenue. Wheaton’s Comprehensive Plan states that the O-R Office and Research District consists of 156.8 acres and represents 2.1% of the property within the City of Wheaton. Mr. Pointner stated that permitted uses in the O-R Office and Research District include: Business and professional offices and research laboratories. Special uses in the O-R Office Research District include: Parking lots, senior housing developments, nursery schools, adult day care facilities, inns, mortuaries, private or public utility substations and mother and infant care centers (pending). Mr. Pointner stated that the applicant is requesting an amendment to the text of the Wheaton Zoning Ordinance, Article 15, O-R Office and Research District to add “Mixed use multi-family, and Business and Professional Offices, on Roosevelt Road, as a Planned Unit Development (PUD)” to the list of uses requiring a special use permit. John Badway, 225 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton was sworn in. Mr. Badway stated that he is the owner of Hometown Builders. He stated that his company owns two adjacent properties at 211 and 225 W. Roosevelt Road that are both zoned O-R Office Research District. Over the years, he has had difficulty leasing the office space in the 225 building on a consistent basis and he has seen no demand to construct the 211 building that was previously approved for another office building. While he currently has a contract on the 225 W. Roosevelt Road building, to increase development opportunities for his other lot and other properties along Roosevelt Road, he has submitted this text amendment request to expand the uses allowed by in the O-R Office Research District. Mr. Pointer addressed some of the concerns raised by staff. First, he stated that this request is not considered spot zoning because it is a hybrid of two existing uses permitted in the district, senior housing development (the multi-family component) and business and professional offices. Second, he agreed with staff that some existing office buildings are not constructed to accommodate residential uses and this type of mixed use development would not be conducive for those properties. Third, he stated that mixed use developments could thrive in both the downtown area and along Roosevelt Road just in different forms. Staff Planner Jones stated that staff would recommend that the City consider amending the Comprehensive Plan to consider what other uses might be appropriate in this district prior to any formal action on this text amendment. It is staff’s opinion that the factors that led to the Office Research land use recommendation in the Comprehensive Plan (i.e. limited depth and adjacency to single family homes) still exist along this corridor. Mr. Pointner stated that the applicant is supportive of the City amending the Comprehensive Plan to consider what other uses might be appropriate in this district prior to any formal action on this text amendment. The Board stated the significance of this request and asked both the applicant and staff for additional information. The Board asked the applicant for additional vacancy, sale price and length on market information for the existing office properties along Roosevelt Road. The Board asked staff for transcripts from the 1999 Comprehensive Plan public hearing discussing the adoption of the O-R Office and Research District. The Board continued discussion of this item to a future date after the additional information was compiled. VI. MISCELLANEOUS There was none. VII. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Gudmundson moved and then Mr. Wanzung seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. On a voice vote, all voted aye.  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board January 10, 2017 Page - 5 - of 5 Respectfully submitted, Tracy L. Jones, Staff Planner