Zoning Administrator

Regular Meeting

Winnetka, IL · August 15, 2024

Minutes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ZONING ADMINISTRATOR 8 AUGUST 15, 2024, MEETING MINUTES 9 10 Village Staff: David Schoon, Director of Community Development 11 Christopher Marx, Associate Planner 12 13 Call to Order: 14 Mr. Schoon called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 15 16 New Applications: 17 a. Case No. 24-18-ZA - 635 Rosewood Avenue: An application seeking approval of a zoning variation to 18 exceed the maximum permitted width of a front-facing attached garage of 22 feet by building a garage addition 19 that is 27.27 feet in width along the street frontage of Rosewood Avenue. The Zoning Administrator has final 20 jurisdiction on this request. 21 Mr. Schoon confirmed he reviewed the materials and asked for the applicant’s presentation. William Eamon 22 Murphy, representing the applicant, stated the home was built in 1921 and the existing double-spaced garage is 23 sized for a household of many years ago as opposed to current standards. He described the site’s complications 24 such as the grade change to the north of the house. Mr. Murphy also described the alternative of having the 25 garage doors face north which would affect the site’s drainage pattern and retaining wall. He outlined a proposal 26 that consisted of a garage addition with a size reduction of one long garage door to two 9-foot doors and extra 27 space for parking two vehicles and storage. Mr. Murphy stated the proposed addition was modest and would keep 28 in with the home’s character and not seem out of place with other homes in the neighborhood. 29 30 Mr. Schoon noted for the record no members of the public are present to comment. He stated that he has 31 reviewed the application materials and given the site features described the request is reasonable in that regard. 32 Mr. Schoon also stated the request complied with the standards for granting a variation and the variation is 33 granted as presented. 34 35 Mr. Marx noted one piece of correspondence was received. Mr. Schoon confirmed for the record an email in 36 support of the project was received. 37 38 Adjournment: 39 The meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m. 40 41 Respectfully submitted, 42 43 Antionette Johnson 44 Recording Secretary

Agenda

Packet

Village of Winnetka Zoning Administrator Meeting August 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM Winnetka Police Department 410 Green Bay Road Police Department Classroom AGENDA 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 2. Public Comments 3. New Applications a. Case No. 24-18-ZA - 635 Rosewood Avenue: An application seeking approval of a zoning variation to exceed the maximum permitted width of a front-facing attached garage of 22 feet by building a garage addition that is 27.27 feet in width along the street frontage of Rosewood Avenue. The Zoning Administrator has final jurisdiction on this request. 4. Adjournment NOTICE Public comment is permitted on all agenda items at the meeting. If you wish to provide testimony or comments prior to the meeting, you may provide them one of two ways: (1) by sending an email to planning@winnetka.org; or by sending a letter to Community Development, Village of Winnetka, 510 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL 60093. All agenda materials are available at www.villageofwinnetka.org/agendacenter. The Village of Winnetka, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that persons with disabilities, who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting or have questions about the accessibility of the meeting or facilities contact the Village ADA Coordinator at 510 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois 60093, (Telephone (847) 716-3543; T.D.D. (847) 501-6041). Page 1 of 12 NOTICE OF WINNETKA ZONING ADMINISTRATOR PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Winnetka Zoning Administrator on THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2024, AT 4:00 PM in the Police Department Classroom of the Winnetka Police Department Building at 410 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois for the purpose of considering the following: CASE NO. 24-18-ZA 635 ROSEWOOD – GARAGE An application submitted by William Murphy (the “Applicant”), on behalf of Sarah Murphy (the “Property Owner”) for the property located at 635 Rosewood Avenue (the “Subject Property”) to allow a building addition on the Subject Property. The Applicant has filed an application seeking the following variation from the Zoning Ordinance: 1. A variation to exceed the maximum permitted width of a front-facing attached garage of 22 feet by building a garage addition that is 27.27 feet in width along the street frontage of Rosewood Avenue. The Subject Property (Parcel Index Number 05-17-316-007-0000) is generally located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Rosewood Avenue and Pine Street and is zoned R-4 Single Family Residential. The Subject Property contains an existing two-story residence with an attached garage. PUBLIC COMMENT & APPLICATION INFORMATION At said public hearing and at any adjournment thereof, all persons interested are invited to attend and be heard. The agenda and materials for the meeting will be posted on the Village’s website - www.villageofwinnetka.org/agendas no later than Friday, August 9, 2024. Persons seeking additional information concerning this application are directed to email inquiries to planning@winnetka.org or by calling 847-716-3587. If you wish to provide testimony or comments prior to the meeting, you may provide them one of two ways: 1) By sending an email to planning@winnetka.org; or 2) By sending a letter to Community Development, Village of Winnetka, 510 Green Bay Rd, Winnetka, IL 60093. The Village of Winnetka, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that persons with disabilities, who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting or have questions about the accessibility of the meeting facilities, contact the Village ADA Coordinator at 510 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois 60093 [Telephone: (847) 716-3543; T.T.Y.: (847) 501-6041. Page 2 of 12 Page 3 of 12 Page 4 of 12 July 15, 2024 Village of Winnetka 510 Green Bay Road Winnetka, IL 60093 RE: 635 Rosewood Ave – Variation Application Standards for Granting Zoning Variation 1. The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by regulation in that zone. 635 Rosewood is a single-family residence that was built back in 1921, and the current owners purchased it in 2017. It has been remodeled and added to over the years, but the garage still occupies it’s original footprint. The garage is too small to adequately fit two cars as well as family equipment such as bikes, gardening tools, sports equipment, etc. The owners have had to park one of their cars out on the driveway for the past 7 years in order to make the space work. For a house of this scale on a half acre lot, the size of the garage is a real detriment to the house. The owners are proposing a very sympathetic remodel/addition that works with the house’s existing massing, but actually improves the amount of garage space. It will allow them to park both cars inside the garage at the same time, and provide space for additional storage. In doing this, they are also reducing the scale of the garage doors facing Rosewood Ave. and going from a single 17’-0” door to (2) 9’-0” wide doors. 2. The plight of the Owner is due to unique circumstances. Such circumstances must be associated with the characteristics of the property in question rather than being related to the occupants. The Owners are working with the footprint and layout of the existing house, garage and driveway to try and improve the house and make it more suited for day to day family life. The only way in which they could adjust the garage layout and stay within the restrictions of the zoning code would be to move the garage doors to the north elevation, facing the rear lot line. However, this simply isn’t a feasible solution due to the existing grade change across the site. The ground level rises significantly as you reach the northern edge of the property. In order to redirect vehicles to garage doors on the north elevation, it would require building large retaining walls and significantly altering existing grade. This would create significant changes to the drainage patterns across this side of the site, and as such is not a viable option. 3. The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. To the contrary, the proposal goes to great lengths to work with the existing character and massing of the house. It also improves the streetscape by eliminating the existing double garage door and replacing it with (2) single garage doors. All of this either reinforces or improves the house’s existing charm and character. The proposed improvements will also allow the owners to store both of their cars inside their garage, eliminating the need to park one of their cars out in front of the house day to day. 4. An adequate supply of light and air to the adjacent property will not be impaired. Page 5 of 12 This will have no impact on the adjacent properties to the north or east. The addition projects just 7’- 7” further to the north, which is still more than double the required 25’-0” rear yard setback. 5. The hazard from fire and other damages to the property will not be increased. The hazard from fire and other damages to the property will not be increased because of the proposed improvements. The proposed new construction and materials meet and exceed local building codes. 6. The taxable value of the land and building throughout the Village will not diminish. The variation will not affect the taxable value of the land and buildings throughout the Village. 7. The congestion to the public street will not increase. The congestion to the public street will not increase in any way, because the use is not changing. It is remaining a single-family residence. 8. The public health, safety, comfort, morals, and welfare of the inhabitants of the Village will not otherwise be impaired. None of these factors will be affected by the proposed variation. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or require any additional information to review the requested variation. Best, William Murphy Architect Page 6 of 12 Page 7 of 12 Page 8 of 12 Page 9 of 12 Page 10 of 12 Page 11 of 12 Page 12 of 12