VILLAGE OF NILES Civic Center Drive Niles, IL Approved Meeting Minutes. Monday, April 3, :00 PM.

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1 VILLAGE OF NILES 1000 Civic Center Drive Niles, IL Approved Meeting Minutes Monday, April 3, :00 PM Village Hall Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Thomas Kanelos Members Susan DeBartolo Morgan Dubiel Ted Karabatsos Barbara Nakanishi Thomas Parala Robert Schulter Angelo Troiani, Emeritus Staff Lia ison Bruce Sylvester CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

2 The Niles Planning and Zoning Board was called to order at 7:01 P.M. All rose for the Pledge of Allegiance. PRESENT: 7 Chairman Thomas Kanelos, Commissioners Ted Karabatsos, Susan DeBartolo, Robert Schulter, Barbara Nakanishi, Thomas Parala and Morgan Dubiel. Also present was Director of Community Development Charles Ostman, Senior Planner Bruce Sylvester, Village Attorney Danielle Grcic and Commissioner & Secretary Emeritus Angelo Troiani. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Kanelos asked if there were any additions, clarifications or corrections to the minutes of February 6, There were none. Commissioner Dubiel moved to approve the minutes of February 6, Seconded by Commissioner DeBartolo, on roll call the vote was: OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS AYES: 6 Dubiel, Karabatsos, DeBartolo, Schulter, Parala, Kanelos NAYS: 0 PASS: 1 Nakanishi There being six (6) affirmative votes the motion carried. 17-ZP-5 Requesting approval of variations from 1) Niles Zoning Ordinance Section 4.3 for rear and front yard requirements and b) Section 4.3(B) for building height set back plan requirements for a proposed second-floor addition onto an existing one-story home at 8434 Bruce Drive. DISCUSSIONS ADJOURNMENT Chairman Kanelos called for the only item on tonight's agenda. 17-ZP-5 Requesting approval of variations from 1) Niles Zoning Ordinance Section 4.3 for rear and front yard requirements and b) Section 4.3(B) for building height set back plan requirements Page 2 of 6

3 for a proposed second-floor addition onto an existing one-story home at 8434 Bruce Drive. Bruce Sylvester presented the case. He reminded the Commissioners that with the revised variations in place for the past several months, they are the final deciding body for the recommendations. So the decision made at this meeting does not have to go before the Board of Trustees. That would be for all variations unless in a rare case, Chuck Ostman has the authority to approve. Chairman Kanelos asked if a variation was denied, would it end with these Commissioners, or does the petitioner have a right to appeal to the Trustees. Mr. Sylvester said he doesn t believe the petitioner has the ability to appeal. The Commissioners were given a print copy of the new ordinances at this meeting. He needs to research about the appeal process. This case tonight is a single family house at 8434 Bruce Drive. The owner, Louisa Majewska, is here tonight. She wishes to add a second floor addition. The complication is the lot is not deep front to back. It is only 100 deep. Therefore she does not have the required 40 rear yard. The ordinance states if she wants to have a non-conforming building, she needs a variation. While reviewing her request about the rear yard setback, Staff realized the house is slightly non-conforming with regard to the front yard. They ve included that in the request. Finally, the proposed second floor addition has an issue with the building height plane of angle. There is a rule regarding the building height set back plane of angle. This is something that limits how tall buildings can be when they have a non-conforming rear yard. It is to prevent overly tall houses that are very close to the neighbor in the back. There is an elevation sheet shown on the overhead. He went on to explain how the plane of the roof encroaches ever so slightly over the line that the house is supposed to stay below. That requires a third variation. Commissioner Karabatsos asked about the shading on the elevation plan. Mr. Sylvester said the architect shaded what would be called the buildable envelope. That s the area within which the house could be built. The proposed addition is completely within the envelope allowed with the exception of the plane of angle. All legal notifications have been sent out. There are no objections from the any of the departments including the Community Development Department. Commissioner Dubiel had a question about the elevation. It appears this house could move over about 15 ft. to the left and still be within the buildable elevation, correct? Mr. Sylvester said on the site plan you can see there is quite a large yard on the west side. Commissioner Dubiel went on to speak about net bulk and possible bulk credits. This is not particular to this case but in general. Page 3 of 6

4 Mr. Ostman said he didn t think it was fair to be given a bulk credit if you re not using the entire side yard and applying it to the rear yard. Chairman Kanelos said there will come a time when the Commissioners want to look at things and do reviews. It s better to talk about this at that point. Mr. Sylvester pointed out this is what the applicant wants to build. What the architect is showing in the shaded area is if a different person owned it and wanted to tear it down, certainly more could be built on the site. Chairman Kanelos asked if there were more questions for Staff from the Commissioners. There were none. He called the petitioner forward. Louisa Majewska, owner of the home at 8434 Bruce Drive, Niles, IL came forward and was sworn in. The houses next to her are small. The one on the left actually has 1-1/2 floors. The neighbor on the right side has the exact same house. The neighbor next to them are planning to raze their house and rebuild because they have 5 kids. The houses across the street are huge. Commissioner Dubiel has a difficult time reading Ms. Majewska s handwriting on the application regarding undue hardship. Ms. Majewska said for them to move to a different place is not going to happen. Her son has all his friends on the block and is outside all the time. He starts crying if they mention moving. Commissioner Dubiel said unfortunately that is not considered a hardship. The ordinance is strict. Sometimes children have to move. Ms. Majewska pointed on the overhead rendering exactly where the current house is located. There is no basement, no garage. There are 2 kids, an 11 year old dog and two parents. They are full in that house. Commissioner Dubiel said the concern is the tiny things that are not fitting. And she hasn t shown undue hardship. Chairman Kanelos asked if she had to move, would it be difficult to sell and purchase something that met the family s needs and would it cost more than putting on an addition. That s what Commissioner Dubiel is trying to get to. That it would be a hardship on your family to not be able to do this. Is that a fair explanation? Ms. Majewska said she understands. Also, if they move, whoever comes in and buys the house will tear it down because it s so small. Page 4 of 6

5 Chairman Kanelos then asked if there were any more questions from the Commissioners or the public. There were none. He asked that the packet given to the Commissioners be entered into the record as Exhibit A. He entertained a motion. Commissioner Nakanishi move to approve 17-ZP-5 requesting approval of variations for rear and front yard requirements and building height set back plan requirements for a proposed second-floor addition onto an existing one-story home at 8434 Bruce Drive. Seconded by Commissioner Dubiel, on roll call the vote was: Commissioner Dubiel asked if they are establishing a new level to approve what an undue hardship is. Danielle Grcic, Village Attorney, said you are basing this on findings of fact for this particular instance. Those facts are for this case, for this house, under these circumstances. You are not establishing a blanket rule for everyone coming before this Board. Commissioner Dubiel withdrew his second because he thinks in this particular case it needs to be clearer as to what these particular findings of fact are. Commissioner Nakanishi clarified her motion. She added that the findings of fact based on these criteria have been met. Chairman Kanelos clarified those findings of fact are included in the packet given to the Commissioners tonight. They are part of the record. Seconded by Commissioner Dubiel, on roll call the vote was: DISCUSSIONS AYES: 7 Nakanishi, Parala, Dubiel, Karabatsos, DeBartolo, Schulter, Kanelos NAYS: 0 There being seven (7) affirmative votes the motion carried. Chairman Kanelos said at last month s meeting, the attorney who presented recommended the Board review the codes periodically. He s had a request to do a review of the sign code. Can a meeting be scheduled possibly in May or June? Mr. Ostman said they typically do a review of the building and sign code and it comes before the Building and Zoning Committee before it comes to this Board. ADJOURNMENT Page 5 of 6

6 Chairman Kanelos made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Dubiel moved to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Parala, on roll call the vote was: AYES: 7 Dubiel, Karabatsos, DeBartolo, Schulter, Nakanishi, Parala, Kanelos NAYS: 0 There being seven (7) affirmative votes the motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m. Kathleen Janessa, Recording Secretary Page 6 of 6