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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 8/2/1993 - Zoning Board of Appeals ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AUGUST 2, 1993 CITY OF MCHENRY � IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION ) OF MCHENRY ST,aTE BANK TRUST #4773 ) Z-366 FOR AN ENTRY )F AN AMENDMENT TO ) MCHENRY STATE BANK TRUST THE ZONING OR)INANCE OF THE CITY ) TRUST N0. 4773 OF MCHENRY, M��HENRY COUNTY, ) DOBYN'S HOUSE ILLINOIS. ) MAP AMENDMENT REPORT OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS TO THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF MCHENRY, ILLINOIS A hearing on the above-captioned petition was held on August 2, 1993. Chairman Semrow called the hearing to order at 7:33 p.m. The following persons were in attendance: 1. Zoning Board Members: Richard Adamson, Randy Christensen, Wayne Dixon, Emil Kleemann, Harry Semrow, John Swierk, Donna Tobeck. Absent: None. 2. Attorney for Zoning Board: David McArdle. 3. Recording Secretary: Kathleen Kunzer. 4. Director of Building & Zoning: John A. Lobaito. 5. Petitioner: Dobyn's House Restaurant represented by Charles Miller, 5635 West � Chesapeake, McHenry Illinois 60050. 6. Attorney for the Petitioner: William M. Carroll , Jr. , 1720 S. Eastwood Drive, Woodstock Illinois 60098. 7. City Council Members: Alderman William Baird, Alderman Terence Locke. 8. Court Reporter: None. 9. Objectors: 1. Phyllis Nimtz, 3315 W. Venice Ave, McHenry. 2. Jerri Doolin, 3960 W. Honey Cr. Circle, Greenfield, Wi . 3. Elaine Frantz, 1120 Manchester Mall , McHenry. 4. Victricia Diedrich, Box 255, McHenry. NOTICE OF PUBLICATION Notification of this hearing was published in the Northwest Herald on July 14, 1993. The Publisher�'s Certificate of Publication regarding this matter is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Notification was made to all abutting property owners. An affidavit of service and posting of the subject property is on file with regard to this matter. SUNaIARY The Petitioner is requesting that the subject property be reclassified from RS-4 to C-4 to permit; the expansion of a parking lot for the Dobyn' s House Restaurant. � Page 2 ZBA-Dobyn's House 8/2/93 LOCATION OF SUBJECT PROPERTY The property��hich is the subject of this petition is located immediately west of the �-- Dobyn's House Restaurant, 1202 North Riverside Drive, McHenry, Illinois 60050. TESTIMONY Chairman Semrow swore in the following witness for the Petitioner: 1) Charles J. Miller, 5635 West Chesapeake, McHenry Illinois 60050. Attorney Carroll provided a brief history of the Dobyn's House Restaurant and asked the witness if he would ratify the contents of the Petition before the Board. Miller said he did ratify the Petition. Carroll asked Miller that if the reclassification request were granted, would the property located at 3315 West Venice Lane be adversely affected; would there be a depreciation in the property value at that address? Miller said the property would not be adversely affected. In fact, reclassification would be in keeping with the trend of development in this area. Most of the existing uses on Riverside Drive are commercial , whether there is commercial zoning in place or residential zoning on the City zoning district map. �UESTIONS OF_THE PETITIONER BY_MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Swierk asked if the City had any plans for possibly connecting Venice Lane to Riverside Drive and creating a loop. Lobaito said he had spoken to the Director of Public Works and there was no interest in connecting the two streets. Swierk asked if the two parcels which are the subject of the Petition would be connected to the Dobyn's House. Swierk expressed concern regarding granting the rezoning request and the Petitioner would then be able to sell off the lots to another party who could then use the property for any use permitted in the C-4 classification. Swierk said he is worried about the potential sale of the subject property once it is rezoned. `,. Semrow said the Petitioner is requesting that the subject property be rezoned to C-4; all permitted uses in that district would then be allowed. Swierk said that because there are two distinct and separate lots involved here which are being reclassified, there would be nothing which would prohibit the Petitioner (or anyone to whom he would sell those lots) from erecting a separate building on each of those lots. The Petitioner (or the new owner, if there should be one) would not have to meet any of the requirements of the commercial district. The C-4 district is exempt from all bulk requirements , parking and screening requirements, etc. Swierk asked the Petitioner if he would be agreeable to just having parking for the Dobyn's House on the subject property. Miller said that would not be agreeable; he would not agree to such a stipulation or condition by the Board. Miller said that is how this matter would have been handled in the old days. Swierk said he was not sure that C-4 classification would be appropriate for this property. Th� C-4 classification was meant for existing downtown district. If C-4 zoning is granted, there would be no setback requirements and no parking requirements. This could have the potential for creating more parking problems for an area of town which is already facing problems with providing parking. Christensen asked the occupancy load for the Dobyn's House. The maximum load is 199. Christensen said he is concerned about too many people in the building if the parking capacity is increased. Semrow asked the Petitioner if he has encountered any difficulty in serving the existing clientele with the parking as it exists at the present time. Miller said that more parking will not necessarily bring in more � customers. The customers are there now and can not find room to park their vehicles. Page 3 ZBA-Dobyn's House 8/2/93 Lobaito said the Dobyn' s House has recently been issued a permit to construct a �-- pavilion to �e used for catering weddings and other larger parties. There is a need in the commuriity for a larger facility which could be used for this purpose. When this facility is complete, there will be a need for additional parking. That is part of the reasoii that the matter is before the Board at this time. Miller said the pavilion wil- be used for weddings and other special occasion parties. The permit has been issued and it is not contingent upon the zoning request being granted this evening. QUESTIONS OF PETITIONER BY THE OBJECTORS --------------------------------- P�llis_Nimtz: "Where will the fence be located?" Miller said the fence would temporarily be placed east of the residence which is located at 3313 West Venice Avenue. The fence would be erected parallel to the eastern property line of that lot. Lobaito said it would be the Petitioner's responsibility to maintain the fence or other screening as long as this remains a parking lot. Semrow said the Board could consider waiving the requirement for a fence in this area if the fence is objectionable to Ms. Nimtz. The Petitioner could be asked to screen with shrubs or bushes instead of a fence. Victricia Diedrich: "If this property is already being used as a parking lot, why rezone it? What will it be used for if it is zoned C-4?" Semrow said the Board could not possibly know what this property could ultimately be used for. Miller said that this entire area should be zoned commercial . The Comprehensive Plan for the City indicates that the desire of the City is for commercial zoning in this part of �, town. CLOSING STATEMENT BY PETITIONER --- — -- --- ------ -- Attorney Carroll said the proposed zoning reclassification of the subject property is in line with the growth coming to this area. The Board is familiar with other projects the Petitioner has completed for the City. The City is familiar with what the Petitioner has done for the neighborhood and the community in general . The Petitioner respectfully requests that the reclassification to C-4 be granted. STATEMENTS BY THE OBJECTORS P�llis Nimtz: "I am very unhappy. It will depreciate my property value greatly." Chairman Semrow said, "there being nothing further before this Board with regard to the Petition, the Board will consider the Petition at this time, unless there is a motion to re�ess by a member of the Board. There being no motion to recess, the Chair will entertain a motion with regard to the Petition," DELIBERATION AND RECOMMENDATION Swierk said the property should not be reclassified to C-4; the Board should consider a use variance instead so that all requirements of the commercial district would have to be met. Semrow said there is no provision for the grant of a use variance in the Zoning Ordinance. Attorney McArdle said the alternative to reclassification would be to resubdivide the lots in question so that they would be combined with the remainder of the Petitioners � property. Ti�ere would then be restrictions as to one principal building per lot and the PetitionE�r would not be permitted to erect buildings on each of these lots if the reclassification request is granted. Page 4 ZBA-Dobyn's House 8/2/93 Swierk asked i-= the Board could recess the hearing until such time as the Petition `-- has been revised. Semrow said that there has been no directive to revise the Petition. Tobeck asked tne Petitioner if he would consider resubdividing this property and resubmitting w�ien that process has been completed. Miller said he would not; that would go again��t his principles. He said that he is asking that the property be reclassified to C-4 and that there be no restrictions or conditions placed upon the reclassification. Miller asked if the Board would place restrictions on each of the other businesses in the downtown district who currently have C-4 zoning? Miller said it is not fair to ask him to agree to restrictions with regard to this Petition. Swierk said he has concerns in that the Board would be creating additional C-4 parcels which would not have to adhere to parking requirements and setback requirements of the ordinance. The Board would be adding to the parking dilemma which already exists on Riverside Drive. Semrow said he has concerns about the subject property abutting a residential district. The C-4 district allows a plethora of commercial uses which would be adjacent to an existing residential neighborhood. Motion by Swierk, seconded by Dixon to recommend to the City Council that the Petitioner's request that the subject property be reclassified from RS-4 to C-4 to permit a parking lot be granted; and that the Approval Criteria for Zoning Amendments, Table 33, page 401 of the Zoning Ordinance have been met. � Voting Aye: Adamson, Semrow. Voting Nay: Christensen, Dixon, Kleemann, Swierk, Tobeck. Not Voting: None. Abstained: None. Absent: None. Motion denied 2-5. There will be no recommendation to the City Council . OTHER BUSINESS Discussion ensued regarding the definition of "bedroom" in the zoning ordinance. There was concern about builders finding ways to get around the definition in order to bypass the correct amount of developer donations which should be paid at time of building permit issuance. General discussion followed regarding prohibiting reclassification to C-4 Commercial District in thE� future. It was the consensus of the Board that the intent of the Ordinance is t�� permit 0 lot lines and no parking requirements for pre-existing commercial devE�lopment in the downtown area, but that to create new areas of C-4 would cause additional parking problems in the downtown area. The Board directed the City Attorney to draft a Zoning Petition which would address this matter. The consensus of the Board was to approve the format of the proposed applications for relief before the Zoning Board of Appeals. � ADJOURNMENT Motion by Christensen, seconded by Tobeck to adjourn this hearing at 8:52 p.m. Page 5 ZBA-Dobyn's House 8/2/93 Voting Aye: Adamson, Christensen, Dixon, Kleemann, Semrow, Swierk, Tobeck. �, Voting Nay: None. Not Voting: None. Abstaining: None. Absent: None. Motion carried 7-0. Hearing adjourned at 8:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ��� Harry emrow, Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals c: Agenda, Zoning Board of Appeals (7) , Plan Commission (7) , City Administrator, Director of Building & Zoning, Public Works Administration, Objectors (4) , City Attorney, City Engineers, Aldermen Reference Copy, Petitioner, Building & Zoning Zoning File, Landmark Commission Chairman, Northwest Herald, City Clerk File. Doc/ZBAMIN.366 � �.