ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 2013/07/22 MinutesThe City of Lake Forest
Zoning Board of Appeals
Proceedings of the July 22, 2013 Meeting
A regular meeting of the Lake Forest Zoning Board of Appeals was held on
Monday, July 22, 2013 at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 220 E.
Deerpath, Lake Forest, Illinois.
Zoning Board of Appeals members present: Chairman Robert Franksen and
Board members Lloyd Culbertson, Stewart Dixon, Jay Kennedy, Richard Christoff
and Richard Plonsker
Zoning Board of Appeals members absent: Sam Ciccarelli
Staff present: Megan Neuman, Planner and Ariel Stouder, Planning Intern
1. Introduction of Board members and staff, overview of meeting procedures
Chairman Franksen reviewed the role of the Zoning Board of Appeals and asked
members of the Board and staff to introduce themselves.
2. Approval of the minutes of the June 24, 2013 meetings of the Zoning Board of
Appeals.
The minutes of the June 24, 2013 meeting were approved with one correction as
requested by Chairman Franksen.
3. Consideration of a request for a variance to allow construction of a
replacement accessory structure within the side and rear yard setbacks at
10 N. Ahwahnee Road.
Property Owners: Dennis and Mary O’Brien
Representative: Mr. O’Brien
Chairman Franksen asked the Board for any conflicts of interest or Ex Parte
contacts. Hearing none, he swore in the petitioner and invited a presentation.
Mr. O’Brien presented the petition and provided some background on the
property noting that the house was constructed in 1927, prior to the
establishment of the current zoning requirements. He stated that the garage
was constructed after the house, but the exact date of construction of the
garage is not known. He provided photos illustrating that the garage was
struck by an Oak tree that recently fell and as a result, it is unusable. He
reviewed the alternative locations considered for a new garage and
described the challenges of relocating the garage to another area on the
property. He reviewed that locating a garage to the east of the house would
require the removal of several significant trees and would not be consistent
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July 22, 2013 Page 2
with the pattern of development in the neighborhood. He stated that after
considering other possible locations, construction of a new garage, at
generally the same location as the existing garage, is proposed. He noted
that the new garage will be setback a slightly greater distance from the
property line than the existing garage reducing the amount of encroachment
into the required setback. He noted that the existing garage is constructed
slightly over the north property line and stated that this will be corrected with
the new garage. He stated that the new garage will be smaller and lower
than the existing garage. He noted that although a variance will be required,
the extent of encroachment will be reduced. He noted that the location of
the house limits the shifting of the garage away from the property lines since a
10’ separation distance needs to be maintained between the house and
garage. He noted that as a result, the current setbacks from the property lines
cannot be fully met. He stated that the west property line is heavily
vegetated and the neighboring residence is about 80’ from the property line.
He stated that the views of the garage will be limited to the neighbors to the
north and the neighbors that share the driveway. He stated that visibility of
the garage will be reduced from the current condition. He asked for approval
of the requested variance.
Ms. Stouder reviewed the required zoning setbacks and confirmed that as
proposed, the new garage will be more in conformance with the current
zoning setbacks than the existing garage. She stated that the residence is a
significant historic structure and added that there are mature trees and a
grade change on the property. She noted that all of those factors limit the
opportunity to locate the garage elsewhere on the property. She stated staff
support for the variance as requested noting that findings in support of the
request are detailed in the staff report.
In response to questions from Board member Plonsker, Mr. O’Brien reviewed
the proposed exterior materials for the garage stating that the existing
materials will be replicated to the extent possible noting that 8” cedar siding
will be used. He explained that the most significant change will be the
reduction in the height of the peak of the garage from 21.5 feet to about 16.5
feet further reducing the visibility of the garage from off site. He provided a
graphic comparing the height of the existing garage and the height of the
proposed garage. He stated that the garage will be painted brown and
noted that the garage doors will have windows unlike the current garage
doors which are solid.
In response to questions from Board member Culbertson, Mr. O’Brien clarified
that the existing garage is setback six inches from the west property line. He
confirmed that the setback of the new garage will be greater than the
existing condition. He stated that the new garage will be setback three feet
from the north property line.
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July 22, 2013 Page 3
Board member Christoff noted that his questions were answered in the earlier
responses.
In response to questions from Chairman Franksen, Mr. O’Brien confirmed that
the existing garage was constructed 6” over the property line. He reiterated
that the date of construction of the garage is not known but stated that the
garage was on the property when he purchased it 10 years ago. He noted
that the garage has been there for many years and pointed out that the
neighbor to the north jogged the fence between the two houses to
accommodate the garage.
In response to questions from Board member Dixon, Mr. O’Brien confirmed
that the footings and foundation for the new garage will be constructed per
the building Code requirements. He confirmed that the existing dip in the
driveway will be corrected as part of the construction.
In response to a question from Chairman Franksen, Ms. Stouder confirmed that
no correspondence from neighboring property owners was received since the
Board packet was distributed.
Chairman Franksen invited public testimony. Hearing none, he invited final
comments from the petitioner or staff, hearing none, he summarized the
petition noting that the replacement garage will have a smaller footprint and
will be shorter in height than the existing garage. He added that the new
garage will encroach into the setbacks to a lesser extent than the existing
garage. He invited final comments from members of the Board.
Board member Kennedy stated that removing the garage will correct the
current condition of the garage encroaching on to the neighboring property.
He stated that the project will be a benefit to the neighboring property.
Board member Dixon made a motion to recommend approval of the
variance to allow construction of a new garage based on the findings in the
staff report and based on the Board’s study and deliberation.
Board member Culbertson seconded the motion and the motion was
approved in a 6 – 0 vote.
OTHER ITEMS
4. Opportunity for the public to address the Zoning Board of Appeals on matters
not on the agenda.
There was no other public testimony presented to the Board.
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5. Additional information from staff.
There was no additional information presented by City staff.
Chairman Franksen noted that he may not be present at the August meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:48 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Catherine J. Czerniak
Director of Community Development