TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Beth Beatty, City Manager
SUBJECT:
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Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow an Automotive Repair Facility, Located at 218 S. Chicago Street (ZBA 2024-16)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner, Serna’s Auto Repair Corp (Jose Serna), is requesting a Special Use Permit to allow an automotive repair facility within the existing commercial building at 218 S. Chicago Street. Serna’s Auto Repair Corp is a locally owned small business that performs general auto repair work including engine and transmission repair, computer diagnostics, tune-ups, and brake repair. The business would operate as a public garage with the proposed hours of Monday through Friday 8 AM to 6 PM and Saturday 8 AM to 2 PM. The business would employ three repair technicians and one office employee.
The site is around 6,000 square feet and contains a 2,170-square-foot concrete block building built around 1959. The interior of the existing building is currently open space, with overhead doors on the front and rear. The business owner estimates that up to four to five cars can be serviced and stored inside the building at one time. The petitioner would need to remodel the interior to add office space and restrooms.
On the north side of the building, there is an asphalt parking lot with access off Chicago Street. The existing parking lot would need to be redone, including paving, curbing, and landscaping, as a condition of the Special Use Permit. Additionally, the sidewalk in front of the building along Chicago Street would need to be replaced where needed. The petitioner estimates that the parking lot can contain approximately ten parking spaces.
The property is located on the east side of Chicago Street between Osgood Street and Third Avenue. The property is currently zoned I-1 (light industrial) and has been zoned I-1 since 1978 when it was reclassified from B-3 (general business) zoning. The existing building was constructed around 1959 and used as an auto repair and sales facility for the next two decades. The most recent use was for a door and heating systems company from 2003 to around 2012. The property has not been occupied since then, according to City directory data. The surrounding lots on the block are all zoned I-1, with the exception of one vacant lot that is zoned R-2 (single-family residential). Other uses on the block include a Comcast building at the northwest corner, a residential home at the northeast corner, and part of the Ace Iron and Metals Inc. recycling operation at the southeast corner.
The Zoning Ordinance states that auto repair uses shall not have any openings within 100 feet of a residential zoning district. One lot on the block, located to the southeast of the subject site at 221 St. Louis Street, is zoned R-2 and is within 100 feet of the rear loading door. This lot was reclassified from industrial zoning to residential zoning in 1991 because it contained a residence at that time. The residence was demolished around 2000 and the lot is currently vacant and owned by the City of Joliet. Although the lot no longer contains a residential use, the petitioner must request a variation from the 100-foot spacing requirement because of the lot’s residential zoning. The Zoning Board of Appeals approved this Variation request at their meeting on April 18, 2024.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING:
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on this matter on April 18, 2024. Jose Serna, petitioner and business owner, and Cynthia Vaca, accountant, represented the petition. No one appeared or submitted comments in opposition to the petition. Meeting minutes are attached.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:
recommendation
Vincent Alessio moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals recommend approval of the Special Use Permit request to allow an automotive repair facility at 218 S. Chicago Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. That the parking lot shall be replaced in accordance with City Ordinance requirements prior to the issuance of a business license;
2. That the sidewalk along the property frontage on Chicago Street shall be replaced where needed prior to the issuance of a business license;
3. That a landscape plan that meets City Ordinance shall be submitted as part of the building permit plan set;
4. That a City business license shall be obtained;
5. That the Special Use granted shall herein terminate and lapse unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy is obtained not later than 180 days of the effective date of this ordinance and the erection or alteration of a building is started or the use is commenced within such period. The Board may grant an extension of this period, valid for no more than one hundred and eighty (180) additional days, upon written application and good cause shown without notice or hearing. Whether or not there is an intention to abandon the Special Use, if any special use is discontinued for a continuous period of one year, or if an intent to abandon the Special Use is evident in a shorter period of time, the Special Use for such use shall become void, and such use shall not thereafter be reestablished unless a new Special Use Permit is obtained; and
6. Should the property be declared a public nuisance, it shall be subject to a rehearing and a possible revocation of the Special Use Permit.
Brigette Roehr seconded the motion, which passed with four (4) aye votes, no nay votes, and one (1) abstention. Voting aye were: Hennessy, Nachtrieb, Alessio, and Roehr. Voting nay were: none. Abstaining were: Bias. Absent were: Riggs.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
The Administration concurs with the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals and recommends that the Mayor and City Council adopt an Ordinance approving the Special Use Permit to allow an automotive repair facility at 218 S. Chicago Street, subject to the same conditions approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals above.
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