TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: James V. Capparelli, City Manager
SUBJECT:
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Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow a Temporary Staffing Agency, Located at 235 Collins Street (ZBA 2023-13)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner, Creative Development Property Group, LLC, is requesting a special use permit to allow SURESTAFF, a full-service staffing firm, to locate in a tenant space within a commercial building at 235 Collins Street. Per the City of Joliet Zoning Ordinance, temporary employment agencies may be allowed as special uses within the B-3 (general business) district. The Zoning Ordinance defines temporary employment agencies as entities engaged in “the business of securing or attempting to secure employment of a temporary or finite duration for persons seeking employment.”
SURESTAFF provides temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and onsite management staffing services, with local offices throughout Illinois and in several other states. The company specializes in the commercial, light industrial, skilled trades, and professional sectors. SURESTAFF serves over 1,200 companies in the Chicagoland area; local clients include Goya Foods, WeatherTech, Personalization Mall, and Neovia Logistics. A company brochure and corporate fact sheet are included as attachments to this memo.
According to the petitioner, the proposed use is a professional office, similar to other professional and office uses permitted in the B-3 district. The proposed office location would see an average of 10 to 20 applicants per day. The office would be used for applicant interviews, testing, and training, and meeting with clients. The proposed hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office would have 4 to 6 employees.
The subject site, 235 Collins Street, is zoned B-3 (general business) and is approximately 0.43 acres. A 4,515 square foot three-tenant commercial building is planned for this site. The staffing company is proposed for tenant space A; the other two tenant spaces are proposed as commercial / retail uses. The site plan shows 22 off-street parking spaces for the development. In March 2017, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved variations on building setbacks, landscaping setbacks, and parking (to reduce required off-street spaces by 1 space) for this site. A site plan and floor plan are included as attachments to this memo.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING:
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on this matter on March 16, 2023. John Murphey, attorney for the petitioner, and Doug Howard, with SURESTAFF, 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
Jim Riggs moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals recommend denial of the Special Use Permit request to allow a staffing agency at 235 Collins Street. Pat McShane seconded the motion, which failed with (3) aye votes and (4) nay votes. Therefore, the petition moves on to City Council without a recommendation.
Voting aye were: Alessio, Riggs, and McShane. Voting nay were: Hennessy, Nachtrieb, Safford, and Roehr.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Council adopt an Ordinance approving the Special Use Permit to allow a temporary staffing agency at 235 Collins Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. That the facility shall not permit the assembly or transportation of temporary workers to a particular job site;
2. 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;
3. Should the property be declared a public nuisance, it shall be subject to a rehearing and a possible revocation of the Special Use Permit; and
4. That the business shall be registered with the City Clerk’s Office.
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