TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Beth Beatty, City Manager
SUBJECT:
title
Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow an Auto Body Repair Shop, Located at 115 E. Clinton Street (ZBA 2023-73)
end
BACKGROUND:
The petitioner and business owner, Rafael Venegas, is requesting a special use permit to allow an auto body repair shop for R & R Automotive Touch-Up within the existing commercial building at 115 E. Clinton Street. R & R Automotive is a locally owned small business that performs minor auto body work including paint touch-ups. The business mainly serves auto dealerships and has accounts with around four to five dealerships, including one in Joliet and several in Wilmington. The petitioner, who is the only employee, currently performs some work on-site and also travels off-site to complete work at the dealership locations. The business does not accept walk-in customers or advertise itself to the general public but does perform work for friends and family by referral. The proposed hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday and 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturday.
The site is 5,280 square feet and contains a 3,300-square-foot brick and block building, built around 1955. The building has two overhead doors: one on the south side off Clinton Street, and one on the north side that is accessed from the rear parking area. The interior of the building contains open workspace along with a small lobby, two offices, and restrooms. Approximately six cars can be stored in the building at one time. There is an outdoor asphalt parking area behind the building that can hold around six to seven vehicles. The petitioner also has an agreement to park cars along the east side of the building on the adjacent lot at 119 E. Clinton Street, which is owned by the same owner as the subject site. The petitioner can park three to four vehicles here and uses this space for personal vehicles and short-term parking for vehicles awaiting pickup. Any cars that need to be parked overnight are stored behind the building on the subject property.
According to the petitioner, the building currently has a filtered exhaust system for the use of spray paint. Per the City’s Building Division, the use of automotive spray paints or coatings requires a specific kind of ventilation and capture system as well as a fire suppression system. The Building Division will inspect these systems as part of the business license approval process that the petitioner will complete if the special use is approved. If any code updates are required, the petitioner would need to complete those at that time.
The property is currently zoned B-3 (general business) and has been zoned B-3 since at least 1965. The site has a recent history of auto repair use: it was occupied by Auto World 2000, an auto body repair and painting business, from approximately 2003 to 2017. Adjacent to the west side of the site is a City-owned parking lot. Adjacent to the east is a lot that contains a single-family residence and a rear storage building. Other uses on the block include a Joliet fire station and a four-unit residence. Duly Health and Care Field is directly across the street to the south. All surrounding properties are zoned B-3 (general business).
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING:
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on this matter on December 21, 2023. Rafael Venegas, petitioner and business owner, represented the petition. Roberto Cornelio with the Joliet Latino Economic Development Association (LEDA), Diana Viveros with LEDA, and Nick Polykandriotis, property owner (NGP Investments), appeared in support of 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
Ralph Bias moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals recommend approval of the Special Use Permit request to allow an auto body repair shop at 115 E. Clinton Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. That a City business license shall be obtained.
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.
Pat McShane seconded the motion, which passed with six (6) aye votes and no nay votes. Voting aye were: Hennessy, Nachtrieb, Riggs, Roehr, McShane, and Bias. Voting nay were: none. Absent were: Alessio.
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 auto body repair shop at 115 E. Clinton Street, subject to the same conditions approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals above.
end