TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Beth Beatty, City Manager
SUBJECT:
title
Ordinances Associated with the Development of 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street.
Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow Automotive Repair, Located at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street. (ZBA 2024-43)
Ordinance Approving a Variation of Use to allow a B-3 (General Business District) Use in an R-2 (Single-Family Residential) Zoning District, Located at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street. (ZBA 2024-44)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner, Estanislao Alamillo, is requesting a Special Use Permit to allow automotive repair at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street. Since the underlying zoning district is an R-2 (Single-Family Residential) zoning district, the petitioner is also requesting a Variation of Use to allow a B-3 (General Business District) use in an R-2 (Single-Family Residential) zoning district. Per the City’s Zoning Ordinance, Section 47-13.2A(G) Special Uses - General Business Zoning District, automobile repair may be allowed as a Special Use by the Mayor and City Council, with the advice of the Zoning Board of Appeals in accordance with Section 47-5.2. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variation to allow an automotive repair building to be located within 100 feet of a residential zoning district at its September 19, 2024, meeting. The building as proposed would be about 25 feet from the R-2 (Single-Family Residential) zoned property to the immediate west.
The .46-acre subject property contains two separate lots, 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street, which have been undeveloped since the 1990’s. The property was previously occupied by two residential structures. The petitioner owns a carwash and tire sales facility to the immediate west of the subject property and wishes to develop the vacant property for a future automotive repair facility.
The subject portion of the E. Cass Street corridor contains a cemetery along the south side of E. Cass Street, with various single and multi-family residential structures along the north side of the corridor. The property to the immediate east contains a single-family residence. However, this property contains a County Local Commercial zoning designation. Small to moderate retail and service uses and mixed-use commercial and residential uses are permitted within this district. An autobody repair shop is located three blocks further east of the subject property, east of three residential lots. Additional general commercial and industrial uses can be found to the east, within a 1/5-mile distance of the subject property. Lots to the west along E. Cass Street and to the north on E. Jackson Street are currently all residential.
The proposed concept plan for the site shows an approximately 2,090 square-foot, rectangular building that would be setback 78 feet from the E. Cass Street right-of-way. The plan shows two points of access off E. Cass Street, with 12 parking spaces. Staff will require the developer to improve the sidewalk along the property’s Cass Street frontage as a condition of the Special Use Permit. A 15’-wide landscape buffer will be required along the property’s east side in addition to a 6’-tall decorative fence to provide some buffering between the proposed automotive repair use and the existing residence to the east. Additional landscaping buffers will be required along the property’s north and west sides. Decorative fencing will also be required on the north and west sides of the property. Approval of a final site plan will be required before a building permit is issued.
Approval of the requested petitions would allow future development of an automotive repair facility at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street. The subject property is located within the city’s urban core, where surrounding properties are located on smaller lots with shorter setback distances. The segment of E. Cass Street on which the property lies contains heavy car and truck traffic with a mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial uses. IDOT traffic counts show that the fronting segment of E. Cass Street sees an average daily vehicle count of over 13,200 vehicles per day. For comparison, certain segments of Theodore Street, Plainfield Road, and Collins Street see less vehicular traffic on a daily basis. Also, while the underlying zoning is an R-2 (Single-Family Residential) zone, commercial zones within unincorporated Will County can be found to the immediate east and along the E. Cass Street corridor. Due to the intensity of these adjacent land uses and the high volume of traffic that travels along the E. Cass Street corridor, staff feels that certain commercial uses could be appropriate at the subject location.
If the developer follows the conditions listed below, staff believes that the criteria outlined in Section 47-5.2(C) of the Zoning Ordinance that must be present for a special use permit to be issued will be met. Existing residences along the corridor already must deal with several negative externalities. Properties to the west will be buffered by the existing carwash and tire sales facility. Properties to the east contain County commercial zoning and could potentially redevelop with more intense land uses in the future. Furthermore, while the underlying residential zoning to the west is residential (R-3), staff supports the requested variation to allow the automotive repair use within 100 feet of this zone, since a preexisting commercial use is located on the adjacent property.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING:
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on this matter at its September 19, 2024, meeting. Estanislao Alamillo, Joe Hammer of TWiG Technologies, and Daniel Delimata appeared on behalf of the petition. No one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the petitions. Minutes of the meeting are attached hereto.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:
recommendation
A motion was made by Brigette Roehr, which was seconded by Ralph Bias, to approve the Special Use Permit to allow automotive repair and to allow a Variation of Use to allow a B-3 (General Business District) use in an R-2 (Single-Family Residential) zoning district, located at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street. The motion carried by a vote of 5-0. Voting aye were Hennessey, Nachtrieb, Bias, Roehr, and Radakovich. Jim Riggs was absent.
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RECOMMENDATION OF THE ADMINISTRATION:
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 a Special Use Permit to Allow Automotive Repair, located at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street and an Ordinance approving a Variation of Use to allow a B-3 (General Business District) Use in an R-2 (Single-Family Residential) Zoning District, located at 1249 and 1251 E. Cass Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. That the number of vehicles that could be serviced for repair can be always parked inside the subject property’s main building.
2. That all repairs be conducted inside the subject property’s main building.
3. Any additional equipment or supplies that may be needed to perform repair services will be always stored inside of the main building.
4. That the property owner provides the following landscape easements, in addition to a 6-ft. tall decorative fence on the property’s east, north, and west sides:
o East Side: 15-ft. Landscape Easement
o North Side: 10-ft. Landscape Easement
o West Side: 5-ft. Landscape Easement
o South Side: 10-ft. Landscape Easement
5. That the property owner repairs the sidewalk along the property’s E. Cass Street frontage to specifications as required by the City’s Public Works Department.
6. That a City business license shall be obtained.
7. Should the property be declared a public nuisance, it shall be subject to a rehearing and a possible revocation of the Special Use Permit.
8. That the Special Uses 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 Uses, 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.