TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dustin Anderson, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT:
title
Ordinance Approving the Reclassification of 303 S. Ottawa Street from R-2 (Single-Family Residential) to R-3 (One- and Two-Family Residential) Zoning (Z-2-26)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner and property owner, Tomas Garcia, requests approval of the reclassification of the lot at 303 S. Ottawa Street so that it can be consolidated with the lot at 301 S. Ottawa Street. The petitioner owns both lots and wishes to add additional off-street parking spaces at the rear of 303 S. Ottawa Street to serve the existing residential units at 301 S. Ottawa Street. City staff requires that adjacent parcels be combined through the Will County lot consolidation process in order for a property owner to install parking or accessory structures on the lot that does not contain the principal structure. The City must sign off on the consolidation form but cannot sign if the lots have different zoning designations. 303 S. Ottawa Street is zoned R-2 (single-family residential), while 301 S. Ottawa Street is zoned R-3 (one- and two-family residential). Therefore, the petitioner requests this reclassification so that they may consolidate the parcels and install additional parking.
The subject site is a vacant lot in the Southside neighborhood near the southwest corner of Ottawa Street and Wallace Street. The lot currently serves as additional yard space for 301 S. Ottawa Street. Based on historical aerial imagery, 303 S. Ottawa Street does not appear to have contained a structure since at least 1965.
The adjacent lot to the north at 301 S. Ottawa Street contains four residential units and a commercial unit within two buildings. The property received approval of a Variation of Use and several Variations in 1996 to allow these uses in the R-3 district. 301 S. Ottawa Street currently contains five residential off-street parking spaces, four of which are along the west side of the lot. The existing spaces are somewhat narrow, so the petitioner would like to extend the parking area along the back of the subject lot at 303 S. Ottawa Street to create around seven or eight residential parking spaces. Off-street parking is a permitted accessory use on a residential property. The owner will need to obtain a building permit before installing the parking area.
The City’s Zoning Ordinance considers adjacent nonconforming (e.g. undersized) lots that are under common ownership to be “an undivided parcel” for the purposes of applying the Zoning Ordinance regulations. Both the 301 and 303 S. Ottawa Street lots are smaller in width and area than required for the R-2 district or the R-3 district, so they are already considered one parcel for land use purposes. Due to this Zoning Ordinance requirement, a residential structure could not currently be built on 303 S. Ottawa Street nor could one be built if the reclassification is approved.
The requested reclassification will allow the owner to consolidate their parcels and add additional off-street parking spaces on the lot at 303 S. Ottawa Street. The reclassification will not change the current use of the properties, as the lots already function as one parcel and are considered one parcel for the purposes of applying the Zoning Ordinance regulations.
PLAN COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING:
The Plan Commission held a public hearing on this matter at their meeting on July 16, 2026. Tomas Garcia, petitioner, represented the petition. No one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the petition. Meeting minutes are attached.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLAN COMMISSION:
Mike Eulitz moved that the Plan Commission recommend approval of the reclassification of 303 S. Ottawa Street from R-2 (single-family residential) to R-3 (one- and two-family residential) zoning, located at 303 S. Ottawa Street.
Wendell Martin seconded the motion, which passed with seven (7) aye votes and no nay votes. Voting aye were: Cox, Eulitz, Martin, Radakovich, Turk, Hammac, and Leon. Voting nay were: none. Absent were: Crompton.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff concurs with the recommendation of the Plan Commission and recommends that the Mayor and City Council approve the following:
1. Ordinance approving the reclassification of 303 S. Ottawa Street from R-2 (Single-Family Residential) to R-3 (One- and Two-Family Residential) Zoning
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