CITY OF WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON, ILLINOIS
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 - 6:30 P.M.

AGENDA

CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
APPROVE MINUTES OF DECEMBER 2, 2009  PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 
REVIEW AGENDA - ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS
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STAFF REPORTS

COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS
CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

From:  Jon R. Oliphant, AICP, Planning & Development Director
Subject:  Home Occupation Regulations
Date:  December 23, 2009

Enclosed is a draft ordinance that incorporates many of the items that were discussed at the last meeting pertaining to home occupations. Staff also met following the meeting to further discuss appropriate changes to our existing ordinance.

There are only a few significant changes. They are as follows:

  1. The Code Enforcement Officer would be given the ability to grant a home occupation permit for uses that are not listed within the Administratively Granted Permits section that are clearly incidental to the principal structure and will not have an affect on the nearby properties. This provision gives staff the ability to issue permits that are proven to be minor home occupations and should not have to go through the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).
  2. A prohibited home occupation list was created. This includes tattoo and body piercing establishments as well as other uses that are not intended to be operated out of a home.
  3. In addition to the Conditions for Use that are identified, the applicant for a home occupation must prove to the ZBA that it will not endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort, or general welfare. It must also not impact the enjoyment or property values within the neighborhood. This allows the ZBA discretion in making a decision on each case outside of the various conditions.
  4. A 13th condition was added to require that the owner, if different from the applicant, has given consent to the proposed home occupation.

General discussion will be held at the January 6 Planning Commission meeting to ensure that the draft ordinance addresses the concerns that were previously mentioned. Most likely, a public hearing will be scheduled for the February meeting to Please contact me at 444-1135 or joliphant@ci.washington.il.us with any questions you may have.

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From:  Jon R. Oliphant, AICP, Planning & Development Director
Subject:  Public Hearing – Subdivision and Zoning Code Text Amendments
Date:  December 30, 2009

Staff issued a building permit for the construction of a five-unit condo on Jesse Street in Wilmor Estates in December 2007. Only one of the five units was completed before construction ceased about a year ago. Changes in lending practices for condos by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now require that at least 70 percent of the units be sold before secondary financing could be secured. This has had a direct impact on the viability of the Wilmor Estates condo. Having the building sit unoccupied is not the desired scenario for either the developer or the city.

Following this change, the city was approached about converting this structure into a rowhouse. There is currently nothing within the Zoning and Subdivision Codes that would allow such a conversion. Traditional rowhousing is built parallel to the street while the Wilmor Estates structure is built perpendicular to Jesse Street. Therefore, in addition to drafting language to allow for rowhousing, it needed to be created to would allow for the division of the individual lots (which was not required with a condo because the remainder of the lot is a common area) without having direct frontage onto a public street.

Draft Subdivision and Zoning Code text amendments are enclosed. Part of the Subdivision Code amendment would allow for shared elements, such as driveways and roofs, so long as the maintenance and management agreements for those elements are submitted to and approved by the city. In the specific case of the Wilmor Estates structure, there would be a shared roof and driveway, which would act in a similar manner as a condo. Rowhouses would also be excluded from the requirement for access and frontage onto a public street.

The Zoning Code text amendments would only allow rowhouses in the R-2 (Multi-Family Residential) district. Separate water and sewer hookups would be required, as would be required for other single- and two-family dwelling units. Each unit would have to have a minimum of 20 feet of lot width per rowhouse lot, with a minimum lot width of at least 75 feet. The other change would require that an ingress/egress easement be provided along at least one side of the structure and ten feet adjacent to the rear of the building. This would ensure access to each of the interior rowhouse units. The Public Services Committee discussed the allowance of rowhouses at two of its meetings to address any infrastructure issues that may arise.

A public hearing has been scheduled for each of the amendments at the January 6 Planning Commission meeting.

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