Glencoe locks in changes to combat ‘unintended consequences’ of new state law

In response to a new state law that prohibits local governments from imposing off-street parking requirements, the Village of Glencoe has amended its zoning code related to nonresidential uses in residential areas.

During the Village Board’s regular meeting on Thursday, April 16, trustees unanimously approved a number of amendments that staff believe will help mitigate the impact from local traffic.

In January, as previously reported by The Record, the Village Board directed the Glencoe Zoning Commission to examine the zoning code and recommend any changes in the face of the new law.

That state law, which will take effect in June, will “prevent the village from enforcing any minimum off-street parking requirements within a half-mile of a transit station, which is a significant part of the village,” said Taylor Baxter, Glencoe’s director of development, at the April meeting.

Baxter went on to say that the village currently has off-street parking requirements for nonresidential uses in residential areas, such as religious institutions, schools, golf courses and parks, all of which are allowed without a special use permit. Those requirements sometimes lead to more requirements, “which are another way that the Village can apply some additional control on how these sites are developed.”

But because of the impending state law, some of those controls are going away, he said.

After the Zoning Commission had discussions at two meetings, Baxter said they proposed five changes to the zoning code, which Baxter explained to the trustees April 16.

The first requires a special use permit — a two-step process (Zoning Commission, Village Board — for nonresidential uses in residential zoning districts.

“That process is an opportunity for the Village to apply conditions of approval to any special use permit with the intent of helping to mitigate any potential negative impacts,” he said.

The second change removes the minimum lot size requirement for nonresidential uses in residential zoning districts as long as the special use review process is utilized.

“Essentially, the Zoning Commission says the (special use permit) process is a better way to handle these rather than a yes or no minimum lot size,” Baxter said. “They discussed the fact that, potentially, these nonresidential uses might have a very similar impact on a 20,000-square-foot lot as on a 19,000-square-foot lot, and so that should not be the deciding factor, according to the Zoning Commission. Instead, it should go through it lot by lot as an (special use permit) review process.”

Another amendment clarifies language in the code to require all nonresidential uses in residential districts to comply with the gross-floor-area requirements for single-family residences.

“That means that you cannot build a new, for example, preschool building or religious use building any larger than you could build a single family home in that district unless you got zoning relief through a public hearing,” he said.

Baxter said the fourth change is a “little bit complicated.” It allows religious congregations and private golf clubs to apply for the special use permit relief from bulk, setback and heigh requirements that are currently only available for Village uses.

Finally, the fifth change provides grandfathering of nonresidential uses.

Baxter said this would apply if an established religious institution or school “wants to do a project on their property that otherwise meets all zoning code requirements, they would not have to go through this special use process.”

Newly established schools and religious buildings, however, would have to go through the process.

“The intent of this was really to make sure that those long-established uses don’t have to go through an excessive process when they’re not currently having any significant negative impacts on neighbors,” he said.

He further said, as an example, if a church closed and within a year, a synagogue announced it wanted to move in, they would not have to go through the special use process. But Village Attorney Steve Elrod said if someone bought a church building and wanted to use it for a nonreligious purpose, the special use process would apply.

Elrod further said he felt the village’s process was a “good example” of how to respond to a state law “that had incredible unintended consequences.”

“(The new law) applied uniquely here, and the village promptly responded by very cleverly figuring out a way to still allow for local zoning in certain areas to protect residential neighborhoods by putting together this proposal,” he said.

Other than clarifying questions from Village President Howard Roin, trustees passed the amendments with no discussion.

Following the vote, Roin thanked everyone who worked on the changes.

“Thank you Taylor and thank you to the Zoning Commission for helping us figure this out,” he said.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.