PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing for a conditional use and parking variance for the property located at 1932 McDowell Rd - PZC 23-1-123
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: John Scopelliti, Assistant Planner
ENTITLEMENTS REQUESTED:
1. A conditional use, pursuant to Section 6-8C-3:11 (Conditional Uses) for an eating and drinking establishment in the Industrial District.
2. A variance to Section 6-9-3:4 (Schedule of Off Street Parking Requirements) to reduce the required on-site parking from 44 spaces to 21 spaces for the subject property.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for PZC 23-1-123 was published in the Naperville Sun on Sunday, July 21, 2024.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is zoned I (Institutional District) and is located at 1923 McDowell Road. It was developed as the McDowell Professional Building. The subject property is improved with an approximately 4,400 square foot single-story building with 21 parking spaces and was originally intended for professional offices.
The proposed use for the subject property is a banquet hall, which is classified in the City of Naperville Municipal Code as an eating and drinking establishment. An eating and drinking establishment is a conditional use in the Industrial District. The petitioner, Sami A. Alattar, requests the following entitlements: 1) a conditional use, pursuant to Section 6-8C-3:11 (Conditional Uses) for an eating and drinking establishment in the Industrial District; and 2) a variance to Section 6-9-3:4 (Schedule of Off Street Parking Requirements) to reduce the required on-site parking from 44 spaces to 21 spaces for the subject property.
DISCUSSION:
Conditional Use for an Eating and Drinking Establishment
The proposed banquet hall for the subject property is classified as an “eating and drinking establishment” which requires conditional use approval in the Industrial (I) zoning district, pursuant to Section 6-8C-3:11 (Conditional Uses) of the Naperville Municipal Code. The subject property is improved with an approximately 4,400 square foot single-story building, with an open unfinished interior space, on an approximately 24,002 square foot lot.
The proposal is not consistent with the City’s Land Use Master Plan. The Master Plan designates the subject property as Employment Center, which defines primary uses as major corporate centers, light and heavy industrial uses, business/research parks with multiple tenants, flex spaces, and offices. This land use also has supporting uses such as complementary or incidental retail and services, such as convenience stores, gas stations, or product showrooms, as well institutional uses, parks, and open space. The proposed use for this property is not consistent with the surrounding businesses in the area, as this property was developed as the McDowell Professional Building. The subject property is directly east of a business center, directly north of a medical office, directly west of a multi-family residential subdivision, and directly south of professional offices. The proposed hours of operation for this business may not directly conflict with the existing surrounding businesses but it strays away from being consistent with the rest of the uses and is not consistent with the intended plan for this area. The petitioner has indicated that the business will operate predominately on weekday evenings and will include weekend activities such as seminars, work events, rehearsal dinner, weddings, and receptions. These proposed activities on the subject property require ample parking which this lot cannot accommodate.
Staff is not supportive of the conditional use request due to the proposed use not being consistent with the surrounding businesses as well as not being consistent with the comprehensive master plan.
Findings of Fact
The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Conditional Use can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff is not in agreement with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their denial by the Planning and Zoning Commission for the reasons noted above.
Parking Variance
The proposed banquet hall is classified as an eating and drinking establishment in our municipal code, which has a high parking requirement due to the intensive use. The City’s Municipal Code required parking for this use is outlined below:
• The proposed use will occupy approximately 4,400 square feet . Section 6-9-3:4 (Schedule of Off Street Parking Requirements) of the Code requires eating and drinking establishments to have a parking ratio of 10 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, resulting in 44 required parking spaces for the proposed use.
• The subject property only provides 21 parking spaces to accommodate the proposed use, resulting in a 23 space deficit based on Code requirements. Additionally, staff notes the petitioner’s parking study outlines a need for parking spaces in excess of code requirements.
• The building can accommodate a maximum occupancy of approximately 216 people, according to the submitted floor plans.
Based on the above calculations and the anticipated number of guests, the subject property is not able to accommodate the proposed use on the subject property.
Parking Analysis
The petitioner requests approval of a variance to reduce the number of required parking spaces from 44 spaces to 21 spaces. To support the requested variance, the petitioner has provided a parking study and alternative solutions to meet the City’s parking requirements including utilization of on-street parking spaces and a potential parking agreement with Grid Connect, Inc., located at 1630 W Diehl Road. The Grid Connect agreement would provide an additional 78 to 100 parking spaces if valet services were utilized. The Grid Connect Inc. property is more than 600 feet north of McDowell Road and would also require patrons to cross the street if they chose to self-park at the Grid Connect lot. Staff has concerns with on-street parking being taken up by the proposed banquet facility, as well as the Grid Connect parking proposal as reserving these spaces for the banquet hall’s use could restrict future use and expansion of the Grid Connect property. Additionally, staff does not find the petitioner’s parking study to adequately support the variance requested as the case studies included were for banquet facilities located in multi-tenant buildings and/or in downtowns/pedestrian oriented environments where parking demand and site access differs from the subject property and surrounding businesses.
Based on the required parking demand outlined in the Parking Study, and the proposal’s dependency on off-site parking, staff is not supportive of the request.
Findings of Fact
The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Variance can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff is not in agreement with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their denial by the Planning and Zoning Commission for the reasons noted above.
Key Takeaways
• The petitioner requests a conditional use, pursuant to Section 6-8C-3:11 (Conditional Uses) for an eating and drinking establishment in the Industrial District and a variance to Section 6-9-3:4 (Schedule of Off Street Parking Requirements) to reduce the required on-site parking to 21 spaces for the subject property. Based on the conditional use findings and parking study provided by the petitioner, staff is not supportive of either request due to the use inconsistency in comparison to the surrounding businesses and the proposed parking alternatives as the sole solution to the parking deficit.