PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing to consider the requested entitlements for 1296 E. Chicago Avenue (McAlister’s Deli) - PZC 22-1-095
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Gabrielle Mattingly, AICP, Community Planner
ENTITLEMENTS REQUESTED:
1. Rezoning from B1 to OCI; and
2. A text amendment to the OCI zoning district (separately considered as PZC 23-1-031); and
3. A conditional use in the OCI zoning district to permit an eating establishment; and
4. A variance to the required setbacks to permit the existing driveways parallel to Olesen Drive and Chicago Avenue; and
5. A variance to reduce the required stacking spaces from 12 stacking spaces to 3 stacking spaces for a restaurant use; and
6. Revocation of ordinance 76-137 which amended ordinance 72-52 restricting certain uses for the subject property.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for PZC 22-1-095 was published in the Naperville Sun on April 30, 2023.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is located at the southwest corner of Olesen Drive and East Chicago Avenue and is approximately 0.91 acres in size. It is currently zoned B1 (Neighborhood Convenience Shopping Center District) and was previously utilized as a bank with 4 drive-thru lanes. The subject property is improved with a one story 2,372 sf building and associated parking areas.
Ordinance #76-137, which amended Ordinance #72-52, rezoned the subject property to the B1 zoning district and restricted the allowable uses to banks and business/professional offices. In conjunction with the requests further described below, staff and the Petitioner are recommending this ordinance be rescinded. The request to rescind this ordinance is not under the purview of the Planning and Zoning Commission and is provided for reference only. This request will be reviewed by the City Council at a subsequent meeting date.
DISCUSSION:
The Petitioner, the Hari Group, Inc., requests approval of a text amendment to the OCI zoning district (PZC 23-1-031), rezoning of the subject property from B1 to OCI, a conditional use for an eating establishment, and associated variances to allow for the redevelopment of the property to accommodate McAlister’s Deli. The requested text amendment to Section 6-7F-3:14 of the OCI zoning district regulations is to allow eating establishments as a conditional use without the requirement that such use be located within a planned unit development. This text amendment is being considered concurrently on the May 17th PZC agenda under PZC 23-1-031.
Rezoning
The Petitioner is requesting to rezone the subject property from B1 (Neighborhood Convenience Shopping Center District) to OCI (Office, Commercial and Institutional District). The intent of the OCI district is to act as a transitional zone between intensive business areas and residential neighborhoods. Several different zoning districts and land uses are adjacent to the subject property:
• The property to the east (across Olesen Drive) is zoned R1 and is improved with Grace Pointe Church. The property to the southeast is zoned R3 and is improved with apartment buildings.
• The property to the north (across East Chicago Avenue) is unincorporated DuPage County and is improved with the Naperville Country Club.
• The adjacent property to the south and west is zoned B1 and is improved with a commercial shopping center formally anchored by the Butera Market grocery store.
The request for rezoning is consistent with the City’s Land Use Master Plan. The Master Plan designates the subject property as neighborhood center, which identifies B1, B2, OCI as appropriate zoning districts. Based on the guidance found in the Land Use Master Plan and the surrounding context, staff is supportive of the request for rezoning.
The Petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Map Amendment are included in the attachments. Upon review, staff is in agreement with the Petitioner’s findings and recommends adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Conditional Use
Pending approval of the aforementioned text amendment to remove the PUD requirement, the OCI zoning district classifies eating establishments as a conditional use. The Petitioner is requesting approval of a conditional use in order to renovate the existing building to allow for a McAlister’s Deli. Staff finds the use to be appropriate at this location.
At this time, the submitted plans are preliminary in nature and provide limited information on the desired modifications. As such, staff is recommending the proposed conditional use be approved with the following conditions to ensure that when the detailed plans are provided, the overall intent of the development aligns with what has been currently identified:
1. The conditional use ordinance is subject to submittal of final engineering plans. All DPU-E, DPU-W/W, Fire, Engineering and Planning Department comments must be addressed. All plans must be code compliant (except for the requested variances).
2. A preliminary/final plat of subdivision is required to be submitted with the final engineering plans to create a legal lot of record and establish any easements as required.
3. Four-sided building elevations must be submitted with the final engineering plans. Any new exterior building materials must comply with the Citywide Design Guidelines. Staff is not supportive of any new EIFS material. All RTUs must comply with Section 5-10-3:12 (Landscaping and Screening: Rooftop Equipment).
4. Bicycle parking must be installed in compliance with Section 6-9-7 (Off Street Parking: Supplemental Standards for Bicycle Parking).
5. The monument sign must comply with Section 6-16-5 (Signs on Commercial and Institutional Property).
6. Details of the proposed dumpster enclosure shall be provided (material, style and design) upon submittal of final engineering plans and the proposed enclosure must comply with Section 5-10-3:7 (Landscaping and Screening: Screening of Refuse Disposal Areas) and Section 6-2-10 (Accessory building, structures and uses of land).
7. If vehicles stack in the pick-up lane and block access to the parking spaces, staff will require that those parking spaces be designated as employee only parking.
8. Vehicles are prohibited from parking and waiting for food pickup north of the pick-up window (where the drive through ends).
The Petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Conditional Use can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff is in agreement with the Petitioner’s findings, subject to the conditions noted above, and recommends adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Stacking and Setback Variances
In addition to the rezoning and conditional use requests, the Petitioner has submitted variances to allow for the existing drive aisles to be maintained and to reduce the stacking requirements for the pickup window.
The proposed McAlister’s Deli will have a pickup window. The purpose of the pickup window is to have customers place their order ahead of time and drive to the location and pick up their order at the window. No orders will be placed at the pickup window. The Municipal Code does not distinguish drive-through windows versus pickup windows. Therefore, the McAlister’s Deli pickup window is subject to the drive-through regulations, while the function of the window is significantly less intense.
The Municipal Code requires a total of 12 stacking spaces be provided for restaurant drive-throughs. The Petitioner is requesting a variance to reduce the stacking requirement from 12 to 3. Staff is supportive of this variance request based on the details provided and will be specifying that this variance is granted for pickup windows only. Any future user who desires to have a drive-through at this location would not be granted the same allowances.
The subject property is currently improved with a building, an associated parking lot, drive aisles and drive-through lanes. The existing drive aisles are nonconforming given they do not comply with the 30’ required front yard setback (adjacent to Chicago Avenue) and the 15’ required corner side yard setback (adjacent to Olesen Drive). Since modifications to the site are being made, the Petitioner is required to seek approval of variances to allow these drive-aisles to continue to remain within the required setbacks.
Given the Petitioner desires to modify the existing site and is not seeking a complete redevelopment, the location of the existing building and pavement limits the Petitioner’s ability to comply with the required setbacks. As the Petitioner has noted in the response to standards, the existing improvements would likely need to be completely demolished and the property reconfigured in order to comply with the required setbacks. As such, staff is supportive of this variance request finding it meets the standards proving a hardship.
The Petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Variance can be found in the attachments. Upon review, staff is in agreement with the Petitioner’s findings and recommends adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Key Takeaways
§ The Petitioner is requesting approval of rezoning from B1 to OCI, a conditional use for an eating establishment, a variance to allow existing driveways which encroach into the setback, and a variance to reduce the required number of stacking spaces from 12 to 3 in order to accommodate McAlister’s Deli. Staff recommends approval of the request with conditions.