PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing to consider a variance to permit a detached garage/summer kitchen to exceed the height limitation for an accessory structure at 337 N. Sleight Street - DEV-0101-2025
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Anna Franco, AICP, Community Planner
ENTITLEMENTS REQUESTED:
A variance to Naperville Municipal Code Section 6-2-10:3 (Accessory Buildings, Structures, and Uses of Land: Height Limitations) to permit a detached garage/summer kitchen to exceed the eighteen (18) foot height limitation for accessory structures.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for DEV-0101-2025 was published in the Naperville Sun on Sunday, November 2, 2025.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is located at the southwest corner of Sleight Street and 4th Avenue, just south of the BNSF commuter railroad tracks, and is zoned R2 (Single-Family and Low Density Multiple-Family Residence District). The property is approximately 8,092 square feet and is improved with a two-story single-family residence and detached, historic summer kitchen structure.
The existing summer kitchen is approximately 319 square feet and sixteen (16) feet in height and is located to the west of the primary residence on the property. The structure has a setback of 3.53 feet from the west property line and therefore does not comply with the minimum detached accessory structure setback of five feet as outlined in Municipal Code Section 6-2-10:1 (Accessory Buildings, Structures and Use of Land: Location). There is no garage on the property, so vehicles currently park on the small driveway off 4th Avenue, which is slightly less in length than a standard parking space. Since no garage currently exists, the property does not comply with the City requirement for the provision of one enclosed parking space per Municipal Code Section 6-9-2:4.2.1 (Off-Street Parking Facilities).
DISCUSSION:
The petitioner and property owner, Lisa Coronel, has submitted a petition for approval of a variance in order to lift the existing detached summer kitchen about six (6) feet and construct a garage underneath the summer kitchen at the property. According to the property owner, the summer kitchen is historic in nature and is believed to have been moved to the property in the 1940s.
The new detached structure will be two stories, with the garage and a new lean-to summer kitchen addition located on the first floor and the lifted summer kitchen structure comprising the second floor. The structure will be located about seven and half (7.5) feet south of the front wall of the existing summer kitchen to accommodate a longer driveway to 4th Avenue and will comply with all applicable setbacks. The new structure will have a total footprint of about 530 square feet and a height of twenty-two (22) feet.
The accessory structure regulations of the Naperville Municipal Code state that accessory structures in residential districts shall be limited to a maximum of eighteen (18) feet, as measured from the grade at the base of the structure to the highest point of the roof. The proposed structure is four feet higher than the maximum permitted height due to the fixed height of the existing summer kitchen and therefore requires approval of a variance to Municipal Code Section 6-2-10:3 (Accessory Buildings, Structures, and Uses of Land: Height Limitations).
Findings of Fact
Staff is supportive of the variance to the maximum accessory structure height as the proposal is a creative solution for both preserving a historic summer kitchen structure while also bringing the structure into compliance with required setbacks and the property into compliance with the minimum residential parking requirement. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Zoning Variance are attached. Upon review, staff agrees with the petitioner’s findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Please note that the property owner has confirmed that the structure will not be used as an accessory dwelling unit as accessory dwellings are not permitted in the City at this time.
Key Takeaways
• The subject property is improved with a single-family home and detached historic summer kitchen structure. The owner wishes to preserve the existing detached summer kitchen and construct a garage underneath the summer kitchen at the property, which requires a variance to the height limitation for accessory structures.
• Staff is supportive of the requested variance as the proposal preserves a historic structure and brings the structure into compliance with required setbacks and parking regulations.