Despite opposition calling the move “spot zoning,” the Oak Park village board approved a zoning change for 845-47 Lyman Ave. so its owners can create a basement shop/cafe.
The board voted 6-0 at its regular meeting Monday night to approve the request from building owners Patrick and Olya Dailey.
Steve Rouse, chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals and a real estate lawyer, disputed the claim that the move created “spot zoning,” a term he said would be reserved for introducing an unusual use to the neighborhood.
Instead, Rouse said the Daileys’ bid to split a five-bedroom apartment into a three-bedroom unit and a cafe followed a 2003 character plan completed by the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“We were not trying to lead; we were trying to follow,” Rouse said.
Of the 16 people who asked to address the board, three-fourths were in favor of the zoning change.
Paul Hamer, owner of the Frame Warehouse and resident of the 700 block of South Lyman, argued that the Lyman property would be the only one zoned for business in the area on a residential block. “This is exactly a case of spot zoning,” Hamer said adding that a cafe would make parking tough on Lyman, and that the board would be enriching one property owner at the expense of neighbors.
Trustee Greg Marsey said he supported the business use but questioned whether the building’s owners had been improperly leasing the split-level apartment as two units.
The apartment’s tenant for the past decade, Craig Quaglia, said he had listed the lower level with the Housing Center, but only to find roommates to help pay the rent.
The gift shop/bookstore/cafe will have a Harrison Street entrance and will not be accessible from the rest of the six-unit apartment building.
In other action, the board:
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Approved the first step in naming 1033 South Blvd. as a landmark, contingent on rehabilitation of its facade and interior. The commercial building near Marion Street was designed by architect E.E. Roberts.
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Approved a grant of up to $89,000 to Downtown Oak Park to fund a marketing program during reconstruction of Marion Street this summer. The program features the cartoon character Bob the Builder and looks to attract kids of all ages to learn about construction. Bob himself is scheduled to appear four times, and the association will advertise those appearances to help draw shoppers. The money for the program comes from taxes levied on downtown businesses and residents only.
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Approved a planned contribution to the Ernest Hemingway Foundation for $50,000. It marks the fourth year in a row the village has helped the foundation with funding to give it time to devise a plan for keeping the Boyhood Home. Village trustees and former foundation chair Ginny Cassin expect this to be the last year for the payments.
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Approved $2.6 million for the first phase in a three-phase beautification project on North Avenue. A combined effort with Chicago, the project will add landscaped and irrigated medians, new sidewalks and decorative streetlights. This phase will include the area between Harlem and Oak Park avenues and will take one year to complete, starting in June. Village Engineer Jim Budrick hopes the second two-thirds can be taken as one project and that it can begin shortly after the first phase is finished.
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Approved a retail support grant of $4,991 for Olive & Well, a gourmet food shop planning to open at 133 N. Oak Park Ave.
- And the Oak Park Area Arts Council presented its annual fine arts scholarship winners. The winners of $1,000 scholarships, the colleges they will attend and planned majors are: Sarah Abarbanel, Brown Univ., fine arts; Michael Bindokas, Illinois Wesleyan Univ., music and biology; Gary “Monty” Cole, Emerson College, acting; Lucas Ellman, Berklee College of Music, jazz tenor saxophone; Joy Jones, Columbia College, film and video; Trevor Kazarian, DePaul Univ., cello; Julia Locasio, New York Univ., theater; Maggie McDowell, New York Univ., theater; Matt Mitchener, New York Univ., dramatic writing; Rebecca Spooner, Univ. of Michigan, performance directing; Ben Taylor, Tufts Univ., creative writing.