Westmont panel approves variance for 31 S. Grant patio; requires permeable pavers per engineer specs

The Village of Westmont Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday approved a zoning variance allowing homeowners Ellen Bomba and Eugene Hong to install a 330-square-foot backyard patio at 31 South Grant, a project that will raise lot coverage from 37.2% to about 40.8% (rounded to 41%) in the R-3 single-family detached residence district. The approval was conditioned on installation of permeable pavers constructed to the village engineer’s specifications (noted by staff as a 12-inch aggregate base in the engineering recommendation).

The variance matters because the R-3 district caps lot coverage at 35%. The applicants told the commission the patio is intended to reduce muddy conditions in their backyard, and they described a plan that includes a central collection basin, channel drains and a dry well that would route stormwater toward an east-side alley. Steph, a village planner who presented the staff report, said the property is in a known low-depression sub-basin near the South Grant–Richmond intersection and that the current lot coverage is 37.2%. “The current lot coverage for the property is 37.2%,” she said, adding that the proposal would raise coverage to about 40.8% and that the engineer…