LaSalle zoning board recommends variances for 1026 and 1044 Fourth Street, conditioned on city council subdivision approval

The LaSalle Zoning Board of Appeals voted to recommend approval of a series of variances for properties commonly known as 1026 and 1044 Fourth Street so petitioner Jerome A. Reynolds can reconfigure the lots and build a new home. The board’s recommendation, made at a public meeting, is conditioned on City Council approval of a small-lot subdivision within one year and on Reynolds acquiring the portion of the premises he proposes to take as part of the reconfiguration.

The variances the board recommended reducing for 1026 Fourth Street include minimum lot size from 5,000 square feet to 4,330 square feet; minimum lot width from 50 feet to 36 feet; front-yard setback from 25 feet to 5 feet; east side-yard setback from 5 feet to 3 feet; west side-yard setback from 5 feet to 0 feet; and rear-yard setback from 3 feet to 1 foot. For 1044 Fourth Street the board recommended reducing the front-yard setback from 25 feet to 5 feet. The recommendation also allows the westernmost existing structure on the two lots to remain and to be repaired or reconstructed if necessary.

Jerome A. Reynolds, the petitioner, told the board he owns 1044 Fourth Street (purchased June 2023) and is seeking to add roughly half of the adjacent 1026 lot to create a better buildable parcel. "My name is Jerry Reynolds. . . . I'm asking for a variance on what is part of 1026, Fourth Street," he said, describing the additional strip as "about 20 to 25 feet" across the lot. Reynolds said he demolished the house on the lot he already owns in March or April and plans to place a single modular house centered on the combined parcel. He said the finished address would be 1044 Fourth Street.

Reynolds told the board the currently vacant structure on the adjoining lot has been unoccupied for more than 30 years and that nearby property owner Terry J. Horvat (owner of the western lot) agreed to transfer the portion Reynolds seeks provided Reynolds removes the existing building. Reynolds said he had a transfer agreement and asked that that documentation be included in the record.

Planning staff (Brian Brown) discussed technical details of the proposed reconfiguration and referenced the need for a small-lot subdivision plat and related survey work before the lot lines are legally established. Brown described the variances in part as "in regard to" establishing a new front line for the reconfigured lots and noted the subdivision and platting steps required before building permits could be issued.

The board’s motion to recommend approval summarizes the requested variances, finds the requests "are overall in the public good," and states they are "consistent with the overall intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance and also are consistent with the comprehensive plan of the city of LaSalle." The recommendation is expressly conditioned on Reynolds and Terry J. Horvat and Carol P. Horvat securing City Council approval of a small-lot subdivision encompassing the premises within one year of the board’s approval and on Reynolds acquiring the portion of the premises he proposes to purchase within that same year.

On procedural matters, the petitioner asked that photographs, the transfer documentation, and the proposed house plans be made part of the record; the board made a motion to include those materials in the record. Reynolds described the house he intends to place as a modular home, likely between about 1,600 and 2,000 square feet, and said because the site slopes he may construct a basement or an exposed rear foundation depending on final grading and foundation design.

Outcome and next steps: the board recommended approval and forwarded the petition to the LaSalle City Council for final action. The recommendation is contingent on the small-lot subdivision being approved by the City Council within one year and on the petitioner completing the acquisition described in the motion. If the City Council approves the subdivision and the acquisition is completed, the petitioner will still need to satisfy standard building-permit, survey, and utility-connection requirements before construction can begin.

The board’s action does not itself alter property lines or authorize construction; it is a recommendation to the City Council ands places time-limited conditions on the petitioner and owners. The transcript shows the board included the petitioner’s transfer agreement and photographs in the meeting record and instructed staff to include those exhibits when forwarding the recommendation.