Board approves Park District addition at Irving Park Road with setback variance and parking waiver

On June 3 the Village Board approved the Plan Commission’s recommendation to permit a 10,702‑square‑foot addition to the Itasca Park District recreation and fitness center at 350 Irving Park Road, granting a front‑yard setback variance and waiving additional parking requirements.

Trustee Leahy introduced the Plan Commission’s findings. Curtis (community development staff) summarized that the existing 40,000‑square‑foot facility sits on an 8.407‑acre parcel with an on‑site parking lot of 156 spaces. The park district reported average utilization of about 25% during daytime hours and about 40% during evening hours, and said the district has access to an additional 47 spaces west of the school under an amended intergovernmental agreement when those spaces are not required by the school. The Plan Commission had recommended approval by a 6‑0 vote on April 16 and staff conveyed those findings to the board.

Key technical details: the existing building encroaches roughly 0.9 feet into the Irving Park Road right‑of‑way, and the new addition is proposed at a 7.1‑foot setback from Irving Park Road where the R‑2 required setback is 30 feet. Board members asked whether the Illinois Department of Transportation right‑of‑way needed separate approval; staff clarified the current encroachment is pre‑existing and that the addition is set back from the right‑of‑way line. The park district indicated the addition will house programming currently conducted in the building (including courts/program use such as pickleball) rather than adding new programming or staff that would materially increase parking demand.

The board approved acceptance of the Plan Commission’s findings and the recommendation to permit the variances; the item will proceed as approved in the zoning process.

This article uses on‑the‑record statements from the Plan Commission, staff and trustees present during the item.