Zoning officer to recommend approval of setback variances for Addison home at 514 N. Cedar Ave.

Zoning Hearing Officer Robert Carthell said April 2 he is inclined to recommend approval of a request by Austin Smiley to reduce corner-side setbacks for a new rear deck and a front porch at 514 North Cedar Avenue in Addison Township, DuPage County. Carthell told Smiley he would announce a recommendation at the zoning hearing officer recommendation hearing on April 16 and that the development committee will review the record May 6 before the DuPage County Board considers final action May 13.

The case concerns two setback variances. The petitioner asked to reduce the corner-side setback for a proposed rear deck from the required 30 feet to about 10 feet and to reduce the corner-side setback for a front porch from the required 27 feet to about 20 feet on a 0.45-acre lot. The matter was published in the Daily Herald on March 18, 2025; Carthell said no county departments or notified neighbors offered objections during the hearing.

Why it matters: setback variances change where structures can be placed on a lot and can affect sightlines, access and the character of residential streets. The property owner told the hearing that portions of the existing porch and deck predate his ownership and that the house likely represents a nonconforming preexisting condition from earlier construction.

Petitioner Austin Smiley, who identified himself as the owner of 514 North Cedar Avenue, said the house was built in the 1940s and underwent a major rehabilitation in February 2016 that added a second floor, a sunroom and an attached garage. He said he purchased the property in July 2023 and, while inspecting the house for maintenance, learned the current front porch and back porch/deck already encroached on the zoning setbacks. "I'm simply trying to replace the exact same dimensions of the porch, which is the higher quality, newer, safer," Smiley said, describing plans to use PVC materials in a storm-gray color with white railings to reduce upkeep.

Smiley said the rear porch connects to the 2016 sunroom and that, without a porch extending toward the yard, there would be no direct exit from the sunroom to the backyard. He also said a pool, added after a detached garage was removed around 2019, sits between the porch and a driveway and that tall plantings (he identified them as arborvitae) screen the yard from Foster Avenue.

Carthell summarized his review of the record and testimony and said he found the front porch evidence sufficient to meet the hardship/unique-circumstance standard for a variance. "I don't see any interference with any adjacent properties or any of the other conditions for a variation. So I'm likely to recommend an approval for this case," Carthell said. He noted there were no neighbors present to object in person or on the Zoom call.

Next steps: Carthell will issue a written recommendation at the April 16 zoning hearing officer recommendation hearing at 3:00 p.m. The DuPage County Development Committee will review the hearing record and the ZHO recommendation at a May 6 meeting; the full DuPage County Board is scheduled to make the final determination May 13. Carthell told Smiley attendance at the committee or board meetings is not required but said they are likely in person.

The hearing record includes a survey dated June 2023 and photographs of the existing front and back porch areas submitted by the petitioner. Carthell noted no county department objections were on the record.