Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DuPage Zoning Hearing Officer adopts minutes, accepts withdrawal and denies driveway paving variance
Summary
DuPage County Zoning Hearing Officer Robert Carthell adopted prior meeting transcripts, accepted withdrawal of a petition and denied a variance request to pave a gravel driveway (case 25 0 3), citing lack of a technical hardship and that economic considerations are not included in the definition of hardship.
DuPage County Zoning Hearing Officer Robert Carthell convened a recommendation meeting at 3 p.m. and adopted the written transcript of the March 5, 2025 public hearing and recommendation meeting, accepted the withdrawal of one petition, and denied a variance request to replace a gravel driveway with a paved surface.
The decisions matter because the denial of the variance for case 25 0 3 will be entered as a written recommendation and forwarded to the County Development Committee for further consideration. The ruling also clarifies the officer’s interpretation of the zoning ordinance’s hardship standard in DuPage County cases.
Carthell opened the meeting by saying he had reviewed and approved the minutes and transcript of the March 5, 2025 sessions and that there were no public comments offered at the meeting. He then noted that the “JARED petition, I’ll indicate is, 25 o 87,” had been withdrawn and that he would “formally order that the withdrawal be accepted.”
On case 25 0 3, described in the record as the Ponce Milton Township request, Carthell said the matter was a request “to variation a substitute, a paved surface driveway for a gravel driveway.” He said the petitioner submitted letters from neighbors in support and that he would “include them in the record” but would not mark them as exhibits.
After reviewing the testimony and the submitted materials, Carthell recommended denial of the variance. He said the requested change “runs with the land” and represented a “dramatic departure from the requirements of the ordinance.” He added that he did not find “an underlying technical hardship, unique circumstance, or practical difficulty” and emphasized that “the definition of hardship in zoning cases, does not include economic considerations for the petitioner.”
Carthell said he had prepared a written recommendation to deny the case and that the recommendation would be presented to the County Development Committee. No motions, seconds, or roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript of this recommendation meeting. The hearing had no public comments, no additional old or new business, and Carthell then adjourned the meeting.
Minutes adoption, the accepted withdrawal, and the denial will be reflected in the official recommendation package sent to the County Development Committee for DuPage County.
