Village OKs amendment allowing Jamieson’s Char House to expand enclosed outdoor seating

The Village of Arlington Heights on Sept. 2 voted to direct staff and the village attorney to prepare final documents to amend the special-use permit for Jamieson’s Char House at 1331 W. Dundee Road to expand its outdoor seating to a total of 940 square feet and allow a partial enclosure. The motion, which passed unanimously, follows a unanimous recommendation for approval from the Plan Commission and includes conditions requiring a Design Commission application and a swap of the restaurant’s weather screens for black perforated material. Jamieson’s co-owner Jim Liberas told the board the expansion and partial enclosure “will ensure my customers’ dining experience is as comfortable as possible” and said the changes “will continue to keep Arlington Heights as a top dining location in the Chicagoland area.” Staff reported the property is zoned B3 and said the 2025 expansion wraps around the building; staff also noted a prior 2004 approval required removal of six noncompliant parallel parking stalls and planting of trees in three landscape islands. Liberas agreed to bring the site into compliance with the earlier approval. The board’s approval is conditioned on the petitioner submitting the Design Commission application and meeting the recommended conditions in the agenda packet; staff’s parking analysis found the site would retain a parking surplus of four spaces even after removing the six stalls noted in the earlier approval. The board recorded the motion to direct staff to prepare the ordinance language and supporting documents; the petitioner and staff will coordinate the required Design Commission review before the ordinance is finalized.