Plan commission continues hearing on Orphans of the Storm shelter rebuild at 2200 Riverwoods Road

The Village of Riverwoods Plan Commission on a continued public hearing on Orphans of the Storm’s proposal to replace and expand its animal shelter at 2200 Riverwoods Road, saying additional technical information is needed before the commission can act.

Orphans of the Storm seeks a text amendment to the village zoning code to add an explicit definition and special‑use category for animal shelters, and a special‑use permit to replace the existing roughly 15,000‑square‑foot shelter with a new, 22,000‑square‑foot building that the applicant says will not increase the number of animals cared for. Director Steve Witt told the commission that staff recommends approval be conditioned on the text amendment and on the project’s “substantial conformance” with the materials submitted to the village.

The applicant’s presentation, led by Michelle Shields, volunteer president of Orphans of the Storm, and the project design team, described a design focused on animal welfare and noise control. Shields said the shelter is privately funded and that “our building is almost a 100 years old.” The design team described indoor‑outdoor kennel “neighborhoods” with overhead doors that can be closed at night to limit sound, larger individual enclosures, separated public and service circulation, and an education center and adoption spaces. Architect and design team members said the…