Planning panel recommends city OK for youth soccer dome at 909 South McLean

The Elgin Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday recommended that City Council approve a planned development and conditional‑use request to build an indoor sports dome and support building at 909 South McLean Boulevard, a 9.73‑acre site currently improved with vacant mobile homes.

The petition by Midwest Sports Center, with Thistle Forbes LLC listed as property owner, would demolish existing structures and build an air‑supported dome housing an indoor full‑size soccer field, an outdoor full‑size field, and a front support building with offices, classrooms, concession/restaurant space and a 1,500‑square‑foot physical‑therapy suite. The applicant told the commission the facility would serve Illinois Youth Soccer activities during afternoons and evenings on weekdays and for tournaments on weekends; off‑peak uses would include other sports such as indoor golf and pickleball.

Why it matters: the project would convert unused land into an active youth‑sports venue and could draw weekend visitors and related economic activity to the corridor. Commissioners and residents pressed the developer on how event parking, traffic and tree removal would be handled.

City staff, led by planner Demir Lutinovic, said the application met the technical standards for a map amendment, plan development and conditional use and recommended approval "subject to the conditions in the packet." Staff highlighted two requested departures: one from the zoning parking standard during peak tournament conditions and a second from the tree‑replacement requirement in the city landscaping ordinance. Lutinovic said the submitted traffic and parking study estimated routine demand at about 143–156 spaces but projected up to 188 spaces during the busiest tournament weekends; the site plan provides 156 spaces.

The applicant pledged two remedies. First, the team said it was negotiating a shared‑parking agreement with an adjacent property (a storage facility) that would add about 82 spaces; the petitioner told the commission that a signed document was expected shortly. Second, the applicant agreed to manage tournament schedules so games on the same field will be spaced at least one hour apart, giving arriving and departing players time to clear the lot and thereby reducing simultaneous peak demand.

Staff also noted the tree‑replacement rule would require 320 replacement trees (960 inches total). The applicant proposes planting 78 trees on site and asked for a departure from the ordinance or from the fee‑in‑lieu requirement; staff said the ordinance allows a fee of $210 per required inch and calculated a potential fee of roughly $156,954 for the remaining inches. Lutinovic said staff and the petitioner had negotiated plan adjustments to locate the dome behind the front building and to add landscape wherever space permits, but the site is tight because it must accommodate two full‑size fields, detention and required parking.

Petitioner representatives — including owner Greg Kaminski and architect David Whitmire of Groundwork Architects — described back‑and‑forth revisions with staff and told the commission they had refined the circulation and building placement to respond to comments. Mary Jane Bender, Executive Director of Illinois Youth Soccer, told the commission the facility would host practices, training and tournaments for youth soccer and supplement local field capacity.

Commissioners sought clarifications on bus staging (no dedicated bus lot is proposed; buses would use regular parking stalls), possible traffic controls (no new signal or routine police direction is proposed; engineering recommended a southbound left‑turn lane on South McLean be striped), and whether a liquor license would be required for later alcohol service in the front building (the applicant must obtain a city liquor license before serving alcohol).

Public comment included both supporters and residents who asked the commission to watch parking, traffic and tree loss. A petitioner supporter who lives at the site said many on‑site trees were poor condition and that the facility could bring visitors and new businesses to the area.

Action: After discussion the commission voted 6–0 to recommend approval to City Council, adopting the findings in the staff packet and the conditions staff proposed. The recommendation is not final — City Council will consider the project at a later hearing — but the commission’s approval signals staff and the commission consider the plan development standards met if the applicant satisfies the recommended conditions (including sending the shared‑parking agreement to staff before council, or proceeding with schedule changes if the shared parking is not available).

What’s next: the petitioner will continue working with staff to finalize the conditions and provide the shared‑parking agreement or the required scheduling commitments before the matter goes to City Council. If the applicant later pursues on‑site alcohol service it must apply for and obtain a city liquor license before offering alcohol.

Speakers quoted in this story include Demir Lutinovic, City of Elgin planner, and Mary Jane Bender, Executive Director, Illinois Youth Soccer.