DuPage County zoning hearing officer pauses decision on Saiz setback variation after testimony

DuPage County Zoning Hearing Officer Robert Cartel heard testimony May 14 on Case No. 25019, a petition by homeowner Nicholas Saiz of Downers Grove seeking a variation to reduce a corner side-yard setback from the required 20 feet to approximately 10 feet so he can rebuild a house on the existing foundation after a Dec. 23, 2023, fire.

The petition concerns a roughly one‑third‑acre lot in Lisle Township and was published in the Daily Herald on April 29, 2025. Cartel said county departments returned no formal objections; he also noted receipt of a letter from the Village of Downers Grove that he described as “generally in the form of an objection, but not a formal objection.”

Nicholas Saiz, the homeowner, testified that he and family members plan to rebuild on the existing foundation and are not proposing an increase in the house footprint. “We’re just trying to rebuild the home back to its existing state. We’re not increasing the square footage,” Saiz said.

Mike Buhr, president and owner of Craftstone Architects, told the hearing that the intent is to reconstruct on the same footprint and not to encroach beyond the house’s existing position. “The intent is to build and…rebuild on the existing foundation. We’re not trying to encroach any further than the existing house already is,” Buhr said. He added that the project’s scope crossed the 50% rehabilitation threshold after mold was discovered during initial work, which required replacement of affected materials and contributed to the need for the variance.

Saiz said the property was essentially unchanged from an earlier 2017 survey, with a limited update recorded in 2021; he also said a noncompliant side structure shown on the survey had been removed. Testimony placed the original build year at about 1959.

Several neighbors came to the hearing in support. Randy Owens and Pam Owens, who live across the street, told the hearing they received notice and attended to back the Saiz family. “We got a letter about it, and we just…came in support of Nick and his family,” Randy Owens said. Cartel administered oaths to attendees who spoke in support.

Cartel said there was urgency to the matter because the family is living temporarily elsewhere and because of scheduling with the county development committee. After hearing testimony, he closed the public hearing and said he would review the case and issue a determination or recommendation at the county’s 3:00 p.m. recommendation meeting. No formal decision or vote was taken at the May 14 hearing.

Background details recorded in the hearing: the petition seeks a corner side‑yard setback variation for a single lot in Lisle Township; the case was designated Case No. 25019; the property address provided by the petitioner was 220050 Ninth Street, Downers Grove, Illinois, 60516 (as stated in testimony); and a 2017 field survey with a 2021 revision was entered as an exhibit. The Village of Downers Grove submitted a contemporaneous written communication to the file that the hearing officer described but did not characterize as a formal objection.

The next procedural step noted by the hearing officer is a county recommendation meeting at 3:00 p.m., at which Cartel said he would make his recommendation. Parties were told they did not need to remain present for that session if they did not wish to do so.