Commissioners press staff on lot coverage, setbacks and corner‑lot rules; stormwater concerns limit quick changes

Commissioners spent a substantial portion of the May 25 meeting debating residential bulk standards — lot width and depth minimums, combined lot-coverage caps, and corner-lot/contextual setbacks — and requested clearer, more developer-friendly wording for transition rules in the draft.

The draft and the issues

- Minimum lot dimensions: Staff proposed carrying a minimum lot depth requirement (120 feet) over from the land-development code and lowering minimum detached-house lot widths in some districts from 60 feet to 50 feet. The 50‑foot width proposal would be paired with other bulk changes (for example, reduced side setbacks in some districts) to preserve buildability.

- Lot coverage vs. building coverage: Commissioner Lynn said combining lot coverage and building coverage in one number has led to smaller houses on some Westmont lots and reduces design flexibility for corner lots and garages. "By combining the two, it's really limiting to the new single family homes," Lynn said, describing comparative examples from nearby Elmhurst where different rules produced larger houses on smaller lots.

- Stormwater constraints and engineering linkage: Staff said the current lot-coverage percentages were adopted after 2012 to mitigate flooding; changing the single lot-coverage figure now would require an engineering review and coordination with the village’s stormwater/land‑development code. Williams said the proposed ordinance does not change the coverage percentage at this time because it is linked to stormwater controls.

- Corner lots and contextual setbacks: Commissioners discussed a proposed footnote that would allow a reduced street-side corner setback. Staff summarized draft language for discussion: reduce a street-side setback from 25 feet to 15 feet for lawfully established corner lots if necessary to achieve a minimum buildable lot width (staff suggested a minimum buildable width of 40 feet under the revised language). Commissioners gave a unanimous straw poll favoring the 15‑foot street-side corner setback change (staff recorded the direction to amend the draft accordingly).

- Porches and encroachments: The draft would explicitly allow roofed front porches to encroach into front-yard setbacks by a limited distance (staff said an 8-foot encroachment was being considered) and treat porches separately from decks. Commissioners asked staff to clarify that enclosed porches would require separate permitting and to specify how porches factor into contextual setback calculations.

Ending

Staff told commissioners that a wholesale change to the combined lot-coverage percentage would require a separate engineering study and that the current draft instead proposes more targeted adjustments (setback relief for corner lots, permitted porch encroachments, and narrower lot widths) while preserving stormwater protections. Staff will show revised, clarified language and tables for the June 11 continuation.