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Plan commission and board approve auto-storage permit and District 219 site plans
Summary
The village board approved a special permit for outdoor vehicle storage at 8046 Ridgeway Avenue and advanced a multi‑lot site plan for Community High School District 219 including building additions and a new signal at Grosse Pointe Road.
The Skokie board on May 6 approved two plan-related items recommended by the plan commission: a specialist permit for outdoor vehicle storage at 8046 Ridgeway Avenue and site plan approvals and related relief for Community High School District 219 projects at Niles Central and Niles West.
The Ridgeway request, filed by Chicago Title Trust Company as trustee for a vehicle dealer, would formalize outdoor storage on an existing crushed gravel surface screened by an 8-foot wood fence; the plan commission approved the permit by a 5–0 vote and the board later approved it by roll call with unanimous votes from trustees present. Staff said the storage area is for vehicles for sale only and customers would park in striped stalls or on the street; one nearby business operator had expressed concern about parking congestion.
The board also considered a four‑lot site-plan development submitted by District 219. The project includes a two‑story building on the Niles Central campus, a three‑story addition to Niles West, reconfigured surface parking, new stormwater detention, and a new signalized driveway at Grosse Pointe Road. The plan commission recommended approval, subject to conditions and minor ordinance reliefs (directional signage, landscaping and parking-lot tree requirements), and staff said the district and staff will prepare a separate special‑use ordinance for the project’s alternative-education element.
Trustees and staff discussed landscaping and tree removals on the District 219 site, with the district and architect saying that trees within the building footprint must be removed but that the plan calls for replacement plantings and calculations based on caliper inches to compensate for losses. The district reported sustainability elements including geothermal mechanical systems, planned solar panels and pursuit of LEED/WELL certification for parts of the project.
Motion and votes: The Ridgeway permit motion was moved by Trustee Pierce Slobin and seconded by Trustee Keith Robinson; the roll call vote carried. The District 219 site plan was moved by Trustee Anderson and seconded (second not clearly recorded in the transcript); the board approved the plan by roll call with all present trustees voting aye.
Both items will proceed to required ordinance steps and staff said they will prepare final documents for subsequent board action where necessary.
