Plan commission recommends zoning text change to allow small civic, cultural and educational uses in Office & Research district

The Riverwoods Plan Commission voted to recommend that the Village Board adopt a zoning text amendment to allow civic, cultural, religious and educational uses in the Office and Research Compatible District when conducted on lots of less than one acre.

The proposed amendment, presented by the village attorney during a public hearing, would add “civic, cultural, religious, and educational uses” as allowed uses in the Office and Research Compatible District when they are conducted in a building occupying a lot of less than 1 acre. Lee Brown, planner with Tesco Associates, described the current preferred drafting approach as shifting toward the term “place of assembly” to avoid drawing legally problematic distinctions among cultural, religious and social-service uses.

The commission framed the measure as a narrow text change, not a site-specific rezoning. The village attorney said the change is intended to cover smaller parcels that sit at the periphery of larger corporate campuses — examples cited included the Holiday Inn and the Saunders Woods corporate center — and to avoid creating new restrictions that would apply to large, multi-acre parcels.

Commissioners asked about specific operational impacts. A letter from a rabbi on file with staff said the prospective operator expects eight staff and up to 12 parents at peak times; commissioners asked staff to confirm on-site parking counts. Staff recalled roughly 30 parking spaces at the 240 Saunders address and said they would provide a precise count and any applicable site-plan information to the commission before the Board acts.

Following the public hearing, Commissioner Marshall moved to recommend adoption of the amendment to the Board of Trustees; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote with all voting members present saying “aye.” The roll call recorded ayes from Commissioner Levin, Commissioner Marshall, Commissioner Romanelli, Commissioner Rothbart, Commissioner Blaylock and Chairperson Breitkoff. The motion passed and the commission closed the hearing.

The amendment removes a special-use category that had been written for a previously proposed health-food café and consolidates the code change as a text amendment rather than a parcel-specific exception. The commission and staff said they will return any additional parking, circulation or site-plan details to the Board of Trustees as part of the Board’s review and any later site-specific approvals.

The public record includes a letter from a local rabbi describing the intended mix of uses (Hebrew school, cultural classes and community meetings) and a request that the zoning code explicitly allow the proposed uses on small parcels. The commission’s recommendation forwards the text amendment — not a finalized site plan — to the Village Board for final action.