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ABR clears fire-sprinkler exemption for Lake Bluff Yacht Club garage
Summary
The board recommended and voted to approve an exemption from the village sprinkler requirement for a small yacht-club storage garage near the lakefront, conditioned by maintaining an alarm system; consultant and fire department raised no objection on the record.
The Architectural Board of Review approved an exemption from the village’s sprinkler requirement for a small garage proposed by the Lake Bluff Yacht Club to store boats and inflatable craft.
Matt Glover, identified himself on the record as vice commodore of the Yacht Club, said he was stepping in for another officer and offered to present the applicant’s materials. “I'm the vice commodore of the Yacht Club, stepping in for Gretchen tonight,” Glover said. Consultant Seth Sommer summarized his report for the board, describing the proposed structure as a small garage with limited hazards and seasonal storage of boats and small fuel tanks.
Sommer told the board that under Lake Bluff’s ordinance the building would otherwise require sprinklers but that the village’s exemption process allows consideration of buildings with limited hazards. He estimated that installing a sprinkler system for the small garage “would be probably, you know, 10 times the cost of the building,” and said the village’s requirement to maintain an alarm system would still apply if an exemption is granted. Sommer also said he had asked the village’s new fire chief, who “doesn’t have any particular concerns with this application.”
Board members asked procedural and safety questions, including how alarm monitoring would notify the fire department and an approximate response time (Sommer estimated roughly eight to ten minutes). One board member noted a recusal at the start of the item; that recusal was recorded and the roll call vote excluded the recusing member. Following discussion, a motion to approve the proposed exemption was made, seconded and approved on roll call.
The exemption means a sprinkler system will not be required for the proposed garage; the record indicates the village’s alarm requirement remains in force and the applicant should document monitoring and fire-department coordination as part of permit conditions or subsequent approvals.
Votes at a glance: Motion to approve sprinkler exemption for Lake Bluff Yacht Club garage — approved (unanimous among voting members; one recusal recorded).
