Planning commission recommends variance for impervious coverage at 230 Stewart Avenue

The Waukegan Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on Jan. 9 to recommend approval of a major variance allowing more impervious coverage than the Unified Development Ordinance permits at 230 Stewart Avenue.

City staff said the property is a single-family lot in the 6th Ward where the UDO limits yard impervious coverage to 40 percent. The proposal would leave the lot “just shy of 68%” coverage and involves about 1,400 square feet of paving, staff said. Because the requested coverage exceeds the quantitative authority of the commission, the vote was a recommendation to the Community Development Committee and city council.

The variance was presented to the commission as a negotiated solution following a code-compliance investigation that began in May 2023 after the city received a complaint about shed construction and other work done without permits. City staff described multiple meetings with the homeowner that produced the current plan. Architect John Baccarinen, speaking for the homeowner, said some work occurred without permits during the COVID period and that the homeowner agreed to remove an unpermitted shed and to reduce paving. Baccarinen said the homeowner also needs an accessible ramp for a parent moving into the house: “She did some work on the driveway…She did do the shed without a permit. So she's agreed to remove that and some of the paving.”

Commissioners asked technical questions about materials and layout; staff confirmed the existing permitted driveway will remain and that the revised plan adds green space while still exceeding the 40 percent limit. Commissioner Haug complimented the property’s upkeep during discussion: “You have the most beautiful lawn I think I've ever seen in Waukegan,” Haug said.

Motion and next steps: The commission adopted the findings of fact and recommended approval of the variance (zoning calendar 2770). The recorded roll-call vote was unanimous. The item will be considered by the Community Development Committee and then city council; staff noted the committee hearing is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3, at 5 p.m. in the chamber.

The record includes a letter of support from a neighbor at 234 Stewart Avenue that was read into the minutes; the author said he was disabled and could not notarize the letter. The commission’s recommendation does not itself change the zoning or grant the variance — final action rests with city council.