Homeowner requests zoning variance to park vintage Airstream in Wheaton driveway

A DuPage County Zoning Hearing Officer hearing on Oct. 15 included testimony from a Wheaton homeowner identified as Miss Fittanto seeking a variation to allow a vintage Airstream recreational vehicle to remain parked in front of her house.

The petition concerns an unincorporated Milton Township lot of about a half-acre served by a private well and septic system. The hearing officer said the record contains two exhibits for the case: a plan of survey that appears to date from 1956 and a small hand-drawn site sketch that the officer accepted tentatively but said was not to scale.

Fittanto said the Airstream is not currently used as a residence; the trailer has been gutted and she parked it when she purchased the home in 2021. “There is no current use for the vehicle,” she said. She told the hearing she bought the trailer with long-term intentions but presently has nowhere else to store it and has no local relatives who could host it. Fittanto said she had spoken with a zoning staff member after receiving a violation and was told she might apply for a conditional use permit; she asked whether her petition could be revised to a time-limited conditional use.

The hearing officer cautioned that a variance (variation) is effectively permanent and said that creates difficulty when the petitioner describes the intended use as temporary. “A variation lasts forever,” the officer said, and the officer indicated willingness to consider whether a conditional use or other limited permit could address the petitioner’s stated needs.

Fittanto said she does not have notarized neighbor petitions supporting the request but had spoken with neighbors who did not object, and she described the driveway as remaining fully accessible with the trailer parked to the side. She estimated that one year would likely be too short to repair and sell or otherwise remove the Airstream, and asked the board to consider a longer time frame given family obligations.

Objections and comments on the case were noted from the DuPage County Building Department, the Milton Township Highway Department and the Village of Glen Ellyn. No neighbors offered in-person testimony in opposition at the Oct. 15 hearing. The hearing officer closed the record and said a recommendation will be issued Nov. 5; that recommendation will go to the county development committee and then the full county board for final action.

No final decision was made at the Oct. 15 hearing; the petitioner was told she may appear at the Nov. 5 recommendation meeting in person or by Zoom.