Planning commission approves rezoning and parking variance for Lina Embroidery at 115 Warner Avenue

The Lemont Planning Commission voted to approve a rezoning and accompanying parking variance for Lina Embroidery’s proposed move into a former township building at 115 Warner Avenue.

Planning staff said the application seeks to rezone the property from R6 (multifamily residential) to B1 (office/retail transitional) and to reduce the off‑street parking required under the village Unified Development Ordinance for the 5,000-square-foot building. Jamie, planning staff, told the commission the Lemont 2030 plan designates the parcel for mixed use and that a B1 designation would provide a transitional buffer between higher‑intensity commercial and adjacent residential zones.

Staff described the site as historically used by Lemont Township for government and community functions and said that the building was operated without on‑site parking, relying instead on on‑street spaces and an adjacent plaza parking lot. Under the UDO metric the building’s gross floor area would require roughly 20 parking spaces; the applicant has not secured a formal agreement to use spaces in the adjacent plaza and has explored adding about six to seven stalls on site if required. Jamie said the applicant reports a small on‑site staff (about six employees) and said customer visits are typically scheduled, which staff views as reducing the likelihood of peak, concurrent parking demand.

Attorney Al Damascus, representing Lina Embroidery, told the commission the business has operated in Lemont since 2006 and that the owner prefers not to be forced to obtain a permanent lease for plaza spaces as a condition of approval. He said the applicant will “continue our best efforts” to secure parking and has sought cost estimates to add on‑site stalls, but that a formal long‑term lease the plaza owner offered was cost‑prohibitive.

Several residents spoke in favor of allowing Lina Embroidery to remain in town. Casey Peters said, “I was out of there,” describing a quick customer pickup experience. Sarah Alvestad said the owner is “a stable business owner” and urged the commission to accommodate the business. Dave Wilkes, speaking from the audience, argued that buyers should be aware of parking limits, saying, “If you got a building and you're gonna buy a building and it don't have any parking spots, Don't make any sense to buy a building.”

Commission discussion focused on the separation of the rezoning vote from the variance (staff noted they can be processed as separate ordinances) and on potential conditions tying a parking variance to the current, specific business use so that a future, different B1 use would require re‑review. Jamie said the variance—unlike a zoning classification—can be conditioned and recommended that any approval tie parking relief to the applicant’s described business and include a plan to secure employee parking and accessible stalls.

The commission moved to approve the rezoning and parking variation as presented, incorporating staff’s recommended conditions. Recorded votes during the item were logged as “yes” by McLean, O'Connor, Cunningham and Stidbeck; the chair announced the motion approved.

Next steps: the village will finalize the ordinance language and any conditions, and the applicant may return if construction of on‑site parking is pursued or if a future use would require separate review.