Northbrook trustees approve expedited review for proposed tutoring center at Lake Cook Road

The Village of Northbrook Board of Trustees on Jan. 27 voted to pursue an expedited review and public‑hearing process for a proposed after‑school tutoring facility at 421 Lake Cook Road, with trustees saying they want the matter to move forward quickly.

The request, described by staff as an application to add an after‑school tutoring services facility (Art of Problem Solving / High Performance Learning LLC) into an existing office building in the O‑2 Limited Office zoning district, would occupy about 4,264 square feet and include five classrooms. Board members were asked for preliminary, nonbinding feedback and whether the village should request a public hearing.

Zoning staff said the use is currently subject to a special permit in the O‑2 district; Attorney Elrod outlined two procedural options: the traditional route referring the matter to the Plan Commission for a public hearing and recommendation, or an alternative permitting the village board to convene a meeting with the Plan Commission invited and hold the hearing at that time so the board could vote the same night. "You have two alternatives," Elrod said. "The other alternative that is in our code is that you could convene a meeting to which the plan commission is invited, and you would have a public hearing at that time. The matter could then proceed to a vote that same night by the village board."

Trustees described the site as a visible, previously underused corner and praised the building's mural and renovations. Trustee Hebel, speaking during the preliminary review, said the proposed use is consistent with anticipated amendments to the zoning code and expressed support: "This is the type of thing that, we are not gonna necessarily see in the future because it's gonna be, permitted by right under what's been proposed." Trustee Israel urged speed: "Let's move this along as quickly as we possibly can." Several trustees said they preferred the more expeditious approach described by the attorney.

Staff described operational details: classes for students in grades 1–12; a stated student‑to‑teacher ratio of about 16:1; expected on‑site staffing of eight to ten employees at peak times; weekday hours during the school year reported as noon to 9:30 p.m.; weekend hours reported as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and reduced summer hours (staff said summer hours would be approximately 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with closure on weekends). Staff also said the operator plans a roughly 30‑minute gap between class sessions to manage drop‑off and pick‑up traffic.

By voice vote the board approved a motion to adopt the expedited process as explained by the village attorney. Motion: apply the expedited review process described by Attorney Elrod (convene a meeting with the Plan Commission invited and hold the public hearing; matter may proceed to a vote the same night). Mover: Trustee Israel. Second: Trustee Papoun. Outcome: approved (voice vote).

Next steps discussed were scheduling the public hearing under the expedited option and returning the matter to the board for final action after the hearing; no formal final decision on the special permit was made that night.

Public hearing date and any additional requested operational conditions (for example, specific hour limits or parking/traffic mitigations) were not specified at the meeting.