Oak Park planners approve school expansion, rezone adjacent house for parking and lot consolidation

The Oak Park Planning Commission approved a special land use permit and rezoning to permit a 4,780-square-foot addition and associated parking expansion for a private girls’ school on Coolidge Highway and Balfour Avenue.

The commission voted to approve the special land use/site plan with 12 conditions and then approved rezoning the adjacent residential parcel from R-1 (single-family) to R-2 (two-family) to allow consolidation of the parcels. The rezoning vote passed with one recorded abstention.

Staff told the commission the proposal would expand the school building to the north, producing a total building area of about 11,500 square feet after the addition. The expansion includes four classrooms on the first floor and one classroom plus an exercise room and offices on the second floor. The school intends to combine the school…