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Highland Park board approves 6-foot fence for new home at 2789 Oak Street
Summary
The Highland Park Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a variance allowing a 6-foot fence along the north frontage of a new single-family home at 2789 Oak Street, overriding the 4-foot front-yard limit that applies to corner lots. The board cited the lot's atypical adjacency to a public parking/vehicular-use area and neighborhood support.
The Highland Park Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Nov. 6 to grant a fence/site variation for a new single-family house at 2789 Oak Street, allowing a 6-foot fence where the code limits front-yard fences to 4 feet on corner lots.
The variance was requested by applicant Megan Coyle of Role Studio on behalf of the property owner. The board recorded a roll-call vote with six members present voting in favor. Vice Chair Yablon moved to adopt the drafted variances; the motion was seconded and carried by voice/roll call.
Board members and the applicant said the lot is unusual: it fronts Oak Street and also abuts a vehicular-use area that functions as a public parking lot for the nearby Lake County Forest Preserve and provides gated access to the High Woods water-treatment facility. Staff advised the board that the fence height is measured from the installed grade at the fence location rather than from an average grade across the whole lot.
"Walker Avenue doesn't exactly function like a normal street in this particular instance," applicant Megan Coyle told the board, arguing the fence would create a buffer between the public parking area and the private yard. Coyle said the owners have three small children and sought a more opaque barrier for privacy and safety, adding that the proposed stonework and landscaping would be an improvement over the existing chain-link barrier at the parking-lot edge.
Contractor Howard Dardick of Tiptap Builders told the board the proposed 6-foot height would produce a consistent appearance around the property; staff confirmed footings have been poured but that the fence structure itself had not yet been built. Residents who spoke at the meeting, including Julie Gartner (who lives across the street) and Meno Pascini (2740 Oak Street), said they did not object to the variance and described historic precedent in the area for walls and fences on large lots.
Board members said the standards for a variance were met in this case because the lot's configuration and adjacency to the parking area create a site-specific hardship; members also noted that the requested change is limited to a 2-foot increase over the 4-foot limit and that no neighbors who spoke opposed the request. Member Zareanski said it would be "silly to force a short fence along a public parking that is so close," and Member Trishanski characterized the request as straightforward.
Staff noted a technical distinction for future reference: the zoning rules treat anything thicker than 1 foot as a wall rather than a fence for regulatory purposes; the applicant said the constructed sections are intended to meet the fence-code definition. The board's approval applies only to the portion of fence in the required front yard where the variance was requested.
The board adopted the variance by roll call with the following votes recorded: Member Arnoff, yes; Member Weisberg, yes; Member Chase, yes; Member Trishanski, yes; Vice Chair Yablon, yes; Chair Behn, yes. Outcome: approved.
