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Planning commission recommends Cook County adopt residential open-space overlay (ROSO) screening criteria
Summary
The commission voted to forward proposed ROSO zoning ordinance amendments — eligibility criteria and suitability questions for FAR 2/3 districts — to the county commissioners for consideration, describing the change as a tool to guide where higher-density residential development should be considered.
Cook County planning staff presented proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance that would add a Residential Open Space Overlay (ROSO) to help screen properties in FAR 2 and FAR 3 districts for higher-density residential development.
Staff said the ROSO package sets eligibility criteria — applicable only in FAR 2 and FAR 3, 10- and 5-acre minimum lot sizes respectively, and a distance threshold from lakes or major roads — and provides a checklist of suitability questions for commissioners and staff to use during rezoning reviews. The overlay is intended as an early step so prospective developers can determine whether a parcel is suitable before incurring the cost of surveys and septic designs. “This is supposed to be kind of a preliminary step that a developer can take to see, hey, what do you guys think?” staff said.
Commissioners pushed back on a few technical items, including how a 1,000-foot-from-lake threshold would apply on ridge-top parcels that technically fall inside the buffer but drain away from the lake. Staff and commissioners discussed the DNR shoreland permitting implications and the role of variance or administrative subdivision to address split-parcel issues. One commissioner said the overlay should help applicants present clearer cases to the commission.
After discussion, the commission voted to forward the ROSO ordinance amendments as drafted to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for consideration. Staff said the action tonight is a recommendation and that a public hearing and a separate county-commission decision will follow.
