Oak Park ZBA approves variances allowing synagogue expansion on Balfour Avenue after split public comment

The Oak Park Zoning Board of Appeals on 2024-10-22 approved variances that will allow a synagogue expansion and a 27-space parking lot at properties listed as 14631–14651 Balfour Avenue.

The board’s motion to grant the variances — reducing east and south setbacks, allowing a larger share of impervious/previous surface (requested 84% vs the 70% limit), and permitting parking within the front setback — passed after public comment that ranged from staunch opposition to active support. The approval was amended to require the applicant to work with the city’s planning and economic development departments on alternative parking arrangements and to comply with zoning conditions.

Supporters said the proposed lot and building would relieve existing on-street parking and preserve a small, walkable congregation. Marian McClellan, a neighbor who said her son and grandchildren attend services there, told the board: "The Orthodox community is a minority group. It brings, value to our city, economic value and stabilizing value." Several other residents emphasized that many congregants walk to services and that a modest on-site lot would reduce curb parking.

Opponents warned the site sits on a narrow, busy stretch of Balfour with a blind curve and limited emergency access. Longtime resident Steven Selleck said the location was "a terrible, terrible spot," describing routine congestion, speed and near-miss collisions on that stretch of road. Multiple speakers urged a traffic study, changes to the driveway configuration (for example a right-turn-only exit), and extended no-parking zones around the curve.

Applicant representatives and counsel responded that the planning commission had unanimously recommended conditional use and approved the site plan, and that the design and variances are intended to remove cars from the street. "This use ... is established at this location," Steven Estee of Zalesmer PC told the board, citing earlier approvals and federal religious land-use protections as part of the legal context. The design team said the building will include required fire suppression and that engineering review and fire department approval are conditions of later permitting.

Board members pressed for specifics about emergency access, whether on-site spaces would actually be used, and how the reduced setbacks would affect rescue operations. Plan representatives said the building will meet fire-safety requirements, nearby hydrants exist, and engineering approval will be required before construction begins.

After debate the board voted to approve the variances and associated waivers, and added a condition that the applicant coordinate with planning and economic development on alternative parking solutions in compliance with the zoning ordinance. The record shows the planning commission had previously granted conditional use and the site plan; the board’s approvals now proceed to the engineering and permitting stage.

Next steps: the applicant must complete engineering reviews and obtain permits (including fire department sign-offs) before construction; the board has required cooperation on parking and compliance with the zoning conditions as part of the approval.