Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Text Amendments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vernon Hills planners recommend a package of zoning-code updates, ask staff to refine lighting rules
Summary
The commission recommended a broad set of zoning-code text amendments covering EV-capable stalls, accessory structures, parking/vehicle storage, RV and driveway rules, administrative variances, and lighting, subject to staff refining temporary vs permanent lighting language before sending to the board.
The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday voted to recommend a package of zoning-code text amendments that address a range of topics from EV-ready parking requirements to accessory-structure definitions and lighting rules, while asking staff to refine the lighting provisions before the village board considers the changes.
Community Development Director Andrew Jennings presented the proposed amendments, noting they reflect repetitive code questions and recent state requirements (including the state EV-capable stall mandate). Jennings said the proposed language would give staff flexibility at site-plan review to allow reduced EV-capable counts for multifamily buildings that can demonstrate shared charging strategies, while retaining stricter EV-capability requirements for attached single-family garages.
The package also consolidates and clarifies accessory-structure definitions (open-walled vs closed), tightens commercial-vehicle parking rules in residential districts, rewrites RV and vehicle-storage provisions to require movable access and appropriate setbacks, and introduces an administrative-variance process for minor deviations so homeowners need not undertake a full public hearing for small changes (a 10% threshold was proposed and staff will forward administrative variance actions to the board for documentation).
Lighting drew extended discussion. Commissioners asked staff to split temporary decorative displays from permanently affixed lighting and to set enforceable limits (brightness, duration and prohibitions on flashing/strobing that create nuisance). Staff agreed to research other municipal models and return refined lighting language to the board; the commission made approval conditional on that work.
The commission voted to recommend the text amendments with those conditions and also asked staff to study parking-stall dimensions citywide as an advisory recommendation to the board.
