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Huntley Plan Commission approves IBEW Local 196 site plan with limits on event use of meeting space
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Summary
The Plan Commission unanimously approved a site plan May 13 for IBEW Local 196 to convert the former PNC Bank at 13300 Route 47 into offices and a meeting/training space with a small rear addition, subject to seven staff conditions limiting event use, sign placement, and requiring Fire District and engineering compliance.
The Village of Huntley Plan Commission voted unanimously May 13 to approve a site-plan review for IBEW Local 196 at 13300 Route 47, allowing interior renovations and a rear addition while imposing conditions that bar the meeting room from being used as a third-party event venue.
Assistant Director of Development Services Scott Bernacki told the commission the building, constructed in 1999 and most recently occupied by PNC Bank, will undergo a ±7,225-square-foot ground-floor renovation and a ±1,256-square-foot rear addition to support meeting and training space. Primary site access will be from Village Green Drive; staff said the site is in the C-2 Regional Retail District and that the project provides the 71 parking spaces required by code (the ordinance requires 70).
Bernacki outlined conditions the commission attached to its approval, including full compliance with Village codes and final engineering revisions, meeting requirements of the Huntley Fire Protection District, installation of one-way directional signage for the rear parking connection, and an explicit restriction that the meeting space not be used for banquets, wedding receptions, baby showers or similar third-party event uses. Bernacki also noted the proposed V-shaped monument sign would encroach into a municipal utility easement and that voluntary installation within the easement is at the owner's risk in accordance with recorded document number 94K087427.
Petitioner representatives said the applicant supports the re-use plan. Rolf Anderson of Doherty Law Firm, one of the petitioners' attorneys, described the presentation as thorough and called IBEW a "great community member." Mike Cassidy of IBEW Local 196 said he is a daily employee at the facility and noted the local union covers 14 northern Illinois counties and has begun community engagement, including presentations at local schools and donations to a food bank.
Commissioners asked about vehicle sizes accessing the rear lot, dumpster location, parking stall dimensions (existing spaces to remain 9 by 18 feet; new stalls proposed at 10 by 19 feet), and the sign relief requested for a rear wall sign and an illuminated V-shaped monument sign. Commissioners expressed support for re-using the existing building and for the project overall.
The commission approved the petition on a 7-0 vote, with Commissioner Ron Hahn making the motion and Commissioner Joseph Holtorf seconding. The approval is subject to the staff-recommended conditions recorded in the minutes.
The Plan Commission action completes the commission's review; the minutes record the conditions attached to the approval and that no building plans, construction permits, sign permits, or Certificates of Occupancy were approved as part of this submittal.