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Commission recommends rezoning, subdivision and variance for Westmont's new south fire station; neighbors question generator and pond work
Summary
The commission recommended a comprehensive-plan amendment, rezoning to a Public/Institutional (PI) district, consolidation of four lots, a variance for a 350 kW diesel emergency generator and a major site plan for the new south fire station; some commissioners and neighbors pressed the village on generator noise, emissions and detention-pond changes. Village Board review is March 19.
The Westmont Planning & Zoning Commission on March 11 voted to send multiple recommendations to the Village Board for a proposed new south fire station and related land-use changes, including: a comprehensive-plan map amendment, rezoning three residential/commercial parcels to the PI (Public and Institutional) District, consolidation of four lots into one, a variance for the size/fuel type/location of an emergency generator, and approval of a major site plan with staff authority to finalize landscaping.
Deputy Chief Tom Frank and Public Works supervisor Virgil Viscuso walked commissioners through a multi-year design process and the reasons for the requests. "We are in the process of doing that... it was determined that that building was beyond its useful life. So we went forward to build a new building," Frank said. The project team selected 845 Design and a construction manager and conducted public outreach during design.
Public works presented the engineering rationale for a diesel emergency standby generator: the worst-case proposed unit was described as roughly 21 feet by 11 feet by 7 feet and about 350 kilowatts, intended to power the entire new station. Viscuso said diesel offers supply reliability in an extended outage and allows the station to store at least 72 hours of fuel; he told commissioners the unit would sit 25 feet from the north property line and 32 feet from the east property line, would include a sound-attenuating enclosure and be screened with a 7-foot fence and landscaping. "We run the generator on a test for 30 minutes every Tuesday," he said, and the project team projected about 70 decibels at the fence with the attenuation.
Neighbors asked whether portions of detention ponds would be filled and how the work would affect their yards. Staff and the design team said a small "comma-shaped" section adjacent to one property would be filled and the larger pond deepened to compensate; they said they had held meetings with the nearest residents and did not anticipate changes to the larger detention area beyond regrading to accommodate the revised lot lines and topography.
Commissioners probed air-quality and noise concerns, generator setbacks, weekly testing schedules (10 a.m. Tuesdays for 30 minutes), and whether natural gas would be preferable given lower emissions. The village's presentation cited cost, long lead times for natural-gas units and supply vulnerability during a large-scale outage as reasons to prefer diesel; staff committed to provide technical emissions data once the final generator model is selected.
On motions, the commission approved the comprehensive-plan map amendment (motion by Commissioner Charleston; one no vote from Commissioner Lynn), the rezoning to PI, the lot consolidation and the major site plan (all passing by majority), and approved the variance for the diesel generator (the variance passed with a single no vote). Staff will present the package to the Village Board on March 19 at 6 p.m.
