Planning commission backs Clovers Garden Center expansion behind Suburbanite Bowl

The Westmont Planning & Zoning Commission on March 11 recommended approval of a special-use permit to allow Clovers Garden Center to add a 60-by-120-foot fenced greenhouse and storage area behind Suburbanite Bowl at 201–209 W. Ogden Ave.

The commission's motion, made by Commissioner Simpson and seconded by Commissioner Donahue, passed unanimously. Staff said the expansion is intended for staging online and overflow orders and would not create a new public retail entrance at the rear of the parking lot. The Village Board is scheduled to review the recommendation on March 19.

Staff explained the property comprises two parcels under the same ownership and that the expanded area would be used primarily for holding plants and fulfilling special orders. "We're going to be using it to prepare and kind of ship some special orders we've been getting," the applicant said, noting the fenced area would be tucked in the southwest corner of the lot. Staff said the project was reclassified under the updated zoning code as "outdoor retail" and that the proposal substantially complies with updated parking regulations: the combined site requires 121 spaces and would provide about 146 after accounting for the new retail area.

Commissioners focused questions on public-safety and operations: whether the greenhouse structure is anchored, how electrical and fire approvals will be handled, and whether employees walking between the garden area and the bowling alley will be covered by insurance. The applicant said the greenhouse is a durable, staked structure (stakes every 6 feet) used successfully at other sites, that the fire-prevention bureau and building department review the annual permit, and that the business maintains insurance and would list both addresses on the permit.

The special use is seasonal in staff recommendations and in the application: the applicant and staff described operation between March 15 and Nov. 15 with annual renewal under the permit. Staff also recommended standard conditions carried from prior approvals and a process for code-violation enforcement that could involve the Village Board.

If the Village Board adopts the commission's recommendation, the existing Clovers area will remain and the additional holding and order-fulfillment area would operate under the same overall use permit and conditions. The Village Board will consider the commission's recommendation at its March 19 meeting.