Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission backs 8-foot fence variance for properties near downtown East Dundee
Summary
The East Dundee Planning & Zoning Commission voted Feb. 6, 2025, to recommend the Village Board allow an 8-foot privacy fence (instead of the 6-foot limit) at 304 Hill St. and 309 Jackson St. The measure responds to resident concerns about light from a new village parking lot and was recommended unanimously.
The East Dundee Planning & Zoning and Historic Preservation Commission voted Feb. 6 to recommend the Village Board approve a variance to build an 8-foot fence along the property line of 304 Hill Street (PIN 03-23-320-01) and 309 Jackson Street (PIN 03-23-320-006) in the B1 downtown business district.
Franco, village staff, told the commission the village purchased the two lots to create a surface parking facility and negotiated easements during construction. Adjacent homeowners raised concerns that light from the parking lot could shine into their residences because the houses sit at a raised elevation relative to the lot. "The village purchased 309 and 304 Hill to create the parking facility," Franco said, and the petition for a variance responds to neighbors’ privacy concerns.
The variance is from Section 15-16(b)(5)(b) of the building regulations, which states that "no fence shall exceed 6 feet in height." Commissioners discussed whether topography and the parking arrangement create a unique circumstance justifying a deviation from the code. Commissioners asked staff if photometric studies were performed and whether vegetation could substitute for a solid fence; Franco said residents had been offered compensation and had considered evergreens but that plantings can die and might not achieve the same screening as a solid fence.
Commissioners also noted practical limits: even an 8-foot opaque fence would not block all spillover light given the elevation change, though it would reduce light from cars reversing into the lot or approaching the property line. After deliberation, Commissioner Scarelli moved, and the commission seconded a recommendation to the Village Board for the 8-foot fence. The motion passed unanimously with votes recorded as: Commissioner Scarelli yes; Commissioner Krueger yes; Commissioner Stenk yes; Commissioner F yes; Commissioner Reyes Brer yes; Chair Brer yes.
Next steps: the recommendation will be forwarded to the Village Board for final action; staff indicated public hearings and formal board consideration will follow. The commission did not record a photometric study or formal design specifications at this meeting; those details would be addressed in later approvals and permitting.
