Oak Park zoning board approves setback variance for garage at 1441 Vernon Avenue

The Oak Park Zoning Board approved a variance for a detached garage at 1441 Vernon Avenue after the applicant’s architect said the project’s complex history and on-site constraints made strict compliance impractical.

Michael Gordon, an architect with Moyes Gordon Associates, represented the homeowners and told the board the construction had gone through multiple design iterations and a change of builders that delayed inspections and left the site out of compliance. Gordon said the current measured separations are 7 feet 3 inches on the closest side and 7 feet 6 inches overall, short of the 10-foot separation required by Article 3, Division 1 of the zoning code.

“Given the existing circumstances and the need to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community, we feel this is a reasonable request,” Gordon said, adding that the homeowners are prepared to drywall the garage to achieve fire separation.

Gordon also told the board that many jurisdictions use a five-foot minimum separation and that Oak Park’s 10-foot requirement is stricter than the national building code’s referenced minimum.

The board took no public testimony beyond written support entered into the record and moved to approve the variance based on the staff report and additional findings discussed at the hearing. A roll-call vote was recorded in favor of the request, and the motion carried.

The approval allows the applicant to retain the existing detached garage footprint under the conditions the board discussed. No written amendment or additional conditions beyond the approval were read into the record at the meeting.

The board proceeded to its next agenda item after the vote.