East Dundee panel recommends defining 'adult day service center' to state standard, delays decision on 455 East Main

The East Dundee Planning, Zoning and Historic Commission voted on June 4 to recommend a text amendment defining “adult day service center” in the village zoning code and to tie that definition to the Illinois Department of Aging’s standard, including an age threshold of 60.

The change was proposed after a village staff presentation about a vacant property at 455 East Main Street whose owner seeks to repurpose part of the building as an adult day service center. Franco, a village staff member, told the commission staff had drafted the definition to distinguish the use from a nursing home or geriatric center and recommended allowing it by special use permit. “We referred to the Illinois Department of Aging, which basically spells out what this type of…use is defined as,” Franco said during the hearing.

Commissioners spent considerable time debating an age threshold in the draft definition. The packet originally used 55; several commissioners expressed concern that lowering the age could trigger other state permitting or broaden the use beyond the intended geriatric-oriented services. Commissioner Her asked why the village would go to 55 when the Department of Aging’s definition specifies age 60; after discussion the commission voted to strike 55 and mirror the state standard of 60.

Property owner and applicant Sinasam, sworn as a witness during the hearing, said he is a retired physician and intends to operate a supervision-and-activity facility (not an overnight or nursing facility) serving older adults and people with developmental disabilities. “The advantage of having an adult daycare center for the community is for the patients to come out…have them socialize,” Sinasam said, describing planned transportation and food service and saying regulatory inspections would control final client counts and site requirements.

Neighbors raised safety and site-condition concerns. Paul Hart, who lives behind the property, described crumbling steps and walls, past late-night activity and a digital sign that has been “scrambled,” and asked what the village could require by way of fencing, cameras or emergency planning to protect neighbors and clients. Erica Wilberger, a nearby teacher, said she had seen people sleeping on the building’s steps and expressed worry about structural condition and historic patterns of activity. The owner and staff said previous tenants had been responsible for some problems and that any new operator would be required to meet building, fire and Illinois Department of Aging standards.

Because commissioners said the application packet lacked a floor plan, police history and site-improvement details necessary to evaluate suitability of 455 East Main specifically, the commission voted unanimously to continue the special-use hearing to July 9 and requested that staff obtain a police memo about past calls and that the applicant provide floor plans and proposed exterior improvements. Chair Brunner summarized the approach: the commission would first amend the code to define the use broadly and then evaluate any special-use application for a specific site with conditions such as staffing, privacy fencing, cameras and compliance with state rules. “I think the business itself is a good idea,” one commissioner said, “but we need more information on the property.”

Next steps: the commission’s recommendation to change the zoning text (tying the definition to the Illinois Department of Aging and setting the age threshold to 60) will go to the village board; the special-use application for 455 East Main remains continued to the July 9 meeting, when police staff and additional documentation are expected to appear.