Elm Grove Plan Commission backs amended Conditional Use Permit for 1095 Red Barn Lane, conditions measurement of new portico base

The Elm Grove Plan Commission on May 4 recommended approval of an amended Conditional Use Permit for 1095 Red Barn Lane, conditioned on a post-pour measurement of a newly identified portico base to verify that impervious lot coverage does not exceed 32.7 percent, below the 33 percent maximum in Village ordinance.

Zoning Administrator Ethan Sowl told the Commission the property's general contractor recently changed from Miller Marriott to JPK Builders, and the transition revealed minor grading and survey adjustments plus a portico base that had not been shown on earlier plans. Sowl said adding the portico base increased the lot's recorded hard-surface coverage from 32.6 percent to 32.7 percent — a 15-square-foot addition — and that the revised plans now include that feature.

Trustee Jennifer Stuckert said she would support approval only if the building inspector physically measured the portico base when poured and verified the lot coverage stayed at or below the 32.7 percent figure; she also asked that staff monitor the base closely on installation. Village Manager Tom Harrigan said he would direct Building Inspector Mike Hadley to measure the 3-by-5-foot portico base after it is poured. Zoning Administrator Sowl noted the plans submitted by JPK Builders reflected very small dimensional adjustments elsewhere — for example a driveway changing from about 4,202 to 4,237 square feet — that together produced the slight coverage change.

Committee member Jan Termuehlen raised a broader compliance concern: if a foundation is poured slightly larger than approved and not measured, the Village might not detect the discrepancy. Harrigan said staff tracks coverage in a master tracking document maintained by Ruekert & Mielke and that a licensed surveyor performs an elevation recertification at foundation pour; upon project completion the engineer will rerun the stormwater analysis to confirm the development performs as approved.

Trustee Stuckert moved to recommend approval of the amended Conditional Use Permit at the 32.7 percent figure with the condition that the building inspector verify the portico base dimensions upon installation and not permit coverage to exceed 33 percent, pursuant to § 335-12C(1). The motion, seconded by Pat Cashin, passed unanimously.

The Commission's recommendation will be forwarded for any subsequent reviews required by Village procedure; staff will verify the portico base measurement when installed.