Applicants withdraw floor-area variance request for 429 Warwick Road in Kenilworth

The Kenilworth Zoning Board of Appeals heard arguments on Jan. 21 from applicants for a proposed new single-family home at 429 Warwick Road who sought a variation from the village’s floor-area limits, but the applicants withdrew the request before the board voted.

Village Planner Michael Blue told the board that the ZBA had previously granted setback relief for the project and that the outstanding request related specifically to maximum building size (floor area). Applicant Quenby Erickson said the rear yard is constrained by the Skokie Ditch and that "10-15 feet of our backyard at 429 Warwick Rd is taken up by the Skokie Ditch, and a detached garage would consume a large portion of the remaining space." Erickson said their proposed attached garage would not be visible from the street.

Chair Murphy and board members pressed for a clear statement of hardship, noting that floor area is calculated as a multiplier of the parcel and distinguishing requests for additions to existing homes from requests for brand-new construction. Member Mark Hinkamp said he had "not seen a variance request for new construction come in over the past 20 years," and later stated during deliberations that he did not see a land-based hardship in this case.

Applicant Jim Janikowski said the project would correct several existing non-conformities and that other approaches they considered — including salvaging 50% of the existing structure to qualify for a larger floor area allowance — were not feasible. Janikowski also contrasted their request with a prior, separate case on a corner lot at 605 Essex Road, asking why that property received different treatment; Chair Murphy responded that the Essex case involved different lot conditions and preservation factors.

Member Hinkamp moved to approve the floor-area variation, but the motion received no second. Before a second could be made, the applicants asked to withdraw the floor-area request; Planner Blue confirmed the applicants were within their rights to withdraw when a motion lacked a second. No vote on the variance occurred. The board did not take further formal action on the 429 Warwick Road floor-area issue at the meeting.

The applicants may refile or present a revised proposal at a future meeting. The board’s discussion emphasized that the distinction between additions and new construction can affect how hardship is evaluated under Kenilworth’s zoning code.