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Kenilworth board remands RED3 PUD to commissions after residents demand design changes; motion passes 4–3
Summary
The Board remanded a proposed RED3 Planned Unit Development to the Architectural Review Commission and Plan Commission to evaluate design changes to reduce height impacts and identify public benefits; Trustee John Gottschall's motion passed 4–3 to require evaluation of options including removing the penthouse, altering fourth-floor setbacks, eliminating the top floor, and capping height at 40 feet.
After an extended public hearing and trustee discussion on Jan. 26, the Kenilworth Village Board voted 4–3 to remand RED3 Development LLC’s preliminary Planned Unit Development (PUD) application to the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) and the Plan Commission (PC) for further design review and to solicit additional public-benefit ideas.
Village Attorney Greg Jones summarized three sets of "findings of fact" prepared by the ARC, the PC and village staff; ARC and PC recommended denial, while staff presented a draft set of favorable findings for the Board to consider. Trustees debated whether to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness and Special Use Permit, deny both, or remand with instructions. Plan Commissioner Anna Simpson and resident/Plan Commissioner Ian Fisher described tensions between market-driven retail ceiling-height needs and the Village’s 35-foot zoning height limit.
Representatives of RED3, Michael Freiberger and Reed Edwards, told the Board that major design changes that would eliminate the need for a height variance were unlikely but indicated a willingness to pursue additional efforts to increase public benefit. Multiple residents urged the Board either to deny the variance or to remand with strict directions to reduce height; objections emphasized neighborhood character, density and the prospect that TIF benefits would concentrate in the project area.
Trustee John Gottschall moved "to remand the item to the Architectural Review Commission and Plan Commission to evaluate possible design changes to mitigate the impact of height, including and without limitation, removing the penthouse, altering the setbacks for the fourth floor, eliminating the top floor, and reaching a maximum building height of 40’ and to solicit additional feedback on potential public benefits the development provides the Village." Trustee Joseph Vitu seconded. The motion passed on roll call: Yes — Gottschall, Lojkovic, Vitu, Kaz; No — Ransford, Ottsen, Hannus. The Board did not grant the variance at this meeting; the remand requires ARC and PC to return with findings or revised designs.
