CITY OF PALOS HEIGHTS
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
HELD AT PALOS HEIGHTS CITY HALL ON
February 24, 2009
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Straz called to order A MEETING OF the COMMITTEE OF THE
WHOLE ON February 24, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. He stated the purpose of the meeting was
for Houseal Lavigne Associate to give a Power Point presentation on the Olde Palos
Overlay District which includes Floor Area Ratio and that Public Notice of the Open
Meeting was posted on February 20, 2009.
Invocation/Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Straz.
ROLL CALL showed the city council members present as follows:
MAYOR
Robert S. Straz
CITY CLERK Colleen Mannix-Devine
ALDERMEN
Ward 1:
Jean Gnap
Jeff Prestinario
Ward 2:
Jack Clifford
Robert Basso
Ward 3 Alan Fulkerson
Dolores Kramarski
Ward 4
Michael McGrogan and Art Phillips arrived after the roll was called.
Ward 1 Alderman Jeff Prestinario was absent. City Administrator Dan Nisavic was in the
audience, as were members of the local public and media.
AGENDA
Alderman Basso opened by reporting that two PowerPoint Presentations were given to
the public and were well attended. He reported that it was recommended that no city
officials attend those public meetings so as not to intimidate. He said the city council
was about to see the exact same PowerPoint presentation as Houseal Lavigne principal
John Houseal and Trevor Dick presented at those publicized and publicly attended
meetings. Alderman Basso chaired the Olde Palos Building Standards Ad Hoc
Committee and for nearly four years, the committee met, researched and developed an
overlay district proposal, including the concepts of floor area ratio, lot coverage and
green space percentages.
City Clerk noted tape recorder was stopping intermittently throughout meeting. Twice she
changed batteries, but equipment continued to malfunction. Script of Power Point Presentation
was provided by Mr. John Houseal following the presentation and subsequent questions.
CONTENT AS TAKEN FROM HL POWERPOINT SCRIPT:
Olde Palos Building Standards Ad Hoc Committee was formed by Mayor Straz in
response to citizen concerns. The Committee was appointed by the mayor, and consisted
of a cross-section of residents. HL’s role was to present the concepts of Floor Area Ratio
(FAR); Lot Coverage, and Green Space, and to solicit comments and feedback from the
public.
Graphics were used throughout the presentation to explain concepts and definitions
surrounding the residential construction trend of “The Maximum Allowed, The
Minimum Proposed.
Visual Examples were provided to describe a myriad of concepts and definitions, to
include FAR 1.0 WITH 100% COVERAGE and WITH 50% COVERAGE; FAR 0.5 WITH 50%
COVERAGE; TYPICAL 120 X 120 (14,400 SQ. FT.0 RESIDENTIAL LOT); FRONT YARD SETBACK;
REAR YARD SETBACK; SIDE YARD SETBACK; BUILDABLE AREA; HEIGHT; DEVELOPMENT
ENVELOPE; TRADITIONAL DEVELOPMENT; CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENT.
HL compared Our Current Zoning Code to the Palos Heights Proposed Ordinance as
currently written.
The commentary as written herein is taken from the HL slide script. Following the script
are comments from aldermen about presentation and overall concepts of proposed
ordinance for Olde Palos or citywide.
“Traditional zoning ordinances are ill-equipped to adequately deal with this trend. Floor
area ratio is the ratio of a building’s floor area to its corresponding land area. FAR is the
total floor area on a zoning lot divided by the lot area of that zoning lot.
“Floor Area ratio was developed as a more refined and adaptable measure of intensity
than building coverage. It cannot replace more traditional bulk controls entirely. FAR is
often not a sufficient height control nor does it regulate the placement of the building on
the site.
“FAR is intended to be used in conjunction with setbacks, height, and lot coverage
regulations. FAR allows communities to respond to changes in residential development
trends.
LOT COVERAGE
Lot Coverage is the part or percentage of the zoning lot occupied by all buildings or
structures with foundations and/or roofs on the lot. Lot coverage includes primary and
accessory buildings defined as structures with foundations and/or roofs.
Also included would be structures such as gazebos, covered walkways, and pergolas (1 :
arbor , trellis 2 : a structure usually consisting of parallel colonnades supporting an open
roof of girders and cross rafters.)
GREEN SPACE
Green Space is land within a zoning lot devoted to living landscaping, lawns and other
similar growing areas. In addition to its importance for appearance and overall character
of the neighborhood, maximizing green space is important for mitigating storm water run
off and flooding issues.
Visual graphic examples applied the proposed ordinance and how the proposed
percentages are being recommended by the Olde Palos Building Standards Ad Hoc
Committee as follows:
FAR of 35%
Lot Coverage of 25% (building coverage)
Green Space of 55%
Bonuses: qualifying open front and side porches will earn from 100 to 200 square
foot of floor area ratio bonuses. Qualifying new ranch house construction will
earn both a 3% lot coverage and a 3% green space bonus. Remodeling of existing
homes will earn a 3% FAR bonus.
Alderman Gnap opined that attendance of 25-35 people per meeting does not equate to
well-attended, given the reach of the proposed ordinance.
Alderman Fulkerson argued that the presentation did not address the concerns of city
council as they were communicated at the last COW meeting. He could not vote for
percentages of lot coverage or floor area ratios as proposed and said the ordinance does
not address lot size variety throughout the proposed overlay district.
Mr. Houseal responded that HL did no research, but worked on research as conducted by
the Olde Palos Building Standards Committee, noting that their task was to communicate
and educate the residents on the the concepts of overlay district, floor area ratio, lot
coverage and green space. Mr. Houseal said they were not hired to advocate for any
specific position but noted that application of the concepts could apply to the whole city,
if that is what was desired, but that no research has been done.
In response to concerns of litigation based on disparate treatment of different size lot
owners, Mr. Houseal opined that ratios could be used and applied to lots of varied sizes
based on a sliding scale which keeps the proportions and does not to treat lot owners
differently according to size.
Mr. Houseal also said that they were not hired to look at any lot other than a 120 x 120
lot; and also noted that setbacks were not addressed in the Overlay District legislation,
but that it could be. He said that setbacks on angled or corner lots are generally bigger
and opined that our setbacks should be increased on angled or corner lots.
Alderman McGrogan reported the history of the committee and that it originally included
aldermen from all four wards. The focus went to tree protection legislation after residents
were unable to stop the teardown of homes in Olde Palos. He said he personally stopped
attending the meetings because he thought they were going the wrong way.
Alderman McGrogan also stated he wouldn’t support the proposed FAR ordinance
because vaulted ceilings are counted twice and those restrictions will hurt homeowners
who find the popular vaulted ceiling aesthetically pleasing and in demand. He likes the
ordinance we currently have in place. The open spaces are already there; we need a
sliding scale based on lot size.
In closing, Alderman Basso thanked HL for their presentation. He responded to
Alderman Fulkerson’s concerns that none of councils’ previous suggestions were
included in the ordinance. Alderman Basso he discussed when to incorporate the
proposed chanced with City Administrator Dan Nisavic who thought it best to
incorporate councils’ suggestions until after the public review process was completed.
Alderman Basso said a revised ordinance would be presented to council very soon, and
thanked all members for their attendance this evening.
ADJOURNMENT
At approximately 7 p.m., Mayor Straz requested a motion to adjourn. Alderman
Clifford so moved, seconded by Alderman Fulkerson. On voice vote, the motion carried
unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Colleen Mannix-Devine
City Clerk
Approved this 3rd day of March, 2009
_________________________
Colleen Mannix-Devine
City Clerk