McLean County Times

City of Pontiac Planning & Zoning Board met May 13. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

The City of Pontiac Planning and Zoning Board held a meeting on Monday, May 13, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers to consider the following:

Tim and Diana Dennis, petitioners, request that the required side yard setback be reduced from 5 feet to 2 feet at 1308 N. Chicago St, Pontiac, IL. City of Pontiac Codes, Table 4.08.2 states that the required side yard setback in an R-2 district be not less than 5 feet and the petitioners are asking for a side yard setback of 2 feet to allow for an addition to a pre-existing garage. The addition to the pre-existing garage is finished although Tim and Diana have not obtained any Building Permits. The legal description is as follows: Lot 10, Block 2 of D.S. Myer’s 1st Addition to Pontiac, IL.

The following members were present: Bill Abraham, Rick Baier, Bill Cole and Paul Giordano. Pat Martin and Matt Stock were absent. Also present were David Wilson from the Building Department, petitioners Tim and Diana Dennis, and Jerry Lopicallo, as a member of the audience. With a quorum being present, the meeting began at 4:32 p.m.

Bill Abraham made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 22, 2019 meeting and with a second from Rick Baier and with a unanimous yes vote, the minutes were approved. Diana Dennis stated that the update on the garage was to memorialize her son whom had passed away in the garage. Diana mentioned that the garage had started to fall down and needed a repair to look nice for the memorial. Diana stated that she and her husband began to start fixing up in small parts until the project continued to grow as they continued to move along. Tim Dennis had then mentioned that they were unaware of any permits needing to be issued. Bill Abraham showed concern about being on the neighbor’s property and stated that the addition to the garage is abutted to the neighbor’s shed. Diana stated that the neighbor’s shed is actually on Tim and Diana’s property. Bill Abraham asked if the neighbors have complained about this, to which Tim stated that his neighbors have been supportive and that a neighbor wanted to attend the meeting in support but was unable to show. Jerry Lopicallo, member of the audience and neighbor directly to the north, stated that he actually likes the addition and does not see it as a problem. The Board discussed the placement of the neighbor’s shed and the closeness of the addition to the garage. Tim Lewis asked the size of the pre-existing garage and how much Tim and Diana added, to which Tim Dennis replied that the addition was doubled in size exactly. Bill Abraham asked if lot coverage was exceeded to which David Wilson replied that the addition has not exceeded the lot coverage allowance. Bill Abraham made a motion to recommend to the City Council to approve the petition and with a second by Tim Lewis and a unanimous yes vote, the motion was approved.

With no further business, Bill Cole made a motion to adjourn the meeting and with a second from Bill Abraham and a unanimous yes vote, the meeting adjourned at 4:42 p.m.

https://www.pontiac.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05132019-648