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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - November 3, 2025

Planning and Zoning Commission — Monday, November 3, 2025

BodyElgin, Illinois

SessionPlanning and Zoning Commission

DateMonday, November 3, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:03:21

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:43

And welcome to the November 3rd, 2025 meeting of the Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission.

0:50

Tonight we're going to be hearing four petitions: 30-25, 31-25, 33-25, and 34-25.

1:01

Before we move on to the clerk, please please call the roll.

1:11

Present.

1:12

Commissioner Boske.

1:14

Present.

1:15

Commissioner Jones?

1:16

Here.

1:16

Commissioner Olson?

1:18

Here.

1:18

Commissioner Rubel?

1:20

Here.

1:20

And Chair Wildermouth?

1:22

Here.

1:22

We have a quorum.

1:24

All right.

1:24

Now we'll look for approval of the minutes of the October 6th, 2025 meeting.

1:31

Move for approval.

1:33

Second.

1:38

Commissioner Olson?

1:40

Yes.

1:41

Commissioner Bosque.

1:43

Yes.

1:44

Commissioner Abuali.

1:45

Abstain.

1:47

Commissioner Jones?

1:48

Yes.

1:49

Commissioner of Ruble.

1:51

Abstain.

1:52

And Chair Wildermouth.

1:54

Yes.

1:54

The minutes are approved.

1:56

Four to zero with two abstentions.

1:59

All right.

1:59

Thank you.

2:00

Now I'll go on with my opening statement.

2:01

I was just so excited to get the meeting started tonight that I wanted to jump right in.

2:06

But as I mentioned before, uh welcome, and we will be hearing four petitions tonight.

2:11

Before we move on to the agenda, I want to briefly discuss the role of the commission in the procedures of tonight's meeting.

2:19

As a reminder, the planning and zoning commission is an advisory body and recommending body to city council.

2:26

The job of this commission is to review development proposals and determine whether a proposal meets the applicable standard of review.

2:34

The process that we adhere to uh during the planning and zoning commission meetings is that we first hear from city staff, followed by questions the commission has for staff on the uh petitions, and then we invite the applicant to provide a brief overview of their proposal, and then the commission will then ask questions of the applicant.

2:53

After that, we will open the hearing to the public for questions and comments.

2:59

During the public comment period, please come forward, state your name, your and spell it for the reporter, provide your address, and public comments should be addressed to the commission, and we will keep notes on the questions, concerns uh raised, and then city uh staff and the applicant will have the opportunity to address those questions.

3:21

And in the interest of time, we ask that those testifying do not reiterate points that have already been made.

3:27

Uh the commission will then deliberate, vote, and pass its recommendations to city council.

3:33

In all cases, planning and zoning commission meetings are the forms for public hearings for each project for each project.

3:39

It's where all parties can provide comments or ask questions.

3:58

Yeah, anyone wishing to testify or think you might want to testify, go ahead and stand and take the oath now so you don't have to do it later.

4:07

Or just right hands, please.

4:12

Do somebody swear or affirm the testimony about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

4:18

Thank you.

4:48

So good evening, everyone.

4:51

So the first petition before you tonight, and for the record, we have provided the required notice on this on this petition.

5:00

The first item on the agenda is the application by DLA Architects, C L T D as applicant, and School District U 46 as the property owner, who are requesting approval of a planned development as a map amendment with departures from the LG Municipal Code to construct a refuse collection area within a street yard and a larger than permitted monument sign with an electronic message center for Kimball Middle School at the property commonly known as 451 North McLean Boulevard.

5:36

So as usual, we will start with the site location.

5:42

So the Kimball Middle School property is about 17.9 acres in size.

5:48

It's outlined here in red.

5:50

It is zone CF Community Facility District.

5:53

It's also along the Arterial Road, so it's also part of the Arc Overlay District.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Planning And Zoning█████████████████████████████████████████████47%

Public Engagement███████████████16%

Homelessness███████████████16%

Procedural██████████████15%

Cannabis Regulation███3%

Liquor Licensing██2%

Parks and Recreation█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - November 3, 2025

The Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on November 3, 2025, to consider four petitions. All petitions were recommended for approval by the commission with unanimous votes (6-0). The meeting also included approval of the 2026 meeting schedule and a decision to move the December 2025 meeting to December 8th.

Public Comments & Testimony

Petition 31-25 (Omnibus Text Amendments): Matthew Willis, representing the bottle shop, spoke in support of the amendment allowing accessory package liquor sales. He noted that the liquor commission has suggested a restriction that packaged liquor sales to go must represent less than 30% of total sales, and he supported limits on single-can sales.

Discussion Items

Petition 30-25: Kimball Middle School Planned Development

City staff presented a request by DLA Architects and School District U-46 for a planned development with departures to construct a refuse collection area within a street yard and a larger-than-permitted monument sign with an electronic message center at 451 North McLean Boulevard.
The proposed sign is 7.5 feet high, 98.7 square feet total, with a 27.18 square foot electronic message center (code allows 10 feet high, 40 square feet, 20 square feet for EMC). The refuse collection area would be on the east side (street yard) instead of the rear yard, enclosed by an eight-foot wall matching the building.
Staff recommended approval subject to conditions. Commissioners asked about noise from trash pickup and traffic flow with buses. The applicant (Brian Lynn Tulman, chief of staff for U-46) stated that trash pickup times would not conflict with bus times.
No public comments. Motion to approve passed 6-0.

Petition 31-25: Omnibus Text Amendments

Staff presented five amendments to the zoning ordinance:
1. Move accessory package liquor sales from conditional use to permitted use in the CC1 (Center City) district.
2. Allow murals in AB (Arterial Business) districts (for Ecker Center).
3. Remove the Arterial Road Corridor (Arc) Overlay from the northern 1,000 feet of Dundee Avenue (north of I-90).
4. Allow commercial operations yards on arterial roads if screened from view (for Habitat for Humanity ReStore).
5. Create a new land use category for transitional housing facilities as a conditional use in the GI (General Industrial) district (for Wayside Cross Ministries).
Staff recommended approval. Commissioners discussed the scope of the liquor amendment (limited to CC1 as a pilot), the feasibility of outdoor storage, and the rationale for limiting transitional housing to GI. The applicant (bottle shop) spoke in support.
Motion to approve passed 6-0.

Petitions 33-25 and 34-25: Wayside Cross Ministries Transitional Housing Facility

Staff presented a request by Wayside Cross Ministries for a map amendment to PGI (Planned General Industrial) and a conditional use to adaptively reuse a four-story office building at 890 North State Street into a transitional housing facility for up to 94 persons (expandable to 126).
The facility would include dorm-style quarters, shared kitchen/dining, offices, and programming space. Exterior changes include a five-foot fence, signage (nine wall graphics, a monument sign), and future enclosure of a drive-through for a donation center and resale shop.
Departures requested include exceeding the maximum number of wall graphics (nine vs. two) and sign area on the east facade (80 sq ft vs. 40 sq ft), and allowing accessory use up to 10% of building floor area.
Staff recommended approval subject to conditions (no outdoor storage). The applicant (Stephen Silva, architect, and James Lucas from Wayside) described the model used in Aurora since 2015 and noted they would purchase the building. They plan to give Pads of Elgin first option on the Berkeley Street property.
Commissioners asked about parking, future plans, and collaboration with the city on homelessness. No public comments. Motion to approve passed 6-0.

Key Outcomes

Petition 30-25: Approved 6-0; recommendation to City Council with conditions.
Petition 31-25: Approved 6-0; recommendation to City Council with conditions.
Petitions 33-25 and 34-25: Approved 6-0; recommendation to City Council with conditions.
2026 Meeting Schedule: Approved unanimously (first Monday of each month, except September due to Labor Day).
December 2025 Meeting: Moved from December 1 to December 8, 2025, to accommodate the chair's schedule. Approved unanimously.
Pending Applications Update: The City Council will consider three items on November 5, 2025 (adaptive reuse at 860 Summit, event space at 1341 Manor Court, detailing shop at 1040 Dundee). A temple application is expected for the December planning and zoning commission meeting.

Meeting Transcript

And welcome to the November 3rd, 2025 meeting of the Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission. Tonight we're going to be hearing four petitions: 30-25, 31-25, 33-25, and 34-25. Before we move on to the clerk, please please call the roll. Present. Commissioner Boske. Present. Commissioner Jones? Here. Commissioner Olson? Here. Commissioner Rubel? Here. And Chair Wildermouth? Here. We have a quorum. All right. Now we'll look for approval of the minutes of the October 6th, 2025 meeting. Move for approval. Second. Commissioner Olson? Yes. Commissioner Bosque. Yes. Commissioner Abuali. Abstain. Commissioner Jones? Yes. Commissioner of Ruble. Abstain. And Chair Wildermouth. Yes. The minutes are approved. Four to zero with two abstentions. All right. Thank you. Now I'll go on with my opening statement. I was just so excited to get the meeting started tonight that I wanted to jump right in. But as I mentioned before, uh welcome, and we will be hearing four petitions tonight. Before we move on to the agenda, I want to briefly discuss the role of the commission in the procedures of tonight's meeting. As a reminder, the planning and zoning commission is an advisory body and recommending body to city council. The job of this commission is to review development proposals and determine whether a proposal meets the applicable standard of review. The process that we adhere to uh during the planning and zoning commission meetings is that we first hear from city staff, followed by questions the commission has for staff on the uh petitions, and then we invite the applicant to provide a brief overview of their proposal, and then the commission will then ask questions of the applicant. After that, we will open the hearing to the public for questions and comments. During the public comment period, please come forward, state your name, your and spell it for the reporter, provide your address, and public comments should be addressed to the commission, and we will keep notes on the questions, concerns uh raised, and then city uh staff and the applicant will have the opportunity to address those questions. And in the interest of time, we ask that those testifying do not reiterate points that have already been made. Uh the commission will then deliberate, vote, and pass its recommendations to city council. In all cases, planning and zoning commission meetings are the forms for public hearings for each project for each project. It's where all parties can provide comments or ask questions. Yeah, anyone wishing to testify or think you might want to testify, go ahead and stand and take the oath now so you don't have to do it later. Or just right hands, please.

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