Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - July 15, 2026
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - July 15, 2026
The Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals met on July 15, 2026. The agenda scheduled the meeting for 6:30 p.m.; the source metadata records the meeting time as 2026-07-15 13:00:00+00:00. The board unanimously approved the June 2026 meeting minutes and both variance requests on the new business agenda, with the second approval subject to a demolition timeline.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the June 2026 meeting minutes by voice vote after a motion, second, and unanimous ayes.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke for or against either petition. The chair noted no remonstrators on the first case, and the public comment periods were closed on both items with no testimony.
Discussion Items
- 26-V-13 BZA - Jonathan Culver, Owner/Petitioner: Requested a variance from the minimum dwelling size standard to allow a new home with 288 square feet of living area on the first floor at 8603 Christopher Drive, St. John Township; the required minimum is 768 square feet in the R-3 district. The petitioner explained that the 288-square-foot first floor contains the garage, mechanical room, and staircase, while the upper floor contains roughly 1,550-1,600 square feet of living space, and that elevating the living space was designed to avoid water problems on the wetland-affected lot.
- 26-UV-04 BZA - Garth Edwards, Owner; Tim Kubiak, Petitioner: Requested a use variance to allow construction of a second detached house at 10413 State Line Road, Hanover Township, while the owner continues to occupy the existing detached house until the new house is complete. The petitioner described a 10-acre parcel, while the board noted the staff report lists 4.9 acres; the petitioner acknowledged the property is two 4.9-acre lots. The petitioner agreed to demolish the 75-year-old existing house within 90 days after occupancy of the new home.
Key Outcomes
- Case 26-V-13: Approved unanimously by voice vote. The motion as transcribed referenced 228 square feet of first-floor living area, while the written request and agenda state 288 square feet; the board directed the petitioner to proceed with the building permit process.
- Case 26-UV-04: Approved unanimously by voice vote with a stipulation that the existing house be torn down within 90 days after the occupancy permit is issued for the new house.
- The board adjourned after completing the agenda.
Meeting Transcript
We will start uh by saying the Pledge of Allegiance of America which stands nomination of individual liberty and justice. The following is the emergency exit announcement in case of an emergency, exit the commissioner's courtroom, proceed to the stairs, go to the second floor and exit the building. Do not enter an elevator in an emergency. If you require assistance, a plan commission applyable score or assist you. Please silence any cell phones during this meeting. If you receive a call during this meeting, please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible to these proceedings. I have a note here to make sure board members we have uh June minutes that have been sent out. We we need approval on June minutes. Approved junk June minutes. Second Yes. Mr. John Sorry, we have a uh motion and a second for approval of June minutes. Uh any questions on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying aye. Pose, same sign. Minutes passed. Sorry, Steve, I cut you off. Go back. We just need to get a record of those present. So if you will okay. Terry. Thank you. Uh we have nothing under communications this evening, nothing under old business, so let's go straight to the new business we have this evening. Under the new business item number one is petition number 26, that V-13. Jonathan Colver is the owner petitioner. The property is located approximately one tenth of a mile south of West 85th Avenue on the east side of CRISPR Drive, also known as 8603. CRISPR Drive in St. John Township. The request is a very simple development standards from the unincorporated Lake County Unified Development Ordinance. Title 154, Article 2, Agriculture and Residential Districts, Chapter 30, Lot and Building Regulations, Section B. Conventional Building, Conventional Development Regulations, Table 2 ⁇ Three, Lot and Building Regulations for Conventional Development and A1 in R districts. Minimum dwelling size and square feet, 768 square feet required in an R3, one to four dwelling zone, 288 square feet requested. So purpose allowing new home with a 288 square foot first floor of living area. Petitioners here, please come forward to identify yourself and make your presentation. Yes, sir. We're uh the first floor is this is the house here. The first floor, what we're doing, what we're doing is we're putting three-car garage, but this is considered really the first floor to us. This is just a staircase coming up into the first floor, is what we have done. This is on a real wetland area, and we're wanting to keep it where we don't have to worry about any kind of water coming in or anything like that, is why we've designed this for this lot. The upper floor is 1600 square feet. What was the upper? Yeah, there's an upper floor. They're they're only counting the 1550 square foot up top. Okay. All right. Uh gentlemen, is that is that all you have to start for informational? Okay. So uh my question, Steve. There is a big first floor. It's it's livable versus garage space.
openpublica.com