OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Zoning Board & Plan Commission Joint Meeting, November 4, 2025

Village Board & Commissions — Tuesday, November 4, 2025
BodyPlainfield, Illinois
SessionVillage Board & Commissions
DateTuesday, November 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 17:41

Transcript — Verbatim
3:52

Good evening.

3:53

Welcome to the Tuesday, November Fourth Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission meeting for the village of Plainfield.

3:58

We'll call our meeting to order at seven o'clock.

4:00

All rise for the pledge.

4:57

So we're certainly excited to have the three of you join us.

5:00

And uh welcome to the plan commission.

5:03

Uh with that, Jake, could we get a roll call, please?

5:05

Commissioner Campanella?

5:07

Here.

5:07

Commissioner Fahim?

5:08

Yeah.

5:08

Commissioner Heynan.

5:10

Commissioner Nicholson?

5:11

Here.

5:11

Commissioner Volerga.

5:12

Commissioner Wagner?

5:14

Chairman Menace?

5:15

Here.

5:16

Then we also have President our ex officios uh current and ex official stock Stagdill and as well as staff Jake Melrose.

5:23

All right.

5:23

Thanks, Jake.

5:24

Appreciate that.

5:25

Uh first item on the agenda this evening is the approval of our minutes from our prior meeting held on October 21st.

5:31

Uh copy of those minutes is included in your packets for review.

5:34

If anyone has any comments or recommended changes, uh please feel free to announce now.

5:39

Otherwise, I would look for a motion to approve those minutes.

5:42

Motion to approve.

5:44

Second.

5:44

All right.

5:45

Uh motion was made by Commissioner Campanella, seconded by Commissioner Velerga.

5:49

Uh, we can do this with a voice vote.

5:51

All in favor with an aye.

5:52

Aye.

5:53

Any opposed with a nay?

5:54

Any abstentions?

5:56

All right.

5:56

The ayes have it.

5:57

So those are now part of the permanent permanent record.

6:00

Uh next for our agenda this evening is an allotment of time for public comments.

6:04

If there's anyone in the audience that would like to speak about anything that is not already a public hearing or on our agenda this evening, I'd invite you to the microphone at this time.

6:14

All right.

6:14

Seeing no one come forward, we'll move on.

6:17

Uh Jake, do we have a development report?

6:19

Um thank you.

6:20

Uh to last night, uh, the village board approved seven brew uh coffee, which was uh previously proposed at the plan commission, as well as the uh Wall and Woods mixed use development that is located just west of uh uh west west of the village hall uh that is being proposed by uh Mark Companies.

6:36

Uh that concludes our report.

6:38

Excellent.

6:38

Thank you for that.

6:40

Uh there's no old business this evening.

6:42

I'm sorry, there's one case under old business this evening.

6:45

I'm used to saying there's no old business.

6:47

Uh there is one case.

6:48

Uh for those not familiar with what happened in our last meeting.

6:52

We did have a public hearing uh related to the case that we will be uh discussing briefly this evening.

6:57

We did not have a full quorum to be able to make a vote on that.

7:00

Uh so our public hearing section for this application is closed.

7:04

However, we will allow commentary uh from any of the commissioners.

7:08

Uh everyone that was not able to attend at the last meeting did watch the video recording online, so they are all up to speed on the case and certainly allowed to uh you know speak with Jake and ask any uh questions relevant to the case, but we are not uh opening this back up for public hearing.

7:25

So at this time, Jake, if you'd like maybe to give a brief summary of where we're at with this, and then we'll move on to open comments.

7:31

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████80%
Procedural███████████20%
Summary of Proceedings

Plainfield Zoning Board of Appeals & Plan Commission Joint Meeting - November 4, 2025

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Commissioners present: Campanella, Fahim, Heynan, Nicholson, Volerga, Wagner, Chairman Menace, plus ex officios Stagdill and staff Jake Melrose. The main agenda item was The Nook by Elevant apartments (Case 2116-092325.AA.REZ.VAR.SPR), carried over from the previous meeting due to lack of quorum for a vote.

Approval of Minutes

  • Unanimously approved minutes from the Joint Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission meeting held on October 21, 2025.

Public Comments

  • No members of the public spoke during the allotted time.

Development Report

  • Staff reported that the Village Board approved two projects: Seven Brew Coffee (previously before the Plan Commission) and the Wall & Woods mixed-use development by Mark Companies, located west of Village Hall.

Old Business: The Nook by Elevant Apartments

  • Project Summary: The applicant proposes a 288-unit apartment complex on a parcel west of Wood Farm Road and north of Lockport Street. The development consists of four buildings (72 units each) with a density of approximately 31–32 units per acre. The project includes 268 covered parking spaces, various amenities, and a traffic study under review. The applicant seeks annexation, rezoning from R-1 (Low Density Single-Family Residential) to R-4 (Multiple Family Residential), multiple variances, and site plan approval. The public hearing was closed at the October 21 meeting; this session was limited to commissioner deliberation and voting.
  • Commissioner Comments: Chairman Menace expressed continued concerns about the high density, despite understanding the economics. Commissioner Wagner appreciated the design changes made after prior feedback and supported the project as a way to introduce workforce housing that can lead to future homeownership. Other commissioners echoed support, noting alignment with the comprehensive plan (which has designated the area for multi-family since the early 2000s) and the need for attainable housing. One commissioner stressed the importance of a walking path to downtown Plainfield.
  • Votes:
    • Variance Approval: Motion by Commissioner Fahim, seconded by Commissioner Nicholson. Motion included stipulations for compliance with the village engineer and Plainfield Fire Protection District. Roll call: Campanella yes, Fahim yes, Nicholson yes, Villerga yes, Wagner yes, Chairman Menace no. Passed 5-1.
    • Annexation Approval: Motion by Commissioner Villerga, seconded by Commissioner Campanella. Roll call: all six present voted yes. Passed 6-0.
    • Map Amendment (Rezoning): Motion by Commissioner Nicholson, seconded by Commissioner Vallerga. Roll call: all yes. Passed 6-0.
    • Site Plan Review Approval: Motion by Commissioner Vallerga, seconded by Commissioner Campanella. Motion included five stipulations: compliance with village engineer and fire district, provision of a landscape plan per code, specifics on courtyard activation, and a signage package meeting code. Roll call: Campanella yes, Fahim yes, Nicholson yes, Villerga yes, Wagner yes, Chairman Menace no. Passed 5-1.

Key Outcomes

  • All four motions carried, giving a favorable recommendation to the Village Board. The applicant was directed to continue working with staff as the project moves forward for final approval. The meeting adjourned at 7:13 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the Tuesday, November Fourth Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission meeting for the village of Plainfield. We'll call our meeting to order at seven o'clock. All rise for the pledge. So we're certainly excited to have the three of you join us. And uh welcome to the plan commission. Uh with that, Jake, could we get a roll call, please? Commissioner Campanella? Here. Commissioner Fahim? Yeah. Commissioner Heynan. Commissioner Nicholson? Here. Commissioner Volerga. Commissioner Wagner? Chairman Menace? Here. Then we also have President our ex officios uh current and ex official stock Stagdill and as well as staff Jake Melrose. All right. Thanks, Jake. Appreciate that. Uh first item on the agenda this evening is the approval of our minutes from our prior meeting held on October 21st. Uh copy of those minutes is included in your packets for review. If anyone has any comments or recommended changes, uh please feel free to announce now. Otherwise, I would look for a motion to approve those minutes. Motion to approve. Second. All right. Uh motion was made by Commissioner Campanella, seconded by Commissioner Velerga. Uh, we can do this with a voice vote. All in favor with an aye. Aye. Any opposed with a nay? Any abstentions? All right. The ayes have it. So those are now part of the permanent permanent record. Uh next for our agenda this evening is an allotment of time for public comments. If there's anyone in the audience that would like to speak about anything that is not already a public hearing or on our agenda this evening, I'd invite you to the microphone at this time. All right. Seeing no one come forward, we'll move on. Uh Jake, do we have a development report? Um thank you. Uh to last night, uh, the village board approved seven brew uh coffee, which was uh previously proposed at the plan commission, as well as the uh Wall and Woods mixed use development that is located just west of uh uh west west of the village hall uh that is being proposed by uh Mark Companies. Uh that concludes our report. Excellent. Thank you for that. Uh there's no old business this evening. I'm sorry, there's one case under old business this evening.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com