McKinley Road Condominium Proposal Returns To Plan Commission

LAKE FOREST, IL — A revised proposal for a condominium building on a city-owned property on East Westminster Avenue goes before plan commissioners Wednesday, as developers seek eventual city approval for the third and final phase of the McKinley Road redevelopment.

Owners Peter Witmer and Todd Altounian now propose building a single two-story building with six to eight units. The third phase of the development plan has evolved over the course of five plan commission meetings over the past two years.

The plan would combine multiple parcels: the publicly owned former site of Lake Forest's Masonic lodge and the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society at 361 E. Westminster Ave. and a 1963 single-family home approved for demolition five years ago.

That property, at 373 E. Westminster Ave., was subsequently purchased by the development team, according to a memo to the Plan Commission from Community Development Director Cathy Czerniak.

"The proposed development will provide certainty in a transition area that has long been somewhat of an eyesore along the streetscape," Czerniak said.

"All required zoning setbacks are met and in most cases exceeded by the proposed building and the height of the building is in compliance with the height permitted by the code and not inconsistent with surrounding homes to the north and east," she said.

In order to allow for the condominium building to its west, a 38-foot strip of land west of the house would need to be re-zoned from single family, R1, to general residence, GR=3. The proposed condo building would extend 23 feet into that strip, while a new single-family home is planned for the remaining R1 lot, according to the memo.

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Since the site falls within the East Lake Forest Historic District, the plans for the condo building and a future single-family home would be subject to separate review and approval by the Historic Preservation Commission, regardless of any recommendation from plan commissioners.

"The proposed building is now two stories, not three as previously proposed," Czerniak said, noting the updated plans now provide a more appropriate transition between taller buildings in the west and single-family homes to the east.

"The height of the building was a significant point of discussion in the past. Finding a way to complete the development with a two story building directly responds to the concerns previously raised."

More than 1,300 people signed a petition against the rezoning of the property ahead of a Jan. 13 Plan Commission meeting. Commissioners voted 3-2 to recommend denial of the proposal. Last month, the City Council unanimously voted to send the matter back to the plan commission. Since then, the plan has been updated to reduce the building's size by 1,130 square feet to fully comply with rear yard setback requirements, according to city staff.

The Lake Forest Plan Commission is scheduled to consider a petition for the zoning change, special use permit, tentative consolidation and site plan approval at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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