The Sanctuary's Banquet Space Plan Stalls At Village Hall

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plans to add a banquet hall use to the redevelopment of the Downtown Plainfield trolley barn hit a snag Monday, when village officials said the developers have yet to submit sufficient plans for offsite parking. Project officials said they have moved back the timeline for The Sanctuary's first events to late October in order to allow work to wrap up and permits to be secured.

Minor Threat Restaurant Group in early 2017 first announced plans to redevelop the 1900s-era trolley barn into an "urban market" named Sanctuary Plainfield, 24216 W. Lockport St. Plans called for a restaurant, brewery and banquet hall, among other uses, inside the facility. Now, the group is seeking a special use permit to allow for the banquet space.

In August, the Plainfield Village Board voted to allow the city to draft an ordinance approving the banquet hall in the Sanctuary. But village trustees on Monday decided not to move forward with approving the ordinance, saying the team behind the Sanctuary has yet to send in formal back-up parking plan agreements.

The delay in the permitting process, plus ongoing construction work at the facility, has caused Minor Threat to postpone events at the Sanctuary that were originally booked for September. The restaurant group now is planning to host its first events in late October, said Nancy Kveton, who applied for the special use permit on behalf of Minor Threat.

Village officials admonished the group for booking events before having the permits or final inspections needed to open. The Sanctuary has not yet scheduled a final fire inspection or building inspection, city officials said Monday.

"How can we book things that are not even approved yet?" trustee Margie Bonuchi said. "This is putting the cart before the horse."

What held up the permitting process Monday was a failure to produce a formal back-up plan for off-site parking.

Minor Threat has already submitted a formal agreement for the Sanctuary to use the parking lots at Larry's Diner and Plainfield Central High School for off-site parking. On Monday, the group said it had a plan in place for a back-up parking site, but that the contract for that agreement had yet to be signed.

"It's just a formality to sign it at this point," Brian Papo, a lawyer representing the restaurant group, told village trustees Monday.

But trustees said the special use permit would only be approved it the group met eight stipulations set previously by the board, and that oral agreements don't count. Trustees on Monday decided to defer action on the special use permit, instead of voting down the item and having Minor Threat start the formal permit process.

Kveton said she didn't know that the group needed to procure a signed back-up parking agreement by Monday's meeting, but she assured trustees that a second parking plan was in place.

With a plan that has been in the works for over two years, village officials expressed dismay at the amount of work still needed to be done at the downtown Plainfield facility.

"Everyone wants to see a business succeed," trustee Cally Larson said. "I'm a bit frustrated to see we're not as far along as we should be."

Mayor Michael Collins said a construction timeline of one month given by city planning officials was likely optimistic. Collins said he hopes the restaurant group has more progress to show when it comes back to seek the special use.

"It'd be quite generous saying a month,"Collins said. "There is so much work over there to do, it's overwhelming."

Papo said the group is planning on having the facility "up and running shortly."

In early August, Minor Threat announced that it would move its restaurant, Sovereign, into the Sanctuary from its current location across the street. Minor Threat also operates the popular Crusade Burger Bar in Yorkville.