A teardown project that’s been in limbo since mid-November won approval Wednesday from the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission.
“I’m extremely happy,” said Dave Hellyer, of Hellyer Custom Builders. “We worked real hard with staff.”
Hellyer requested a corner setback variance of 18 feet, 12 feet less than the city’s 30-foot requirement, on three sides to accommodate a home he plans to build at 720 Thornwood Drive.
The house currently on the property has a 17.49-foot setback, which was allowed under city code when it was built in the 1950s as part of the Moser Highlands subdivision.
At the commission’s Nov. 18 meeting, several members said they were uneasy with the idea of granting the setback variance, fearing that it would erode the city’s commitment to the building code and saying that Hellyer’s clients wanted the 4,100-square-foot house for design reasons, not a hardship.
The compromise that won commission approval didn’t end up being much different from the original plan submitted by Hellyer.
The corner side setback is still 12 feet for both the house and the attached garage but the encroachment on the third side was adjusted by 8 feet, 4 inches by reducing the house’s square footage by 300 feet. That allowed the structure to be pushed farther back from Thornwood Drive.
The concession from the home builder, coupled with the fact that so many other houses in the area encroach even deeper into the required setback, prompted staff to give the plan its approval. That, in turn, swayed the commission.
Commissioner Sean Hastings praised the petitioner’s willingness to work with city staff and that he was pleased the petitioner “came back with a couple of options.”
Williams echoed those sentiments and said he was particularly impressed by the speed with which Hellyer acted, saying that if his clients could live with the new proposal, “then I’m all for it.”
But Commissioner Robert Williams did caution against establishing a blanket policy of issuing variances in that neighborhood, saying after the meeting that each case had to be decided on its own merits.
In this case, the neighbors didn’t complain and that influenced his vote as well. Hellyer anticipated he would be strongly challenged by the commission, and was pleasantly surprised that they were amenable to the proposed changes.
Hank Beckman is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
