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1 VILLAGE OF 2 3 KENILWORTH, IL 4 5 Committee of the Whole Special Meeting 6 July 28, 2026 7 8 Call to Order 9 10 Village President Cecily Kaz called to order the special meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the Board of 11 Trustees of the Village of Kenilworth (the “Committee”) at 5:00 p.m. on July 28, 2026. 12 13 Roll Call 14 15 President Kaz requested that the Clerk call the roll and the results were as follows: 16 17 Trustees: 18 Trustee Tim Ransford Present (Remote, Voting*) 19 Trustee Christopher Ottsen Absent 20 Trustee Amy Hannus Present 21 Trustee John Gottschall Present 22 Trustee Matt Lojkovic Present 23 Trustee Joseph Vitu Present 24 President Cecily Kaz Present 25 26 A quorum was present in person. 27 28 *President Kaz indicated that she was in receipt of a request from Trustee Ransford to attend the meeting 29 electronically in accordance with the Electronic Meeting Attendance Policy. As a quorum is physically present, 30 the Trustee will be authorized to attend electronically unless a motion is made and passed by a two-thirds 31 majority of those physically present to deny the request. Hearing no such motion, President Kaz deemed the 32 Trustee Present as a voting member. 33 34 Others recorded as in attendance in person or via video conference: 35 Village Officials and Staff: 36 Michael Gagnon Village Clerk 37 Kathy Thake Village Manager 38 Heather McFarland Assistant to the Village Manager 39 Jordan Schmidt Management Analyst 40 Molly Burns Management Analyst 41 42 Others, signing in as displayed in Participant List: 43 Chethan Shetty 44 Eric Miller 1 Michael Blue 2 David Joyce 3 Marjorie Zander 4 5 Presentation and Discussion 6 7 A. Zoning Code Update: Policy Discussion on Business District Bulk, Height, and Use Regulations 8 9 President Kaz reviewed the history to date of the ongoing effort to update the Village Zoning Code and asked 10 Trustee Hannus to report on this item. She described the process that she, as chair, and the members of the 11 Zoning Code Working Group (ZCWG) followed when they focused on the section of the Zoning Code dedicated 12 to the Business District generally, and particularly with regard to Bulk, Height, and Use Regulations. She 13 highlighted the extensive effort expended to gather and incorporate public comment, the policies of 14 neighboring communities, and the advice of expert consultants. With that she introduced Mr. Michael Blue of 15 Teska Associates to present their findings. 16 17 Mr. Blue began the discussion by focusing on the subject of Business District Height Regulations. After 18 reviewing community feedback gathered through surveys and open house meetings, contacts with local 19 developers and property managers to gather input from their perspective, and discussions with peer 20 communities to understand commonly applied height and development trends, the consensus reached was 21 that limiting new development in the Village to a building height of 35 feet does not encourage the 22 introduction of new development proposals and that retail/commercial development on Park Drive, as 23 opposed to Green Bay Road, poses a challenge to developers due to the reduction in visibility. 24 25 Trustees discussed the efficacy of the survey results before Mr. Blue resumed his comments. He briefly 26 introduced the concepts of Site Setbacks (required distance of structure from property line), Building 27 Stepbacks (required distance of successive floors from setback line), and additional requirements for 28 commercial enterprises on the ground floor of proposed developments using the following chart: 29 30 Standards Current Draft Update Height 35’ or 3.5 Stories 40” w/ SUP 45” 4th Floor by PUD 35” West of Alley on Park Drive (height only varied by text amendment) Yard Setbacks Measured from Lot Line Front Yard None Required 0” Build to Line (unless parking provided) Side None Required Minimum 5” if Provided None Required Minimum 5” if Provided Rear None Required 10” Required Building Stepbacks None Required Measured from Setback Line Front Yard None Required 3rd Floor – 15” 4th Floor – 20” (by PUD) Rear None Required 3rd Floor – 10” 4th Floor – 20” (by PUD) Side None Required 4th Floor – 20” (by PUD) Additional Regulations Ground Floor Commercial Required 1st Floor Residential as SUP West of Alley on Park Drive Glossary SUP: Special Use Permit PUD: Planned Unit Development 1 He then spent time comparing and contrasting the Current Standards column (center) with the 2 recommendations listed in the Draft Update column (right), emphasized the part played by the Special Use 3 Permit (SUP) and the Planned Unit Development (PUD), and stated that there is no right or wrong policy. 4 Final language in the Zoning Code should reflect the values of the Village represented by the Board of 5 Trustees. 6 7 Mr. Blue then took time to discuss Business District Height as being about context and balance citing that 8 different perceptions of height can be influenced by surroundings and design. He looked particularly at the 9 Green Bay Road Corridor and noted the influence of residential buildings nearby adding height variables, and 10 the absence of development on the east side of the street (due to the location of the Union Pacific Commuter 11 Rail Line) diffusing the concern about inadvertently allowing the construction of a “canyon” of high-rise 12 buildings. He provided examples of recent development activity in neighboring communities that could be 13 perceived differently than their technical measurements would suggest. 14 15 He continued by presenting examples of setbacks demonstrating a common setback line, a “build to line” 16 setback, and a setback to rear yard, discussing the factors addressed by these zoning restrictions. He then 17 discussed examples of stepbacks for 3 and 4 story structures that provided relief from concerns about 18 uninterrupted building height. Finally, he provided examples of setbacks for residential structures in the 19 business district. 20 21 Trustees reviewed the zoning process and clarified the role special use permits and planned unit 22 developments play in it, the goal of encouraging new buildings versus new uses for existing buildings, the 23 close proximity of residential structures influencing commercial design concerns, the extensive review steps 24 already in place in the zoning appeals process, the prioritization of setback, stepback and height restrictions in 25 the zoning code update, the special nature of the Green Bay Road Corridor development, the desire by retail 26 developers for exaggerated first floor heights, the decisions by neighboring communities regarding building 27 development, the ways to preserve flexibility on Park Drive development regarding first floor commercial or 28 residential space, the present policies in place that encourage development in the Village, the success of 29 recent development, the competition for outside developers among neighboring communities, the role of the 30 Tax Increment Financing funding mechanism, and the desire to encourage new construction and 31 rehabilitation of existing construction equally. The consensus was reached that the Village has carefully 32 cultivated standards for structures in the business district. Preserving historic facades is equally important as 33 encouraging new designs. The zoning code revisions should provide the flexibility for the Village to closely 34 participate in decisions regarding either of these two important goals. 35 36 (Trustee Ransford left the meeting at 6:03 pm) 37 38 President Kaz asked if there were any comments from the public on this discussion. Resident Eric Miller 39 reminded the Board of the recent opposition to expanding a structure height beyond the present 35’ limit and 40 speculated that the recommendations made by Teska Associate to permanently increase height limits in the 41 zoning code revision would also meet opposition. He supported the imposition of setbacks and the stepbacks, 42 cautioned the Board to consider the impact on parking when a new structure adds density, and reminded the 43 Board that development activity within the Tax Increment Finance District was promoted to increase the 44 collection of sales tax revenue not property tax revenue making the presence of first floor retail space a 45 priority going forward. 46 1 Resident Cheltan Shetty expressed appreciation for the work of the Board is undertaking to encourage local 2 business owners like himself to develop property in the Village. He supported the idea of raising the 3 maximum height of new development to 45 feet but cautioned the Board about setting setback and stepback 4 restrictions without considering the size of the property being developed. He urged the Board to allow 5 flexibility for developers to adjust restrictions to take buildable square footage into account. He addressed 6 the Board’s concern for height and appearance variation when developing property in the Green Bay Road 7 Corridor. As the owner of a business on Green Bay Road that rejuvenated an existing structure, he recounted 8 his personal experience engaging in development and offered his opinions and insights into the discussion of 9 Bulk, Height, and Use Regulations. President Kaz thanked Mr. Shetty for his comments. 10 11 Resident David Joyce expressed concern about the fast pace at which the Board was moving to consider 12 changing the existing restrictions on Bulk, Height and Use. He did not support the recommendations offered 13 by Mr. Blue and Teska Associates. He cautioned that many residents do not favor the direction these 14 recommendations would take the Village going forward. He also felt that there needed to be greater 15 consideration given to the impact of increasing residential ownership in the Tax Increment Financing District 16 on Sears School. It could increase the student population without increasing the property tax support for the 17 school (As property tax increases would be directed to the Tax Increment District Fund). He reiterated his 18 concern for the pressure further development would put on the limited parking spaces available in the Village. 19 He concluded with a plea to the Board to slow the process of revamping the zoning code long enough to allow 20 public sentiment around proposed changes can be heard. President Kaz thanked resident Joyce for his 21 comments. 22 23 Resident Marjorie Zander expressed her support for organic growth, or rejuvenation of existing structures, in 24 the Green Bay Road Corridor and felt too much emphasis was being given to new development. She wanted 25 the Board to consider the pressures on small businesses to afford newly constructed retail space, suggested 26 the Board focus on how to encourage small business owners to invest in the Village, and expressed support 27 for rear setbacks for new development when appropriate. President Kaz thanked resident Zander for her 28 comments. 29 30 Trustees clarified the regulations regarding notice to the public for a scheduled public meeting and agreed 31 that there were many more steps, offering many opportunities for public comment, to be taken before any 32 actual language changes were made. President Kaz asked if the Board was ready to take the first of these 33 steps by asking staff compile the most recent feedback around potential changes and provide an updated 34 version for the Board to review and consider. Manager Thake clarified what format the Board would like to 35 see in its updated version. Mr. Blue suggested that a report be drafted centered around the choice facing the 36 Village of rehabilitating existing structures or allowing the construction of new mixed-use structures. Each of 37 these choices invited different changes to the zoning code. Consensus was reached that the goal should be to 38 encourage growth, within the legal limits on the Village, using either of these choices. Trustees continued to 39 discuss building height impact, the possibilities of expanding existing development incentives available 40 presently, the influence of property lot size might have on building height requests, the part played by the 41 zoning code in the development process. President Kaz instructed Mr. Blue, along with Village staff to review 42 the comments made at this meeting and update the recommendations for further review at a soon-to-be-43 scheduled follow up meeting of the Committee of the Whole. 44 1 Business from the Public 2 3 President Kaz then opened the floor to any business from the public not on the agenda. Resident David Joyce 4 urged the Board to consider opportunities made available to the Village by the Open Space Land Acquisition & 5 Development offered by the State of Illinois for repurposing Village-owned land located at 604 Green Bay 6 Road as a park. He urged the use of Tax Increment Financing funds to facilitate the process and requested a 7 staff report be presented to the Board of Trustees explaining the option more fully. Trustees discussed 8 limitations to development of the property. President Kaz thanked Mr. Joyce for his comments. 9 10 Adjourn 11 12 With no further business, President Kaz asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Lojkovic offered 13 a motion to adjourn the meeting and Trustee Vitu seconded the motion. 14 15 A roll call vote was taken as follows: 16 17 For: Hannus, Gottschall, Lojkovic, Vitu 18 19 Opposed: None 20 21 With a vote of four in favor, none opposed, President Kaz declared the meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. 22