_04132026-122

VILLAGE OF 1 2 3 4 KENILWORTH, IL 5 6 Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting 7 Monday, March 9, 2026 8 9 Agenda Item I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL 10 The meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Kenilworth in the Kenilworth Village Hall, 11 Kenilworth, Illinois was held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 9, 2026. 12 Chair Murphy called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 13 Attendance was as follows: 14 15 Zoning Board of Appeals Members Present: 16 Katherine Peterson Member 17 Eamon Murphy Chair 18 Mark Hinkamp Member 19 Jenelle Chalmers Member 20 Tim Quigley Member, Remote 21 Emily Tzur Member 22 Lori Roeser Member 23 24 Zoning Board of Appeals Member Absent: 25 None 26 27 A quorum was present. 28 29 Others Recorded as in Attendance: 30 Village Officials and Staff: 31 Heather McFarland Asst. to the Village Manager 32 Michael Blue Village Planner, Teska Associates 33 Megan Mack Village Attorney 34 Katarzyna Thake Village Manager, Remote 35 36 Others in Attendance: 37 Quenby Erickson Applicant, 429 Warwick Rd 38 Jim Janikowski Applicant, 429 Warwick Rd 39 Abigal Lakowski Remote 40 41 Agenda Item II. APPROVAL OF THE January 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES 42 The minutes of the special Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting of January 21, 2021 were presented 43 to the members. Chair Murphy recommended minor changes to the minutes. 44 45 Member Hinkamp made a motion to approve the January 21, 2021, meeting minutes as 46 amended. Member Chalmers seconded the motion. 47 48 Village of Kenilworth Zoning Board of Appeals 2 March 9, 2026 2 A roll call vote was taken as follows on the motion: 1 Yea: Peterson, Murphy, Hinkamp, Chalmers, Tzur, Quigley 2 Nay: None 3 Absent: None 4 Abstain: Roeser 5 6 The motion was approved 6-0. 7 8 Agenda Item III. PUBLIC HEARING 9 Chair Murphy opened the public hearing. 10 III.A Public Hearing to Consider Variations at 429 Warwick Road Pertaining to: Maximum Building 11 Size (Floor Area) 12 Chair Murphy began and explained the format of the hearing, which would begin with a 13 staff presentation, applicant presentation, and then be followed by ZBA deliberation. 14 15 Village Planner Michael Blue provided an overview of the floor area request for a new 16 single-family home at 429 Warwick Road. Mr. Blue explained that the request was the same 17 as the prior floor area request the ZBA heard for the property on January 21, 2026. A written 18 statement from the owners (applicants) that was included with the meeting materials was 19 the only new piece of information. Variation standards the ZBA should apply in evaluating 20 the floor area request were reviewed by Mr. Blue. 21 22 Chair Murphy swore-in people wishing to speak regarding matters on the agenda. 23 Applicant Jim Janikowski presented his request for additional floor area at 429 Warwick Road. 24 Mr. Janikowski explained that the requested floor area represented at 10% overage of what 25 is permitted, and would be within what is permitted by code of the home benefitted by the 26 increased allowance for existing homes. His family is designing a home for their family needs, 27 he further explained, and the lot makes it challenging to do so for several reasons: reduced 28 amount of buildable land due to Skokie ditch, and a permitted detached garage that would 29 add additional free floor area would block neighbor’s light and require removal of a heritage 30 oak tree. 31 Mr. Janikowski stated that the existing home’s character is not aligned with the block, 32 whereas the proposed home’s character fits with the block, protects the oak tree, and 33 preserves the neighbor’s light. 34 Abby Lakowski, neighbor at 421 Warwick Road, expressed her support for the request. Ms. 35 Lakowski based her support on the consistency of the building’s height, recognition of 36 reduced buildable area, and the proposed concealed garage. 37 Member Lori Roeser inquired what the applicant meant by free floor area in the garage. Mr. 38 Janikowski responded that the floor area in the half -story above a detached garage is not 39 counted towards the maximum allowed for the property. 40 Member Chalmers noted that the applicant received setback variations last year for the 41 project. She asked whether the applicant had tried to reduce their floor area since the last 42 meeting. Mr. Janikowski stated that they had made sacrifices by removing the third car garage 43 and enclosing a four-season room after the November ZBA meeting. 44 Village of Kenilworth Zoning Board of Appeals 3 March 9, 2026 3 Member Chalmers explained that all applicants must prove a hardship and asked if their land 1 was the hardship. Mr. Janikowski stated that it was because a detached garage would have to 2 move far forward because of the Skokie ditch/creek, which would result in a loss of 15-20 feet 3 in the backyard. Mr. Janikowski acknowledged that he is working with a blank slate, but he is 4 running into issues. Quinby Erikson, applicant/owner, explained that it is a complicated 5 hardship as their lot is non -conforming and adj acent to two large conforming lots. This 6 condition, further explained, makes the existing home out of scale. She stated that the new 7 home would balance the street’s aesthetic. 8 Member Chalmers asked why the home could not be narrowed. Ms. Erikson responded that 9 the building coverage is fine, but they lose floor area on the second story. She would like their 10 home to have modern amenities, such as a guest bedroom and large master closets. The 11 garage, she explained, takes up around 400 square feet. 12 Regarding the detached garage as a hardship, Chair Murphy stated that he did not see the 13 backyard tree on their plans. He asked if they would need to remove two oak trees in front of 14 their home for construction. Ms. Erickson responded that they would. 15 Chair Murphy acknowledged the applicants’ goals to enhance the block’s character, but 16 believes the size of the home could be trimmed, or the vaulted space above the living room 17 could be altered. Chair Murphy asked if the plans were the same as those presented in 18 November 2025. Ms. Erickson confirmed that they were the same. 19 Chair Murphy asked if the chimney projecting into the setback would need to be fixed. Village 20 staff, Heather McFarland, confirmed that it would. 21 Member Hinkamp referenced a letter of support from the Kennedys for the project that 22 stated the proposal does not increase the building footprint, and asked the applicants to 23 further explain. Mr. Janikowski stated that the existing home is 104% of the allowed building 24 coverage, and the proposed home is 89% of what is allowed by code. 25 Chair Murphy opened the discussion to ZBA members. 26 27 Member Hinkamp stated that he does not see a hardship with the request. Member Roeser 28 responded that the applicant has stated that the garage and creek are a hardship, but 29 moving the home forward would help with the backyard. Member Chalmers agreed, and 30 stated that the Skokie ditch (creek) is not a unique hardship. 31 32 Member Tzur agreed that a hardship existed with the lot and stated that it was addressed 33 with the approval of setback variations. Member Peterson agreed with Member Tzur, and 34 shared her home is also on the creek. 35 36 Member Quigley agreed with the prior comments and expressed concern that approval 37 would open the doors for developers to request floor area variances. 38 39 Chair Murphy stated that he does not support the request. He acknowledged the need for 40 relief from setbacks, however the code offers generous relief for the third floor ½ story. 41 Chair Murphy also noted that the ZBA has not received new plans since November. 42 Mr. Janikowski asked how he would be able to build upon the existing home with non-43 conformities, which is also not permitted. Chair Murphy responded that he sees a lot of 44 Village of Kenilworth Zoning Board of Appeals 4 March 9, 2026 4 opportunities to move things around to make the home work. He explained a new variation 1 request would be needed if the existing home was built upon, and all variations are 2 reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Chair Murphy stated that the ZBA can not selectively 3 apply standards or suggest designs to applicants, and all requests are evaluated on their 4 own merits. 5 6 Member Hinkamp made a motion to approve the request submitted by the petitioner, 7 Greenside Design Build LLC, on behalf of owner Chicago Title Land Trust Co., to permit 8 construction of a single-family residence which exceeds the maximum permitted 9 building size of 3,956 sq. ft. by 394 sq. ft. at 429 Warwick Road in accordance with the 10 materials included in this packet. The variation requested by the petitioner shall be 11 granted conditioned upon the petitioner’s strict compliance with the plans included 12 within this packet. Any subsequent revisions to these plans that affect the scope of the 13 variation granted or that the Code Official determines to be a material change will 14 require the petitioner to resubmit an application for the requested variation. Member 15 Chalmers seconded the motion. 16 17 A roll call vote was taken as follows on the motion: 18 Yea: None 19 Nay: Peterson, Murphy, Hinkamp, Chalmers, Tzur, Quigley, Roeser 20 Absent: None 21 Abstain: None 22 23 The motion failed 7-0. 24 25 Agenda Item IV. OTHER BUSINESS 26 Mr. Blue stated that the ZBA’s regular meeting on April 13th would have one agenda item. 27 28 Agenda Item V. BUSINESS FROM THE PUBLIC 29 None 30 31 Agenda Item VI. ADJOURN 32 Member Hinkamp made a motion to adjourn, and Member Roeser seconded the motion. 33 34 A voice vote was taken as follows on the motion: 35 Yea: Peterson, Murphy, Hinkamp, Chalmers, Tzur, Quigley, Roeser 36 Nay: None 37 Absent: None 38 Abstain: None 39 40 The motion was approved 7-0. 41 42 The meeting concluded at 7:57 p.m. 43 44 Respectfully Submitted, 45 46 Heather McFarland 47 Asst. to the Village Manager 48