An inquiring Village Board trustee learned
Aug. 24 -- as did some members of the community -- that approval of a design
review permit for a downtown property owner does not necessarily mean that
person is required to actually ever do the proposed upgrade.
Such is the case of La Grange Theater owner John Rot, who
received a unanimous stamp of approval at this week's board meeting to make
planned facade improvements on the first floor retail spaces at 88 S. La Grange
Road, immediately south of the theater at 80 S. La Grange Road, which have been
vacant for a couple years.
Rot, who co-owns the theater and the nearby Horton's Home
Furnishings store with David Rizner, plans to attract a restaurant with an
outside cafe to the site to complement both the movie house and the existing
central business district.
The four-storefront retail space is at the gateway to the
downtown business district for motorists and pedestrians coming from the south
through the residential historic district and most recently housed an
optometrist office, a clothing resale shop and an antique coin shop, among
other businesses.
At the meeting, Trustee James Palermo asked what protocol
village staff has to make sure design review proposals are actually carried out
by those to whom they are granted.
He was told by Community Development Director Patrick
Benjamin that although he does all he can to work with a developer or building
owner to meet the requirements of the code, there is no requirement -- just
like with building permits -- for the work to ever be done.
"Typically after a permit is issued, it doesn't mean
they're going to do everything they were authorized to do," he said, noting
the permit approval does not mandate any changes be made.
Although village code dictates a design review permit is
required whenever any new entrances or doorways are added that change the
exterior appearance of a building within the designated Design Review District
(mostly downtown), a permit is just that.
Palermo, who has been critical of the village's funding of
recent theater improvements using proceeds of the downtown tax increment
financing district, said he most interested in the part of the code which reads
a project must be "in strict compliance" with the said ordinance.
"How do we follow up and see what was promised the
village is actually delivered?" he asked.
He pointed to the case of a proposed new awning that was
supposed to be erected on the facade of a building at 512 W. Burlington Ave.
some time ago, for which a design permit was issued, but was never realized.
Village Attorney Mark Burkland reiterated Benjamin's
remarks, that the code does not mandate such a project is ever undertaken.
Trustee Bill Holder summed it up best when he added that a
permit "bestows the right, but not the obligation."
Rot's project would allow him to enhance the appearance of
the property while maintaining the character and historical quality of the building.
The proposed improvements include replacement of two alcoves
on the north end and one alcove on the south end of the property with new doors
and a vestibule, as well as three new bronze metal and fluorescent frosted
decorative lighting fixtures on timers at the east elevation and one at the
main entrance.
Cleaning and maintenance, including future tuck-pointing, of
the existing yet deteriorating terra cotta, new granite at the base and brick
on both the south and east portions of the building.
The new store front would be beige, matching the second
floor windows.
The new door at the east side of the facade would be used
solely by the potential restaurateur's wait staff attending to customers seated
outside, Rot told the Design Review Commission at an Aug. 12 meeting. That door
would be locked during the winter months.
The door at the far west of the south elevation would be
used only for deliveries.
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