Trustees postpone discussion of vehicle parking restrictions
by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI
The Lincolnwood Village Board of Trustees at its meeting May 20 postponed to June 3 discussion of a recommendation by the Traffic Commission that the village code regulating the parking of commercial and recreational vehicles on residential streets and driveways be amended.
The village board postponed the discussion because Trustees Lawrence Elster and Jesal Patel were absent.
The code prohibits street parking of commercial vehicles that weigh more than 12,000 pounds or bearing commercial markings between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and all day on Sundays. The code also prohibits parking Class 1 commercial vehicles on driveways or more than one Class 2 vehicle on a driveway.
The commission originally wanted the board to adopt an ordinance that would prohibit boats, boat trailers, recreational vehicles, snowmobiles, livery vehicles and commercial vehicles from parking on all residential streets and driveways between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. except with temporary permission from the Police Department.
However, following its meeting on Feb. 20, the commission recommended that passenger vehicles, motorcycles, passenger vans with RV license plates and noncommercial vehicles that weigh less than 8,000 pounds with passenger or Class B plates be allowed to park on residential streets and private driveways.
The commission also recommended that commercial trucks, trailers, semi-trailers, buses and commercial vehicles be prohibited from parking between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. on driveways and streets, that taxi and livery vehicles should be defined as commercial vehicles, and that noncommercial vehicles should be more precisely defined.
Noncommercial vehicles would be required to have no signs or advertisements, business identification or equipment attached such as snowplows or equipment racks. Noncommercial cargo and panel vans would have to have side and rear windows and seating behind the driver’s seat.
Also at the meeting, the trustees postponed to June 3 consideration of imposing a moratorium on residential development within the Lincoln Avenue Overlay District.
Last year the board’s Committee of the Whole discussed whether residential developments should be prohibited in the Lincoln Avenue corridor, and the board directed the Plan Commission to hold a hearing to review the Lincoln Avenue Task Force Report that was made a part of the Village’s Comprehensive Plan in 2006. The commission concluded that a moratorium is not necessary.
The trustees also adopted an ordinance amending sections of the zoning code regulating design standards for commercial, institutional and civic buildings in the Lincoln Avenue Overlay District.
The ordinance eliminates "masonry only" requirements from the overlay district and requires exterior walls of nonresidential buildings to be built with a minimum of 75 percent of "high-quality" materials and that the walls must be of 100 percent "high-quality" materials from the ground to the top of the first-floor windows. Permitted high-quality materials include bricks that are 2.25 inches thick, natural stone, sandstone and other native stone, pre-cast stone and glass.
Pre-cast stone and pre-cast concrete will be permitted in the manufacturing/business district except when used on elevations facing a residential district, in which case a special use and an appearance before the Plan Commission are required.
The village board also approved an ordinance that allows firearm shooting ranges as a special use in manufacturing and business districts and that limits the location of shooting ranges to manufacturing/business districts with a mile of separation between shooting ranges and at least 250 feet from areas that are zoned residential or for parks. The ordinance also requires two parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail space and two additional spaces for each shooting stall.
Also at the meeting, the trustees authorized the village manager to execute an agreement with Cook County for access to its geographical information system at no cost. The system will help the village with creating and viewing maps, selecting and querying databases and analyzing geographical data.
The board also amended the village code regarding public notice requirements for applications for parkway parking areas. The code currently requires that applications be heard at a hearing that triggers state law requirements for placing legal notices in local newspapers and sending written notices by mail to nearby property owners. Since the parkway parking ordinance is a part of the municipal code and is not governed by state law, the ordinance will no longer require legal notices.
The board also approved the purchase of two 2015 Ford F-250 pickup trucks from Currie Motors Fleet in Frankfort for $71,387.
