Zoning board to hear appeal of decision allowing addition
by BRIAN NADIG
A second-floor addition to a bungalow near Nagle and Raven avenues and the expansion of a church near Belmont and Austin avenues are among the items on the agenda for the Friday, Jan. 17, meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The owner of a home in the 6300 block of West Hyacinth Street is appealing a decision by the city zoning administrator to allow construction of a second-floor frame addition and a rear deck at a single-family home at 6339 W. Hyacinth St. A permit for the project was issued on Nov. 20, and work began two weeks ago.
"We are a row of historic bungalows," the neighbor who filed the appeal said. "All the roofs are the same height. This is going to change the character of our neighborhood, and anyone driving by would say that."
The resident said that dormers have been added to some of the bungalows on the block but that none of them have had a second-floor addition. A second-floor addition was constructed on a multi-family building at the end of the block on an oversized lot, according to the resident.
The resident said that addition to the bungalow will block windows and skylights on his house. "It is infringing on the use and enjoyment of my property," he said.
The issuance of the construction permit was made possible several months ago when the zoning administrator granted an administrative adjustment which allows reductions in the northeast side-yard setback from 4 feet to 2.37 feet, in the southwest side-yard setback from 4 feet to 2.86 feet, and in the combined side-yard setback from 9 feet to 5.23 feet. The resident said that if the appeal is granted, it could force a halt in the construction.
Manuel Galvan, a spokesman for Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th), said that the alderman does not plan to object to the second-floor addition at the zoning board’s meeting. "The addition is not out of line with the rest of the neighborhood," Galvan said.
The 958-square-foot bungalow was constructed 88 years ago and was sold to a developer last May, according to county records. The RS-2 zoning of the property restricts residential construction on the 3,750-square-foot property to single-family use.
The agenda for the meeting also contains a request by the Belmont Assembly of God for a special use to allow the expansion of its church at 6050-58 W. Belmont Ave. The application calls for the renovation of a mezzanine and a 9,311-square-foot expansion to the 450-seat church.
The bungalow item will be heard during the 9 a.m. session of the board’s meeting, and the church item will be held during the 2 p.m. session. The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St.
