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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoards & Commissions Supporting Documents - 09/07/2021 - Zoning Board of Appeals ITEM 5.A. FIRST WATCH RESTAURANTS, INC 2155 22ND STREET SIGN VARIATIONS INDEX PAGE CONTENTS 7-7.c Staff Report dated July 29, 2021 6-6.c Staff Findings of Fact and Exhibits 5 Certificate of Publication dated July 12, 2021 4 Resident Letter dated July 9, 2021 3 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes dated July 13, 2021 (not included) 2-2.a Referral Memo – Board of Trustees Agenda dated July 13, 2021 1 Zoning Ordinance Section – 13-11-8.C.5 ******************* A Application B-B.1 Meet First Watch – Restaurant Information and Letter of Authorization C-C.1 Variation Standards D Certification of Surrounding Property Owners E Surrounding Property Owners List F-F.1 Subject Property Verification G Beneficial Interest of Owner H Fee/Receipt I Site Plan J Alta Survey dated August 19, 2019 (Included not attached) K Sign Plan Details (Included not attached) • Existing and Proposed Sign Location Plan • Sign Details VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Zoning Board of Appeals STAFF REPORT DATE: July 2 9, 2021 CASE NO: 2021-10-ZO-VAR DESCRIPTION: Sign Variation – To permit and allow the installation of a third wall sign for First Watch Cafe. PETITIONER: First Watch Restaurants, Inc., tenant at Shops of Oak Brook Place ADDRESS: 2155 22nd Street EXISTING ZONING: B-3 General Business District ZONING/USE OF SURROUNDING PROPERTY: North: B-3, General Business District and improved with Chase Bank; B-3 General Retail (in Oakbrook Terrace) and improved with a commercial shopping center. South: I-88 Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway; R-2 Single-Family Residential and improved with single-family homes in Brook Forest Unit 5. East: B-3, General Business District and improved with Costco. West: B-3, General Business District and improved with a Walgreens and professional office buildings. DISCUSSION: First Watch Restaurants, Inc has submitted an application for a sign variation to install a third wall sign at 2155 22nd Street. The property is zoned B-3 General Business District and has been developed and operated as the Shops at Oak Brook Place retail center. First Watch Café opened in May 2021 and is located in the western-most tenant space of the retail center adjacent to Midwest Road. First Watch Café currently has two (2) wall signs on the north and west building façades facing 22nd Street and Midwest Road respectively. These wall signs were approved as part of code-compliant sign permits. First Watch Café also has signage on two (2) ground signs located on 22nd Street. These signs are in the form of tenant panels on the retail center’s tenant identification signs. Staff has prepared (and provided as an attachment) a Sign Exhibit page with photos displaying all four (4) signs mentioned. 7 STAFF REPORT – FIRST WATCH CAFE 12155 22nd Street VARIATION – SIGN REGULATIONS CASE NO. 2021-10-ZO-VAR 2 First Watch is requesting relief to Section 13-11-8(C)(5) of the sign code for the following: 1. Permit and allow more than one wall signs per building facade for a total of three (3) wall signs; and 2. The installation of an off-premise wall sign on the façade of the loading dock screening wall that is not part of the cafe façade; The specific wall sign being requested is 71.5 square feet in total area and is located on the building façade directly adjacent to Nordstrom Rack and faces I-88. The illumination and other specific installation requirements for wall signs are all in technical compliance with the Oak Brook sign code. Please see the case file for additional information regarding this request as well as a photos and plans depicting the existing and proposed signs. Staff Comments •GG Oakbrook LP, the property owner, has authorized the submittal of the requested sign variation. •First Watch Café is 4,285 SF in total building area and does not have building frontage facing I-88. See the included Site Plan for tenant location(s) and building space square footage comparisons. •Tenants in the Shops of Oak Brook Place retail center benefit from having individual wall signs facing 22nd Street and I-88 for advertising purposes. In addition, these same tenants have sign panels on the two (2) tenant identification signs located on 22nd Street. •The zoning requirements that limit the number of signs per façade and/or site are intended to provide a higher-quality aesthetic and more appealing streetscape by regulating the number and size of signs. •First Watch does have existing wall signs on both the 22nd Street and Midwest Road frontages. The Midwest Road wall sign is 32 square feet in area and the 22nd Street wall sign is 124 square feet total (92 SF + 32 SF). Staff has already administratively approved the existing wall signs because they are permitted-by-right signs. •First Watch Café is proposing one additional wall sign totaling 71 square feet on the rear of the retail center. 7.a STAFF REPORT – FIRST WATCH CAFE 12155 22nd Street VARIATION – SIGN REGULATIONS CASE NO. 2021-10-ZO-VAR 3 RESPONSIBILITIES OF HEARING BODIES: The Zoning Board of Appeals has the responsibility to make a recommendation on requests for variation. Please include in your consideration findings with respect to the standards specified in the Zoning Ordinance for a variation. The materials submitted by the applicant specifically address these standards (see the case file). Those standards are as follows: “Section 13-14-6 D. Standards: 1.The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not recommend a variation of the provisions of this Title as authorized in this Section unless it shall have made findings of fact based upon the evidence presented to it on the following specific issues that: a.The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations governing the district in which it is located. b. The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances. c. The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. 2.For the purpose of supplementing the above standards, the Zoning Board of Appeals, in making the determination whether there are practical difficulties or particular hardships, shall also take into consideration the extent to which the following facts, favorable to the applicant, have been established by the evidence that: a. The particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions of the specific property involved would bring a particular hardship upon the owner as distinguished from a mere inconvenience if the strict letter of the regulation were to be carried out. b. The condition upon which the petition for variation is based would not be applicable generally to the other property within the same zoning classification. c. The granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located. d. The proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase the danger of fire, or otherwise endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood. e.That the purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property. f. That the alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property.” 7.b STAFF REPORT – FIRST WATCH CAFE 12155 22nd Street VARIATION – SIGN REGULATIONS CASE NO. 2021-10-ZO-VAR 4 CONCLUSION: Staff has reviewed the petition and the accompanying Findings of Fact and disagrees with the request to add the additional wall sign facing I-88. The subject property is located at a major intersection with adequate exposure from both Midwest Road and 22nd Street and currently has wall signs facing both street frontages. There are also sign tenant panels currently installed on the two (2) tenant identification signs located on 22nd Street for the Shops of Oakbrook Place retail center. Additionally, the proposed wall sign is not located on a building façade for the cafe but proposed rather on the loading dock façade occupied by Nordstrom Rack. Based upon this information, this proposed variation is in staff’s opinion is not necessary and will not “maintain” the high-quality aesthetic and architectural character of the retail center. If the Zoning Board of Appeals is of the opinion that the applicant has satisfied the requirements for the requested variation to the sign regulations for First Watch Café located at 2155 22nd Street, a recommendation can be made to approve the request subject to the following conditions: 1.The design and placement of the proposed signs shall be in substantial conformance with the plans as submitted and approved. 2.Add the condition “Notwithstanding the attached exhibits, the applicant shall meet all Village Ordinance requirements at the time of building permit application except as specifically varied or waived.” However, if you determine that the petitioner has not satisfied the required standards for a variation, a recommendation can be made to deny the request in accordance with the Findings of Fact (Denial) prepared by Village staff. Findings of fact, which are the basis of the Zoning Board of Appeals determination, should be stated as part of either motion. The recommendation may include any conditions reasonably related to the petition, which the Zoning Board deems necessary to protect the public interest. Respectfully Submitted, _____________________ Rebecca Von Drasek Tony Budzikowski Village Planner Development Services Director 7.c First Watch Café Staff Findings of Fact July 27, 2021 Findings of Fact (Denial) 1.The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not recommend a variation of the provisions of this Title as authorized in this Section unless it shall have made findings of fact based upon the evidence presented to it on the following specific issues that: a. The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations governing the district in which it is located. First Watch Café has up to four (4) signs at the Shops at Oakbrook Place retail center that have been approved as by-right and code compliant signs. b. The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances. The First Watch Café is located in a highly visible corner tenant space at a well-traveled and busy intersection that is easily accessible from both Midwest Road and 22nd Street. The restaurant has wall signage visible from Midwest Road and 22nd Street. No other tenant space within the retail center has sign advertising facing Midwest Road. c. The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. This particular variation will permit a third wall sign on-site and a sign on a building façade that is not directly occupied by the cafe. If approved, both of these would be precedent setting for commercial uses within this retail center and elsewhere. 2. For the purpose of supplementing the above standards, the Zoning Board of Appeals, in making the determination whether there are practical difficulties or particular hardships, shall also take into consideration the extent to which the following facts, favorable to the applicant, have been established by the evidence that: a. The particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions of the specific property involved would bring a particular hardship upon the owner as distinguished from a mere inconvenience if the strict letter of the regulation were to be carried out. The specific tenant space location within the retail center is actually advantageous because it is located as an end-cap in the building at a very busy intersection. Being an end-cap and the corner tenant space does allow wall signage on two (2) building facades by-right. There doesn’t appear to be a physical, shape or topographical condition that qualifies as a hardship at this restaurant location. b. The condition upon which the petition for variation is based would not be applicable generally to the other property within the same zoning classification. A third sign on a building façade not occupied by the cafe would be precedent setting. 6 First Watch Café Staff Findings of Fact July 27, 2021 c. The granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located. A variation for this circumstance could allow other commercial tenants to request permission for similar “off-premise” signs for advertising purposes. d. The proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase the danger of fire, or otherwise endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood. Another wall sign will not impair light or air, increase the danger of fire or be detrimental to public safety. Conversely, staff is concerned that an off-premise sign may cause similar off-premise sign requests that could negatively impact the streetscape and visual aesthetics. e. That the purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property. The purpose of the additional wall sign is to better advertise the location of the restaurant to attract more customers and more business. f. That the alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property.” Staff contends that there is not a hardship and that there are currently four (4) signs to advertise the location of the restaurant. Prepared by: Tony Budzikowski Development Services Director 6.a First Watch Café – Existing Signs *Photos taken Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Prepared by: DSD Staff, Village of Oak Brook I.D. Sign on 22nd Street (facing east/west)2nd I.D. Sign on 22nd Street (facing east/west) 6.b First Watch Café – Existing Signs *Photos taken Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Prepared by: DSD Staff, Village of Oak Brook Wall Sign facing 22nd Street (north façade) – Wall Sign facing Midwest Road (west façade) 124 square feet in area total 32 square feet total 6.c