Board approves additional parking for Lincolnwood dentist office

The Lincolnwood Village Board Tuesday unanimously approved several measures that clear the way for the owner of a dental practice on Cicero Avenue to expand his parking lot.

The board’s decision to allow dentist Constantin Izvanariu to add four parking spots to his six-space parking lot at 7370 Cicero Avenue came after months of deliberations by both the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Plan Commission, which on April 13 voted to override a 2015 decision by the Zoning Board to deny Izvanariu’s request.

Izvanariu, who opened his dental practice in March 2015, needed village approval in order to add the additional parking because of a zoning ordinance banning front-facing parking areas from commercial property in the office zoning district where the office is located.

His request for zoning relief bounced back and forth between the three local governing bodies as officials weighed whether it demonstrated a viable hardship—a necessary step in obtaining relief from the village’s zoning laws. Finally, the Plan Commission decided to allow front-facing parking as a special use, rather than a zoning variation—thus eliminating the need to obtain zoning relief.

Izvanariu said his patients who couldn’t find an open space in his lot had to find street parking along Jarvis Avenue. He said the walk from the street to the front door of his office was sometimes a challenge for his senior-aged patients who have trouble walking.

He also expressed concerns to the village about using too much street parking used by his neighbors in the residential area to the west of his office.

“Some of my patients—when they come out of a procedure—it’s unsafe for them to walk out in the middle of the street,” he said during a Village Board meeting in August 2015. “The variation isn’t just to enhance the property, but it’s needed to function.”

After determining that no hardship existed, the Zoning Board decided last year to deny his request. The Village Board’s reversal of their recommendation means Izvanariu will be able to expand his parking lot under the condition that he install and maintain a row of five-to-six-foot tall solid landscaping to shield the parking from the view of Cicero Avenue.

The Village Board approved the measure without any discussion. Trustees Larry Elster and Jennifer Spino were absent from the meeting.

Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.