The Oak Forest City Council voted without opposition Tuesday to change the city’s zoning ordinances in an effort to simplify the process for developers.
Aldermen voted 6-0, with 7th Ward Alderman Denise Danihel absent, in favor of a 140-page document that was put together by city Economic Advisory and Planning & Zoning officials, with help from the Libertyville-based Rolf Campbell & Associates consulting firm.
Officials began work back on the simplification process in March 2017 , with the Planning & Zoning Commission giving its final approval to the project earlier this month.
Travis Bandstra, the city’s Economic & Community Development director, said he hoped the changes would make the city more attractive for the right kind of development.
“The goal was to create greater flexibility in our development process,” he said. “We want to maintain the proper degree of control for the city in terms of what kind of development takes place.”
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Oak Forest Community Planner Katie Ashbaugh said the lengthy document includes many provisions, but it hand two primary goals. Officials wanted to reduce the number of required public zoning hearings before a project could be advanced for consideration by the City Council. They also wanted to shorten the time period before a project could advance for final approval.
Ashbaugh said many projects under review by Planning & Zoning officials spent between 90 and 120 days being studied. Now, it will be possible for them to get through the process as quickly as 60 and 70 days.
Officials said most public hearings regarding new development projects were poorly attended.
Ashbaugh said she believes projects under consideration for Oak Forest will still get ample review by zoning officials, and the City Council would give them a public review where comments could be taken.
“We’ll still have Planning & Zoning, then the City Council,” Ashbaugh said. “The council will ultimately make the final determination.”
Bandstra said he believes the simplified process for zoning will encourage more projects to be developed in Oak Forest, and 5th Ward Alderman Jim Emmett said he thinks a simpler process will give city officials greater control over existing buildings where previous zoning regulations were not rigid.
“It will help tighten up our control over older buildings, where certain conditions may have been grandfathered in,” Emmett said.
In other business, city Administrator Troy Ishler said he hopes lanes on 159th Street just west of Cicero Avenue will be open to motorists by July 13. The road has been closed since April for Illinois Department of Transportation work on a culvert that runs under the road. Heavy rains of recent months have delayed the project, which originally was supposed to be completed by Memorial Day. IDOT officials will meet with city officials later this week to determine what can be done to ensure the road opens soon.
Also, the council approved a proclamation praising local resident Peter Akai, a member of the Boy Scouts who recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.