Burr Ridge Wheelchair User Rejected Again

BURR RIDGE, IL – A Burr Ridge wheelchair user's request for a detached garage failed yet again Monday.

In a unanimous vote, the Village Board denied resident Judy Rohan's plan for the garage at Glenn Drive and 94th Street.

But the village's administrator, Evan Walter, said the village would work with Rohan and her husband, Michael Rohan, to find a plan that works.

The couple needed permission because the garage would have violated the setback from 94th Street. They already have an attached garage, but said they needed an extra one for accessibility to her van.

Last month, the village's Plan Commission unanimously recommended the board reject the request.

Village officials contended the garage could be built in the backyard by the house, rather than in the sideyard by the street.

The Rohans countered that a slope in the backyard makes that difficult for accessibility. And they said they didn't want to eliminate a backyard deck they built a few years ago.

At Monday's meeting, officials presented a memo from the village's development engineer, James Miedema.

He acknowledged a 6-foot slope in the backyard, but said sufficient distance existed to accommodate a detached garage with proper grading.

Altering the slope would increase costs, he said, but such a project would not be cost-prohibitive.

Judy Rohan said a reasonable accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act should be granted. She said she has multiple sclerosis, which means she often must use a wheelchair.

However, Mike Durkin, the village's lawyer, said the village does not need to grant the request because the garage can be built in the backyard.

He said it was likely that the Rohans did not want a garage in their backyard, in part, because of the aesthetics.

Judy Rohan conceded the point. She said the whole point of the deck was to see the greenery and that putting a garage next to it would reduce the home's value.

"It would be a terribly awkward place for it," she said.

Trustee Guy Franzese, who was presiding over the meeting in Mayor Gary Grasso's absence, said he could find no hardship when the garage could be in the buildable area. He suggested another attached garage.

"The detached garage would look like an afterthought in my opinion," Franzese said.

After the board voted to deny the Rohans, Trustee Al Paveza said he liked the idea of the staff working with the Rohans.

"Thank you for your time," Michael Rohan said.