Bathroom Plan Sparks War Of Words

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst family's request to build an addition to make way for a second full bathroom suffered another setback in city government Monday. The issue next goes to the City Council.

Since the council rejected a bigger addition last month, Rosie and Mark Anglewicz have presented a compromise version, calling for an expansion that would cover 49 square feet. For context, 49 square feet amounts to a room that is 7 feet long and 7 feet wide, covering an area less than one-thousandth of a football field.

On Monday, the three aldermen on the city's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee split 2-1 against the proposal to expand by 49 square feet. Michael Honquest and Mark Mulliner voted down the idea, while Bob Dunn was for it. Dunn is expected to prepare a minority report, which is required before the council votes on the new proposal at its meeting next Tuesday.

For the Anglewiczes to build, they need the city's permission because an addition would exceed the requirement that no more than 30 percent of a lot can be covered by buildings. With 49 square feet, the Anglewiczes would be over by 1 percentage point. Their previous proposal included an addition of about 200 extra square feet, moving up the lot coverage to about 35 percent.

With the bigger addition, the council split 6-6 last month, with Mayor Steve Morley breaking the tie against the family.

In favor of the request were Michael Bram, Dannee Polomsky, Kevin York, Tina Park, Scott Levin and Marti Deuter. Against were Dunn, Mulliner, Noel Talluto, Jim Kennedy, Mike Brennan and Mark Sabatino. Aldermen Honquest and Norm Leader were absent.

If all aldermen attend next week's meeting and all of them except Dunn stick to their previous positions, the vote could go either way, depending on Leader, whose views are not publicly known. He did not return a call for comment Tuesday.

The couple bought their 1890s-era house in the 100 block of East Elmhurst Avenue more than a decade ago. Their family has grown since then, and they said they found their house less marketable without a second full bathroom. Their proposed backyard, two-story addition drew no opposition from neighbors. But the council majority thought the addition was too much. The lot in question is among the smallest in Elmhurst.

In an interview, Honquest said the city did the Anglewiczes a favor by reconsidering the project. He said the couple told the city they would present a new proposal without exceeding the 30 percent limit. But they did not do so, he said. "They were duplicitous," he said.

Since 1924, Honquest said, the 30 percent rule has been a tenet of city zoning. Only in rare circumstances, he said, has the city allowed variances from the rule.

"The 30 percent applies to anyone, rich or poor" Honquest said. "There are plenty of rich people who say give me a few extra percent and I'll do this beautiful home, and we say no."

In an interview, the couple noted they provided an option that did not exceed the 30 percent limit, along with the one exceeding it.

"We were told by city officials to present what we wanted in the appeal process. That's what we did. We weren't given any kind of parameters," Rosie Anglewicz said.

According to city information, Elmhurst has allowed property owners to exceed lot coverage requirements before, including in 1994, 1996, 2006 and 2009. The Anglewiczes noted that three of those cases involved garages, one of which was for a classic car hobby. Rosie Anglewicz said "certain individuals" were being duplicitous in suggesting that those cases were unique.

Alderman Dunn differed from Honquest in his reaction to the couple's revised proposal. "As far as being unhappy with our applicant, I don't have any issue," he said. Of the 15,000 households in Elmhurst, he said, three are on lots that are less than 5,000 square feet, with the Anglewiczes' being one of them. "It's a very unique case," Dunn said.

At the same time, Dunn called himself a big proponent of the 30 percent limit, saying the city must be fastidious in its adherence.

The city's zoning board has already recommended approval of the addition. The City Council meets at 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday at City Hall, 209 N. York St.