Elmhurst Fast-Tracks Process For Developer

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst City Council on Monday approved the construction of a three-story medical office building on the south side.

It also sped up the approval process for the developer – known as "suspending the rules" in the council's jargon. One alderman argued against doing so.

Under the plan, Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies, a major developer in the Chicago suburbs, will construct a 65,000-square-foot building, which Elmhurst Hospital will use. A 265-space parking lot is also planned.

The building would be on the vacant land southwest of York and Lexington streets, between the hospital and Ebel's Ace Hardware.

Neighbors have expressed concerns about how the building would impact them. Houses on Kendall Avenue would be behind the structure.

At the council meeting, Ann Swies, who lives on Kendall, asked for the proposed fence dividing the building from the houses to be 10 feet high, instead of 8 feet. She would also like evergreen trees, rather than shrubbery.

She said she realized the developer couldn't give everything the neighbors wanted.

"They have been very open to our needs and concerns and have been very reassuring, so it has calmed a lot of our fears," Swies said.

Alderwoman Marti Deuter said the feedback from residents during public hearings was valuable.

One of the results from the feedback, she said, was the developer reducing the parking lot openings to one on Lexington Street, from the two originally proposed. That is expected to cut the amount of traffic going into the neighborhood.

The developer also increased the setback along Kendall to allow for landscaping on the outside of the fence facing the neighborhood, Deuter said.

Additionally, she said, Ryan Companies is moving the lighting closer to the building, thus farther away from neighbors.

The developer requested the council condense its two-step approval process into one meeting, rather than its usual two.

The company planned to get started on the parking lot right away, Deuter said. It wanted to avoid leaving the parking lot half done if the asphalt plants closed when the weather changed, she said.

"It really is in the interest of the community and the neighborhood to have that fence get up and block that site during the construction period," Deuter said.

Alderman Michael Bram said he favored the project, but opposed suspending the rules, even though he said the rationale was a good one.

He said the suspension of rules should be rare, not used in a case where a project may be falling behind.

"Essentially this is about transparency for me," Bram said. "Transparency is to allow the public a couple of opportunities to speak and provide any type of feedback or concerns on any type of issue."

Alderman Mike Brennan said he was for suspending the rules. He called the hospital a "five-star neighbor" that has shown concern for neighbors.

"The residents have been very involved," he said.

The council's support for the first step, which was the policy for the project, was unanimous.

The second step involved a city ordinance. Everyone voted for it but Bram.