Lisle hears technical school's pitch
The topic before the Lisle Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday night was a vocational school and whether it should be allowed to build a new facility at 2611 Corporate West Drive.
The debate spanned jobs, crime, cancer, car shows, for-profit versus nonprofit schools and the very definition of the word zoning.
The result was a recommendation to the Lisle Village Board that vocational, trade or technical schools, colleges and universities be permitted as special uses within the village's office and research zoning district.
A decision on the specific proposal from Universal Technical Institute, which wants to build an 185,000-square-foot training center on the site, was postponed until the Planning and Zoning Commission's next meeting May 2 at 7 p.m.
The institute specializes in the areas of automotive, diesel, marine and industrial technology, and its consultants will continue presenting details of their plan and the zoning relief they're seeking at the next commission meeting.
The Planning and Zoning Commission decided to recommend vocational, trade or technical schools, colleges and universities become permitted as special uses in the office and research district because they are compatible with the setup and current uses of the district, which is mainly situated along I-88.
“Personally, I believe a university is very cohesive and a good addition to the corridor. I think we need to be open to that usage as education, office and research continue to evolve,” Planning and Zoning Commission member Brad Hettich said.
Before the commission voted unanimously to recommend technical schools, colleges and universities be allowed as special uses, three residents spoke against the text amendment to the village code that could make the change, pending Lisle Village Board approval. The text amendment should be on the agenda of the next village board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. May 7 in village hall, 925 Burlington Ave.
Resident Mary Lynn Zajdel said the text amendment should not be approved because it is “more of an argument to change Lisle's land use plan to accommodate a for-profit corporation” than a well-reasoned adjustment to zoning code based on “shaping development into the future.”
Two people spoke in favor of allowing vocational, trade or technical schools to locate in Lisle's office and research districts.
“As a neighbor of the site that we're talk about tonight, as a member of the chamber of commerce ... I want to let everyone know that I am in full support of the text amendment to allow a technical school in the corridor,” said Richard Brink, general manager of the Hilton Lisle/Naperville, located just west of the site on which Universal Technical Institute wants to relocate its Midwest campus. “I'm asking for your flexibility to adapt so our business community can grow.”
Universal Technical Institute began asking Wednesday night for zoning relief including variations to allow an 100-square-foot electronic sign and variations about parking in the front and rear of the building.
Site planners described the proposed facility as a hybrid between a high-end auto dealership and an office building and said similar signs are in place at other locations among the institute's 11 campuses in eight states.
Locally, Universal Technical Institute opened in Glendale Heights in 1988 and looked at about 50 sites before choosing the Lisle location for the proposed redevelopment of its campus.