Mt. Prospect wary about proposed stacking car lift

To make up for about 45 parking spaces, the owners of a community center came up with a creative solution - a hydraulic vehicle lift that would stack cars on top of each other.

Members of the Dasom Community Center proposed building a new center at 1750 W. Central Road on Tuesday. While members of the Mount Prospect village board liked the general idea, many had a few questions about the lift and the project's financing.

Based on the size and use of the building, 91 parking spots are required but there are only 46 spaces on the site, said William Cooney, director of community development. So, Dasom officials are proposing an indoor lift that would fit 41 cars ­­- or two rows of about 20 cars. The lift would only be used for special occasions when parking is tight, Cooney said.

"Parking is a challenge on this site," he said. "This would be the first time a petitioner would be using lifts to meet code."

The lift would be certified by a structural engineer and inspected twice a year, Cooney said.

Trustee Michael Zadel said the board has an obligation to make sure the lift is safe for people to use.

"I like new technology and I like that our petitioners are being innovative, but we have to look out for all our citizens," Zadel said.

Mayor Irvana Wilks echoed Zadel's concerns.

"I do have some reservations," she said. "The information (about the lifts) we received from you looks like it was copied from a Web page. It doesn't look like anyone did real research on this."

The lifts used at Dasom would be very similar and have the dimensions as the ones in the handouts, said Tony Ryan of MDM Design Group Inc.

Byung Park is an architect and member of Dasom's building committee. He said the only solution to the site's parking problem is the vehicle life.

"We spoke to Bosch (Power Tools) next door and they aren't interested in leasing us spaces," Park said.

Leaders of Dasom Community Church want to move their center from Des Plaines because there is more room at the Mount Prospect location. The church has about 150 members and serves the Asian-American community. The proposed Mount Prospect location would only service as community center, not a church.

The old building on Central Road used to house a printing company, but has been vacant for several years.

Members of the Dasom Community Center will return to the village board on July 21.