DuPage committee rejects plan to convert house to social club

Attempts to convert a house near West Chicago into a social club for the Islamic Center of Western Suburbs were thwarted by the DuPage County Board's development committee.

However, county officials say that hasn't stopped the group from conducting meetings at the house off Army Trail Road, and the owners are under investigation for possible violations of zoning laws.

Kevin Lynch, an attorney for the center, called the committee's unanimous vote to deny the request "frustrating and disappointing." The center's leaders have decided to withdraw the doomed request in order to keep the full county board from voting it down. That action will allow the group to submit new plans to the county without any time restrictions.

Lynch also disputed the county's claims that his clients were misusing the property.

"I don't know the way it's being used right now is not permitted even under the current zoning," he said.

The saga began late last year when the center's leaders sought to convert the home to a religious institution. But during hearings with the county's zoning board of appeals, Lynch pulled that request and resubmitted for use as a social club.

In the meantime, the property owners applied for a permit to build a massive driveway that would be permissible for a single-family home, but illegal for a social club. The county granted the permit, and the center also applied for a variance to allow them to keep the new driveway if they were granted the social club status.

But the property owners were cited by the county for not fulfilling the dirt removal requirements of the driveway permit, said Paul Hoss, the county's zoning administration coordinator. That citation remains unresolved.

Eventually, the zoning board rejected the social club proposal because the center didn't meet the county's definition of social or civic club and they had not submitted plans to upgrade well and septic systems that would be needed for the conversion, Hoss said.

Hoss said the county has received complaints from neighbors about the property's use for months and the county has conducted reconnaissance to determine if it's being used illegally.

County board member Dirk Enger, who is one of the development committee's seven members, said he was upset to hear the center was using the property to hold meetings without prior approval.

"It shows a negligence to the statutes they are filing for," he said.

Lynch said his clients only want to meet at the house to coordinate the group's cultural and philanthropic activities.

"They're trying to organize a food pantry that will be able to donate to other local food pantries," he said.

But neighbors also complain that the property owners, who would still live in the top floor of the house, are trying to get the property off the tax rolls by seeking the conversion either as a religious institution or a charitable organization.

Hoss said the zoning board cannot consider property tax impact and that was not a consideration in the board's denial.

Lynch said there's no timeline for when his clients may reapply for a different use of the property.