Glen Ellyn considering combining advisory panels

In a town that prides itself on historic architecture, two village advisory commissions that help regulate development in Glen Ellyn should remain separate, preservationists say.

"I know it slows down the process, but often times slowing down the process provides more time for citizen input, which is very important," says Chris Wilson, a Glen Ellyn Park District commissioner and member of Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation.

Village trustees are considering combining the plan and architectural review commissions, two appointed panels that meet with developers and issue nonbinding recommendations to approve or deny projects.

The village board was supposed to consider a possible merger this year as part of a new, long-term plan for Glen Ellyn. Instead, trustees agreed to revisit the issue by July 1, 2017.

Glen Ellyn officials say they're not loosening design standards, but trying to find efficiencies with the process. They occasionally hear from frustrated developers who pitch the same project to two different panels on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

"I can see there's been a lot of times when petitioners would come in from across the country and they only have this little window to present their stuff and leave," resident Cam Paige said.

But holding joint meetings doesn't seem feasible, either, Paige said.

"It's fascinating, and it's intense, and it's hard work, and I can't see them sharing the space and time with anybody else," she said of the plan commission.

The 11-member plan commission considers applications by developers, businesses and homeowners who seek variances from the village's zoning code. The architectural review commission considers any plans related to appearance - exteriors, landscaping and signs.

"We do not want to keep everything the same, but we want whatever is added to this village to fit in context and quality of design and material," Wilson told the board. "And for those reasons, and transparency especially, I would like to see the architectural review commission separate from the plan commission."

Both commissions will give feedback this week on plans for Glen Ellyn's new police station near Panfish Park. Two major developments also could come up on the docket, both apartment and retail complexes proposed downtown.

With that in mind, Village President Alex Demos wanted to wait on making any changes and called for input on combining the panels, an idea that's been floated for several years. Another possibility is having architectural review commissioners first sit in on presentations to plan commissioners before conducting their business.

"They could immediately take the dais and continue that presentation, which again is a more suitable environment for someone that's presenting, so we don't need to tax village staff," Demos said. "We don't need to tax them and have this presentation go on for weeks and weeks and weeks."