Dupage Policy Journal

The village of Roselle is thinking about merging the planning and zoning commission with the zoning board of appeals as a way to make it easier for residents to take care of business on those matters.

“I think the zoning board of appeals is kind of the black sheep of this one. Just because it’s had the most number of consistent vacancies, so therefore I have more trouble ensuring a quorum for a meeting every month because people are not meeting as often and I need a minimum number of people,” Community Development Manager Caron Bricks said at a recent meeting that was posted on YouTube. “So I have had to continue public hearings because there weren’t enough people to attend a meeting and that impacts a resident’s ability to hire a contractor or get bids out for the work they want to do.” 

Many municipalities keep those two functions as separate entities, but Roselle kept them separate partly because its zoning board of appeals is quasi-judicial. That designation means that when residents get code variances approved, the zoning board of appeals has the authority to give final approval without bringing the issue before the village board.

One of the challenges with having two boards is that the meeting schedule for the zoning board of appeals meets is unpredictable. It has been known to convene as many as 10 times a year, but at other times only three meetings will occur annually. The planning and zoning commission meets more regularly. Its schedule of regular meetings has been shown to help when it comes to retaining information from one meeting to the next, the flow of meetings, and a better working relationship among the committee members.

The recommendation calls for combining the two committees into one seven-member panel with one chairperson. 

The village board would also take away the quasi-judicial aspect of the board, which would ultimately mean that all cases would have to come before the village board for final approval. 

To help alleviate the number of agenda items coming before the board, the village wants to amend some of its codes regarding fence height. Fence height variances are the most common issue brought before the zoning board.