







by BRIAN NADIG

The City Council Zoning Committee at its March 14 meeting approved a proposal that calls for the creation of a playground and a small parking lot for a day-care center that is planned for the northeast corner of Irving Park Road and Monticello Avenue.

The center is planned for the first floor of a vacant one-story commercial strip center at 3620 W. Irving Park Road. The developer has proposed to construct two floors of residential units above the existing L-shaped building, which once housed a bank, Alderman John Arena’s chief of staff Owen Brugh said.

The existing B3-1 Community Shopping District zoning of the site permits day-care uses and allows four residential units on the 10,453-square-foot property, which was foreclosed on several years ago. The site has seven parking spaces.

A parking lot at 4015 N. Monticello Ave. is across the alley from the building. The parking lot does not conform with the RS-3 Residential Single-Unit District zoning of that property.

The developer for the project is seeking to rezone the southern half of parking lot on Monticello to B3-1 to allow the day-care center’s playground and up to eight parking spaces. Construction of a single-family home is planned for the northern half of the approximately 5,600-square-foot parcel, Brugh said.

The West Walker Civic Association was consulted on the design of the project, Brugh said.

Also on the Northwest Side, a zoning application was filed to allow a fourth residential unit in a two-story brick building at 5301 W. Newport Ave. The owner is seeking to have the property rezoned from RS-3, which is intended for houses and two-flats, to RM-4-5, which is intended for multi-family uses.

Plans call for the commercial space on the first floor, which once was occupied by a bar, to be converted to residential use. A dwelling unit exists in the rear of the first floor and two units are on the second floor of the building, which has a basement.

A detached garage would be demolished to allow for construction of a paved parking pad for four cars at the rear of the lot.