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APPROVED 3/5/2026
Plan Commission Meeting Minutes
Date: February 19, 2026
Skokie Village Hall, 5127 Oakton Street,
Council Chambers
PLAN COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Luke - Chair
Boyd Black, Scott Berman, Cindy
Franklin, Jeff Burman, Talia
Gevaryahu, and Ross Mathee
PLAN COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Sigalle Shpayher, Dick Witry
STAFF PRESENT: Johanna Nyden, Community Development Director, Kelsea
Nolot, Corporation Counsel, Kate Portillo, Planning Manager,
Justin Malone, Neighborhood & Housing Coordinator, and
Mike Voitik, Planning Coordinator.
1. CALL TO ORDER
A quorum being present, Chair Luke called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M.
2. ROLL CALL
Attendance was taken by roll call.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion to approve the minutes of the January 15, 2026 meeting was made by
Commissioner Scott Berman and seconded by Commissioner Talia Gevaryahu.
Ayes: 7 Nays: 0 Abstain: 0. The motion passes.
As a point of order, Chairperson Luke called Case 2025-24P and Case 2025-25P first.
4. NEW BUSINESS
a. 3941 Oakton Avenue: Case 2025-24P: Special Use Permit and Case
2025-25P Parking Determination
Mike Voitik presented the staff report for both cases. The Assyrian National Council of
Illinois requests a special use for a civic, social, and fraternal organization use. Mr.
Voitik explained the site history, noting the organization previously operated from 2014
until COVID in 2020, when the facility was used for COVID testing. The social
organization use resumed in July 2022 but had lost approvals due to the lapse.
The parking determination calculation amounts to 14 required parking spaces for 56
seats, while only 9 spaces are available (4 in front, 5 in back). Staff recommended
granting relief from parking requirements due to the organization's shuttle service to
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their main facility and planned Cook County improvements adding on-street parking to
Oakton Street. Mr. Voitik addressed parking concerns noted by neighbors and
explained that cars had been parking in unauthorized areas behind the striped spaces.
Staff would work with the petitioner to designate no-parking zones and require proper
striping.
Commissioner Jeff Berman questioned how positive findings could be made given
neighbor complaints about parking violations and late-night operations. Staff
acknowledged these issues and indicated the petitioner was willing to address them.
Petitioner Steve Marano explained the intended operations of the facility, which include
senior programming Monday through Friday and occasional events. He expressed
willingness to accommodate neighbors' concerns, including installing wheel stops to
prevent tandem parking, ending activities by 10 PM, and providing his contact
information to neighbors.
Two members of the public spoke regarding this case, raising concerns with parking
and occasions when refuse exceeds the capacity of the on-site container but also
commenting that the concerns had largely been addressed by the petitioner. One
written comment was received.
A motion to approve Special Use Case 2025-24P with the additional conditions of a 10
p.m. end time for activities and wheel stops to prevent parking behind designated
spaces was made by Commissioner Jeff Burman and seconded by Commissioner
Franklin. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion to approve Parking Determination Case 2025-25P was made by
Commissioner Scott Berman and seconded by Commissioner Gevaryahu. The motion
passed unanimously. Chairperson Luke noted that the case would still need to go
before the Board of Trustees for final approval.
5. OLD BUSINESS
a. Zoning Chapter Amendment: Case 2025-21P: Amendments to §118-60
to add accessory dwelling units
Justin Malone presented the staff report and explained the case was continued from the
November 20, 2025 meeting. Mr. Malone addressed several key topics including the
potential external impacts of ADUs such as increased density and neighborhood
parking. Staff analysis showed that many lots would not qualify for ADUs based on lot
dimensions alone, and parking requirements would prevent ADUs from impacting street
parking.
Mr. Malone noted that since the November meeting, the Village had passed a short-
term rental pilot program ordinance prohibiting short-term rentals in accessory
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structures. He also highlighted new proposed state legislation that would make ADUs
legal on all residential properties and preempt local restrictions, while allowing
municipalities to maintain bulk regulations and permitting requirements.
Corporation Counsel explained that the proposed state legislation would prohibit zoning
restrictions exceeding those for single-family districts and would preempt home rule
authority. The legislation would require municipalities to adopt compliant regulations
within eight (8) months of passage.
Commissioners raised numerous questions and concerns; about parking density, that
long-term rentals would be allowed as revenue sources, about occupancy limits and
how they would be determined, about height and parking requirements in scenarios
where garages could be replaced with two-story ADU structures, about the Village's
capacity to manage rental properties under the neighborhood integrity ordinance, about
home-based businesses in ADUs, and raised several technical questions about utility
connections, water service, and infrastructure impacts
Commissioner Franklin asked what actions the Commission could take given the
potential state preemption and asked for clarification on homeowner occupancy
requirements and whether the state would eliminate such requirements.
Commissioner Black proposed moving forward to establish the village's position on
paper rather than waiting, believing this would carry more weight in state discussions.
Four members of the public spoke. Charlie Saxe supported enabling ADUs but argued
the current ordinance was too restrictive and focused on constraints rather than
affirmative intent. Ellen Weber noted neighborhood concerns while acknowledging value
for family members. Jonathan Lavin supported allowing families to build ADUs for
relatives if they had the resources. Anthony Yosef, a rental property owner, opposed
ADUs and expressed concerns about property values and infrastructure limitations.
A motion to continue Case 2025-21P to March 19, 2026 was made by Commissioner
Jeff Burman and seconded by Commissioner Mathee. The motion passed by a vote of 4
ayes and 3 nays.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
None
7. ITEMS FOR COMMUNICATION
Director Nyden noted the memorandum on forthcoming zoning code updates and
also the two cases coming before the Commission at the March 5th meeting
8. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Luke adjourned the meeting at 9:08 PM.
Respectfully submitted by Kate Portillo, Planning Manager
VOSDOC#638368 Plan Commission Meeting Minutes February 19, 2026