GroundSignal

Land & conditions · Park Ridge

How the Zoning Board of Appeals acted on variance requests over two years

AI-assisted researchHow this was researched and checked

At its meetings from January 25, 2024 to December 18, 2025, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved variances, or recommended their approval to the City Council, in 25 cases in the first year and 22 in the second, and denied or voted down 4. Each Council vote on a major variance quoted here matched the Board's vote. The Board's readable minutes also record 8 votes to continue a hearing. In quoted requests, the most common relief sought was from yards or setbacks, in at least 26 cases, then garages in at least 13, lot coverage or floor area in at least 10 and height limits in at least 10.

Why this connection matters

Variances let owners build what the Zoning Ordinance would otherwise not allow on a particular lot, so how often the Zoning Board of Appeals grants or recommends them, and for what, shows how the City applies its yard, garage, bulk and height rules in practice.

Research as of · 8 independent sources of evidence.

What changed, and when did it take effect?

  1. Source record

    Minor variances end at the Board; major ones go to the Council

    A City staff memo states that the Zoning Board of Appeals is the final approval authority for minor variances and the City Council for major ones. The Board's motions often split a case that way, approving a minor variance and recommending that the Council approve major ones, as for VA-25-16. The Council then decides the major variances by ordinance.

    • p. 12 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Park Ridge Regarding Variance Requests for Residential Nonconforming Structures (ZA-25-04) (Memorandum), City Council, Oct 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 12 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 11 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.

  2. Calculation · Nov 21, 2024

    Favorable outcomes in the first year

    At its meetings from January 25, 2024 to November 21, 2024, the Board approved variances, or recommended that the City Council approve major ones, in 25 cases. All but one rest on a roll-call vote that carried; for VA-24-28, the minutes record the Board's approval findings but no roll call.

    • p. 10 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Draft minutes of Approval of Minutes - November 21, 2024 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 12 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Draft minutes of Approval of Minutes - November 21, 2024 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-10-24, Zoning Board of Appeals, Oct 24 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-09-26, Zoning Board of Appeals, Sep 26 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-03-21, Zoning Board of Appeals, Mar 21 2024. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 27 sources

  3. Calculation · Dec 18, 2025

    Favorable outcomes in the second year

    At its meetings from January 23, 2025 to December 18, 2025, the Board approved or recommended approval in 22 more cases. Some of these votes were split, such as the 6–1 vote on one of the major variances in VA-25-10.

    • p. 7 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 9 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-03-20, Zoning Board of Appeals, Mar 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 8 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-05-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, May 22 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of September 25, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Oct 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-03-20, Zoning Board of Appeals, Mar 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-03-20, Zoning Board of Appeals, Mar 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 8 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-03-20, Zoning Board of Appeals, Mar 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 26 sources

  4. Calculation

    Few requests were denied

    The Board denied or voted down 4 requests over the two years: trailer storage in a front yard setback, VA-24-02; a garage extending in front of the house with a reduced front yard setback, VA-24-16; added lot coverage for a two-car garage, VA-24-21; and a detached garage beyond the maximum area, VA-25-01. In the first two the motion to approve failed, the third is denied in the Board's findings, and for the fourth the minutes list no member voting in favor and record the motion as denied. The City Council later voted down the ordinance for that garage, 0–5.

    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-08-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 22 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 8 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 8 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 11 sources

  5. Calculation

    Continuances and renumbered cases

    The readable minutes record 8 votes to continue a hearing, and a later staff memo reports one more: the Board continued VA-25-20 at its first hearing on November 20, 2025, in a motion on pages not available as text. In some cases the minutes record that the applicant asked for the continuance, as for VA-24-14 and VA-25-07. VA-24-14 was continued twice before its approval, while VA-25-28 was continued twice and, like VA-25-20, appeared as a continued item on the agenda for January 22, 2026. Two requests came back under new numbers after staff identified more variances that had to be noticed: VA-25-02 returned as VA-25-08, and VA-25-07 returned as VA-25-10.

    • p. 9 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-02-27, Zoning Board of Appeals, Feb 27 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 8 · Draft minutes of November 20, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Draft minutes of October 23, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Nov 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Agenda of Zoning Board of Appeals agenda, 2026-01-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 22 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-04-24, Zoning Board of Appeals, Apr 24 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of CONTINUED: PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 221 Murphy Lake Lane - VA-25-20 (Majors) (Staff Memorandum), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 22 2026. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-02-27, Zoning Board of Appeals, Feb 27 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 21 sources

  6. Source record

    Repeat requests

    Some properties came back with a second case, so the counts here are of cases, not properties. The home addition approved as VA-25-04 returned as VA-25-15, a request for a new home on the same site, and the property in VA-24-04 returned the next year as VA-25-12.

    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-02-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, Feb 22 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-05-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, May 22 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 7 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 130 E. Lahon Street - VA-25-04 (Major/Minor) (Staff Memorandum), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-05-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, May 22 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 10 sources

  7. Calculation

    Yards and setbacks were the most common relief

    Of the cases counted above, at least 26 sought relief from a required yard or setback, often for additions to homes that were already nonconforming. Garages figured in at least 13, for their size, height, location, door width, alley access or the lot coverage they needed. Lot coverage, floor area ratio or open space limits came up in at least 10, and height limits in at least 10, for fences, a garage, a building addition, a chimney, poles and netting, and first-floor elevations. A case can fall in several groups, and the groups are read from the quoted request, motion or findings text, so they can miss relief described elsewhere.

    • p. 9 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-02-27, Zoning Board of Appeals, Feb 27 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 9 · Staff memo of PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 2112 Birch Street - VA-25-16 (Majors/Minors) (Staff Memorandum), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jun 26 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 12 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of Approval of Minutes – May 23, 2024 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jun 27 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-05-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, May 22 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-02-27, Zoning Board of Appeals, Feb 27 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Draft minutes of Approval of Minutes – May 23, 2024 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jun 27 2024. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 49 sources

  8. Source record

    Signs, parking and fences

    Other requests concerned business signs, as in VA-24-08, VA-24-18, VA-24-32 and VA-25-21; parking spaces and parking lot islands, as in VA-25-03 and VA-25-09, or businesses operating without the required off-street parking, as in VA-25-24 and VA-25-25; and fences taller than the limit, as in VA-24-13, VA-24-25, VA-24-28 and VA-25-14. The Board approved or recommended approval in each of these cases. One request for a fence in the front yard setback, VA-25-28, was continued past the end of the period.

    • p. 7 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 10 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 9 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jul 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 8 · Draft minutes of November 20, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of September 25, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Oct 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Draft minutes of November 20, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-03-20, Zoning Board of Appeals, Mar 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 28 sources

  9. Source record

    What the City Council did after the Board voted

    For major variances the Board's vote is a recommendation, and the City Council decides by ordinance. In each Council vote quoted here, the Council's decision matched the Board's. On February 5, 2024, the Council approved the ordinance for VA-24-03, 7–0. On November 6, 2024, it approved the ordinances for VA-24-24, 6–0, and VA-24-31, 6–0. On February 3, 2025, it approved the ordinance for VA-25-04, 5–0, and voted down the one for VA-25-01, 0–5, which the Board had voted against.

    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-10-24, Zoning Board of Appeals, Oct 24 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-11-06, City Council, Nov 6 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-11-06, City Council, Nov 6 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of City Council - February 5, 2024 (Draft Minutes), City Council, Feb 20 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2024-11-06, City Council, Nov 6 2024. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 18 sources

  10. Source record · Oct 20, 2025

    An October rule change for nonconforming homes

    On October 20, 2025, the City Council approved an ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance regarding variance requests for residential nonconforming structures, ZA-25-04, on a roll call of 7–0. At the Board's meeting on December 18, 2025, staff described the requests in VA-25-27 and VA-25-29 as administrative requests under that text amendment, and the Board approved both.

    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-10-20, City Council, Oct 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-10-20, City Council, Oct 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    Show all 10 sources

  11. Source record

    Inconsistent vote lines and missing text

    Several minutes print that a motion carried by roll call directly above a vote in which no member or only a minority voted in favor, as for VA-25-01, so outcomes here are read from the vote lists, the stated results and the Board's findings. One motion to continue VA-25-28 names a different case number than the item it concerns. Minutes for several meetings are read from drafts because the approved versions have no readable text, and some pages are not available as text in any version, including the November motion on VA-25-20.

    • p. 8 · Draft minutes of November 20, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 1 · Draft minutes of October 23, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Nov 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.

What was requested, recommended, approved, contracted, reported paid and completed?

Furthest stage the records establish: Recommended.

Favorable outcomes, first year
25
Cases the Board approved or recommended for approval at meetings from January 25, 2024 to November 21, 2024, once per case; one rests on findings without a roll call.
Calculation
Favorable outcomes, second year
22
Cases the Board approved or recommended for approval at meetings from January 23, 2025 to December 18, 2025, counted once per case.
Calculation
Denials over both years
4
Cases denied or voted down: two failed motions to approve, one denial in the findings and one motion the minutes record as denied.
Calculation
Votes to continue a hearing in the readable minutes
8
Roll-call votes that carried on motions to continue a case, in minutes with readable text, over both years; a staff memo reports one more.
Calculation
Cases seeking yard or setback relief
26
Cases counted above whose quoted request, motion or findings sought relief from a required yard or setback; there may be more.
Calculation
Cases involving a garage
13
Cases counted above whose quoted request or motion concerned a garage's size, height, location, door width, alley access or lot coverage; there may be more.
Calculation
Cases involving lot coverage, floor area or open space
10
Cases counted above whose quoted text exceeded lot coverage or floor area limits or fell short of required open space; there may be more.
Calculation
Cases involving a height limit
10
Cases counted above whose quoted request exceeded a height limit for a fence, garage, building, chimney, netting or first-floor elevation; there may be more.
Calculation

Which parcels, agencies, businesses and projects are explicitly connected?

Read the original sources

  1. 1.PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 130 E. Lahon Street - VA-25-04 (Major/Minor) (Staff Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  2. 2.PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 328 S Lincoln. - Case VA-24-10 (Majors) (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  3. 3.September 25, 2025 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

  4. 4.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-02-22

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-03-28

  5. 5.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-03-20

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-05-02

  6. 6.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-02-28

  7. 7.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-02-27

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-03-21

  8. 8.October 23, 2025 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

  9. 9.City Council minutes, 2025-10-20

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-11-04

  10. 10.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-05-22

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-07-29

  11. 11.CONTINUED: PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 221 Murphy Lake Lane - VA-25-20 (Majors) (Staff Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  12. 12.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-10-24

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-12-12

  13. 13.City Council minutes, 2025-02-03

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-02-19

  14. 14.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-08-28

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-10-03

  15. 15.November 20, 2025 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

  16. 16.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-07-25

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-08-23

  17. 17.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-06-27

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-08-02

  18. 18.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-09-26

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-12-12

  19. 19.PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 2112 Birch Street - VA-25-16 (Majors/Minors) (Staff Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  20. 20.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2026-01-23

  21. 21.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-08-22

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-10-02

  22. 22.City Council minutes, 2024-11-06

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-12-12

  23. 23.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-03-21

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-05-28

  24. 24.Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Park Ridge Regarding Variance Requests for Residential Nonconforming Structures (ZA-25-04) (Memorandum)

    City of Park Ridge

  25. 25.City Council - February 5, 2024 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

  26. 26.June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

  27. 27.Approval of Minutes – May 23, 2024 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

  28. 28.Zoning Board of Appeals agenda, 2026-01-22

    City of Park Ridge

  29. 29.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-04-24

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2025-06-02

  30. 30.Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25

    City of Park Ridge · dated 2024-02-23

  31. 31.Approval of Minutes - November 21, 2024 (Draft Minutes)

    City of Park Ridge

What remains unresolved?

What the evidence does not establish

  • Whether the City Council approved every major variance the Board recommended in these years; only the Council votes quoted here were checked.
  • How many variance requests staff decided administratively without a Board hearing.
  • Whether any Board meeting in these years is missing from this collection.
  • The wording of the Board's November motion on VA-25-20, which is on pages not available as text; a later staff memo reports that the Board continued the case.
  • Why most continuances were requested, beyond the reasons the minutes state.
  • How the cases continued past the end of the period were finally decided; later minutes were not reviewed for this finding.
  • How many distinct properties the favorable outcomes cover, since some properties came back with a second case.
  • The full set of variances in each case; the relief groups rest on quoted text and can miss relief described elsewhere.

  • City Council ordinances for the recommended variances

    They would confirm the final outcome of each major variance the Board recommended.

  • Approved minutes with readable text for the meetings read from drafts

    They would confirm that the draft votes used here are final.

  • Administrative variance decisions by the Zoning Administrator

    They would show requests decided without a Board hearing, which this count leaves out.

  • The adopted text amendment on nonconforming structures

    It would show which requests for nonconforming homes can now be handled administratively.

  • Board minutes for the following year

    They record how the cases carried over, including VA-25-20 and VA-25-28, were decided.

  • Staff memos for each case

    They list every variance a case sought, which would firm up the relief group counts.

What does the evidence suggest, and what would change it?

In these two years the Zoning Board of Appeals approved or recommended approval in 25 variance cases in the first year and 22 in the second, against 4 denials, and its readable minutes record 8 votes to continue a hearing. Yard and setback relief was the most common quoted request, then garages, then lot coverage or floor area and height. Counts are of cases, not properties.

Searched City Council and Zoning Board of Appeals records from Jan 25 2024 to Jan 22 2026 (agendas, approved minutes, draft minutes, staff reports).

Confidence
Medium confidence
Every count rests on quoted votes, findings and requests, and each Council vote quoted here matches the Board's, but several meetings are read from drafts, some pages have no readable text, some printed results disagree with the vote lists, and the groups and continuance count can miss cases.

What supports it

  • A staff memo states the split of authority between the Board and the City Council that this finding relies on.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of Approve the Final Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Park Ridge Regarding Variance Requests for Residential Nonconforming Structures (ZA-25-04) (Memorandum), City Council, Oct 20 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • A typical favorable vote: the Board recommended approval of an addition encroaching into a rear yard setback, and the motion carried.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-02-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, Feb 22 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • A typical minor variance the Board approved itself, for added lot coverage.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-06-27, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jun 27 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • The denial of trailer storage in a front yard setback rests on a failed motion to approve.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • The Board's findings deny the lot coverage variance for a two-car garage.
    • p. 3 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-08-22, Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 22 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • The minutes list no member voting for the garage enlargement and record the motion as denied.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • The City Council's own vote on that garage failed, matching the Board.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • The Council approved the ordinance for a case the Board had recommended.
    • p. 5 · Approved minutes of City Council minutes, 2025-02-03, City Council, Feb 3 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • The City Council approved its own ordinance for the case whose Board minutes word the vote as an approval.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of City Council - February 5, 2024 (Draft Minutes), City Council, Feb 20 2024. Open the quote and source.

What points the other way

  • The same minutes print that the motion carried by roll call although no member voted in favor; this finding counts the case as a denial.
    • p. 2 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-01-23, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 23 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • The Board's minutes word this motion, and the findings after it, as approving a major variance, a decision the City Council makes; the Council approved its own ordinance for this case on February 5, 2024, and this finding counts the Board's vote as a favorable recommendation.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-01-25, Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 25 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • The minutes record the Board's approval findings for this fence case but no roll call; it is counted as favorable on the strength of the findings.
    • p. 7 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2024-09-26, Zoning Board of Appeals, Sep 26 2024. Open the quote and source.
  • This motion to continue names a different case number than the item and address it concerns; it is counted as the second continuance of that item.
    • p. 4 · Approved minutes of Zoning Board of Appeals minutes, 2025-12-18, Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec 18 2025. Open the quote and source.
  • A staff memo reports that the Board also continued this case at its first hearing, in a motion on pages not available as text, so the continuance count from the readable minutes is one short.
    • p. 1 · Staff memo of CONTINUED: PUBLIC HEARING REVIEW AND ACTION: Variances at 221 Murphy Lake Lane - VA-25-20 (Majors) (Staff Memorandum), Zoning Board of Appeals, Jan 22 2026. Open the quote and source.
  • Staff noted that this deck case also involved open space requirements, which the lot coverage, floor area and open space group does not count because the quoted request names only the side yard.
  • At the June hearing staff noted that the same applicant had pursued this earlier case for the home, so a count of properties would be smaller than the count of cases.
    • p. 4 · Draft minutes of June 26, 2025 (Draft Minutes), Zoning Board of Appeals, Aug 28 2025. Open the quote and source.

Assumptions

  • Draft minutes, used where the approved minutes have no readable text, record the same votes as the approved versions.
  • A case with several motions counts once, as favorable, when its motions to approve or to recommend approval carried; a renumbered case counts once, under its later number.
  • Relief groups are assigned from the request, motion or findings text quoted for each case, and one case can fall in several groups; relief described only elsewhere in a case's record is not counted.
  • Cases are counted by case number, so a property that came back with a new case counts twice.

Other explanations

  • Counting individual variances or motions instead of cases would give larger totals, because many cases bundled several variances. (still open)
  • The share of favorable outcomes may partly reflect what reached a vote: requests could be continued, revised or withdrawn before the Board voted, as when VA-25-07 was continued and came back as VA-25-10 with an added variance, and a withdrawn request is not counted here. (still open)
  • Some favorable recommendations on major variances may not have become approvals, because the City Council decides them; each Council vote quoted here matched the Board's vote. (still open)
  • Reading the printed line that a motion carried as the outcome would count the garage enlargement VA-25-01 as approved, but the vote list shows no member in favor. (ruled out by the records)
  • Counting properties instead of cases would give smaller totals, because some properties came back with a second case, such as VA-25-15 after VA-25-04. (still open)

What would change this

  • Approved minutes for the meetings read from drafts record different votes.
  • City Council records show that some recommended major variances were denied or changed.
  • Minutes of Board meetings missing from this collection show more variance cases heard in these years.
  • A full reading of each case's staff memo and findings changes the size or order of the relief groups.

Editions and corrections

Each published change is a new edition. Corrections say what changed and why.

  1. Edition 3(current)

    Edition 3: 19 revised.

  2. Edition 2

    Edition 2: 19 revised.

  3. Edition 1

    First edition.

Decision tracker: park ridge

Editorial responsibility: GroundSignal. Source review: . Independent research; not affiliated with a government agency.

Suggested citation: GroundSignal, “How the Zoning Board of Appeals acted on variance requests over two years,” sources reviewed 2026-09-27, source records listed on this page.

Initial permanent evidence page published September 10, 2026. Follow the dated evidence above for later additions and changes. A source-check date alone does not establish a government action or project outcome.