Joliet zoning variance faces opposition from St. Mary Nativity

St. Mary Nativity Church has voiced opposition to a zoning variation that would allow a nearby house to be used for a two-unit rental.

The house at 649 N. Bluff St. follows a pattern of older homes in Joliet that have fallen out of proper zoning after a neighborhood downzoning banned multi-family housing. Typically, new buyers discover the zoning issue and seek a variation.

In this case, a downzoning in 1995 affected 163 houses in the area of St. Mary Nativity Church that were restricted to single-family use, although the house at 649 N. Bluff continued to be used as a two-unit at times, according to a city staff report.

The Zoning Board of Appeals last week voted 5-1 for the needed variation, which is scheduled to go to the City Council for a final vote on March 21.

Jan Nahorski, speaking for St. Mary Nativity, told the zoning board that the church opposed the variation.

“They think it would deteriorate the neighborhood, and they would like to keep it as much single-family as possible,” said Nahorski, who also is a city employee.

Attorney Nate Washburn, representing the owner of the property, said the basement of the house is a separate unit with outside access, reflecting its use as a two-unit rental.

“When my client purchased the property, it was with the understanding that it was a multi-family dwelling,” Washburn told the zoning board.

The house was built in 1895, according to the staff report.

Staff said records show it was two-unit house in the 1940s and 1950s. From the 1960s to 1990, it is believed to have been used as a single-family dwelling.

“At various times since 1990, the structure has had more than one dwelling unit,” the staff report said.

The downzoning was put in place at at the request of what was then the St. Mary’s Nativity Neighborhood Association and after an analysis by city staff “in an attempt to reduce negative effects brought upon by having higher density development in and around the St. Mary’s Nativity neighborhood,” the staff report said.

The association for the neighborhood is now called the Bicentennial Bluffs Neighborhood Association.

According to the staff report, the Bicentennial Bluffs Neighborhood Association does not oppose the variation.