cover
TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: The Mayor's Office
Zoning and Planning Division
The Law Department
DATE: August 20, 2021
SUBJECT:
The special use for the former Northern Illinois Academy to operate an autistic and special needs mental health facility.
PURPOSE:
To rescind the special use previously authorized for a mental health facility located at 998 Corporate Boulevard by Ordinance O11-075 and intensified by Ordinance O16-048.
BACKGROUND:
In 2011, Corporate Technical Center, LLC, ("Corporate") the original Petitioner, entered a 10-year lease with Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC ("Sequel") to operate an autistic and special needs mental health facility for children as part of its national network. The facility, which would be designated "Northern Illinois Academy" or "NIA" would be located at Corporate's property located at 998 Corporate Boulevard. Corporate and Sequel subsequently approached the City for a revision to the property's plan description to allow for the possibility of this use on the property as a special use. At the same time, Corporate petitioned the City for a special use to allow Sequel to operate NIA on the property in anticipation of the City approving the plan description revision.
On December 20, 2011, the City Council approved the proposed plan description revision and adopted an ordinance granting the special use for NIA. In authorizing the special use for NIA via Ordinance O11-075, the City Council expressly limited the activities on the Subject Property to those outlined on the qualifying statement.
In 2016, the City Council approved a revision to the special use on July 26, 2016, by Ordinance O16-048 to expand NIA. O16-048 authorized an intensification of the previous special use but preserved all the previous conditions imposed by O11-075 and utilized the same qualifying statement.
Due in part to the property's location in an area generally zoned for light commercial uses, and the nature of...
Click here for full text