(A) Purpose. The OR-2 Office Research District is designed to allow for the establishment of corporate headquarters, business offices, research laboratories and other compatible facilities in a spacious setting containing large amounts of open space, which can provide a land use buffer between the Illinois Tollway on the west and the natural resource residential areas to the east, and constitute an appropriate entryway to the city from the west.
(B) Conditions of use. Uses allowed in the OR-2 Office Research District are subject to the following conditions:
(1) All business, servicing, processing and storage shall be conducted within and all equipment (except as otherwise provided in division (H) below) shall be located in, completely enclosed buildings;
(2) No manufacturing or assembly shall be permitted, except as is incidental to or accessory to the principal use of the premises;
(3) No merchandise shall be displayed or handled on the premises, except as expressly permitted pursuant to division (C) below and except such as is incidental or accessory to the principal use of the premises; and
(4) No uses established in the OR-2 District shall produce any unreasonably offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor or other similar noxious environmental impact which can be detected beyond the district boundary lines.
(C) Permitted uses. The following uses are permitted in the OR-2 Office Research District:
(1) Corporate headquarters;
(2) Offices: business, professional and governmental;
(3) Medical laboratories and scientific research laboratories including, but no limited to, pure research, product development and research manufacturing facilities; provided, however, that no such laboratories shall be utilized for animal research or experimentation;
(4) Day-care facilities;
(5) Hotel, motel and uses associated with such hotel or motel use on the same site provided such use is developed in an OR-2 District having a minimum gross area (including public and private rights-of-way) if 200 acres, and provided further that, except for restaurants, no outdoor signage may identify any permitted associated use. The following are specifically permitted associated uses:
(a) Restaurant;
(b) Banquet and ballroom facilities (including food and/or liquor service when required);
(c) Liquor service, including lounge areas;
(d) Live entertainment;
(e) Recreational, health and social facilities or clubs (including, but not limited to, game courts, swimming pools and exercise areas limited to hotel guests or club members and their visitors);
(f) Meeting/conference rooms;
(g) Convenience item shops;
(h) Laundry and housekeeping facilities;
(i) Vending machines; and
(j) Retail business uses as listed in § 159.109(C), provided that such uses occupy no more than 40% of the ground floor area on such hotel site.
(6) Restaurants, recreational clubs and health clubs when located within an office structure and not occupying more than 25% of the floor area of such structure;
(7) Banks and other financial institutions not including drive-up facilities when located in an office structure;
(8) Accessory uses incidental to, and located within, an office structure, and primarily for service to, and use by, the employees within the OR-2 District, as follows:
(a) Retail sales for the convenience of the occupants of the district including, but not limited to, newsstands, tobacconists, drugstores and office supply stores;
(b) Retail services for the convenience of the occupants of the district including, but not limited to, dry cleaning, tailoring, shoe repair, photocopying and blueprinting, travel bureaus and barber shops;
(c) Private clubs and employee cafeterias;
(d) Such accessory uses shall be subject to the following limitations:
1. Such establishments shall not have an outdoor entrance or outdoor sign;
2. Not more than 10% of the total gross floor area of any individual building may be devoted to uses listed in divisions (C)(8)(a) and (C)(8)(b) above;
3. Not more than 25% of the total gross floor area of any individual building may be devoted to such uses; and
4. Except for private clubs, the hours of operation of such uses shall generally coincide with the office hours maintained in the building.
(9) Accessory buildings;
(10) Temporary and permanent signs as permitted in Chapter 153 of the city code, except as follows:
(a) One freestanding sign per lot not exceeding 100 square feet in signage area may be erected provided that said sign shall:
1. Not exceed six feet in height, if lighted; and
2. Not exceed ten feet in height, if not lighted.
(b) One wall sign shall be permitted on the front facade of a principal building having an area not exceeding twice the number of lineal feet of such facade or 250 square feet, whichever is less.
(11) Parking lots as a stand alone use if located on parcels in common ownership with an adjacent OR-2 property which is already developed with a principal building in a manner consistent with the OR-2 zoning district.
(D) Special uses. Special uses may be allowed in the OR-2 Office Research District as provided in § 159.045.
(E) District size, lot size, coverage and open space requirements.
(1) Minimum district size. No area consisting of fewer than 150 contiguous acres (including public and private rights-of-way) may be classified in the OR-2 District.
(2) Minimum lot size. Each lot shall contain not less than five acres.
(a) Except that a minimum lot size of two acres shall be permitted for:
1. Property in common ownership with any adjacent OR-2 property which is already developed in a manner consistent with the OR-2 zoning district; or
2. The property is to be used solely for open space.
(3) Maximum coverage by buildings. The sum total of the ground area covered by all buildings shall not exceed 35% of the zoning lot.
(4) Minimum open space. The sum total of the ground area continuously maintained unobstructed by buildings or other structures of off-street parking and loading and appropriately landscaped as permanent open space shall not be less than 25% of the zoning lot. Walkways, pedestrian areas and bicycle paths shall be counted as open space, even if covered with impervious surfaces.
(F) Floor area ratio.
(1) The maximum gross square footage of building area permitted on a zoning lot shall not exceed a floor area ratio of 0.50.
(2) Only the lot area as reflected on a current property survey shall be used to determine the maximum gross square footage of building area permitted except in the event the land is dedicated for state highway purposes and all of the following criteria are met.
(a) The property is zoned OR-2.
(b) The property has been developed at the time of the right-of-way dedication.
(c) The right-of-way is required for improvements to a state highway.
(d) The right-of-way dedication from a single zoning lot does not exceed one acre.
(e) The dedication occurred after January 1, 2003.
(G) Yard requirements. Each principal or accessory building shall provide minimum yards as follows:
(1) Front yard. One hundred feet, except 150 feet along Illinois Route 60;
(2) Total side yards. One hundred feet, with not less than 25 feet for any side yard, except 150 feet along Illinois Route 60;
(3) Total side yards (corner lot). One hundred feet, with not less than 25 feet for any interior side yard and not less than 50 feet for any corner side yard, except 150 feet along Illinois Route 60;
(4) Rear yard. Twenty-five feet, except 150 feet along Illinois Route 60; and
(5) Transitional yards adjacent to residential districts. One hundred feet. In addition, parking shall not be permitted within 25 feet of a residential district and there shall be dense, year-round landscaping of that 25-foot space.
(H) Height requirements. The maximum height of any principal building shall not exceed 75 feet, and no accessory building shall exceed 30 feet in height. Mechanical equipment or other utility components may be located on the roof of a building above such height but shall be screened from public view with materials harmonious with the building, or they shall be located so as not to be visible from any public street or residential area.
(I) Number of buildings on a zoning lot. Multiple principal buildings are allowed on a zoning lot, except that there shall be not less than 50 feet between principal buildings, unless buildings are connected by pedestrian bridges or parking decks.
(J) Parking and loading requirements.
(1) General. Required off-street parking and loading berths shall be provided in accordance with §§ 159.130 through 159.139. In addition, any off-street parking area shall be set back at least 50 feet from any street line and no such parking area shall be located within 15 feet of a side or rear lot line (25 feet adjacent to a lot line of an existing residential use).
(2) Land banking of required parking accessory to office uses. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the total number of off-street parking spaces required to be paved pursuant to § 159.136 for uses in the OR-2 District may be reduced by up to 20% subject to approval by the City Manager and subject to the following:
(a) An application for a reduction in parking spaces pursuant to this section shall be accompanied by alternate detailed parking plans. One plan shall show the full number of parking spaces required pursuant to § 159.136; the other plan shall show the reduced number of parking spaces proposed to be provided and shall also show the landscaping treatment of areas proposed to be reserved for future parking requirements. Both such plans shall show the location on the site of all parking areas, the exact number of parking spaces to be provided, and complete details for markings, drainage, surfacing, screening and landscaping, lighting and access. The location, arrangement, access, surface drainage, screening and landscaping and illumination of such parking area shall be subject to the approval of the City Engineer;
(b) As a condition of the approval of such reduction, the applicant shall file with the City Clerk his or her unconditional agreement and covenant, in form and substance approved by the City Attorney, that areas reserved for future parking shall be maintained as landscaped open space until and unless required to be used for off-street parking pursuant to division (J)(2)(c) below. The agreement and covenant shall be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds of the county; and
(c) At any time after the completion of the development, the City Manager may, in order to promote the safety and convenience of the public or to avoid parking congestion on the subject property, require the property owner to increase the number of parking spaces provided to serve said development up to the maximum required by this chapter as if no approval for land banking had been granted.
(K) Landscape plan. Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any development in the OR-2 Office Research District, a landscape plan shall be submitted to and approved by the Director of Parks, Forestry and Public Works. All areas not developed with a building or an impervious surface and not considered natural resources as described in division (L) below, shall be appropriately landscaped in accordance with said plan, but no such plan shall be disapproved that satisfies the following requirements.
(1) All areas required to be landscaped shall be covered with turf, ground cover and/or other plantings.
(2) Those portions of the lot that are used for parking spaces, aisles or driveways shall be paved with a hard surface.
(3) Trees shall be provided on each lot with a total caliper of three and one-half inches for each 1,000 square feet of required open space; provided, however, that no required tree shall be less than two and one-half inches in caliper. All trees shall be of the type and variety specified in the landscape plan and shall be located in general conformity with the landscape plan. Credit shall be given for existing trees.
(4) Except for structured or covered parking areas, at least 90 square feet of landscaping shall be provided for every six required parking spaces within parking areas. A reasonable landscaped buffer shall be provided adjacent to any freestanding parking structure.
(5) Any earth berms included in the landscaping plan shall be rounded and natural in character. No such berm shall have a slope steeper than one foot of vertical rise for every two feet of horizontal run.
(6) Landscaping shall be installed within a reasonable time unless an extension is granted by the Director of Parks, Forestry and Public Works, in which event a bond shall be posted to guarantee installation.
(L) Natural resources. To the extent possible, the development of all zoning lot plans must incorporate the preservation of existing environmental features on the lot, including floodplain, wetlands, woodlands and all other natural features worthy of preservation. Such natural resource areas shall be included as required open space, but in no event shall this division (L) require that the area available for buildings and other structures (including off-street parking and loading spaces) be reduced to less than 60% of the gross lot area.
(M) Refuse collection areas. All refuse collection areas shall be contained within the walls of the office structures and shall be refrigerated if they contain food or other putrescible materials.
(N) Outdoor storage. No outdoor storage shall be permitted.
(O) Telephone and electrical service. All on-site electrical lines and telephone lines hereafter installed shall be placed underground. Transformer or terminal equipment shall be visually screened from view from streets and adjacent properties.
(Prior Code, § 46-51) (Ord. eff. 1-15-1972; Ord. 91-1(A), passed 1-7-1991; Ord. 05-30, passed 9-6-2005; Ord. 06-46, passed 8-7-2006)