Attorney makes pitch for Warwick Grove professional offices

Warwick — It was almost a decade ago that the Village of Warwick was presented with the idea of a Planned Adult Community. Leyland Development Corporation proposed building a development of homes for residents 55 and over with a traditional neighborhood design. After many years, Warwick Grove recently became a reality. However, even after years of planning and hearings and building, one of the last issues with the development is yet to be decided. Attorney Bob Krahulik came to the Village Board in November representing Warwick Grove. Part of the approval process includes four home/work units in the development, allowing 40 percent of the first floor to be used for a home occupation. Krahulik came to the board wanting to finalize a list of home occupations and professional offices that will be allowed in the development, as well as to increase the percentage of space in the home that can be used for that office. Krahulik said the home/work units are designed to use the entire ground floor space as an office, but that is not what village code says. Only 40 percent is allowed. Krahulik said the intent of a clause in the approval was to build the structures using the entire first floor as commercial and the second floor as residential. “It doesn’t say that,” said trustee Eileen Patterson. The uses are also restrictive. While the list of uses Krahulik first suggested included some retail establishments, including a barber shop and a spa, they were quickly crossed off the list. Attorney and architect offices are okay but anything that required additional employees or parking were also nixed. All uses must be approved by the village board. And when trustee Roger Metzger suggested consulting with the planning board, some of whose members were on the board when the PAC was being discussed, the village board agreed. Two weeks ago, they did just that. “It was a pretty successful meeting, I think,” said Mayor Michael Newhard. “We decided these uses are at the discretion of the village board. The board felt it more prudent to allow offices, but not retail.” And Krahulik will prepare a new proposal, stating what Warwick Grove wants in terms of space. Forty percent of a large ranch, Newhard pointed out, allows for lots of office space. A two-story home of the same size, he added, allows much less space for the office. A code enforcement officer would patrol the units, whose number will not increase beyond the four in the original plan, according to Newhard.