Historic summer kitchen in Naperville would be saved under plan

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A structure believed to be Naperville’s only remaining historic summer kitchen may have a path to preservation.

The homeowner of the house and detached summer kitchen at 337 N. Sleight St. wants to raise the 16-foot-tall outbuilding about six feet to build a garage below it.

The request came to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission at its most recent meeting because if built, the new garage and summer kitchen combo would be 22 feet tall. That’s four feet above the 18-foot height limit for accessory structures in the R2 residential zoning district.

Anna Franco, of the city’s planning services team, said city staff members support the height variance request, calling the proposal “a creative solution” to preserve the historic summer kitche