HomeMy Public PortalAbout2012-06-19 PC minutes VILLAGE OF PLAINFIELD PLAN COMMISSION RECORD OF MINUTES DATE: June 19, 2012 Chairman Sobkoviak called the Plan Commission meeti ng to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Commissioners O’Rourke, Renzi, Kiefer, Heinen, Fulc o and Chairman Sobkoviak were present. Commissioner Seggebruch arrived at 7:05 pm. Fire D istrict was present. Park, School and Library Districts were absent. Also present were Michael Garrigan, Village Planner , and Merrilee Trotz, Recording Secretary Approval of Minutes: The Plan Commission minutes from June 5, 2012 was accepted as amended to clarify the first paragraph of Page7 regarding the traffic study. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Chairman Sobkoviak asked for publ ic comments on items that were not on the agenda. There was no response. DEVELOPMENT REPORT Mr. Garrigan indicated the major change to the Plan ned Development for Playa Vista was approved by the Village Board by a vote of 5 -1 as the meeting held June 18, 2012. OLD BUSINESS: Case No. 1581-050312.Z/SU/SPR/FP BP Station Mr. Garrigan indicated the applicant is requesting rezoning for the property at the southeast corner o f Route 59 and Joliet Road to B-1, (Business Convenie nce District); a special use for a Plan Development (PD) to allow a fuel station and a drive-thru; a si te plan review and final plat approval. The applic ant is seeking an amendment to the Village’s Comprehensive Plan to allow B-1 zoning for this site. Mr. Garrigan indicated the findings of fact for the spe cial use were reviewed at the previous meeting. Th e applicant has submitted a revised site plan which n ow shows right in/right out access from both Route 59 and Route 30 with no access to the alley; the build ing has been moved north to meet the required rear setback of 30 feet; the canopy is now shown on the plan with a template of two vehicles shown between the pumps. The proposal meets with the required sp aces for parking and stacking. Staff is requesting one additional ornamental tree or shade tree under the revised landscape plan if there is support for this proposal. Mr. Garrigan indicated the first questi on that needs to be addressed is whether B-1 zoning is the appropriate zoning for this site. Chairman Sobkoviak advised Eric Eriksson, architect for the applicant, that he remains under oath. Mr . Eriksson reviewed the various changes to the site p lan; the access from Route 59 and Route 30; placeme nt of the building to meet the required setback; remov al of any access to the alley; and indicated they w ould add the additional ornamental tree. Mr. Eriksson s tated the gas station would draw on the existing tr affic Michael P. Collins VILLAGE PRESIDENT Michelle Gibas VILLAGE CLERK TRUSTEES Margie Bonuchi Paul Fay Bill Lamb Garrett M. Peck James Racich Dan Rippy
Plan Commission Minutes June 19, 2012 Page 2 of 5 rather than create much additional traffic; indicat ed that generally not all the pumps would be full a t the same time; indicated he visited Bucky’s station and from 6:00 pm to 6:20 pm about one car a minute visited that station with half the cars going to th e pumps and half to the mini mart. Mr. Eriksson mentioned the applicant would like the gas station to be open 24/7 but were willing to work with the Village on the hours of operation for the drive-thr u; Chairman Sobkoviak asked if the commission had ques tions for clarification. Commissioner Kiefer asked for clarification of the rear setback and the Route 59 buffer in the staff r eport. Mr. Garrigan said the rear setback was 30 feet requ ired and 30 feet was proposed and agreed that relie f was being asked for the Route 59 buffer from the re quired 20 feet to the proposed 10 feet. Commissioner Renzi asked if the front setback was 1 10 feet from the line to be deeded to the Village a s Lot 1. Mr. Eriksson stated yes. Commissioner O’Rourke asked about the previous disc ussion as to this site supporting a drive-thru; location of the order board; whether a right turn f rom Route 59 would make the curve into the drive-th ru; location of signage on the building. Mr. Eriksson indicated vehicles would be able to make the turn into the drive-thru and where he thought the signage wou ld be placed. Commissioner O’Rourke asked if the applicant was in agreement with what Mr. Eriksson w as telling this commission. Mr. Eriksson indicated yes. Mr. Garrigan indicated the Staff would reques t a Planned Unit Development Agreement regarding signage if there is support for this proposal. Commissioner Heinen asked to whom Mr. Eriksson had spoken with at IDOT and if the applicant had retained a traffic consultant. Mr. Eriksson mentio ned he has a civil engineer working on the project and he was in the process of submitting for the full ac cess; this full access process was stopped and they do not have a response back from IDOT for the relocati on of the right in/right out access point; further indicating the engineer was dealing with the permit taker from IDOT; and indicted a traffic consultant had not been retained. Chairman Sobkoviak opened the meeting to public com ments. Ed Arter was sworn in. Mr. Arter was concerned wit h the three turning movements along Route 30. Mr. Eriksson described the expected traffic movements. Mr. Arter described the number of lanes on Route 3 0 at this site; was concerned with the possibility of U turns onto the alley in order to head south on R oute 59; the number of pumps and convenient shops locate d within a half mile of this site; and mentioned th e reduction of the donation to the Village. Mr. Erik sson felt the loss of two feet from the lot being d onated to the Village did not diminish the donation. Judith Kachel was sworn in. Ms. Kachel was concern ed with the possibility of south bound traffic making a left hand turn into the site to visit a Du nkin Donuts and the possibility of backed up traffi c on Route 59 in the morning; felt there are better loca tions for gas stations; mentioned zoning issues (BT versus commercial); concerned with the additional l ights. Mr. Eriksson indicated they have submitted the photometric plan which meets the requirements of th e Village ordinances; further described the stackin g spaces provided which exceeds the required number o f spaces. Mark Chmura was sworn in. Mr. Chmura expressed con cern with the lack of a traffic study, lack of a lumin study. Mr. Eriksson indicated a photometric plan had been submitted. Mr. Chmura was concerned with the lack of a signage plan. Mr. Sobkoviak ind icated that signage is a separate issue with a sepa rate
Plan Commission Minutes June 19, 2012 Page 3 of 5 ordinance. Mr. Chmura asked if the turning radius of this plan would support the tractor trailers com ing onto the site to refuel; the tankers to supply the fuel; and the trucks for the convenient store. Mr. Eriksson stated yes. Mr. Eriksson described the traffic pat tern proposed for the trucks. Mr. Chmura asked ab out the rear setback; the fence; landscape buffer and t he trash enclosure. Mr. Garrigan agreed these item s meet the requirements and Staff could work with the applicant to possibly add some landscaping to soft en the trash enclosure area. Mr. Chmura asked if ther e would be any conflict with the trash collection a nd the drive-thru lane. Mr. Garrigan said there is po tential for conflict and stated the applicant would have to work with the collection service. Mr. Eriksson ind icated the applicant could put in writing that the garbage trucks would not be coming in during certai n hours. Mr. Chmura asked about the safety concern for people parking in the north parking spaces and walking across to the convenience store. Mr. Garri gan stated the applicant is over the required parking s paces and indicated that the north parking spaces i s surplus parking. Zack Boyda was sworn in. Mr. Boyda asked if a Dunk in Donuts was needed at this site? Mr. Eriksson indicated this would be a business decision made by the applicant. Commissioner O’Rourke mentioned at the last meeting the drive-thru was to be a Subway; now it was mentioned that it would be a Dunkin Donut shop; and asked if it would be one or the other or both. Mr . Eriksson indicated he thought it was either one or the other. Commissioner Fulco asked about the hours of operati on for the Dunkin Donut store and the drive-thru hours. Mr. Eriksson indicated he would not support a 24 hour drive-thru at this location. Jeanne Hagen was sworn in. Ms. Hagen stated she di d not think of a Subway store as being a drive-thru facility and felt more people would be parking if t his is a Subway; and was concerned with pedestrian traffic crossing Route 59 and Route 30. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there were any other co mments; there was no response and the meeting was closed to public comments. Commissioner O’Rourke felt this application did not meet many of the findings of fact regarding health and safety; felt BT zoning was more appropriate at this location rather than commercial zoning; and BT zoning would be consistent with the Comprehensive P lan as it stands today. Chairman Sobkoviak indicated he and another commiss ioner serve on another committee that is currently reviewing the Comprehensive Plan; indicated that at the last meeting there did not seem to be much support for this commercial zoning in this corridor . Commissioner Fulco also preferred BT zoning over co mmercial zoning in keeping with the character of this area. Commissioner Kiefer indicated a preference of BT zo ning in this area; expressed concern with the location of the order board; expressed concern with the location and radius of the right in turn from Route 59 to the drive-thru lane and the potential for tra ffic back up. Mr. Eriksson indicated where he thou ght the menu board would be located; and indicated he w as comfortable with the turn in radius into the dri ve-thru lane.
Plan Commission Minutes June 19, 2012 Page 4 of 5 Chairman Sobkoviak asked the zoning of the house/bu siness located next to the alley along Route 30. Mr. Garrigan indicated it was BTD (Business Transit ion District.) Chairman Sobkoviak stated that this property could have a residential usage and should be treated as a residence. Commissioner Renzi felt the corner made sense as co mmercial use due to the findings of fact with the commercial to the north and northwest but did not n ecessarily support a gas station or a 24 hour drive -thru without having sound mediation information or a tra ffic study at this location. Mr. Eriksson indicat ed they would not be looking for a 24 hour drive-thru. Commissioner Kiefer asked if Mr. Eriksson knew for sure what business would be coming in to use the drive-thru. Mr. Eriksson indicated the drive-thru window could be locked and the light turned off at a certain hour through an agreement with the very lat est for the drive-thru to be open being midnight. Commissioner Fulco asked if approval of this site w ould require the type of store to be approved at th is time. Chairman Sobkoviak indicated we would only b e approving a drive-thru. Commissioner Renzi asked if this could be added to the PUD agreement. Discussion was held as to the location of the ingre ss/egress to this site in relationship to Dillman a nd Newkirk Drive and safety issues were discussed rega rding the possibility of traffic cutting across Rou te 30 and Route 59 from Dillman and Newkirk. Commissioner Seggebruch felt the applicant is tryin g to reach back to the past by replacing the gas station; felt the truck traffic turning onto Route 30 greatly affects the character of the area; felt if the truck traffic was diverted it would change the character back to a quieter street and BT would support that; suggested BT may not develop at this site for quite some time. Commissioner Heinen expressed concern for safety; i ndicated IDOT may not allow a right in/right out within 300 feet of an intersection; was in favor of the more intense zoning for this corridor with the widening of Route 59; felt B-1 zoning might be viab le but did not feel B-1 zoning was appropriate for these parcels; indicated that if the applicant were to acquire more parcels to the south to increase t he size of this site to obtain better access with better se paration from the intersection, then B-1 might be m ore viable. Commissioner Heinen indicated he could not support this application as it stands today. Chairman Sobkoviak indicated support for BT zoning at this corridor and saw no compelling reason to change that; indicating times have changed from whe n the previous gas station was built; the traffic volume today is much greater; does not feel this pe tition meets the findings of fact; the Comprehensiv e Plan would have to be changed for this project to p roceed; and does not support either the gas statio n or drive-thru at this site. Mr. Eriksson indicated the owner of the property re ally prefers the gas station over the drive-thru. Chairman Sobkoviak indicated removing the drive-thr u would help but still did not feel a gas station a t this location was appropriate. Commissioner Kiefer agreed a gas station is not appropriate at this location. Commissioner Renzi shared the concerns of access; i ndicated removal of the drive-thru makes it a littl e better; was still concerned with the narrow turning radius; configuration and traffic with Route 30 an d Dillman; does not like the configuration of the gas station.
Plan Commission Minutes June 19, 2012 Page 5 of 5 Commissioner O’Rourke did not support the drive-thr u; removal of the drive-thru helps take away some of the intensity but felt a gas station was still t oo intense of a use for this area; supports the BT zoning rather than the higher commercial zoning. Commissioner Seggebruch agreed with Commissioner O’Rourke and indicated there are better locations in Plainfield for a gas station. Commissioner O’Rourke indicated he understood why t he applicant wanted this use at this corner but from a community prospective and planning prospecti ve did not agree that the higher intensive use woul d be good for the Village. Commissioner Fulco did not support a gas station at this location with the traffic and access. Commissioner Heinen made a motion to recommend deni al of the Rezoning and Special Use along with the Site Plan and Final Plat based on the fact that the applicant has failed to meet the required find ings of facts that are required in the Village’s Zoning Ord inance. Commissioner Kiefer seconded the motion. Vote by roll call: Seggebruch, yes; O’Rourke, yes; Renzi, yes; Kiefer, yes; Fulco, yes; Heinen, yes; Chairman Sobkoviak, yes. Motion carried 7-0. Commissioner Renzi indicated he would have agreed t o approve the rezoning if the motions had been separated. Some discussion was held that if the Village Board approved this proposal if there would be any agreement to limit the operation hours; if confirma tion from IDOT regarding the ingress/egress would b e required and if the Village Board would return this case to the Plan Commission. Mr. Garrigan stated if the Village Board approved the project, Staff would request certain stipulations be incorporated as to the operation of the drive-thru. It was stated that ge nerally the Village Board does not return cases to the Plan Commission. NEW BUSINESS: None Adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted by _________________________ Merrilee Trotz Recording Secretary