HomeMy Public PortalAbout2011-06-07 PC minutes VILLAGE OF PLAINFIELD PLAN COMMISSION RECORD OF MINUTES DATE: June 7, 2011 Chairman Sobkoviak called the meeting of the Plan Commission to order at 7:04 p.m. and led the pledge to the flag. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Seggebruch, O’Rourke , Renzi, Kiefer, and Chairman Sobkoviak; and Park and Fire Districts were present. Commissioner Heinen, School, and Library Districts were absent. Also present were Michael S. Garrigan; V illage Planner, Steve Amann, Engineer and Merrilee Trotz, Recording Secretary Michael S. Garrigan stated Commissioner Renzi a nd Commissioner Seggebruch have been reappointed. Chairman Sobkoviak stated that James Sanders has el ected not to be reappointed as he had accepted an opportunity at a nearby graduate college and wished him success in his new endeavor. Approval of Minutes: The April 19, 2011 minut es were amended to show Commissioner Renzi as present and were then accepted as amended. Chairman Sobkoviak reviewed the annual report. Commissioner Renzi made a motion to accept the annual report and forward it on to the Village Board. Commissioner Seggebruch seconded the motion. Voice vote. All in favor 0-opposed. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Chairman Sobkoviak asked for public comments on items that are not on the agenda. There was no response. DEVELOPMENT REPORT: Mr. Garrigan stated that Little Scholars Academy received their special use at the May 16 th meeting of the Village Board. OLD BUSINESS: Case No. 1529-111210.CP BIRKETT PROPERTY Mr. Garrigan stated this is a revised concept plan for 102 acres located south of 119 th street, east of Route 59, west of the DuPage River. This is a single fa mily plan with a townhome component. The applicant has reduced the total number of units from 222 to 195 un its. This property is with in the Village’s Facility Planning Area (FPA) but is not currently contiguous so any annexation of this property would require an annexation corridor to the site. The Comprehensive Pl an (Comp Plan) identifies this property as country side residential which is a density of less than 2 dwelling unit per acre. The applicant proposed generally the same access points; based on the fact that 119 th Street has been identified as a Strategic Regional Arterial (SRA) which in the future will incorporate a right of way of 100 to 150 feet, the applicant believes it is appropria te to incorporate some townhomes. The applicant has also placed the townhomes a distance away from the single family homes. 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 7, 2011 Page 2 of 8 Book Road currently terminates north of 119 th . The applicant proposes to relocate Book Road from 119 th and align it to connect through the Boughton deve lopment and another development to continue to 127 th Street. Book Road has been identified as a Majo r Collector in the Village’s Transportation Plan incorporating a right of way of 100 feet. The minimum lot size is proposed at 7,985 square feet a nd the average lot size at 9,500 square feet. This concept plan is consistent with the Village’s Design Guidelines. The applicant has made changes to incorporate bette r roadway network; boulevards; single-lane roads with open space vistas; two pocket parks; terminal vi sta; key-lots and through lots; and non-dominate garages. The street network within this revised plan has better interconnections a nd is consistent with the expressed comments made by the Plan Commission. Almost 50% of this property is in floodplain and will therefore be perpetual open space. A multi-lane trail system will be located adj acent to the wetland buffer areas. Based on the lower density and the fact that they ha ve incorporated a number of the elements of the Design Guidelines, Staff is recommending the Plan Co mmission make a favorable recommendation of the Birkett Concept Plan to the Village Board. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if the Boughton Farm (which lies between the Birkett and Brummel properties) had been approved by the Village Bo ard and asked what the density was for the Boughton Farm. Mr. Garrigan stated Boughton was approved by the Village Board and the density was approved at 1.74. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there were any outstandi ng engineering issues that needed to be addressed. Mr. Amann stated the density of this is higher than originally planned in the Comp Plan and when you look at the net reduction from changes to the Brumme l property there is only a net increase of about 130 Population Equivalents. Mr. Amann stated we will have to look at the infrastructure down the road if this trend continues to increase; also there are restri ctions on how close detention ponds can be placed to roads; and we will have to look at the cul-de-sacs and eyebrows that are rectangular when we get the detailed design. The shape of the cul-de-sacs could aff ect snow removal. Chairman Sobkoviak stated the Fire Department would have to look at these as well. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in both Rich Guerard, representative of owner of property, and Peter Pluskwa, project engineer. Mr. Guerard stated there are now 96 detached manor homes and 99 townhomes. We have added the landscape entry and boulevard with 100 foot right of way consistent with Book Road; reduced the density and increased the road connections throughout the pr oject. There are multiple trails throughout the property. The Forest Preserve is interested in the open space to the east and south of the property. Some of the Best Management Practices (BMP) that will be incorporated are sediment basins in the ponds; native wetland plantings; island hab itats; vegetated swales; bio rete ntion in some of the islands; boulevards and medians; disconnecting the down sp outs; native landscape throughout the development; permeable pavement; and stormwater treatment for first flush. They will work with staff to incorporate other ideas or issues to make this a sustainable type development.
Plan Commission Minutes June 7, 2011 Page 3 of 8 Mr. Guerard stated the minimum lot size is 8150 and the average is over 10,000. Mr. Guerard summarized the changes as follows: reduced the density by 27 units; reduced the gross density from 2.36 to 2.07; eliminated the private streets for public st reets; introduced landscap e medians and boulevards; introduced pocket parks; extensive u se of the open space; removed the cul-de-sacs; adjusted the trail and added additional trail systems; a nd identified the key and through lo ts that will receive additional architectural treatment. Mr. Guerard presented pictures of the product they propose to build in both the townhomes and the manor homes and aerials of other subdivision that have been constructed which are similar to this project. The manor homes are maintenance free, the outside maintenance is taken care of by the HOA. These homes are designed for the empty nester. Cameron Bettin, superintendent of Planning with Plainf ield Park District, stated originally the park district was not interested in taking any property. The pocket parks would be going to the HOA. Mr. Bettin suggested enlarging the pocket park in the to wnhome component by reducing the parking in this area. Mr. Bettin also suggested this trail is part of a planned 29 mile trail and stated it would be nice to utilize the existing gravel road for the trail as pe ople will not necessarily want to meander through the subdivision when they are using the trail. Commissioner Renzi asked about the platting, house d esign and setbacks of various lots. Commissioner Renzi asked how they would conceptually orient a house on these corner lots. Commissioner Renzi stated if fences were installed on these lots the ow ner would be looking at fences on two sides and the drive way. Mr. Guerard explained how some of the hou ses are set back farther or angled on the property. Mr. Pluskwa stated the house could sit on a diagonal, that each house would be custom fitted to each lot to get the best view possible. Mr. Pluskwa said setbacks on the corner lots could be 10, 15, or 20 feet. Mr. Guerard stated fences are not allowed. Commiss ioner Renzi asked about plantings. Mr. Guerard said the plantings are part of the project a nd are maintained by the association. Commissioner O’Rourke asked if the village looks favor ably on flag lots. Mr. Garrigan said historically we try to discourage flag lots. Mr. Garrigan said th ey are doing this in a way with the comprehensive landscape plan and the fact that they do not allow fe nces; they are trying to be sensitive to the potential complicating factors of a flag lot. Commissioner O’R ourke asked if they could make the regular cul-de-sac design instead of the rectangle design and indicated they may lose a few lots. Mr. Garrigan said there is an opportunity to work on the geometrics of the lots. Commissioner Seggebruch asked about the configuration of these flag lots. Commissioner Kiefer asked about the architecture of the houses and if there are side walks. Mr. Pluskwa said each lot is a custom fit and explained how the houses would be situated to maximize the views and the architecture and indicated there will be sidewalks. Mr. Guerard stated they ar e trying to find a nitch to have a market for their product and felt this is a good opportunity. Commissioner Renzi asked about the number of Homeow ner Associations. Mr. Guerard stated there will be two HOAs, one for the townhomes and one for the manor homes. Each HOA will take care of their pocket park. The Forest Preserve will be maintaining the detention areas. Chairman Sobkoviak opened the meeting for public comments. Mark Allen Chmura was sworn in; resident of Cham pion Creek Subdivision. Mr. Chmura was concerned with the density indicating the ne t density (removal of the unbuildab le acreage) would be 3.3 dwelling
Plan Commission Minutes June 7, 2011 Page 4 of 8 units per acre; he was concerned with the driveways and the orientation of the homes; he asked if a traffic study was done; he asked if a floodplain management st udy was done or if there was a letter of opinion from the Corp of Engineers and asked about the grad e level of the townhomes; he asked about the 119 th Street improvements; and he asked about the water and sewer point of contact. Mr. Garrigan stated the current utilities are located to th e west of this site and would have to be extended along 119 th Street which is a whole separate challenge with regard to easements. This would be addressed at preliminary and final platting. Mr. Chmura asked about the cost of the improvements to 119 th Street to the public. Mr. Garrigan stated these would be private improvements. Mr. Chmura asked if formal application has been file d. Mr. Garrigan stated this is concept only. Mr. Chmura asked about the west end of the property and landscape easements along 119 th Street. Mr. Garrigan indicated we usually promote some type of berming especially along arterials. Mr. Chmura asked about buffering for the property owners to the w est. Mr. Garrigan stated he has an issue buffering single family from single family homes. Mr. Chmura stated you are putting higher density next to one acre lots and what would preclude them from putting up a fence at a later date. Mr. Garrigan stated 119 th Street is currently an unimproved stree t; any future development would require a minimum of three lane profile or full improvements of probably a five lane with a right of way of somewhere between 100 to 150 feet. If there is suppor t for this project and the applicant proceeds with a future annexation or pre-annexation th ey will have to work with Staff on a plan for the improvements. As a rule we do not allow half improvements so there w ould have to be some interim improvement to address the additional traffic that this development would generate; and a traffic study would be required at preliminary and final engineering. Mr. Garrigan stated there are two ways to calculate density – the Comp Plan has a provision that if property is unbuildable you remove that to get the ne t density; the gross density is figured using the whole property; previous projects have been approved using a gross density so we like to compare projects the same way. We will incorporate a net density just fo r the benefit of the Plan Commission’s consideration. Mr. Amann indicated floodplain would be reviewed on behalf of the Village against the Village’s floodplain and stormwater management ordinances as these ordinances are stricter than the County’s ordinances. Roger Heidenreich was sworn in. Mr. Heidenreich, a resident of the county subdivision to the west, asked if three access points along 119 th Street was excessive. Mr. Heidenreich was also concerned with the traffic and left hand turns. Mr. Garrigan indicated that based on the fact that the realignment of Book Road will be a fixed access, the Fire Department would generally want the two access points – one along 119 th and one on Book Road. Mr. Garrigan stated the whole issue with regards to future access points will have to be approved and configured with any improvements to 119 th as part of the final engineer ing. Access points could change at the engineering stage. This is conceptual at this time. Commissioner O’Rourke asked for an explanation of the SRA. Mr. Garrigan stated SRA is Strategic Regional Arterial, Route 59 is a SRA, explaining furthe r for an example that future Ridge Road when it is fully improved will be a SRA; a SRA is basically an arterial that moves about 25,000 – 30,000 vehicles a
Plan Commission Minutes June 7, 2011 Page 5 of 8 day; part of a SRA is limited access; one day this coul d be IDOT’s jurisdiction if it is a full SRA so this would be coordinated with full engineering. Commissioner O’Rourke commented on the distance between accesses on 119 th Street. Mr. Garrigan stated that is why Book Rood has been identified to be a collector and the importance of having connections to Book Road. Mr. Amann stated there are 3 entrances identified he re; one into the adjacent county subdivision and overall betw een those two subdivisions the combination of four entrances is appropriate; at the minimum you have to space the entr ances to get left turn lanes and tapers so you can get in and out; depending on the vol ume of traffic expected when this builds out, some of the entrances may have to be reduced to right in/right out; these th ings are looked at when the traffic study is done and when you look at the phasing of the improvement s and what else is going on in the area. Commissioner O’Rourke asked if the concept move d forward would these be approved as full access. Mr. Garrigan said no, technically nothing is being approve d at this time, you are just giving feedback to the developers so they can decide if they want to pr oceed with preliminary plat and an annexation; at that point they would do a traffic study and come back to the Plan Commission for further discussion. Tony Iannone, resident of the county subdivision to the west, was sworn in. Mr. Iannone was concerned with the timeline for building. Mr. Guerard indicat ed it is market driven. Mr. Iannone asked what happens if it is approved with these lot sizes etc. and then you decide not to build. Mr. Garrigan stated this would be covered in the anne xation agreement which would also include design guidelines, a pattern book, and the product they are showing you tonight to en sure if it was sold to another developer this project would be built to these standards or they woul d have to come back thro ugh the process to change anything. Mr. Iannone was concerned also with the co nfiguration of the lots and suggested dropping a couple lots to make them fit. Mr. Iannone further stated that once the builder sells all the lots, the Homeowners can change their covenants to allow fences. Gary Krol, resident of the county subdivision to the west, was sworn in. Mr. Krol felt the density was too high next to the one acre county lots; suggested they soften it up to the existing homes and maybe charge a premium for those lots, maybe build ranches on those lo ts; and was also concerned with the cul-de-sacs. There were no other public comments. Commissioner O’Rourke said it looks like the private st reets are still greater than the public streets in the townhome area. Mr. Pluskwa indicated the main streets and stated the private str eets are basically alleys to the garages; access is needed for the Fire Dept. and snow plowing; the alle y to the garages is not intended for through traffic. Mr. Garrigan said we cal l them motor courts as they allow the residents to transverse behind the building and provide private park ing for the residents; the motor courts could be used for a cut through. Commissioner O’Rourke asked if the solution to the pocket park was to cut the radius so cars cannot continue all the way through. Mr. Garrigan said the typical Village Green or pocket park is basically bordered by streets. Commissioner Renzi suggested ha ving the street end at 10 o’clock on one side and 2 o’clock on the other side. Commissioner Renzi asked about the location for garbag e truck pick up and asked about snow plowing. Mr. Guerard did not remember where garbage was pick ed up but indicated that the private streets would not be plowed by the village. Commissioner Renzi mentioned maybe needing a dormant special service area. Chairman Sobkoviak stated we would probably set up the special service area. Mr. Amann stated
Plan Commission Minutes June 7, 2011 Page 6 of 8 they will make sure the roadway is strong enough to support the garbage trucks and that the geometry, the width and turning radii is large enough for the truc ks to go through. Mr. Pluskwa stated during preliminary engineering they run auto turn to make sure the ladder trucks can get through. Commissioner O’Rourke asked what the current Comp Plan shows for the density. Mr. Garrigan stated this area is currently shown as Country Side Residentia l which is basically a density of less than 2. The applicant would have to change the Comp Plan if there is support for this project. Commissioner O’Rourke appreciated the work that has taken place but felt there was a little more work to be done on the density; possibly eliminating the flag lots, creating more of the circular half cul-de-sacs with pie shaped lots and creating some larger lots along the west edge. Commissioner Seggebruch asked if Lake Mary was set up with manor houses. Mr. Garrigan indicated those were condos. Commissioner Seggebruch asked if th ere were any other developments aiming at this market. Mr. Garrigan stated Fairfield Ridge is a downt own example, Villas at Fox Run is similar, and the Hartz development of Playa Vista is similar. Commissioner Seggebruch felt the market for this will probably come back sooner than a regular single fami ly market. Mr. Garrigan said 75% of the future markets in the Chicago land area will basically be non-O zzie and Harriet families. It may not be the same percentage in Plainfield but that is significant. Commissioner Seggebruch wondered what the percentage of the HOA cost would be of a mortgage payment. Mr. Guerard said he could check on the dollar amount for the HOA in the St. Charles area. Mr. Guerard indicated most of these families are downsizing. Commissioner Kiefer made a motion that the Plan Commission make a favorable recommendation of the Birkett Concept Plan to the Village Board. Commissioner Renzi seconded the motion. Vote by roll call: Commissioner Seggebruch, yes; Commissioner O’Ro urke, no; Commissioner Renzi, yes; Commissioner Kiefer, yes; Chairman Sobkoviak, yes Motion carried by a vote of 4-1 Chairman Sobkoviak called for a ten minutes recess at 8:35 pm. Meeting reconvened at 8:47 pm. Case No. 1530-111210.CP BRUMMEL PROPERTY Mr. Garrigan stated this proposal consists of approximately 55 acres located north of 127 th Street, east of Route 59 and west of Book Road. The applicant is submitting a revised concept plan which reduces the number of units from 195 which included townhomes to 108 single-family lots and eliminating all the townhomes. The property is contiguous to the village ; it is identified as Low Density Residential in the Comp Plan; and is located in the Village Facility Planning Area (FPA). The East Norman Drain runs through the middle of the subject site. There are two proposed full access points from 127 th Street, one into the eastern pod and one into the western pod; there are two future stub streets to the east, two future stub streets to the west and one future stub street to the north into Boughton. The applicant has modified the street network to incorporate more of a parallel street grid with a 27,000 sq. ft. pocket park which serves as a central aesthetic core for this project and will be owned by the HOA in the future. The original gross density was proposed at 3.70 units per acre while it has been reduced to gross density of 2.05 in the revised plan. The minimum lot size is approximately 7,150 sq. ft. with an average of 9,090 sq. ft.
Plan Commission Minutes June 7, 2011 Page 7 of 8 There is a network of pedestrian conne ctions through the open space and along 127 th Street. There is a landscape median along the pocket park to help so ften the neighborhood street. The applicant has identified the key-lots and through lots along 127 th Street and around the pocket park which will have 360° architecture consistent with the design guidelines. The applicant would have to change the Comp Plan to medium density if there is support for th is concept plan. Staff is recommending a favorable recommendation for this concept plan. Mr. Amann indicated the reduction of density reduces the intensity of sewer loading from this site. Chairman Sobkoviak stated Mr. Rich Guerard and Peter Pluskwa remain under oath. Mr. Guerard summarized by indicating they removed the townhomes; changed the lot sizes; changed the frontages to have a mix; changed the front yard setback from 20 feet to 25 feet; introduced pocket parks in addition to the park that will be going to the park district; la ndscape medians and a roadway; reduced the density; remove the private streets and increased them to 60 foot standard village right of ways; identified the key and through lots for the special architecture. Mr. Guerard presented pictures of the proposed products that have been built in a project called Bartlett Point in Bartlett. Chairman Sobkoviak stated Mr. Bettin remains under oa th. Mr. Bettin indicated they are continuing to work with the applicant on the design and layout of th e park and this park gives the park district the possibility to possibly expand the park work with the Boughton property. Mr. Bettin asked about the possible reroute of 127 th Street. Mr. Garrigan stated the Boughton proposal had a slightly different configuration and this will be worked out in engineering. Commissioner Kiefer asked if the park district woul d be taking the pocket park. Mr. Bettin stated no, only the four acre park in the northwest corner. Commissioner Renzi asked about the stub road into the Boughton property. Mr. Garrigan indicated the first one to come in with preliminary plat w ould set where the access points would be located. Commissioner Renzi was concerned with the proximity of access points on 127 th Street. Mr. Amann stated there is almost 800 feet between them. Commissi oner Renzi asked if the road on the east would be like Meadow Road. Mr. Garrigan stated this would end internally within the Boughton development. Chairman Sobkoviak opened the meeting to public comments. Chairman Sobkoviak stated Gary Krol remains sworn in. Mr. Krol was concerned with the park district if a basketball court located there adjace nt to the homes. Mr. Bettin indicat ed it was a soccer field. Mr. Krol asked if trees could be added to form a priv acy line between the homes and the field. Mr. Krol asked parking and whether it was dusk to dawn. Mr . Bettin indicated this was just conceptual and indicated all their parks were dusk to dawn. Chairman Sobkoviak stated Mark Allen Chmura remain s sworn in. Mr. Chmura was concerned with the density stating the gross density is around 2.1 but the net density is 4.5; stating that depending on when this is developed you may have only one way in an d one way out. Chairman Sobkoviak indicated this would be the Fire Department’s call a nd we would do whatever they require. There were no other comments from the audi ence and the public comments were closed. There were no other comments from the Commissioners.
Plan Commission Minutes June 7, 2011 Page 8 of 8 Commissioner O’Rourke made a motion that the Pl an Commission make a favorable recommendation to the Village Board for the Brummel Concept Plan. Commissioner Renzi seconded the motion. Vote by roll call: Commissioner Kiefer, yes; Commissioner Seggebruch, yes; Commissioner Renzi, yes; Commissioner O’Rourke, yes; Chairman Sobkoviak, yes. Motion carried 5-0. DISCUSSION Commissioner Kiefer wished good luck to form er Commissioner Sanders in his new endeavor. Commissioner Renzi asked if the earlier discussion on the water and sewer was something that would need to be addressed or would this be done intern ally. Mr. Garrigan said the engineering for any development proposing a higher densit y would have to be looked at carefully. Commissioner Renzi said if the Comp Plan still has estate lots and the likely h ood is they will be pushed to medium density then we probably need to look at water and sewer; look at th e streetscapes and what we are plan to do with the collectors; this may also impact the regional parks due to the transformation of the density. Mr. Garrigan stated the Village Board has directed Staff to revis it certain areas of the Comp Plan; we will probably be working with the Plan Commission as partners, you w ill be kept fully informed so transportation and infrastructure will be discussed and raised during the updates. Discussion was held regarding any positions that may need to be filled by a Plan Commissioner. Mr. Garrigan indicated there may be a position on the Ce ntral Area Committee that needs to be filled. Adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted by _________________________ Merrilee Trotz Recording Secretary