HomeMy Public PortalAbout2010-03-02 PC minutes VILLAGE OF PLAINFIELD PLAN COMMISSION RECORD OF MINUTES DATE: March 2, 2010 Chairman Sobkoviak called the meeting of th e Plan Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. Michael P. Collins VILLAGE PRESIDENT Michelle Gibas VILLAGE CLERK TRUSTEES Margie Bonuchi Paul Fay Larry Kachel Bill Lamb Garrett M. Peck James Racich ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Seggebruch, Renzi, Kiefer, Sanders, Heinen, Chairman Sobkoviak; and Fire District Absent: Commissioner O’Rourke, Sc hool, Park and Library Districts Also Present: Jon Proulx, Planner; Merril ee Trotz, Secretary; Steve Amann, Engineer Approval of Minutes: Amendments to the minutes of January 19, 2010 were made showing Commissioner Heinen as being absent and Commissioner Sanders as having made the second to the motion on Page 6. The January 19, 2010 minutes were then accepted as amended. DEVELOPMENT REPORT Planner Proulx stated the Board approved the an nexation agreement, annexation and special use permit for Heritage Woods Supportive Livi ng Facility; approved an amendment to the annexation agreement for Shenandoah Subdivision rela ting to payment of cash in lieu of road improvements for 127 th ; approved site plan review for Van Dyke Medical Center; directed the village attorney to prepare an ordinance for the Downtown Historic District which is still pending; did not support the special use reque st for Force Wrestling on Eastern Avenue; approved a sign variance for Creative World Sc hool ;and approved the special use for a major change to the PD for Villas at Fox Run. Also th e Village Board approved the Business Plan as it related to the waiver of the collection of impact fees by resolution. NEW BUSINESS: Case No. 1507-021110.SU UNIVERSAL MONTESSORI SCHOOL Planner Proulx summarized his staff report. This case involves a public h earing and the required notices have been posted and published in accordan ce with state statute and local ordinance. The petitioner is a contract purchaser of the prope rty and proposes a Montessori School/Daycare using the existing residence. This property is located south of 126 on th e east side of Eastern Avenue between single family residences to th e north and south and between two institutional uses to the east and west. The existing site is approximately 1 acre with extensive open space in the rear.
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 2 of 10 Page #2 of 10 The Zoning Code identifies that a preschool or school requires a special use in a residential district. In order for the Plan Commission to recommend approval of a sp ecial use, two required findings must be based on evidence presented. Those are that the special use will not be injurious to the use and enjoym ent of other property in the immediate area for the purposes already permitted, nor would it substantially dimi nish property values within the neighborhood and the second is that the establishment of th at special use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvements of the adj acent properties for uses already permitted. Staff foresees two impacts; one impact is the increased traffic and the second impact is the change of use from residen tial to non-residential. The ingress/egress from the site was a focus of discussion at the c oncept plan review. Since that meeting the traffic committee reviewed this case a nd was relatively comfortable if the driveway entrance was relocated nearer to the southern most property line. The applicant presented a proposed parking plan wherein the driveway needs to be shifted 5 feet to the north to give a 10 foot separation from the residential property to the south as required by the Zoning Code. Regarding the second impact - th e Zoning Code requires that commercial uses adjacent to residential districts provide 100% screening via landscaping, fencing or a combination of the two. The applicant has not provided this inform ation. With appropriate buffering in place staff believes the potential impacts to ad jacent homes would be minimal. Based on the information presented and prior to any public input Sta ff would be seeking a favorable recommendation. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there were any engineering concerns. Mr. Steve Amann indicated the only issue was the traffic concern which has been addressed. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in both Mr. Jeffrey Sp erling, attorney for the applicant, and Padma Bondugula, the applicant. Mr. Sperling stated they were willing to move the driveway to give the 10 foot buffer. The applicant is willing to have the pl ay area in the rear and willing to use either spruce or pine trees or something of that nature to give the 100% screening. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if state dictated if they could use foliage or a hard fence. Mr. Sperling said state requires a hard fence for the use as a daycare. He indicated they would comply with the recommendations of the Plan Commission. Chairman Sobkoviak opened the meeting to public comments. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Alfred Pebler, a re sident on Eastern Avenue . Mr. Pebler asked the number of students that would be enrolled in the daycare/school. He asked what the cap was in this facility; the hours of operati on; and if clients were charged if they ran late from work. He
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 3 of 10 Page #3 of 10 also asked if there was any consideration of putti ng in a turn lane indicating this intersection backs up. He was concerned also with the back up with the nursi ng home located there. Ms. Bondugula said in the beginn ing it would be 6 to 12 children. according to the economy. She stated in accordance with DCFS rules a nd state requirement the maximum number of students would be 45 but they do not plan to go over 20-25. The hours of operation would be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. as Montessori School is open all day. Ms. Bondugula said it was possible they would charge if the child’s parents were late. Planner Proulx and Mr. Amann both indicated they were not aware of any additional lanes planned for Eastern Avenue. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Steve Otto, a property owner to the south for the past 9 years. He said 7 years ago there was a request for BTD zoni ng for this property that did not go forward. He said the goals for Village Cent er East addressed incompatible lane uses. He further stated increased safety and availability of pedestrian alternatives a nd a traffic study that was done in 1999 showed the average daily traffic on Rt. 126 was estimated at 11,000 vehicles per day. Related to the railroad crossing the current dail y vehicle traffic is up to 16,500 cars per day or 1 car every 5 seconds. The posted speed limit at Rt. 126 and Eastern Avenue is 40 mph. West bound traffic exits on Eastern Avenue as an alte rnative to avoid Rt. 59 and Rt. 126 interchange as well as the railroad crossing at 40 mph on a regul ar basis. His driveway is to the south of the proposed property and is probably 75 feet furthe r than the proposed new driveway and he is nearly rear ended frequently trying to turn into his own driveway. Moving this driveway might alleviate some stacking problems but will not eliminate the other problems. It is nearly impossible in rush hour traffic to make a left hand turn from Eastern Avenue onto Rt. 126 unless someone lets you in. He stated it is published that as many as 50 trains tr avel through Plainfield on a daily basis and during rush ho ur traffic this will back up eas t of Ash Street which is about 1100 feet. He said if Center Street ends in a cu l-de-sac all those cars will come one street further to Eastern. There are over 800 students attending Indian Trail Junior High with 18 buses twice daily, drop off is at 7:30 and pick up is at 2:30. This builds to the traffic that is already on that street. He feels this special use permit will devalu e his property with Indi an Trail to the east and south, and the nursing care facility across the street. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Dave Peterson, a long time resident loca ted immediately across 126 (Main Street) from the end of Eastern Avenue. He has a 2 acre parcel and his family has lived there since 1950. They rebuilt on the pr operty after the flood of 1996. He also is concerned about the conditions of all the properties in the neighborhood. He stat ed it is true that the school will increase the traffic but it will incr ease the traffic by less than 1/2 of 1% and that is a very small increase. His has re placed his mail box 4 or 5 times in the last several years because people swing off onto the north shoulder to get past the people that are turning into Eastern Ave. He also has almost been hit by those people who are illegally passing on the right. He is sensitive to the problems that Mr. Otto stated. He said that an additional 50 - 100 cars a day represents a very small increase in danger, traffic load or anythi ng. Property values will not be increased by retaining a strictly residential us age. People on Division Street did not want commercial but now it is almost unusable as reside ntial because of the traffic. He understands
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 4 of 10 Page #4 of 10 from talking with the village th at there is nothing in the plans to improve Main Street either widening it or adding turn lanes. The only thing that will really help is rerouting the bulk of the traffic around Plainfield and rejoining at I-55 or 126 further north say at 143 rd Street. His understanding from the villag e is that if that is done they still project that by 2020 there would be an increase of traffic on Main Street back up to about 17,000 vehicles a day which is what he thought IDOT’s map indicates. So in evaluating everything for th e entire neighborhood we need to be aware that this is a blade that cuts both ways. By refusi ng any non-residential development, we may actually be damaging property values rather than enhancing them. He said he has a vacant lot next to his house that 5-8 years a go was worth $120,000 – $130,000 however, right now he might get $30,000 or $40,000 and about 1/2 of that decline is because it is not a suitable place to build. He feels the Montessori School use would be a good neighbor. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Linda Wiksten. She wondered if this was a safe location to have children due to the traffic. She asked the num ber of students and indicated DCFS allows so many children based on the square footage of the house. Ms. Bondugula indicated enrollment will depend on the economy. They may start with the 6 but in 1 to 3 years it could be 12 or 18 students. According to the square footage she could have 45 children. They can have 2 enrollments with 20 students in each enrollment according to the square footage. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Pat Krebs, a reside nt living on Rt. 126. She is concerned with the traffic and the young children. She felt it would be a disaster to have more young children in that area. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Heather Jelic, rea ltor for the buyer. She stated the approximate square footage for this prope rty is 2560 and stated there w ould be a fenced area for the playground in the back but that the whole yard would not be fenced in. She thought the buffer would be to help obscure the view of the fence from the nei ghbors. There is a Montessori school in Crest Hill that is right on Weber Road a nd you can see the playground and the equipment from Weber. Steve Otto returned to the podium and asked about the capacity of the building; the number of faculty needed for capacity; and if that woul d be 40-45 in the morning and 40-45 in the afternoon. He asked about her business plan. He asked the number of drop offs and pick ups in a day. Ms. Bondugula said the maximum capacity is 45 ch ildren and 4 or 5 faculty members. She said their maximum would be 25 or 30. She stated it would be 40 all day with some only coming for the half day session. She indicated drop offs vary – there may be 2 or 3 at 7 a.m. and 2 or 3 at 8 a.m. Montessori is open all day. She said with regular school and the capacity at 40 then probably half the students will be half day students. Chairman Sobkoviak clarified that the peak load would be 40 students with perhaps 20 of them leaving at noon and 20 leaving at 4 p.m.
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 5 of 10 Page #5 of 10 Planner Proulx further explaine d the required parking per the z oning ordinance and indicated the Plan Commission could make a recommendation to identify the capacity that they felt comfortable with. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in John Mora, a resident of Plainfield for 15 years. He said there is a Montessori School across the street and asked if there was a need for another school in almost the same location. Chairman Sobkoviak explained the Village cannot decide whether someone can or cannot go into business. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in Joan Caton, realtor for the owner of the pr operty. She stated Plainfield is huge and i ndicated there is a need for anothe r school; further indicating that the client is buying the property wh en the economy is down and planning for the future. She stated not all people coming to this Montessori School will be coming from the same direction. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if anyone else wanted to ask questions or make comments. No one approached the microphone and the tim e for public comment was closed. Commissioner Kiefer asked if th e traffic committee took into c onsideration the overall traffic patterns on Eastern Avenue and Rt. 126. Planner Proulx thought the committee relied on ha ving a low number of enrollments and if the pick up and drop off times were staggered there w ould be only 1 or 2 cars at a time. He said they did consider the conflicts. Commissioner Heinen asked if the traffic committee looked at the peak enrollment amount rather than the 6 to 12 which is the antici pated start number of students. Planner Proulx stated the numbers they were pr obably using at the time were the 6 to 12 students as those were the numbers discussed at the time of concept plan review. Chairman Sobkoviak said there is no way of know ing if they used worst case or best case numbers. Commissioner Renzi said the focu s should not be if there was goi ng to be a 1% increase or whether there will be 30 or 40 cars in and out but what happens when a car cannot turn in and what we can do to avoid that. He suggested po sting a sign indicating the driveway cannot be blocked and try to force the north bound stacking to leave the driveway open. He also suggested having the traffic committee revi ew this again looking at both minimum and maximum number of students. He felt the tr affic committee should know wh at the peak times would be. Commissioner Sanders felt a special use in this location was not a good idea when there were only 2 residences here. He stat ed when a property is owner occupied they know when they are
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 6 of 10 Page #6 of 10 backing or pulling out of their dr iveway what the traffic is like but the people new to the area would not be aware of the traffic situation. He felt a special use in this location probably is not the best idea. Commissioner Seggebruch asked re viewed the parking requiremen ts and stated that parking could dictate the capacity. Planner Proulx said the parking can be a limiting factor. Ten parking spaces are proposed which provide for 30 students us ing the village’s ratio. Commissioner Renzi indicated he could see a way to have 14 parking spaces. He felt the traffic committee should look at the numbers again. He fe lt they need to do whatev er they can to make it safer. Commissioner Heinen asked if a site plan would be submitted and if they have 10 spaces that would maximize the 30 students. He asked if they made modifications to the parking lot would they need to come back to the Plan Commission. Planner Proulx stated his preference would be to identify an enrollment number the commission is comfortable with. As a staff member he felt comfortable with the 12 to 15 number of students given on the site context. Any change to the site plan would require review by the Planner and based on the magnitude of the change could be approved administratively or if it was significant in magnitude it would return to the Plan Commission. Chairman Sobkoviak did not want to be the person limiting a commercial activity. Commissioner Seggebruch said moving the driveway to the south makes se nse but felt the drive should be looped through the park ing lot. He stated the ha ndicap parking space had been omitted. He felt there were problems with the site plan layout. He asked if the increase of hard pavement had been addressed. Mr. Amann stated for detention th ey have to disturb 25,000 square fe et and this is was not near the limit. He was not aware of any flooding concerns. Commissioner Sanders stated if this special us e is recommended we w ill have only one home in the R-1 zoning and everything else will have a special use. Chairman Sobkoviak thought the nursing home was bui lt in the county; th e school annexed their property and built the school. Commissioner Seggebruch would like to see a more developed site plan showing the play ground area and the handicap ramp that would be needed for access. He agreed it could go forward Commissioner Renzi said we could amend the fo urth stipulation or add a fifth stipulation.
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 7 of 10 Page #7 of 10 Commissioner Heinen felt the traffic comm ittee should analyze the correct data. Commissioner Kiefer indicated he would support the sp ecial use if the upgrades were made and the stipulations were met. Commissioner Sanders felt because of the percen tages he could not supp ort the special use. Commissioner Renzi concurred that there was nothing adverse to the special use permit. He would like someone from the traffic committee in attendance; and signage for ingress/egress to try and avoid some of the problems. He was con cerned with the site plan and the landscaping. He indicated those items could be done prior to pr esentation to the Village Board or if they come back for formal site approval. Commissioner Seggebruch felt the special use could work. He has reservations with the traffic and the site plan as it was submitted. Chairman Sobkoviak suggested moving this forward with appropriate stipul ations to allow for a traffic study. Planner Proulx indicated staff would work with the applicant to incorporate the concerns about enhancements to the site plan a nd if possible to have the play area delineated on a site plan or landscape plan. Commissioner Kiefer made a motion to recomm end approval of the special use to permit a daycare/preschool in the R-1 zoni ng district at 14705 S. Eastern Avenue, subject to the following four (4) stipulations 1. Compliance with the requirements of the Village Engineer; 2. Compliance with the requirements of the Plainfield Fire Protection District; 3. Compliance with the requirements of the Building Official; and 4. Submittal of a landscape plan demonstrating compliance with the 100-percent buffering requi rement subject to the review and approval of the Village Planner. And the two additional stipulations numbered 5 and 6 as follows: 5. Traffic committee to review thei r findings and consider worst case scenario. 6. Identify handicap parking and review drop-off and pick up areas. Seconded by Commissioner Heinen. Vote by roll call: Ayes: Heinen, Seggebruch, Renzi, Kiefer, and Chai rman Sobkoviak. Nay: Sanders
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 8 of 10 Page #8 of 10 Motion carried 5 –1. Ten minutes recess called at 8:25 p.m. Reconvene at 8:35 p.m. CASE NO. 1506-021010.FP VI LLAS AT FOX RUN Planner Proulx summarized the staff report. Th e petitioner is requesting to resubdivide a small portion of the existing subdivision. They propose 9 detach ed single family hom es in place of 8 attached town homes. This produ ct change requires re configuration of the lot lines and potential changes to utility easements. The major cha nge to the planned development was recently approved by the village board. This is on the east side of Rout e 59 south of Feeney Drive and located in the immediate northeast corner of the subdivision. The cu rrent final plat covers approxima tely 1.5 acres. All but three of the newly configured lots will have driveway access from Dayfield Drive or Deer Ridge Drive. Three lots will not have street frontage and will share a driveway. The product will be provided by the same franchis or or same designer a nd would be compatible with the existing town homes. Th e product change will not significan tly alter the size of the park donation. In addition the develope r will construct a bike path to connect with the Parkview Meadows Park. Three engineering issues are (1) the narrow bu ilding separation in areas where underground utility services may need to be located; (2) th e water service entering a building; and (3) whether the product change increase s the stormwater runoff. Staff believes the proposed final pl at is consistent with the con cept plan recently approved. This is the first of what could be a potential of additional resubdivisions for up to 18 more detached units. Overall the unit count is cap ped at 92 so they will have to eliminate one unit within the development. Mr. Amann indicated he has been talking with th eir design engineer. Th e developer and design engineer are looking at a number of different alternatives to meet the requirements of the village for the sewer and water service provisions. He said they are working on the stormwater calculations by comparing them to the original calculations. He said they should be able to accommodate the detention in the existing detenti on pond without having to make any changes. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in th e petitioner, Jamie Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox stated the final sewer and water se rvice design will not be running between the buildings. There will only be some drainage piping that will carry water from the downspouts. There are some unique areas where we can bring in the sewer and water and the architect will ensure that this is done properly. These details will be worked out once final sewer and water is approved by Baxter and W oodman. He feels the sizing for stormw ater is adequate for the entire change and not just this one area.
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 9 of 10 Page #9 of 10 Chairman Sobkoviak stated that all of Baxter and Woodman’s engineering concerns must be satisfied prior to taking this to the village board for approval. Mr. Amann said the first three points were summarized in the staff report and the balance of points were guidance for final design when they get to that point. Commissioner Heinen said he was comfortable as long as Baxter and W oodman’s issues were resolved. Commissioner Sanders asked if there were any ordi nances with regard to snow removal and if these were village streets. Mr. Wilcox stated they have plans but the person plowing usually does not have the plan. Most of the streets in this subdivision are private. Planner Proulx stated Dayfield Dr ive, Fairfield Drive and Deer Fiel d Drive are all public streets. Fox Run Circle is a private street maintained by the HOA. Commissioner Heinen said increasing the impervi ous surface is not going to hurt the issue of groundwater, it will actually convey that stormwater to the st ormwater detention area and not infiltrate into the ground. Th e real issue is the ground water concern and with these proposed site plan changes he did not see a major concern. Commissioner Seggebruch felt a cross access easement would be needed for the three (3) houses with the shared driveway. The others all have their own individual driveway. Mr. Amann stated there are blanket easements fo r all these proposed lots. There will be cross access, utility drainage etc. addressed in the blanket easement. Commissioner Renzi made a moti on to recommend approval of the final plat of subdivision for the Villas at Fox Run Re-Plat 1, subject to the following three (3) stipulations: 1. Compliance with the require ments of the Village Engineer. 2. Compliance with the require ments of the Plainfield Fire Protection District. 3. Provided the total unit count fo r the subdivision does not exceed the 92 units originally approved. Seconded by Commissioner Heinen. Vote by Roll Call: Ayes: Sanders, Kiefer, Heinen, Seggeb ruch, Renzi and Chairman Sobkoviak. Nay: None Motion carried 6 - 0
Plan Commission Minutes March 2, 2010 Page 10 of 10 Page #10 of 10 Adjourned 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted by _________________________ Merrilee Trotz Recording Secretary