HomeMy Public PortalAbout2007-10-16 PC Minutes VILLAGE OF PLAINFIELD PLAN COMMISSION MEETING RECORD OF MINUTES AMENDED DATE : October 16 , 2007 LOCATION: Village Hall Chairman Sobkoviak cal led the m eeting of the Plan Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Kachel , McKay, Renzi, Bonuchi; ex officio Commissioners Cox and Sanders; Chairman Sobkoviak; and Plainfield Fire District Representative Absent: Commissioner O’Rourke , Plainfield Park District, Plainfield School District, Library District, and Plainfield Police Department Also Present: Michael Garrigan – Village Planner Village of Plainfield, Sara Leach – Planner I Village of Plainfield, Carol Millan – Secretary Village of Plainfield, and Neal Eickholtz – Baxter and Woodman Michelle Gibas, Village of Plainfield Clerk, swore in Ex -Officio Commissioner James Sanders as the newly appointed Plan Commissioner serving the remainder of Commissioner Murawski’s term of office. MINUTES: The minutes from the Plan Commission meeting of October 2, 2007 were accepted as prese nted. DEVELOPMENT REPORT Michael Garrigan gave the development report. He reviewed several items that were presented to the Village Board on October 15 th . 1. Heron Point – there was a proposal to amend the PD to allow a gas station at the corner. It wa s approved. 2. Burger King – Plainfield Marketplace at 119 th and Route 59. The site plan was approved. 3. LaBancz Property – Village Board outlined some concerns, but the applicant will be proceeding with the project. The Commission should be receiving a preliminary plat in the future . 4. Chase Bank – The Village Board approved a modified site plan. Commissioner Kachel asked a question about the Heron Point project. He asked if there were any architectural changes. Michael Garrigan stated the site plan was not considered , nor was it approved by the Village Board. There will be ongoing discussions with respect to the site plan. He stated he believed there were a few small modifications to the site plan since last reviewed by the Commission. Commission er Sanders asked if the site plan will come back to the Commission for review. Michael Garrigan stated it was his understanding the applicant wishes to go directly to the Village Board with the site plan. Commissioner Kachel felt it should come back to t he Commission . He felt the public does not get to put any input into the project with it going directly to the Village Board. A discussion ensued between staff and the commissioners about the procedure of tabling a project . Chairman Sobkoviak requested that staff confer with counsel to see what possibilities are available as actions by the Plan Commission. Michael Garrigan stated he would confer with the Village counsel on this matter.
Village of Plainfield Plan Commission Minutes October 16, 2007 Page 2 of 7 Chairman Sobkoviak stated he didn’t believe there was much public comment about this gas station, but the commissioners were unanimously against a gas station on the hard corner. Commissioner Renzi felt he didn’t ask the questions he would have asked about a gas station on the hard corner. Basically after the change to the PUD to allow a gas station was voted down, the commissioners didn’t ask the questions they would have asked about the site plan for the Gas City. He felt those type of questions would be better asked at the Plan Commission level than at the Village B oard. He also felt those are questions that need to be asked. Commissioner McKay stated she felt the Commission did talk at length about where the lights would be placed, ingress and egress , etc. The applicant did have a letter from an environmental g roup stating they had been contacted. She felt some of the items Commissioner Renzi was referring to had been covered at the Commission. Commissioner Renzi agreed that some of that had been discussed, but not fully. NEW BUSINESS: CASE: 1328 -060607.S PR CROSSROADS BUSINESS CNTR. Request: Site Plan Review LOT 17 Location: Southwest corner of 143 rd St. And Van Dyke Road Applicant: CHB Investments – BJ Hayes TIME: 7:10 p.m. Sara Leach summarized the staff report. This is a site plan review for a proposed 24,000 sq. ft. hybrid industrial building on a 2.1 acre lot in the Crossroads Business Center PUD. The site is currently zoned I -1. It is proposed to contain 12,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space and 12,000 sq. ft. of flex space for sport, offic e, or similar uses. Access onto the site would be via a boulevard entrance off of Coil Plus Drive. Sara stated it is indicated in the staff report that this would be a landscaped boulevard, but for fire safety and circulation purposes, it will be changed to either rumble strips or diagonal stripes. The applicant is required to have 40 parking spaces per the Zoning Ordinance. They are proposing 79 parking spaces. Staff has determined this is sufficient because it is possible the building will be used co mpletely by office and commercial uses; and if that were the case, the building would be required to have 75 to 80 parking spaces. The architectural design of the building appears to be consistent with the requirements of the SIA for the Crossroads Busine ss Center. Staff has made a series of recommendations to increase the aesthetic appeal of the proposed structure. Staff feels this is on a prominent corner lot and visitors coming into downtown via Van Dyke Road will pass the site. The applicant has ide ntified the building could be used for office space and according to the Village’s Site Plan Review ordinance, sites used for office space with facades greater than 100 linear feet shall incorporate horizontal architectural relief, such as wall parapets , p ilasters, or wall recesses. Staff would ask the applicant to incorporate six brick pilasters along the rear façade, and to incorporate more brick near the front roofline as well. Precast is strongly discouraged on office buildings per the ordinance.
Village of Plainfield Plan Commission Minutes October 16, 2007 Page 3 of 7 The applicant has exceeded the total number of foundation plantings as per the landscape ordinance. They will incorporate more shrubs on the landscape median projecting off of the rear wall and incorporate an irrigation system on the front and corner sid e yards. The trash enclosure with be precast concrete and brick to match the building with a chain link gate with plastic slats. The proposed photometric plan appears to be consistent with the Village’s site plan review ordinance. The stormwater managem ent facilities will be maintained under a Special Service District. The applicant has incorporate d a 10 foot wide bath path on Van Dyke Road and a 10 foot wide bike path on 143 rd Street. No easement has been indicated on the plat for the bike path along 143 rd Street, so the applicant will need to obtain a permit from Will County prior to installation. There is a sidewalk along the front of the building. No signage has been proposed so far, but the applicant is aware there is a separat e sign permit requi red. Staff is seeking input from the Commission regarding the addition of the brick pilasters on the rear of the structure and the addition of more brick near the roofline at the front of the building. Staff is making a favorable recommendation. Chairma n Sobkoviak referred Sara to the section in the staff report entitled “Sidewalks and Bike path ”. He stated the report states no easement was indicated on the plat for the bike path and the applicant will need to obtain a permit from Will County prior to i nstallation. He was wondering if that should be a stipulation. Sara agreed and stated that could be the 7 th stipulation. Commissioner Renzi asked how much of a bike path there is along 143 rd Street. He made mention of the proposed 7 Eleven that was goi ng to go on Rt. 30 and 143 rd St. He asked if the bike path would go no where. Sara stated it was her understanding the bike path construction for the adjacent properties would have conflicted with the improvements to 143 rd St so the Village took cash -in -lieu. Public Works will be constructing the bike path . Commissioner Renzi stated he did not remember a bike path easement at the 7 Eleven property that was proposed. Michael Garrigan stated there was a bike path on the landscape easement on the property . Commissioner Kachel stated originally there was not a bike path on the master plan for 143 rd Street. Michael Garrigan stated he believed the original Crossroads development identified a bike path along 143 rd and also on Van Dyke. A discussion ensued a bout the bike path. Chairman Sobkoviak asked Neal Eickholtz if there are any engineering issues. Neal stated they have reviewed the plans and there are no major issues. Chairman Sobkoviak asked Jon Stratton from the Plainfield Fire District if the Fire District had any concerns. Jon Stratton stated they had a meeting with the applicant before the Plan Commission meeting . T he Plainfield Fire Distric t is happy with the rumble strips contiguous with stripping as mentioned previously . Chairman Sobkoviak s wore in the petitioner. Mark Batinick spoke. He stated they enjoyed working with staff. He is in real estate. He stated he was not aware of another I -1 building in Plainfield or other surrounding municipalities that looks as nice as this one. He furth er stated concerns of the applicant are that the owners of other buildings , that are not as expensive to build as this one , have been unsuccessful in renting them out. He was not sure if the applicant could turn a profit if he has to put in a lot more ame nities to the building. He stated if there is more of an office use , they will essentially wrap the look around the
Village of Plainfield Plan Commission Minutes October 16, 2007 Page 4 of 7 building. They did a lot of things above the minimal standards, such as doubling the parking requirements, addition of brick, etc. Cha irman Sobkoviak asked the petitioner if they had a copy of the staff report. He asked Sara Leach about Stipulation #3 in the staff report . He asked what staff was looking for. Sara stated staff is requesting the addition of 6 brick pilasters in the rear and more brick in the front. Chairman Sobkoviak asked the petitioner if he was taking issue with that stipulation. The applicant stated, yes. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if the petitioner was taking issue with Stipulation #4, submittal of a revised land scape plan. The applicant stated they had no issue with that stipulation. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if the petitioner was taking issue with Stipulation #5, submittal of evidence that the rooftop units and utilities will be shielded. Bernard Hayes was swo rn in by Chairman Sobkoviak and gave testimony. Mr. Hayes stated the other buildings in the area have not done any parapets, other than the minimum. He stated all of the rooftop units will be roughly 25 feet from any of the exterior walls. Chairman So bkoviak asked Sara about stipulation #6. Sara summarized that the applicant expressed concern that once they did start marketing the property, if an office type use is interested in the end unit; they wanted to be able to wrap the windows around the back without going through another site plan review process. Mr. Hayes stated that if something like that would happen, it would happen before construction . Mr. Hayes stated they can go back to the architect, remove all of the brick from the building, and make it look just like the buildings next door. Chairman Sobkoviak stated industrial buildings are built for a purpose; they are usually not made to look beautiful. Commissioner Kachel stated there is a mix of commercial and industrial. He stated aesthetics is something that needs to be considered. He felt architectural features are important in that area of 143 rd Street. Sara Leach stated s taff is not expecting this to be a warehouse type building . She also stated t he lots around the site are zoned for h eavier industrial , so they do not have as many architectural requirements. Commissioner Sanders stated this building really stands out from the other buildings. He stated the multiple uses provide flexibility. He asked about the north and south exposu res and the precast and asked if there could be a relief cap with an arch or something on the two panels in front without adding much cost to the structure. Mark Batinick agreed with Commissioner Sanders. He suggested it be painted a darker color closer to the awning color . Commissioner Sanders asked if it was a one piece precast wall. He asked if possibly an arch could be placed to the top to break out the horizontal or vertical look. He stated possibly it could be stamped into the concrete. The ap plicant agreed. Commissioner Sanders stated he felt it was an excellent design for the corner and would dress up the corner. Possibly it would be easier to market the building. Commissioner McKay stated the Plainfield market is not easy at this time. S he feels the building is great and will stand out from the other buildings in the area. She stated the added expense for the developer to put in the bike path, whether it be cash -in -lieu or whatever, will go to something good in the Village. If not to a bike path, perhaps it could go to some other program. Commissioner Renzi agreed with Commissioner Sanders. He liked the idea of taking the beige and putting it with the awning , and to give a stamping to the precast. He felt just a touch of color goes a long way. He would like to see some shielding of the upper units. Michael Garrigan stated for the record , staff is
Village of Plainfield Plan Commission Minutes October 16, 2007 Page 5 of 7 investigating the cost of actually shielding the units on all governmental facilities. The applicant, Bernard Hayes, stated that unless you get up high, a person is not going to see the rooftop units because there is a certain amount of shielding already around the building and the units stand only about 3 feet high. He stated the majority of the units will be in the front of the buildi ng. Commissioner McKay stated in residential areas it is important to shield the rooftop units so they are not unsightly, but in this instance the building is located in an industrial area. Commissioner Bonuchi stated she really likes the building and thinks it is very attractive. She did not understand the bike path and did not feel this location or purpose of the area warrants a bike path. Chairman Sobkoviak mentioned the proposed train station and that bike paths would be important. Sara Leach ad ded that Public Works is installing the bike path. The applicant, Mark Bartinick, stated they do not have a problem with the bike path. They like the bike path. They did not want the project held up because they are waiting for the County and wanted to know if there was some way of stipulating this. Chairman Sobkoviak stated the Commission is not advocating a time limit on this. Commissioner Cox wanted it clarified that in the event the building becomes an office building, the applicant would be in com pliance with wrapping brick at that time. The applicant responded, yes. Bernard Hayes replied that if they do the whole loading area in offices, they will wrap the brick around the back. Chairman Sobkoviak stated to the applicant that they have taken is sue with stipulation #4 in staff’s report. The applicant stated, no that they were good with that stipulation. Chairman Sobkoviak stated to the applicant that the issue is stipulation #3 and #5. Bernard Hayes stated he is a long time resident and has a stake in the community. He does not like being put in a position where he has to make up for other properties in the neighborhood. Chairman Sobkoviak asked the other commissioners how rigid they wanted to be on stipulation #5. He asked staff what the minimum amount of screening they feel would be acceptable. He asked if something could be done with sheet metal screening or something on the roof near the utility unit. He further stated the developer is trying to get away without putting a parapet arou nd the building, which would be expensive. Michael Garrigan stated there is precedent for providing , at a minimum , a fabricated metal screen around the mechanical system around the roof line. He stated this has somewhat of a hybrid commercial appearance. It looks very typical of a retail center. Chairman Sobkoviak asked the developer if it would be acceptable to add some kind of fabricated metal screen, something that would match the walls or something that would not be too obtrusive . Bernard Hayes, th e applicant, stated the Commission needs to keep in mind that the only area where there is a potential problem with screening is the corners of the building. Chairman Sobkoviak stated in order to compromise; he asked that stipulation #5 be modified to rea d, “That the rooftop units and utilities be shielded as needed and required by ordinance.” This way the applicant will only need to shield the units and utilities that are extremely noticeable. He asked if the Commission agreed with this modification. The commissioners agreed. Chairman Sobkoviak stated the only open stipulation involved the architectural elevations. He asked staff what specifically they were looking for. Sara Leach responded, staff’s main concern is the addition of six brick pilast ers on the rear to connect the front and side elevations . S taff would also like to see, if there is support from the Commission, more brick if possible. Chairman Sobkoviak asked where the pilasters would
Village of Plainfield Plan Commission Minutes October 16, 2007 Page 6 of 7 be located. Sara Leach responded they would be un derneath each of the medallions. Chairman Sobkoviak asked the applicant the expense of adding the pilasters to the rear of the building. The applicant stated he could remove all of the brick from the building and duplicate the adjacent buildings. Com missioner McKay stated while the Village wants buildings to look divine; it is a detriment to have empty buildings in the Village. She had a concern that addin g more brick, more architecture to an industrial space , which would normally offer more reasona ble square footage for retail, would drive up the rental cost becau se the cost of adding those features would be passed on to whoever rents the space . She further stated she did not feel it is necessary to put brick pilasters on the back. She would rathe r see the brick on the front elevation rather than just putting up another building such as adjacent buildings. Commissioner Kachel stated he would like to see a stipulation that if offices went in on the rear of the building, the brick would be continued around. Otherwise, he did not have a problem with the present elevations. There was discussion and it was decided Commissioner’s Kachel’s concern would be addressed in stipulation #5 in the staff report . Commissioner Sanders asked the applicant if he did concur that he would look at the north and south elevations, as far as breaking up the horizontal or vertical look of the precast as previously discussed. The applicant stated he would. Chairman Sobkoviak asked the commissioners if there was a neces sity for brick pilasters on the loading dock side. Commissioner Bonuchi agreed with Commissioner McKay that the building is beautiful as is . Commissioner Cox agreed. Chairman Sobkoviak disagreed with stipulation #3 in the staff report regarding revised architectural elevations. He wanted to strike stipulation #3 in the staff report . He asked the commissioners if they agreed. They agreed. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there was anyone in the audience who cared to make a comment or ask a question. The re was no response. At 8:00 p.m. Commissioner Renzi made a motion that the Plan Commission recommend approval of the site plan for Lot 17 of Crossroads Business Center, subject to the following stipulations: 1. Compliance with the recommendations of the V illage Engineer; 2. Compliance with the recommendations of the Plainfield Fire Protection District; 3. Submittal of a revised landscape plan consistent with the recommendations of staff in this report; 4. Submittal of evidence indicating that the rooftop u nits and utilities will be shielded as need and required by Ordinance; 5. Should the applicant have an office type use come forward with interest in the building, or a use that does not require a loading dock to be installed on the rear elevation, staff is able to approve a modification to the architectural elevations administratively, only if it consists of wrapping the front or side elevations further around the building and removing an off -street loading berth; 6. Applicant shall obtain a permit from Wil l County for a bike path. Commissioner McKay seconded the motion. Chairman Sobkoviak called for a vote by roll call. Aye: McKay, Renzi, Bonuchi, Sanders, Kachel, Chairman Sobkoviak Nay : 0
Village of Plainfield Plan Commission Minutes October 16, 2007 Page 7 of 7 The motion is carried 6:0 DISCUSSION: There wa s a discussion about the bike path on Van Dyke Road. Since there was no further business before the Plan Commission, Chairman Sobkoviak adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. _________________________________________ R espectfully Submitted Carol Millan Planning Secretary – Village of Plainfield