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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2006-08-15 PC MinutesVillage of Plainfield Plan Commission Record of Minutes Date: August 1 5 , 2006 Location: Village Hall Chairman Sobkoviak called the meeting to order at 7:0 6 . Roll Call Present: Commissioners Kachel , Mc Kay, Murawski, Henry, Sobkoviak , Park District, F ire District Absent: Commissioner s Renzi , O’Rourke, School District, Library District, Police Department Minutes The minutes from the July 20 , 2006 and August 1 , 2006 meetings were accepted as presented. Development Report Michael Schwarz read the dev elopment report: - The rezoning for the Seventh Middle School/Elementary School/High School was approved. - The Annexation Agreement for the Avery/Knights of Columbus was approved. - The Dillman Subdivision was approved. - The Board directed the Village Attorney t o draft the PUD for the Plainfield Small Business Park. - The vacation of a portion of Fritz Road was approved. - The Village Board approved the updated Zoning Ordin ance which took affect August 15 . OLD BUSINESS: CASE: 1252 -060506.AA/RZ/SU/PP/SPR SOHOL PROFE SSIONAL CENTER Request: Annexation, Rezoning, Special Use for a PUD, (Public Hearing) Preliminary PUD and Subdivision Plat, Site Plan Review Location: East side of Illinois Route 59, 300 feet north of 127 th Street Applicant: Robert L. Sohol, LLC Time: 7:0 8 pm PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 2 Mr. Schwarz announced that this was a public hearing being held in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations of the Village of Plainfield and the State of Illinois. He read the Staff report. On the parking, Commission Kachel asked how many spots would be lost with diagonal parking. Mr. Schwarz was not sure without seeing how it was laid out; the design was the number one issue, but the other issue was deciding on the public versus private connection. He said that if it was going to b e public, there would be some traffic movement to get into the business park. He did not expect this to be significant, but the restaurant would benefit from the traffic movement. A brief discussion ensued regarding this. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if the re were any engineering issues. Neil Eicholtz, Baxter and Woodman, said that he had worked with the Planning staff and shared the concerns outlined. Specifically, he was concerned about the private road issue and the re -drive not being in alignment with the private road. He also had some issues regarding the flood plain relocation, as the volume needed to be compensated, and he was not clear where the volume would be provided. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the petitioner was asking for an Annexation Agre ement, rezoning, and Special Use. He confirmed that the commission did not have any problems with any of these. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the discussion would focus on the Preliminary Plat and Site Plan Review. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in the group o f petitioners. Dean Kleronomos, attorney for Mr. Sohol, addressed the commission and noted that he had a land planner present as well. He said that he had received the first Staff report in July but did not receive an updated report. He wanted to focus on the design of the site with the roadway. When the plan was initially brought in, the Village asked for a connection from Route 59 to Rhea, and the developer did not understand why. Options were discussed, and he did not understand what traffic would u se this connection to Rhea Drive as there would be an entrance on Industrial Drive. The developer did not envision any cut -through traffic based on the other roadway configurations. The developer was trying to stay away from calling this a public road an d wanted to keep this private with drive -aisle parking. Regarding the “hammer -head” for Rhea Drive, this was used as a design feature. McDonalds was recently connected to the turn, and it was utilized for trucks and overflow traffic. He said that this w ould slow down traffic. Mr. Kleronomos said that the developer would be doing some work with IDOT with the right in -right out, and this would allow easy access. The developer met with Staff in July and resolved a lot of issues, and the developer thought the office layout would take advantage of the area and view. The improvements were condensed, but it would be PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 3 used. As far as the other comments, he said that he and the planner were available for questions. The main issue was the roadway configuration and parking on the drive -aisle. Chairman Sobkoviak confirmed that the concept presented was that the aisle through the parking lot was not intended to be a public right -of -way. Commissioner Kachel asked about the water detention as far as filtering plan s, and Mr. Kleronomos said that underground storage would help with this. C hris Papesh , land planner, said that existing wet lands w ould be filled in, and he was working with engineers to design the relocation of the flood plain. As far as B est M anagemen t P ractices , the developer w ould work with Staff to be sure that this was taken car e of before final engineering. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if water would need to be pumped up and out. Mr. Papesh said that this would drain in through inlet structures, and it was released in a controlled way into the wetland . Chairman Sobkoviak confirmed that the flowing stream wa s a low enough elevation to use gravity flow. Commissioner Murawski asked if the Village Engineer was aware of this. Mr. Eicholtz said that the re was quite a bit of flood plain being modified, and it was not clear where the modifications would take place. He just wanted to see plans . Commissioner Murawski asked if it was an option to add a dry well or two, and Mr. Eicholtz said that a lot of ti mes underg round retention allowed water to recharge . Chairman Sobkoviak did not know that it was a huge issue in itself and thought that the questions could be answered during final engineering . Commissioner Kachel had not dealt with filtering like this before , and Chairman Sobkoviak said that the petitioner was alluding that B est Management P ractices would be used . A discussion ensued regarding this. Mr. Schwarz said that there were two B est M anagement P ractices provided to the Village, and he presente d this . Chairman Sobkoviak said that this needed to be look ed at with final engineering , but it appeared there wa s enoug h room. O n some of the finer points , Commissioner Henry confirmed that the curb cut on Route 59 was a right in -right out. He said tha t the developer was forcing everyone to travel south to Rhea Drive, and if there was not a clean alignment, it would cause a back -up. Mr. Schwarz said that IDOT’s condition had to be kept in mind. Commissioner Henry asked if the cu rb cut should be an ali gnment with wha t wa s across the street . Mr. Schwarz said that IDOT did not request this and was not concerned . Commissioner Henry asked if there was another curb cut on the northwest corner of the site t o serve as a cross -acce ss to the property to the no rth. Mr. Kleronomos said that there was originally a cross -access proposed but this was removed. Commissioner Henry agreed with Staff’s assessment. Commissioner Kachel said that this would be used a lot and felt that there should be an alignment . A dis cussion ensued regarding this. Mr. Papesh wanted to make sure that the same alignment was being talked about, and a discussion ensued regarding this. Commissioner Kachel said that e ven if this was aligned PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 4 and not dedicated, the amount of traffic would ca use problems . A further discussion ensued regarding this. Mr. Papesh showed where the delivery trucks would be , but Commissioner Murawski said that Express deliveries would stop in the roadway . Commissioner McKay asked if there would be reta il, and Mr. Schwarz said that the lower right -hand building closest to Route 59 was going to be used as a retail building. However, because it was so close to the flood limits, there was a dead -end parking lot with no access for deliverie s. He wanted to avoid this, so it was removed to be repl aced with an office. Commissioner McKay said that there would still be the restaurant building . Commissioner Kachel thought the two stories on the b uilding would be easily filled. Bob Sohol , developer, said that he has been working on this plan for two years, and he developed a lot of these bui ldings. This plan had been looked at a lot , and he did not feel that there was too much else he could do with this. He could not do a two -story building, and wit h the bank and furnitu re store, he said that there would not be much traffic through here. If he lost a building, he did not think that the numbers would work. He noted that Mr. Schwarz made good points that were taken to the plan. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the commission would have to decide whether the request was supported for the east -west road dedicated to the V il l a g e. R egarding the underground storage detention , Mr. Sohol said that there was an underground detention north on Route 59 in Naperville . Chairman Sobko viak said that the Village was just getting a lot of pressure with the free -flowing stream nearby , and Mr. Sohol said that he would do the best he could. This became an issue recently, and he noted that there was enough room to accomplish what needed to b e done. He said that this could be look ed at with the final plat. The big issue was whether the east -west connection should be a dedicated street. Commissioner Henry had three pages of specific items with issues to be worked out , and when he went throug h it, he had general agreement with Staff . Regarding the roadway dedication, he said that – for him – this depended on how many of the issues were resolved. Commissioner McKay asked about a possible interest in gating the industrial park, but Chairman So bkoviak said that the Village would want a connection from the rear of the parking lot for emergency vehicles at a minimum. Commissioner Henry and Kachel wanted to send this back to Staff . Commissioner Henry agreed with the landscaping and issues with ro adway alignments. He also had density concerns , but Chairman Sobkoviak said that the developer felt it would be economically feasible . Commissioner McKay felt that the density was still a problem . Chairman Sobkoviak said that if the commission sent the petitioner away to resolve this , he wanted to give them direction on all or some of these issues. H e was not sure wher e he stood with this dedication and was not sure if it was a necessity. PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 5 Commissioner Kachel did not necessarily see this needing to be dedicated but wanted the parking easy to get out of . H e agreed with the connection , and Commissioner McKay asked why the developer was opposed to the road being dedicated . Mr. Kleronomos said that people would be crossing a roadway to get to the office building then , and the parking would be shifted to another location . Mr. Sohol also said that too many buildings would be lost . Commissioner McKay said that the V il l a g e could make some agreement for variances , and a discussion ensued regarding this. Cha irman Sobkoviak confirmed with the developer that the Village would be looking at a rear connection for public safety. Mr. Papesh said that Staff had indicated a possibility of changing the right -of -way to 60 fee t. However, he said that six fee t was not a lot when this was 60 feet in the middle of the development. He noted that t his would need to be reconfigured as parking could not be allowed as is. The commission addressed each of Staff’s concerns: - Commissioner Henry agreed that he would ask for less landscaping. Commissioner Murawski said that Staff did not have a problem this, and the landscaping met the requirements. Mr. Schwarz clarified that this met the minimum, but this was still being reviewed. Commissioner Murawski said that when he first r eviewed this, he thought this was too dense. However, he agreed with the clustering. Commissioner Kachel felt that the landscaping requirements could be worked out with staff. - T he commission felt that the roadways should remain open. - T he applicant agre ed to do the connection in the rear. - There was some question regarding the existing T -shaped turnaround on the south end of Rhea Drive being removed. - There was some question regarding the access points onto the new internal road being limited and parking l ots sharing access points. - The applicant was okay with IDOT submitting a letter requesting a deceleration lane along the east side of Route 59 to serve the proposed access to and from Route 59. Commissioner Kachel confirmed that McDonalds had one, and Mr. Papesh showed this on the layout. - Regarding the B3 district required setbacks, Commissioner Henry said that this went back to density, and Chairman Sobkoviak said that this was being reviewed as part of the PUD. - The petitioner was okay with a 5 -foot sidew alk required along Route 59 to connect to the planned sidewalk located along the McDonald’s Restaurant to the north. - The petitioner was okay with Staff’s requirements for parking easements. - The petitioner was okay with the request for outdoor dining being provided adjacent to the restaurant. - There was some question regarding the off -set roadway alignment. - Commissioner Henry asked if the new landscape plans indicated an increase in green space around each building, and Mr. Papesh said that this was able to b e reshaped so 10 to 15 feet of open space was retained. He said that the setbacks were met, and Mr. Schwarz noted that the front of the office buildings did not show plantings. PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 6 - Mr. Schwarz had suggested (helping offset variances) that the office buildings take advantage of the southern exposure and have room for patios off of the rear doors. - The petitioner was okay with best management practices being utilized throughout the site. - There was some brief discussion regarding supporting relief from Village sta ndards if the relief was commensurate with the amenities and design features that benefit the proposed development. - The petitioner was okay with submitting a number of required supplemental items. Mr. Kleronomos said that the biggest issue was the roadway , and he asked for some direction on that . Mr. Sohol said that if this was required, the development could not work. Commissioner Henry said that part of the frustration was needing all of the information, and a discussion ensued regarding this. Chairma n Sobkoviak wanted new drawings and an updated landscaping plan . Commissioner Henry was not married to the roadway idea, and Commissioner Kachel did not feel it needed to be there. Commissioner Murawski also did not feel it was necessary . From a plannin g standpoint, Mr. Schwarz felt this was a public connection. He did not want to force a connection to Route 59, and the traffic study would help determine the points. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there were any issues from engineering, and Mr. Eickholtz s aid that he had asked the applicant to provide some kind of preliminary calculations for the flood plain. R egarding the give -and -take process, Commissioner Murawski said that there might be more to give to offset the take . Mr. Schwarz noted that Septembe r 5 would be a tight schedule to come back for this. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the case could also be continued from there. Chairman Sobkoviak opened up the floor for public comment. There was no response. Commissioner Henry moved to recommend direc ting the applicant to revise the plans and continue the public hearing to September 5, 2006 . Commissioner Kachel seconded the motion. Chairman Sobkoviak called for a vote by roll call. Aye: Henry, Kachel , McKay, Murawski, Sobkoviak Nay: None The motion is carried 5 :0:0. At 8:25pm, the commission took a 10 minute break. The meeting reconvened at 8:35pm. CASE: 1261 -080206.CP CHARTWELL ESTATES PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 7 Request: Concept Plan Review Location: Northwest and Northwest corners of Illinois Route 126 And Essington R oad Applicant: Allied Area Development, Inc. Contract Purchaser Time: 8:35pm Mr. Schwarz read the staff report. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there were any engineering issues. Mr. Eickholtz said that no engineering drawings were provided, but some possi ble concerns with that type of density included if the services could handle this. The other concern he might have was the on -ramp to Interstate 55 being close to condo minium s on the east side. Chairman Sobkoviak swore in the group of petitioners . Josep h Just , agent for the proposed development company, said that h e had Dr. Shafic Budrom and Faysal Mohamed present for questions. He said that t his project was looked at and thought it might warrant development as a gateway coming to Plainfield from I -55. He noted that I -55 was proposed to be modified, and he thought there was a benefit to living that close to the expressway. There was a lot going against the project , like wetlands, floodways, and flood plains . He felt that this could be accomplished and a fine development could be put in by addressing these issues. He said that t his was a concept that could be developed into something Plainfield could be proud of. This was developed around an English theme and he showed the Old English architecture. H e said that people seemed to get excited about this, and he was available for questions. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the area this was going into was adjacent to several very upscale developments, and it would be interesting for everyone to know how upsc ale this development would be given the request for high density. He said that t here would be some reluctance, and the people would be very vigilant as to what went on in this parcel as r esidents would want to protect their investments. He asked if he co uld elaborate on the size, price structure, and amenities. A b rief discussion also ensued regarding the neighboring cement company. Mr. Just said that he wanted to compliment the Lakelands with quality high -density development; he wanted to give the Lake lands something to get into with New Essington Road. He said that the first idea was to block the cement company with the quality high -rises. There were townhomes in the plan, and he said that the density was flexible. When coming off of that ramp, a ce ment company could be seen in the fall, and he wanted something that defined Plainfield. He was waiting for a delineation report from the wetlands personnel to say definitively where building could or could not occur. Commissioner Murawski asked for clar ification on the placement of Essington Road. Chairman Sobkoviak confirmed that the developer was trying to mimic or compliment the townhomes on 135 th Street. Mr. Just wanted input, and Mr. Schwarz wanted to know PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 8 what density was approved along 135 th Str eet. A discussion ensued regarding density and neighboring communities. Mr. Just said that millions of dollars would be spent making this site buildable. Regarding the upscale nature of development, Mr. Budrom said that it would be an improvement to the gateway of Plainfield that could be a signature property. This was being carefully laid out and built with care, aesthetics, and appeal. This was a large investment, and he was concerned about protecting the value of the investment based on what was nea rby. He said that he would be working on value enhancement. Regarding density, he said that this was one critical issue for the viability of the project as a certain density did need to be met. Aside from making numbers work, this was a zoning of R -4. He said that project fell on the upper end of the four to six dwelling units per acre range. He said that he could work with the Village on bonuses and amenities. Chairman Sobkoviak asked what the base price was of the typical townhome or condominium. M r. Budrom said that this would be approximately $500,000 or more. Chairman Sobkoviak a sked for P ark D istrict input. Cameron Bettin , of the Park District, confirmed that this would not be a gated community. He said that, ty pically, p ark donation s ne eded to be high and dry . The Park District had taken wet lands in the past , but this was not typical. Otherwise, the Park District accepted cash in lieu. He felt that the surrounding communities were a good point. T here was a park in Waters Edge, and the Pa rk District had talked to the Village about connections along Lily Cache. Chairman Sobkoviak wanted input on surrounding communities and wanted to hear a proposal from the park district. W ithin the structure , Mr. Just said that there was a b uildable road along Essington , but everything east was a lot of fl oodway and flood plain. There wa s some workable land that c ould work into a park scenario, but the developer was waiting for the delineation from the Army Corps of Engineers to determine how to best add ress this. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the Plan Commission usually did no t get into Park District donations . Commissioner Murawski said that the relocation of Essington would create traffic measure problems, and the traffic on Essington was already bad. A d iscussion ensued regarding this. W ith or without this development, Mr. Schwarz said that there was a proposal for a traffic signal at Essington and Route 126 (within 5 years). A s far as a cross section, he said that Bolingbrook and Plainfield were b oth seeking 120 -foot right -of -ways . R egarding the density, Commissioner Murawski said that right now , this was four dwelling units per acre , and the density wa s about 30% higher than the current V il l a g e Plan. H e tho ught this was large undertaking and sai d that t he density was something that the developer could control. Mr. Schwarz said that the new zoning ordinance would spell out how to calculate density, and he elaborated that the new zoning ordinance was to take the net density. This changed the calc ulation drastically. Commissioner Henry said that it was identified that PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 9 the ability to become commercial was not possible since this was not contiguously buildable ; he felt that this proposal wa s the next best thing. Chairman Sobkoviak said that the bui lder wa s aware of the density by acre, and this could be done through density bonuses. At first glance, this was high, bu t the applicant stated that he wa s flexible at this point. Mr. Mohamed said that he had been doing this for 20 years and developed ma ny structures in downtown Chicago . He was a pre ferred developer for Walgreen’s and had done a number of retail centers across the state. He was a m ech anical engineer from the U niversity of Illinois ; he noted that Mr. Budrom was a st ructural engineer and physicist. He was enticed with this and appreciated the density concerns ; he said that he co uld bring this down and had condo minium s in the million dollar range. Commissioner Kachel confirmed that had not done a PUD like this before. Commissioner Henry liked this , and Mr. Budrom said that he had done subdivision site improvement developments as well as upscale hotel developments in Chicago and out of state . Commissioner McKay loved the clubhouse idea and architecture but was concerned about the density due to the traffic already getting to I -55. She asked if there were no basements b ecause of the flood plain, and Mr. Schwarz said that there were definitely soil concerns . The developer would take the lead from Army Corps of Engineers. It was noted tha t l ocal ordinance required a 75 foot buffer, and most of th e buildings would not meet this. I t would be a question t o determine how this would work, and Mr. Schwarz said that t his would be a policy issue to review. Staff was n ot opposed to density bonuses but was just trying to figure out to what extent. This would require a public hearing and an A nnexation A greement amendment . T he current A nnexation A greement was very landowne r friendly and waived many fees, and t hose fees would need to be negotiated. Commissioner Henry said that the property to the north was considered for development, and some variances were considered . He thought it might be worthwhile to look at what was considered then , and this was agreed. Commissioner Kachel was curious because he did not understand where the garages would be , and Mr. Mohamed explained that these would be front loaded garages. Commissioner McKay found that , when dealing with neighbors, there would be buffering issues ; this was a gateway , and she thought it migh t be a selling point to have estate size lots . Mr. Just said that if New Essington Road went through , it would be bermed on both sides . Chairman Sobkoviak wanted to wait for submittal of the P reliminary P lat to see what was really adjacent since there wo uld be a tree line to the west . A d iscussion ensued regarding the clubhouse. Commissioner Murawski asked about development on 135 th Street on the northwest corner of the adjacent property. Mr. Just said that the biggest worry was with new road, and a di scussion ensued regarding this. R egarding traffic problems, Commissioner Kachel said that there would probably be a lot of comments from people on 135 th Street . Mr. Just said that he was workin g on where to put access points and asked if the commission l ike d the concept. PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 15, 2006 PAGE 10 Chairman Sobkoviak asked if Staff ide ntified possible commercial use, and Mr. Schwarz said that Staff was no t requesting this . Chairman Sobkoviak said that this would be a hard sell for the neighbors , and Commissioner McKay said that sh e had already been contacted regarding that property . Mr. Muhamed said that this did not work for commercial. Chairman Sobkoviak said that Staff identified placement of the clubhouse as a possible focal point, and Mr. Muhamed said that he was agreeable t o working with Staff on this. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there were any additional issues. Commissioner Kachel asked about the possibility of IDOT putting noise barriers up. Mr. Schwarz was not sure that Bolingbrook had a definitive answer from IDOT, b ut Chairman Sobkoviak believed the State of Illinois was cutting back on this. Chairman Sobkoviak noted that the commission placed heavy weight on Staff reports. Chairman Sobkoviak asked if there was additional business. Mr. Schwarz said that there was a request from the Village Board for a joint meeting on September 11. Chairman Sobkoviak asked what the subject of the meeting would be, and Mr. Schwarz said that it was to foster open communication. Chairman Sobkoviak adjourned the meeting at 9 :30 pm. __________________ Respectfully submitted, Laura Griffith -Recording Secretary Karick & Associates, Inc.