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2013-04-17 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan commission Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 04/17/2013 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION April 17, 2013 LG USA, 1001 Johnson Drive - Review of a Preliminary Plan in the Office & Research District, proposed building addition and Variation of off-street parking requirement -Workshop #1 Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 7:0 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers, Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Commissioners present: Chairman Smith Mr. Khan Mr. Stark Mr. Weinstein Mrs. Johnson Mr. Goldspiel Mr. Matthews Commissioner absent: Mr. Cohn Also present: Mr. Ho Saang Lee, Saang, Inc. Mr. David Kim, LG Electronics APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Weinstein, seconded by Commissioner Khan to approve the minutes of the public hearing of February 6, 2013. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Matthews abstaining. Moved by Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Weinstein to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of February 6, 2013. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Matthews abstaining. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Johnson attended the Village Board meeting on March 4, 2013 at which time The Homes for a Changing Region report was presented by staff from the Metro Mayors Caucus. The plan, which addresses future housing policy for Buffalo Grove and four other municipalities, was prepared by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). The Village trustees emphasized that this is a policy document not a planning document. It is not a land use plan with specific recommendations. The trustees noted that the document could be useful to the Plan Commission, particularly for the next update of the Village Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Stark asked if there were any surprises in the housing recommendations of the Homes for a Changing Region report. Mr. Pfeil noted that the Homes document includes considerable data analysis of demographic trends, and one of the findings is that the older segment of the population has been increasing in the Village and therefore housing for people that are beyond typical child raising years would be one of the things the Village needs to look at. The growing demand for senior housing has been evident for a number of years and was noted in the 2009 Comprehensive Plan Update. Commissioner Johnson noted one aspect of the report that she found interesting is the analysis of who is in our community today and who will be in it in the future which ties in with what Mr. Pfeil said that when we plan we know who will be living here. Commissioner Johnson said that the March 4 agenda also included approval of an ordinance amending the special use for Xtreme Trampolines concerning coin-operated amusement devices. Commissioner Weinstein attended the Village Board meeting on March 18, 2013 at which there was a referral to the Plan Commission for the property on Lexington Drive which is a referral for a special use for a child care facility in the Industrial District. They were looking to add an outdoor play area in the back of the building and there would be some issues with parking and driving cars through that back area because it is currently a driveway. Mr. Pfeil commented the owner of the property has advised him that the child care provider was not able to reach a lease agreement for various business reasons, so the project will not be proceeding. Commissioner Goldspiel attended the Village Board meeting on April 1, 2013 where the matter of direct interest to the Plan Commission was LG Electronics which was referred. The comments from the trustees directed the Plan Commission to look carefully at the plan with concern for possible future use of the building if the occupancy changes, in light of the proposed elimination of parking on the east side of the site. LG ELECTRONICS USA, 1001 JOHNSON DRIVE - REVIEW OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN IN THE OFFICE & RESEARCH DISTRICT, PROPOSED BUILDING ADDITION AND VARIATION OF OFF-STREET PARKING REQUIREMENT-WORKSHOP #1 Mr. Ho Saang Lee stated the current building is located at Lake Cook Road and Northgate Parkway with an existing 2 story brick structure of 30,700 square feet of floor space. The building is owned by LG Electronics and is mainly for office use on the second floor. The first floor contains a research lab and storage area. They are in desperate need of expanding the space for their storage and a new laboratory. He stated they have looked into the site to find additional space but could not find enough space. The only way to expand is eastward and by doing that they must eliminate existing 40 parking spots. Currently there is off street parking for 115 spaces but by eliminating the 40 parking spaces they could achieve a 2-story structure with a total floor area of 12,600 square feet. They understand this does not comply with the Village's building code requirement for 1 parking space per 300 square feet of building space. Currently LG only has 40 employees and they have only 4-5 visitors per day so for their actual use of the building and future use of the building with the expansion they will have sufficient parking especially as the expanded area is only for lab and storage usage. Chairman Smith noted that the petitioner indicates that even with the expansion they do not plan to have any more employees. Commissioner Stark asked if there is parking available on Johnson Drive and do the employees utilize it if there is. Mr. Lee stated their current parking on site is sufficient for their use and employees. Commissioner Stark asked if parking is allowed on Johnson Drive. Mr. Pfeil said parking is not allowed on Johnson Drive. Commissioner Stark asked if the addition will be attached to this building or would it be separated. Mr. Lee stated it will be a simple attachment to the east and the appearance will match the existing building in brick and existing limestone and will be identical throughout the building. Commissioner Goldspiel noted the current chart of staffing levels shows the lab area has a current occupancy of 16 but in the new lab area there is nothing shown. He asked for more information concerning staffing in the lab area. Mr. Lee stated the proposed floor layout on another page shows it will be a simple stock room with a new lab area without an increase in staff or occupancy. This is because currently they are running out of storage space and they utilizing existing conference areas and workroom areas as storage. Commissioner Goldspiel noted the first page of the plans shows the building line just a bit off of the back of the building. But the new plan shows the building line set back 25 feet. Mr. Pfeil noted the required building setback along Lake Cook Road is 50 feet. The plan complies with this setback. The required building setback along Johnson Drive is 25 feet. Commissioner Goldspiel asked what, if anything, can be put in that building setback area. Could the setback be used for parking? Mr. Pfeil said the original zoning was Industrial when the Chevy Chase Business Park was initially annexed. The Industrial District requires a 50 foot building setback adjacent to arterial roads, and the setback is required to be landscaped with no parking. Commissioner Goldspiel noted it is now in a different zoning district and asked what the requirements are for the use of setbacks in the current zone. Mr. Pfeil said the Office & Research District requires a 25-foot building setback with landscaping and no parking. Commissioner Goldspiel asked if it is correct that this building is used for testing major appliances. Mr. David Kim stated refrigerators, washers and dryers, dishwashers and vacuum cleaners are tested in the building. Commissioner Goldspiel noted he does not see any loading dock on the plan. Mr. Kim stated they do have a loading dock on the west side of the building. It is kind of a lifting system. It is lifted up to the height of the truck and then they can get the refrigerator off the truck and down on the lift. The truck backs up to the building and deliveries are made at the first floor of the building. Commissioner Goldspiel asked if they do not feel that with the increased area here there would be need for more unloading area than what exists now. Mr. Lee stated they can contemplate providing loading from the north with a new entry to the new expansion to the east. Commissioner Goldspiel stated he is not saying that should be done but is just wondering if it may be necessary and asked LG to give it some thought. On the north it could possibly block traffic coming in and out. Commissioner Goldspiel noted in the letter dated March 1, 2013 from Mr. David Kim says the expansion of the building will prevent theft of outside storage containers, intellectual property loss as well as advancing research and advancing research and development capabilities here in Buffalo Grove. He asked what that is referring to. Mr. Kim stated they currently have a temporary container outside because they are out of storage space inside. They rented the one container as temporary use. Commissioner Goldspiel asked if this plan is approved and built as shown in the drawings he asked if there would still be outdoor container storage. Mr. Kim stated no. Commissioner Goldspiel asked what is meant by intellectual property loss. Mr. Kim stated they had one container stolen and that is the sort of thing they care about. Commissioner Goldspiel noted that they are then agreeing with the ordinance about no outdoor storage. Mr. Kim stated that is correct. Commissioner Matthews stated he is concerned with the sidewalk on the east side of the building and also a sidewalk on the south side of the building. If the sidewalk is not shown on Exhibit A that sidewalk will be staying there and there will be no changes to it? Mr. Lee stated that was correct. Commissioner Weinstein noted an aerial view point of the parking lot on the other side of Northgate and it does not look like the parking lot is set back as far from Lake Cook Road as the parking lot on the subject site. Mr. Pfeil said the building on the east side of Northgate is zoned O & R, which requires a 25-foot landscaped setback. He noted that the area east of Northgate Parkway was zoned B-3 as part of the approval for Chevy Chase Business Park East and later rezoned to O & R. The B-3 District requires a 25-foot landscaped building setback. Commissioner Weinstein said he was just wondering if there would be some flexibility to allow consistency with the setback that is in place on the property directly across from Northgate and perhaps create enough room to add some parking spaces. Mr. Pfeil indicated that even though the site at 1001 Johnson Drive was originally platted with a 50-foot building setback along Lake Cook Road, it's probably permissible to allow parking in a 25-foot portion adjacent to the current parking lot. This would provide an area for future parking if a different ownership or occupancy of the building results in a greater parking demand. Commissioner Weinstein noted it's reasonable to provide for future parking but not require immediate construction because this owner doesn't need the additional parking. The Village approval of the current petition could stipulate that any subsequent transfer of the property may entail construction of additional parking if necessary to serve demand at the property. Mr. Pfeil said this is a good approach that provides for adequate parking to serve a future occupancy while accommodating the situation of the present owner who does not have a high parking demand. Commissioner Goldspiel stated in past developments the Village has allowed landbanked space that required construction of additional parking when needed. This would seem like an appropriate place to consider landbanking for future parking because the current owner doesn't need it now, but buildings change hands and parking requirements change. Commissioner Matthews asked how many other LG facilities like this are in the US. Mr. Kim stated there are 3 others that do the same things as this facility. Trustee Terson stated at the Village Board meeting his comments may have given the impression that he has serious concerns with the parking. He said this was not his intention. He noted that no additional staff would be at the expanded building, so he feels that the owner should have the right to do develop the property as they choose. To him it does not seem like a drastic stray from our regulations or requirements. It seems like a very logical proposal. He noted that at the Board meeting LG had stated that parking spaces to be lost combined with the parking spots being created results in a net loss of 13 parking spots. Mr. Lee stated a total of 40 parking spots would be lost. He noted that now there are a total of 115 spots and the new addition would occupy 20 spaces but they are gaining more area which would require 142 spaces. Mr. Lee confirmed that there would be a net decrease of 13 spaces. Chairman Smith asked if they need to bring the building material samples for the public hearing. Mr. Pfeil stated that would be advisable so that appearance issues can be fully addressed. Commissioner Goldspiel commented that if parking is allowable in the yard along Lake Cook Road, he would appreciate a sketch plan showing the possible layout of the parking area. He also suggested that the petitioner evaluate off-street loading for the building to determine if modifications are advisable to accommodate the expanded storage component of the building. Chairman Smith asked how long LG has owned the property. Mr. Kim stated two years. Chairman Smith asked if they knew what the long term plans for the company are in Buffalo Grove. Mr. Kim stated as far as they know it is for the long-term. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT- None FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil noted if the LG development team can be ready, the public hearing for the proposed plan at 1001 Johnson Drive will be scheduled for May 1". The next available date after that would be May 15, 2013. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS - None STAFF REPORT Mr. Pfeil noted that on May 2" the Village is holding a public workshop for input concerning a bicycle plan for the Village. NEW BUSINESS - None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Weinstein, seconded by Commissioner Johnson and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Smith adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: ERIC SMITH, Chair