2006-12-06 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission
Document Type: 0 A e
g nda 0 Minutes
Meeting ate: 12/06/2006
Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting
REGULAR MEETING
BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION
December 6, 2006
Turnberry Condominiums, 105 Buffalo Grove Road—Review of change to
Preliminary Plan and appearance review for second building
Discussion of Village Comprehensive Plan
Vice-chair Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers,
Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
Commissioners present: Mr. Smith
Ms. Bocek
Ms. Kenski-Sroka
Mr. Khan
Mr. Teplinsky
Mr. Stark
Mr. Cohn
Commissioners absent: Chairman Ottenheimer
Mr. Podber
Also present: Mr. Jeffrey Berman, Village Trustee
Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka, seconded by Commissioner Stark to approve the
minutes of the regular meeting of September 20, 2006. All Commissioners were in favor of the
motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioners Smith and Cohn abstaining.
Moved by Commissioner Khan, seconded by Commissioner Bocek to approve the minutes of the
public hearing of November 1, 2006. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the
motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Bocek to approve the minutes
of the public hearing of November 15, 2006. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and
the motion passed unanimously with Commissioners Bocek and Cohn abstaining.
Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Bocek to approve the minutes
of the regular meeting of November 15, 2006. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion
and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioners Bocek and Cohn abstaining.
COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS
Commissioner Khan attended the Village Board meeting on December 4, 2006 where there was
discussion concerning administrative procedures for child day care homes. The Board referred
the matter to the Plan Commission for review and discussion of amendments to the Village
Zoning Ordinance.
TURNBERRY CONDOMINIUMS, 105 BUFFALO GROVE ROAD—REVIEW OF CHANGE
TO PRELIMINARY PLAN AND APPEARANCE REVIEW FOR SECOND BUILDING
Mr. Bernard Citron stated that he is an attorney representing Guido Neri of Neri Development.
Mr. Neri is requesting approvals to construct the second condominium building.
Mr. Citron noted that the development was originally proposed by Avis Development, which
sold the property to Concord Homes. Lennar acquired Concord, and Lennar determined that
construction of the second building as originally approved was not financially feasible because
of real estate market conditions.
Mr. Citron stated that Mr. Neri has purchased the building site from Lennar, and he proposes to
construct the building with modifications that will make the residential units more attractive to
homebuyers. He noted that the external architecture will be the same as the approved building.
The modifications include a smaller building footprint that eliminates an angular element of the
approved building, a larger setback from Buffalo Grove Road. There will be the same number of
dwelling units, but the units will be smaller than the original plan. He noted that more indoor
parking spaces will be provided with the new plan. He said that the building as proposed will
have less of an impact on the owners of units in the first building in terms of retaining the real
estate value of their units.
Mr. Citron said that he and Mr. Neri have presented the plan to owners of units in the first
building, and the only concerns that were expressed related to site conditions such as the
construction trailer and lack of maintenance. These are items that can be quickly addressed, and
are attributable to the original builder, although Mr. Neri will take action to improve the
condition of the site.
Mr. Neri stated that he is a licensed architect, and he has a development company that has
focused for the past several years on the construction of mid-rise condominium buildings. He
presented the proposed plans for the second building. He noted that there will be 48 dwelling
units in the building, the same as the approved plan. He presented a color rendering and
elevations of the building exterior, and said that the design and materials are the same as the
approved building.
Mr. Neri indicated that the average size of the proposed units will be 1,346 square feet,
compared to an average of 1,625 sq. ft. for units in the existing building. The largest units will be
1,800 sq. ft. The price range of the new units will be $330,000 to $340,000.
Mr. Neri noted that the proposed rectangular footprint of the building is less expensive to
construct than the angular layout of the approved building, and the new building will cover a
smaller area on the site. He said that said that the wall construction will use modular concrete to
reduce costs and provide excellent sound buffering between the residential units. The plan
provides 61 indoor parking spaces, instead of 48 spaces for the original plan. The lower level
could be expanded to provide even more than 61 indoor spaces.
Mr. Neri said that the landscape plan is the same as the approved plan. One outdoor light
standard will be moved, but otherwise the exterior lighting plan is the same as the original plan.
The photometric plan shows that there will be no light spillover from the site.
Commissioner Stark asked if there will be one condominium association for both buildings.
Mr. Citron indicated that each building will have its own association, and there will be a master
association for common elements shared between the unit owners in both buildings.
Commissioner Stark inquired if any variances of Village standards area being requested.
Mr. Citron said that no variances are requested.
Commissioner Khan asked for a description of the appearance of the west building elevation in
relation to the grade and access to the indoor parking.
Mr. Neri indicated that the east garage entry is at ground level and the west garage entrance goes
down to the basement level. The west building appearance will have four stories and landscaping
to screen the ground level portion.
Commissioner Khan inquired if each unit owner will have a designated indoor parking space.
Mr. Neri indicated that each unit owner gets an indoor parking space as part of the purchase of
the unit.
Commissioner Khan asked if an owner can sell his or her parking space.
Mr. Citron said that the condominium declarations usually require one parking space to stay with
the unit ownership, but a second space can be sold by an owner. He noted that if a unit owner
does not have a car, they would probably lease their parking space to a resident of another unit.
Commissioner Cohn inquired if unit owners in the first building could purchase surplus indoor
parking spaces in the second building.
Mr. Citron said this may occur, but Mr. Neri will need to have a firm projection concerning how
many parking spaces would be purchased. He would not want to overbuild the extra parking and
not be able to sell the surplus spaces. There are significant construction costs to build the
underground parking.
Commissioner Cohn asked if pedestrian access is being provided from the development to
adjacent properties.
Mr. Neri said that he is not proposing any changes to the approved sidewalks. The property is
connected to Town Center with a sidewalk west of Deerfield Bakery and there is a sidewalk
along Buffalo Grove Road.
Commissioner Teplinsky inquired if Mr. Neri thinks the proposed price points for the units will
be received favorably in the market.
Mr. Neri said that the 1,800 square foot units will be priced in the upper $300,000 range, and he
believes this is realistic based on market conditions and homebuyer expectations.
Commissioner Teplinsky noted that one Village Trustee expressed concern that the west building
elevation might have the appearance of being six-stories due to the indoor parking level.
Mr. Neri said that the site drops at the south end and the building will not appear to be six
stories.
Commissioner Bocek commented that the panels in the exterior elevations are not the same as
the panels in the first building.
Mr. Neri said he would modify the panels on the proposed elevations to be the same as the first
building.
Commissioner Kenski-Sroka inquired where excess snow will be stored.
Mr. Neri noted that the original developer stated that snow would be dumped in the northeast
stormwater detention area.
Mr. Pfeil noted that the Village Deputy Fire Marshal has concerns about the turning radii for
large fire vehicles in the area along the north elevation of the building.
Mr. Neri said that adjustments would be made to the circulation driveway to comply with the
Fire Department's requirements.
Commissioner Teplinsky made a motion to recommend approval of the minor plan change of the
Preliminary Plan approved by Ordinance No. 2002-15, subject to approval of modifications of
the access driveway by the Village Fire Department and subject to modification of the exterior
building panels as suggested by Commissioner Bocek. Commissioner Kenski-Sroka seconded
the motion, and the motion passes unanimously with the following vote:
AYES: Bocek, Kenski-Sroka, Khan, Teplinsky, Stark, Cohn, Smith
NAYS:None
ABSENT: Ottenheimer, Podber
Motion passed, 7 to 0.
DISCUSSION OF VILLAGE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Mr. Pfeil presented maps depicting public transit routes in the Village, bike paths, transportation
plan, unincorporated areas, current land use and the future land use map for the Aptakisic Road
sub-area.
Commissioner Cohn noted that it is very difficult to access the Des Plaines River Trail from
Buffalo Grove's bike path system.
Mr. Pfeil concurred that access to the Des Plaines River Trail needs to be improved. He noted
that the signalized intersection at Riverwalk Drive/Columbus Parkway on Milwaukee Avenue is
probably the best current access. He said that improving access at other locations should be a
priority in the Village's efforts to improve the overall bike path system.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT -None
FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE
Mr. Pfeil noted that the December 20 meeting will be canceled, and the next meeting will be
scheduled for January 3.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None
STAFF REPORT—None
NEW BUSINESS—None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commission Kenski-Sroka and carried
unanimously to adjourn. Vice-chair Smith adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert E. Pfeil, Village Planner
APPROVED BY:
ERIC SMITH, Vice-chair