Loading...
2005-09-07 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 09/07/2005 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION September 7, 2005 Discussion of Village Comprehensive Plan —Workshop #7 Chairman Ottenheimer 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: Chairman Ottenheimer Mr. Smith Ms. Bocek Ms. Kenski-Sroka Mr. Khan Mr. Stark Mr. Cohn Commissioners absent: Mr. Teplinsky Mr. Podber Also present: Mr. William Balling, Village Manager Ms. Ghida Neukirch, Assistant Village Manager Mr. William Brimm, Assistant Village Manager& CFO Ms. Deann Glover, Village Trustee Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner Mr. Marc Blumenthal APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Bocek to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of August 17, 2005. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioners Kenski-Sroka and Cohn abstaining. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS—None DISCUSSION OF VILLAGE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN—WORKSHOP 97 Mr. Balling introduced Ghida Neukirch as point person for the presentation. Ms. Neukirch stated she wanted to share information on the Village's economic development program for Buffalo Grove and to thank the Plan Commission for their insight and hard work. She stated the Commission was a very important role in planning the Comprehensive Plan which helps to guide the future of the Village. Ms. Neukirch stated she started at the Village in 1999 and it was immediately stressed to her the importance of economic development to the Village Board and the overall community. It was set forth in the goals for the Board and, of course, the Board sets the policy and the Village staff carries out that policy. She stated they view it as a community wide effort. Every member of the staff plays a role in economic development. Ms. Neukirch reviewed some of the economic goals established by the Village President and Board of Trustees at the start of the year. Four out of ten of those goals relate to economic development. She noted one of the goals is to encourage and promote and secure additional sales tax generators throughout the Village with particular attention to Milwaukee Avenue and the Dundee Road corridors. She stated they have been working for some time on these two specific corridors. They have coordinated several annexations along Milwaukee Avenue. She noted they now have four restaurants that have been annexed within the last 1 '/z years, including Weber Grill, Cy's Crabhouse, Riverwalk North restaurant parcel and the now vacant parcel which was the tapas restaurant and is now planned for rezoning. Part of that annexation included 79 single family homes as well as several other businesses along that area. That gave them the steps to proceed further north where they are looking at additional unincorporated properties for annexation and redevelopment potential. Ms. Neukirch noted there is a lot of activity along the Dundee Road corridor. Prestige Leasing is under construction and she noted they worked closely with them trying to find them a location in Buffalo Grove. She stated they continue to focus on these corridors as well as throughout the entire community for sales tax generators. Ms. Neukirch stated another goal as part of the Village Board initiative is an update of the Comprehensive Plan. Earlier this year they had applied for a grant through the RTA and they were successful in securing a grant in the amount of $150,000 to assist in the update of the Comprehensive Plan. They put together a request for proposals to obtain a land use and planning consultant to look at two properties; one around the Buffalo Grove Metra station and the other around the Prairie View train station. She noted they received eight proposals last week and they are now in the process of going through those and they will shortly have a report for the Plan Commission and the Board on those. Ms. Neukirch noted they had initiated a survey to obtain both resident and business feedback relating to what the community desires regarding economic development and why they feel Buffalo Grove is the place to do business with. She stated they received a wonderful response from both the website and the newsletter. She stated they will continue to gather resident business feedback throughout that process. Ms. Neukirch stated that working toward the long term comprehensive resolution of land use and annexation conflicts with neighboring communities and taxing bodies has been very successful. In May, 2005 they negotiated an agreement with Lincolnshire which was the first of its kind. It basically set forth the future land use and zoning for more than 420 acres of land either in our jurisdiction or along the unincorporated properties along both jurisdictions. She noted they continue to work with other municipalities for similar agreements. Ms. Neukirch stated the fourth goal is part of a larger goal the Board established which discusses having municipal control over land use decisions and allocation of transportation dollars. Ms. Neukirch noted Buffalo Grove is a fairly young community with a great education base and a fairly affluent base. There are 21 shopping centers in Buffalo Grove spanning over 215 acres. She noted there are some very unique specialty shops which they like to promote as they try to attract other retailers into the Village. There is over 440 acres of industrial property which has some of the most established and worldwide headquarters of businesses. Panasonic is one of the newest employers with over 150 employees. They have been working with them closely over the permit process. They put together packets welcoming all 150 employees and giving them information about Park District programs, library services and Village programs because they feel these employees will be shopping here, dining here and we want them to feel at home. Ms. Neukirch stated the Town Center is almost 20 years old now and it has actually been very successful. This is a shopping center specifically which has been sold twice since it was constructed. It is 132,000 square feet and the last vacant space was the southern end space. She noted they worked very closely with the property owner to market the space to dozens of different businesses which they felt would be very successful. It is now leased and the Town Center is now 100 per cent leased. They continue to work very closely with the property owner to make sure that all the businesses are looked after and accommodated when possible. Ms. Neukirch stated the Village underwent a comprehensive review of the organization in 2004. They looked at different performance measures throughout the organization and compared it with other municipalities. She noted they took a number of the areas and compared our metric systems to theirs and they found we are more than 20 percent above the average of the two iconic communities used for the comparison. Ms. Neukirch noted the Village water rate has been at $1.80 per thousand gallons which is a 1983 water rate and which the Village is very proud of. The property tax rate has not been this low since 1979 and is very favorable given the amount of services that are received. Moody's Investment Services has given us an AA1 bond rating which reflects a diverse and moderately growing property tax base. It identifies the continued growth of sales tax revenue despite decreasing sales tax revenue throughout the nation and an overall sluggish economy. It reflects financial operating policies which are very sound and consistently applied and a modest amount of rapidly retired direct debt. Ms. Neukirch noted our 21 shopping centers comprise some of the most unique type of uses which the Village tries to promote. There are three Dominick's in the Village which is more than any municipality with the exception of the City of Chicago. These, together with a Jewel, provide service not only to Buffalo Grove but to all the surrounding municipalities near us. Together we receive 1.5 million in sales tax revenue from all food establishments. We have three auto dealers with a fourth one to include Prestige Leasing. Those auto dealers provide the Village with about 1.3 million in sales tax revenue. Ms. Neukirch noted the Village Board has a very clear vision for economic development and we understand economic development is very important for our elected officials and staff has put together a comprehensive plan for economic development initiative. Ms. Neukirch stated the Village Board has embraced the idea of business retention. She stated they are trying to find out why businesses locate in Buffalo Grove and hope to work with them because if they are happy doing business here they will tell all their distributors, customers, etc. what a great place this is to do business and therefore regular onsite visits with businesses are promoted. In addition, we provide financial assistance for business retention. For example, the Village has been working with Arlington Toyota for many years and they are very tight in the location they are at. The owner came to the Village a year ago indicating the space he had was just too small there. One of the first things the Village did is enter into an agreement providing him with up to eight years of use for overflow parking at the Metra parking lot. In addition, the Board approved an agreement with Arlington Toyota which provides them with a financial incentive to expand his line. The Village maintained the base sales tax obtained from Toyota and are providing them an incentive based on the increase of car sales. This all goes back to the importance of regularly communicating with businesses to find out what their needs are so that these types of issues can be addressed before they move out. Ms. Neukirch provided another example of ASAP Software located at 850 Asbury Drive. The Village has been working with ASAP for several years. They were growing by a certain percentage every year and felt they would outgrow their space in two years. We have been working with them and in May, 2004 the Board approved an annexation of about 6.6 acres adjacent to them for an expansion. Ms. Neukirch stated the Board approved in April, 2001 a contingent infrastructure maintenance agreement. The Village worked with Dominick's on Dundee and Buffalo Grove Road in trying to negotiate out the leases of the existing businesses so Dominick's could double their size and move over. The Village once again provided them a financial incentive in order to accomplish the move and the required underground stormwater storage. Ms. Neukirch stated industrial revenue bonds are basically tax exempt bonds issued on behalf of manufacturing businesses engaged in the manufacture of tangible products. It can be used toward the purchase of land, equipment, or building expansion. This helps businesses because they are able to use the Village's bond rating rather than going through a private bond rating. As a home rule municipality we receive $80 per capita and we are able to offer this to businesses as they continue to expand. The Village does try to sell this incentive to its businesses. Ms. Neukirch stated the Village is the only municipality that has a business liaison officer program. Any time the Village talks to a new business, they have questions about security. Our Police Department offers a program where they send an officer out to talk with the business. Ms. Neukirch further stated the Village started the business showcase program in 1999. It is a uniquely angle the Village uses to showcase businesses that are going above and beyond their day to day operations. The Village interviews the business, puts together a report and recommendation for the Village Board and if that is approved they are recognized at a Village Board meeting with a golden buffalo. The Village does press releases on them and are included in the Village newsletters. Ms. Neukirch noted the Village has looked into the possibility of a mixed use plan for the shopping center at the corner of Buffalo Grove Road and Dundee where Dominick's moved out. They also looked into office or residential over retail. However, they continually hit one brick wall after another. Rogan Shoes has now come through and will open there shortly and this is thanks to the suggestion from the Fire Chief. Ms. Neukirch noted the Village is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers. She stated she and Mr. Balling attend a Chicago deal making show ever year in October where they set up a booth promoting Buffalo Grove. She noted they have made a number of contacts that way. Ms. Neukirch noted there is a positive recommendation from the Plan Commission for the proposed Gateway Center at Busch and Milwaukee Avenues. There are specific covenants in the business park which restrict the signage and the amount of stormwater detention. The developer has a very aggressive sign package and he is also making recommendations to the stormwater management plan. The Village has been working with him and contacting every single owner in the Corporate Grove Business Park, presenting the plan to them and trying to get their approval on the plan so that the developer can get his plan approved by the majority of the owners in that business park and then bring it forward to the Village board. Ms. Neukirch noted the Village has done a number of annexations along Milwaukee Avenue and continue to work with unincorporated properties offering them incentive agreements. She further noted the Village does market industrial land and buildings for property owners and different management companies. Mr. William Brimm reviewed many economic tools used by the Village. The Town Center TIF was entered into in 1983 and within the next 60 days the TIF will wrap up and will pay off every dollar that was committed to the TIF. He noted there were never any public dollars exposed or at risk throughout the entire process. The project was a success measured by payoff. The area developed and there is a vibrant and alive residential area, commercial and office area. He stressed a TIF is a very viable tool to be used under the right opportunities. The Town Center should be disassociated with the concept of tax increment financing. The district spun off a considerable amount of increment which benefited not only the bond holder but there were some payments in lieu of taxes to the other taxing districts such as school district 102, district 125, the Buffalo Grove Park District and the Village of Buffalo Grove. There was a lot of benefit that went with the TIF. Almost twenty two million dollars in increment were returned to all the affected taxing districts. Mr. Brimm stated another tool used by the Village is special service areas. He stated he looks at everything on the north side of Lake Cook Road from the intersection at Arlington Heights Road and Lake Cook Road all the way slightly east of Milwaukee and Lake Cook Road as a success story using special service areas. In 1983 Trammel Crow approached the Village to develop all of Lake Cook Road as we see it now. The special service area was actually more challenging that the TIF. The property built out and went from almost zero valuation to nearly sixty million dollars in investment within the defined areas. Those will also wrap up on December 30th. This is a very viable tool and we continue to look to at special service areas. He noted we have a couple of concepts we continue to discuss with potential developers in the community. The Village has used tax incentives, industrial revenue bonds and mortgage revenue bonds have been used successfully. He stated the Village stands ready to use any tool available to the Village under the statute and home rule authority to continue to retain and attract business. Ms. Neukirch stated the question was raised if the Village would benefit from having an economic development commission. She noted the Village has 11 commissions now which are successful. She noted there had been a study done previously in 1997 on this subject matter. Opinions were obtained from business representatives, Chamber of Commerce, elected official and Village staff and the summary of that report basically stated the Village would not benefit from an economic development commission. She stated it would require additional red tape and is superfluous as the Village Board is very involved in economic development. Also, the community in general is not shy in coming forward relating to economic development initiative and that feedback is welcomed. This is everything that a commission would be doing and they feel they are taking the right steps and are effective in their economic development work plan and a commission would not provide any additional value in that regard. Ms. Neukirch stated they do not feel that having someone specifically devoted to economic development would be a benefit to Buffalo Grove. She stated they are meeting the mission and objective that the Village Board set forth from a policy perspective. She noted they are challenged by property owners that are unmotivated. Milwaukee Avenue/Deerfield Parkway has a very unmotivated property owner. Cambridge Commons is another example of obstacles beyond the Village's control. Mr. Brimm gave an overview of transportation initiatives stating the Village has been very successful and has been persistent through Mr. Kuenkler's and Mr. Boysen's office in chasing down dollars for transportation purposes. Throughout the last 15 years the Village has been able to leverage significant money. Locally we have committed about eight million dollars on arterial transportation programs and have leveraged about one hundred million dollars from either Cook or Lake Counties or from IDOT. The most recent initiatives which will get started in 2006 will be the improvement from Route 22 all the way through Buffalo Grove and then Deerfield Parkway from Route 83 all the way down to Weiland. The Village is committing about two and half million dollars and getting almost twenty nine million dollars. Throughout the Village nearly every one of our arterial streets have been touched in the last 15 years. He stated he works with Mr. Kuenkler and Mr. Boysen and the council of mayors to continue to chase dollars. Mr. Brimm stated he has been working with Metra since 1995 and the Village has participated financially. The only financial commitment to what will eventually be a $350 million commitment by the federal government through Metra is for the complete double tracking and completion of the new start initiative. Our commitment was only to build a train station and our first parking lot. We have been able to get Metra to build a first expansion parking lot and another 470 spot lot expansion soon to start. The Village is also working on a joint detention project with Vernon Township to alleviate some flooding in Horatio Gardens at no cost to the Village. Mr. Brimm stated they recently completed two annexations in Prairie View. This was an initiative to bring both the existing Prairie View train station and the parking lot expansion into the Village and it was part of our objectives to lock in and secure our borders as well as to further the RTA grant initiative. Mr. Brimm stated the last initiative has been somewhat slow and disappointing is to try to continue to encourage and support bus transportation by PACE. There are a couple of routes still active in the community. However, the Village continues to work with PACE and support an initiative through the TMA at Lake Cook where there will be a minimum of two and as many as three separate routes that will start in Buffalo Grove in the morning and conclude during the evening rush which are grant funded based on input from METRA from the TMA and local area employers to take people to employment centers. Mr. William Balling discussed the goals and objectives for the next 5-6 years and the challenges involved. He stated they have now identified about six of these with the first being that we have really not positioned ourselves as best we could to take advantage of big box retailing. This was intentional as early on we did not want to have the Kmarts or Ventures at the time. This has had a compounding impact on us economically because our number one taxpayer in the community is food for sale. All of the food stores are now under siege from the discount houses. We have to be aware of these issues that not only are not in the best position to support additional retail, but our traditional approaches have been undermined by mass retailers. Secondly, despite the fact that we have had tremendous success in regional infrastructures, traffic congestion is the number one issue in town. The lack of regional political resolve of 53 has exposed us to increased traffic congestion for the next decade. We view that as a serious economic threat to business retention. Mr. Balling stated financial constraints are a serious issue for the Village government and schools are not too far behind. He stated we are redesigning core services to basic mission services by transferring responsibilities that were previously carried out by full time employees to part time employees and hire back on a part time basis to try to make the performance of services up to what Buffalo Grove expects for a lesser cost. Mr. Balling stated we recognize there is an aging housing stock in Buffalo Grove which could have an impact on community appeal, increased maintenance and support. We expect to stay a young community for some time because of the strength of our schools but as the community ages there are different types of dynamics going on in the community which effects direct services such as police and fire but also changes when consumer families become investor families. Finally, Mr. Balling stated we must make sure that Buffalo Grove stays in demand and is a community of appeal. That is what has driven the growth and appeal of Buffalo Grove in the past. Finding creative ways to do that in the future is the challenge. Mr. Balling noted there is strength in regional transportation improvements in the immediate Buffalo Grove planning area. He stated we continue to maintain a very aggressive posture on funding and developing additional new corridors. Weiland/Prairie is the next corridor the Village will try hard to get a lift on. Mr. Balling noted we also have a real opportunity to stimulate reinvestment with tear downs. This is a huge planning issue because questions whether we really got the maximum use of a lot right when it was done originally in our zoning. Infill and small lot development is much more difficult than large track planning and will be a huge issue for the Plan Commission. Mr. Balling stated he wanted to identify the eight points in their 20/25 Vision. He stated this will continue to be a demand community. Education is going to continue to be a driver. Achieving the types of physical development necessary to maintain creativity, new investment and new attraction to the community is a goal. We have obviously always paid attention to land use and natural resources. There are, however, some issues. The traditional stormwater management design using ponds and open basin will need to be evaluated in view of newer concepts based on maintaining natural areas and using more wetland plantings. The Village will need to strike a balance between engineering efficiency and maintaining natural drainage patterns. The cost of maintaining the drainage system will continue to be a part of the design process. The goal for more open space is going to continue. Mr. Balling stated that a short term goal is requesting seven day per week service from Metra. When they roll out the 22 trains per day we would like some service on the weekends. Metra, however, has drawn the line on that request. This is an issue that the Village will continue to pursue with Metra. In addition, we would like to have one or two express stops along the way when the schedules are established. We certainly warrant the stops based on passenger volume and it is feasible to do. In general we also need to find more ways to get people on buses. Mr. Balling stated that something big is going to happen in the telecommunications infrastructure and Buffalo Grove would like to be a part of it. He also noted that the mix and balance of housing in the Village is an important issue. He noted the affordability of housing in the Village is quickly falling and how we will deal with affordable housing will be a huge issue for planning and public policy. Commissioner Khan asked how the Town Center qualified for the TIF district and what are the pluses and minuses of a TIF district. Mr. Brimm stated the Buffalo Grove TIF district was a creature of the legislature. Back in the 1970's the statute was amended and basically a comment that if an area was designated as a town center prior to a certain date then they would qualify and met the tests of a TIF. When we formally established the TIF in 1985 none of the definitions of blight or conservation were met but we relied upon seven year old language within the act to give the authority to the TIF. With regards to the pros and cons of a TIF one must go into it with their eyes wide open. You cannot get swayed or lulled by developer promises. You really have to do a lot of due diligence, the plan should be realistic. The success is also measured if you have no public dollars involved. The success of the Buffalo Grove TIF stood on the fact that is was also supported by increment. There was no public back stop in terms of the full faith and credit of the community. The downfall is not to stick the course and follow the intent of the statutes. Commissioner Bocek noted her pet peeve is on Cambridge. She noted retailers and the public are all about change and excitement and this is not there. It almost seems that by helping Dominick's to lease there they are happy and do not care any more. But, the center is ugly and something needs to be done. Ms. Neukirch stated they had a meeting with several developers and Norwood Builders went as far as putting together a conceptual plan showing residential over retail. We offered them the possibility of an incentive, in addition to the zoning, to get that developed and unfortunately we hit resistance on all sides. Dominick's did not want to budge. Rogan Shoes is leasing the space through 2011 which is the term of their lease and at that time hopefully something can be done. Commissioner Bocek noted that even the quality of the tenants is reflective of the way it looks. She asked where other restaurants or food uses could be placed in the Village. Ms. Neukirch stated they are still working with Phil Johnson on the restaurant parcel at the Riverwalk North development who has not yet decided if he wants to lease it or sell it. This again, is somewhat of an unmotivated owner situation we are dealing with. It is, however, an ideal location for a full service restaurant. We are looking outside the box and are working aggressively with Land and Lakes who have over 60 acres of potential development and 18 acres of frontage which we have planned for B-3 zoning. Other areas the Village has looked at is the southeast corner of Lake Cook and Arlington Heights Road has the potential of some type of restaurateur. Commissioner Stark noted that the presentation made mentioned eight proposals for the Metra station area and he wondered how the decision is made as to which one will go forward. Ms. Neukirch stated they have a Comprehensive Plan committee which includes staff, Chairman Ottenheimer and the Trustee liaison who work as a team to pick developments. We are looking at their references and the kind of projects they have done as well as who is working on their team and do they have a good concept of Buffalo Grove. She stated she plans to put together a spreadsheet and provide an overview of each proposal which she will share with the committee who will put together a report and recommendation for both the Plan Commission and the Board. Commissioner Stark asked what issues are preventing businesses from coming to Buffalo Grove. Ms. Neukirch stated traffic is definitely an issue. Available land is also an issue which is why we are focusing a lot on the Milwaukee corridor because it our last area available for development. She noted they have found that many retailers are changing how they are providing service and are looking at demographic counts, location of other similar stores and such. Commissioner Stark asked about the south end of Town Center and what is going in there. Ms. Neukirch stated it will be Teddy's Kitchen and Tap who is moving along. Commissioner Stark asked how the loss of an auto dealership would affect the tax base and would we have another auto dealership in the pipeline ready to take its place. Ms. Neukirch stated they have been working on that. She noted the Arlington Nissan dealership which is owned by Bob Rohrman also owns the Honeywell site in Arlington Heights and may move to that site. Our efforts would be to maintain it as an auto dealership and work with them to the best of our ability. Commissioner Cohn noted the Metra stations are very important to him and he asked what was specifically asked from those proposing development to give to us. He asked if it is an overall redevelopment land use plan of an acreage and all the different kind of things that will be there. Ms. Neukirch stated they have been looking at the potential for a mixed use plan around the two train stations. The Buffalo Grove train station requires us to find out the feasibility of what potentially could go there, how would a plan look and would it survive it is was built. She stated they are asking that each approved consultant put together a minimum of two conceptual plans for each train station area and then the committee would discuss those after which they would come up with a preferred conceptual plan for each area. That preferred conceptual plan would then be a part of the Comprehensive Plan that the Plan Commission would hopefully approve. The goal at the end of this project is to have a plan that would have resident and business input, staff, commissioner and Village Board input and then we would be able to carry out and try to implement the plan. Commissioner Cohn stated he would find it helpful if a copy of each proposal was included with the memo, plan and charts. He further suggested that when someone is picked, it be someone who has good connections with retailers and developers who could help us come up with the people to implement the plan. Commissioner Cohn asked if it was a cross section of Buffalo Grove residents who responded to the survey. Ms. Neukirch stated she can get those results for him. She noted it was a good cross section of the community and stated it was probably more professionals rather than retirees that responded. Commissioner Cohn asked if there are other areas in the industrial park that are perhaps under utilized and could be used in other ways. Mr. Balling stated there are some vacancies left in the Corporate Grove but they have been invaded by recreational service uses. That started out as a tech park that had some distribution capabilities. Some of those have converted to higher end uses like the Siemens buildings. The group that is working with Gateway is being informed by us on the status of the train station issue because his theory is that we have to squeeze down and throttle down some of that under utilized industrial and convert that into more of a commercial venture. He stated he personally feels that argument is more valid on the Milwaukee Avenue property perhaps north at Aptakisic Road. He stated they do have some interest expressed on Aptakisic Road now and because of the boundary agreement with Lincolnshire the Village has a lot more latitude to work with prospective developers. A big chunk of that land is within the Village of Lincolnshire and they have agreed to disconnect it. He noted the Village is working aggressively with HSA and other industrial development groups to come up with a development plan that may involve a tax increment district. That could have some retail, but is not likely to have much. He stated he feels the frontage on Aptakisic needs attention probably all the way west to Buffalo Grove Road. There is some promise in that corridor that may be under utilized. Also the upgrade of Prairie View needs attention and could possibly yield some commercial interest including restaurant sites. Chairman Cohn asked how problematic the covenants and restrictions cut internally within the park are. Mr. Balling stated they are definitely complicated. There is an opinion that you need about 75 percent of the property owners to change it. What we are doing with Gateway is just changing the configuration of the drainage easement. They are about half way there and have reached the point where the people who have said yes are ready and the people who have said that if there is something in it for me then yes. He is hovering at about 49 percent of the property owners. There are about 17 lakes which are all interconnected and all drain into the Aptakisic creek. If you are going to redevelop you will likely need to move that around for parking or density standpoint. Chairman Cohn asked if that will stop Gateway Center. Mr. Balling stated it will not be able to get through with the density that has been proposed because he needs to reconfigure everything. What would change that would be going to multi-deck parking but he does not want to do that as it is a real impediment to commercial marketing. Commissioner Cohn stated he is concerned with the size of Dominick's and Jewel because if they go away, what will replace them and in addition their very size may be keeping out other more independent food vendors. Commissioner Cohn stated we have people in our community who are very well connected in business and community who we are not hearing from because there is no structure in place to bring them out which is why he would encourage the tools to be put into place to make those voices heard. Commissioner Cohn stated he does not like the concept that one person can hold up the wishes of 42,000 people and he would like to find a balance and a way to develop properties from unmotivated people. Commissioner Cohn stated the issue of getting surburbanites on buses is still 15 years away and it will take more than $6 gasoline. He stated the best use of public transportation that will ever exist in this community is going to be people who work downtown, taking the train and that should be our focus. Commissioner Khan asked about the status of the Route 53 extension. Mr. Balling stated we had a setback with the last cycle of reconstruction of the tollway and the last bond issue and the raising of the rates. The 53 north project is the most studied project of any length of the tollway system. It was a joint project including the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Highway Authority and the Lake County Highway Department. It provided convincing evidence but lacked the political resolve regionally to implement. Will County made a strong argument, had more political muscle and unity and had an influence. It is still the most cost effectively solution to increasing transportation efficiency in Lake County of any of the alternatives that have been discussed. It is the cheapest, easiest to implement and would provide the greatest benefits. However, the reality is there is a lack of political resolve and consensus. For the next 5-10 years it does not look good. Commissioner Khan encouraged the signing of boundary agreements with any other Villages to avoid problems. Commissioner Smith asked how we reconcile the fact that the developers are bringing plans in for businesses we do not want. Mr. Balling stated it is a vexing problem. He noted the Prairie View area near the new James development is a very high end income area and should not be sold short on design or tenants. The trade off might be there for one more bank for a little hold out and definition on use. He stated you have the opportunity to define or limit or share uses either allocating how much of it can be used for services and how much for hard retailing. The issue is there is a 20 year agreement which is amendable but we want something special out there even if it sounds as though it is an unfair limitation on business other we could end up with another open tenant policy that ends up with undesirable uses. He stated he invites the Commission to use the PUD standard. Commissioner Smith suggested he would like to have the goals that Mr. Balling has available during the Plan Commission meetings. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT—None FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil stated he would do an e-mail polling as to late September and October meetings. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None STAFF REPORT—None NEW BUSINESS—None ADJOURNMENT— Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Cohn and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 9:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair