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2003-11-19 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 11/19/2003 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION November 19, 2003 ExxonMobil, 1248 Mc Henry Road/1250 Arlington Heights Road, Rezoning of one parcel to the B-3 District and approval of A Preliminary Plan in the B-3 District for a gas station, convenience Store and car wash—Workshop #2 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. Samuels Mr. Smith Ms. Bocek Ms. Kenski-Sroka Mr. Khan Mr. Teplinsky Mr. Stark Mr. Cohn Commissioners absent: None Also present: Mr. A. D. Williams, ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Co. Ms. Wendy Kenny WD Partners Mr. Daniel O'Connell, Trammell Crow Company Mr. Steve Trilling, Village Trustee Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner Mr. Greg Summers, Associate Village Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 15, 2003. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously with Chairman Ottenheimer abstaining. Moved by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka, seconded by Commissioner Smith to approve the minutes of the public hearing of October 15, 2003. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously with Chairman Ottenheimer abstaining. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Stark attended the Village Board meeting on November 17, 2003 where they voted on the rezoning of the R-4A on the Niminsky property at 936 Betty Drive, which was approved. They also voted and approved the Twin Creeks Park. In addition they made a Plan Commission referral for a branch of Bank of America at 55 Lake Cook Road which is on Route 83 and Lake Cook Road. EXXONMOBIL, 1248 MCHENRY ROAD/1250 ARLINGTON HEIGHTS ROAD, REZONING OF ONE PARCEL TO THE b-3 DISTRICT AND APPROVAL OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN IN THE B-3 DISTRICT FOR A GAS STATION, CONVENIENCE STORE AND CAR WASH—WORKSHOP 92 Ms. Wendy Kenny introduced the development team and stated they have made several changes to the plan since the first workshop. Mr. Alex Williams stated the current facility sells approximately $35,000 to $40,000 per month in products and about 200,000 gallons per month in motor fuel sales. Under the current configuration shown in the new plan, they would expect the facility to produce about $80,000 per month in convenience store revenues and probably the same 200,000 gallons per month in motor fuel and about $10,000 per month in car wash sales. In addition they would operate 24-hours per day, 7 days per week. They would have management on site for two shifts per day, first and second shirt with about two employees on shift at all times, if not more. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if those are two 12-hour shifts. Mr. Williams stated typically they have three 8-hour work shifts per day with some overlap between shifts. Commissioner Smith asked if the car wash is 24-hour. Mr. Williams stated yes. He noted they could put dampers on the dryers and blowers to lessen noise if this becomes an issue. Commissioner Teplinsky asked if they want to sell alcohol. Mr. Williams stated they would like to do that if they can get approval from the Village but seems to be a difficult issue for many Villages. Mr. Pfeil stated the liquor ordinance does not allow gasoline stores to sell alcohol. Commissioner Khan asked what the hours of operation are now for the gas station. Mr. Williams stated it is a 24-hour operation now. Commissioner Cohn asked what portion of the profits on the car wash come from the evening shift. Mr. Williams stated most of their business is done on the first and second shift. It has been his observation that most of the work done by the car wash is between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Ms. Kenny reviewed the changes to the plans since the last workshop meeting. She noted they have now closed the north driveway and now have only one access point along Arlington Heights Road and one access point along Route 83. Ms. Kenny noted they have expanded the detention area and have been working with Mr. Kuenkler. They now also have added the corner parcel for detention and they have provided landscaping all along the buffer areas. They have also given an additional 10 feet of right-of-way along Arlington Heights Road. Ms. Kenny noted that some of the variances they were requesting included a 50-foot building setback. However, the site plan approved by the Village in 1983 eliminated the need for this variance. This leaves one variance for the landscaping setbacks for the canopy. She noted they are showing 12 '/z feet of landscaping and the requirement per code would be 22 feet. However, they have enhanced the landscaping along both drives. Commissioner Samuels stated he does not understand the preliminary site plan. Mr. Pfeil stated that in addition to the plan of record, two location maps were included in the Commission's packet to illustrate the current zoning boundaries. There is a triangular area of B-3 zoning that goes north of the ExxonMobil parcel. Commissioner Samuels noted that therefore there is a residential use on a B-3 lot. Mr. Pfeil stated yes. He noted he does not know the full history, but it is clear that the parcel now owned by the Spoerlein residential condominium association was intended to be zoned B-3, apparently as a buffer area between the condominiums and the abutting commercial lots. The zoning ordinance that was passed explicitly grants B-3 zoning to the triangular area north of the ExxonMobil parcel. Commissioner Samuels asked if the detention would be wet or dry. Ms. Kenny stated it would be a combination. The existing detention is partially wet and the expansion will be similar. The other area for detention will be dry. Commissioner Samuels stated he has a problem with the short escape route before the entrance to the car wash. Ms. Kenny noted that most of their sites with freestanding car washes have no escape lane or bypass lane. She noted the issue has been discussed lately in terms of eliminating the bypass lane to add more parking stalls to the right of the building. However, the Commission seemed to note that the bypass lane was an important part of the car wash. Mr. Williams noted they have been discussing taking the bypass lane away because the site is very constrained from a parking perspective. This bypass lane means the loss of at least three parking spaces. When you are generating $80,000 in revenue, people need places to park in order to get to the retail side as well as maneuver around the building. Commissioner Samuels stated he agrees that what has been provided here is superfluous and would be better served by just a green landscaped area. But he still objects to no bypass option at a car wash. Commissioner Bocek stated her feeling on the queuing area to the car wash is just to eliminate it as it is too close to the entrance to the car wash anyway. Commissioner Teplinsky asked why this queuing problem is not a safety issue. He noted that occasionally there may be a malfunction in the car wash area or some kind of an emergency for someone stuck in line. This seems to raise all sorts of safety concerns and he would like to see some kind of bypass lane. Mr. Williams stated to date they have not run across any problem like that in any area of the country. Commissioner Teplinsky stated there is no point to an access lane as it is now on the plan but he would still like to have one. Mr. Williams stated the most you can get to queue is probably five cars at one time. At 4-5 minutes per wash you can get those people in line to move out in case of an emergency. Commissioner Samuels noted you could probably get about 8-9 cars up to the point where you enter the throat of the driveway. He stated he agrees it is a safety issue. He noted that he feels that if you relocate the transformer and just take away a corner of the building, you can probably effectively get a bypass lane. There might also be a way of putting a sign at the entrance to the car wash that would say what the approximate wait time was. Mr. Williams noted that based on the size of the building you couldn't do anything here due to the tight turning radius. Commissioner Samuels noted the point is how much of the building would need to be sacrificed. Chairman Ottenheimer noted the petitioner would go back and take a look at that. Mr. Williams stated they have already gone back and looked at it and based on the size of the building, they could not do anything other than what has been presented here because of the turning radii. Chairman Ottenheimer stated he does not know of any other Mobil car washes that he can think of that have escape lanes. However, he is very concerned about emergencies developing that may require a car to get out of line. Mr. Williams noted Mobil is always concerned with safety for their employees and the public and they will go back and take another look and exhaust every avenue they can to solve the problem. Ms. Kenny stated they had just received the review from the Village Forester whose comments are fine with ExxonMobil. She noted that he had identified a number of trees that he wanted preserved and relocated and she wondered if it would be acceptable to relocate these trees into areas where they are proposing new trees. She further noted that the tree survey was done and identified a number of trees that are not of good quality and will be removed with the full support of the Village Forester. Mr. Pfeil asked if Ms. Kenny could speak to the screening element and landscaping proximate to the car wash on the north. Ms. Kenny stated they have proposed a six-foot tall wood board on board fence along the north property line. She further noted they are showing dense landscaping on the back of the building along the fence. There is some existing landscaping off of the site that will remain and helps shield the townhome community. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if any comments had been received from any of the neighbors that adjoin the property. Ms. Kenny stated no. Mr. Pfeil noted they did mail the agenda for this meeting to a number of the residents who live closest to the site. Commissioner Stark asked if the additional new lights would be similar to the ones already there. Ms. Kenny stated there is a photometric plan included in the packet which show new pole lights throughout the property. They will be no higher than 16 feet and will be pointed down with zero foot-candles off the property line. Commissioner Stark asked if it is safe to assume that the advancement in light technology is basically less encroachment onto adjacent property. Mr. O'Connell stated the fixtures they are using have no spillover lighting. Commissioner Bocek asked if the Commissioner feels a full traffic report is necessary given the full access on Arlington Heights Road and Route 83. Chairman Ottenheimer noted there is no traffic issue now on the property and noted there may, however, be more traffic once the car wash is put in. He asked the Commission if anyone felt there was a need for a traffic study. No one on the Commission spoke up for a need for a traffic study. Commissioner Bocek asked if there is any idea of how many customers come into the convenient store at peak hour. Chairman Ottenheimer asked what is considered peak hour. Mr. Williams stated most people like to fill up in the morning and then you will see higher coffee and cigarette sales. However, there is a section of the public that likes to stop on the way home and they are typically are buying milk and filling up. However, typically the most prevalent time is between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Samuels noted the traffic at this site has gone through the Route 83 expansion and Arlington Heights expansion and will not be going through changes in its geometrics for a long time. The use will remain pretty much the same so why is the issue of traffic coming up. Mr. Pfeil said it would be appropriate for the Plan Commission to affirm that the closure of the access to Courtland, and the new access on Arlington Heights Road is the optimum way for the site to be served. He commented that the Village's traffic consultant could review the plan, but the proposed access appears to be reasonable based on the use. He said that it appears that exiting the site may take some time when there is congestion on Route 83 or when there are a number of queued vehicles on southbound Arlington Heights Road waiting for the traffic signal. The length of the wait to exit the site will depend on the time of day and the direction that customers want to travel from the site. Chairman Ottenheimer asked how long the facility would be shut down for construction. Mr. O'Connell stated their typical construction time is between 90-120 days at most. Mr. Pfeil noted the Commission should address the sequencing of the appearance review, particularly if the ART needs to review the revised aesthetic package before the public hearing. Chairman Ottenheimer stated absolutely. He stated it is their goal to keep the appearance issues on track with the site plan issues so when the matter goes to public hearing most of the issues are resolved including aesthetics. Therefore he feels another workshop meeting is necessary in terms of what can be done about an escape route and there can be another ART meeting. Commissioner Samuels stated he does not see why there cannot be a public hearing next as long as they meet with the ART team. Chairman Ottenheimer stated he wanted the Commission to discuss and review the ART team recommendations. He noted one of the concepts is to have a full discussion amongst the Commission regarding the aesthetics and does not know if the public hearing is the first time they should be discussing those matters. Chairman Ottenheimer noted he has no problem with having a workshop meeting and then going right into a public hearing. Commissioner Samuels stated he feels the entire Commission needs to be able to discuss aesthetic issues after the ART team makes its presentation. He therefore feels the workshop format is more comfortable and preferable. However, he also does not feel this project needs a whole other workshop/public hearing cycle. Chairman Ottenheimer recommended having a workshop and then a public hearing immediately following that on the same night. The Commission agreed. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Chairman Ottenheimer stated he would like to rotate the members of the Plan Commission on the ART team. The workload should be distributed as evenly as possible, depending on the Commissioners' availability. The diversity of opinions is important, so it would be preferable for all Commissioners to participate in the ART process. Also, it is important that the Commissioners who begin the ART review on a particular project continue with that same project through the completion of the review process. FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil said the next scheduled meeting is for December 3, 2003. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None STAFF REPORT—None NEW BUSINESS—None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka, seconded by Commissioner Smith and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair