1979-08-27 - Village Board Committee of the Whole - Minutes SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES
OF THE VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, HELD MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 1979,
AT THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 50 RAUPP BOULEVARD, BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS.
President Clayton called the meeting to order at 7:40 P.M. Roll call indicated
the following present: President Clayton, Trustees O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt,
and Gerschefske. Trustees Marienthal and Stone were absent.
Also present were: William Balling, Village Manager; William Raysa, Village
Attorney; William Sommer, Assistant Village Manager; William Brimm, Finance
Director.
President Clayton reminded everyone about Buffalo Grove Days this coming
week-end, and urged people to attend.
1979 TAX LEVY ORDINANCE
Mr. Brimm explained the Tax Levy Ordinance to the Board. He stated that the
basic levy calls for no increase in taxes; the corporate levies are the same as
they have been over the past several years in both Cook and Lake Counties.
Mr. Brimm answered questions concerning the Tax Levy Ordinance from the
Trustees. He stated that he would be preparing a report in September on all
platted property in the Village, and would give that report to the Board as
soon as it is finished.
Mr. Balling stated that by state statutes, this ordinance must be passed and
filed by the second Tuesday in September; therefore, the Board must pass this
ordinance at the September 4, 1979 regular meeting. Mr. Brimm asked the Trustees
to contact him beforehand if they had any questions, so that there would be no
problem in passing the ordinance by the deadline.
Mr. Brimm stated that Cook County has a 3% "cost of collection tax", which the
Board could instruct the County not to collect by passing a resolution to that
effect. Such a resolution would have to be passed annually, and this would be
Buffalo Grove's first year doing so. The entire Board was in agreement that
this resolution should be passed. President Clayton asked Mr. Balling to
prepare the resolution for adoption at the next Board meeting.
Mr. Brimm's entire report on the 1979 Tax Levy Ordinance is on file in the
Clerk's office.
EARLY LEARNING CENTER - Pre-Application Conference (Lots 69 & 70 - DunLo Highlands)
Mr. William Mooreintroduced Mr. Michael Neese and Mr. Arvid Olson.
Mr. Moore stated that the property in question concerns Lots 69 and 70 on North
Betty Drive. These lots are "sandwiched" between two parcels zoned B-1 . The
existing Early Learning Center has approximately 100' fronting on Ellen Drive.
The reason they would like to annex these two lots is to double their existing
playground area, and use the existing single-family residence on lot 70 for
office space for their own operation only. They have no plans for lot 69 at the
present time; but would like to annex it because they have plans for expanding
at some future date.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
AUGUST 27, 1979
PAGE TWO
Mr. Moore stated that they would be willing to make this in the nature of a
planned development so that the Board could be assured that they would not put
any type of a retail store on lot 69.
President Clayton stated that the discussion tonight is on land use only.
Mr. Olson stated that lot 69 is presently vacant, and that the lot to the south
of that is a single family residence. The lot directly across the street on Betty
Drive is already zoned commercial (B-1) . Trustee Hartstein stated that he could
see advantages to having some sort of PUD approach so that the Village would
have some limitations on how the property is going to be used. He also commended
Mr. Olson for doing a good job with the Early Learning Center in north Buffalo
Grove.
President Clayton stated that this would be placed on the next Board agenda
for referral to the Plan Commission.
PHASE I COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REVIEW —GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
President Clayton stated that this is a joint meeting of the Plan Commission
and the Board, and the goals and objectives of the Master Plan are the basis
for this discussion.
Trustee Hartstein asked Mr. Sommer to explain the distinction as drawn in the
document between what is envisioned as goals and what is envisioned as policies.
Mr. Sommer stated that this format deviates from the existing comprehensive plan.
He stated that this is true because there were some goals established in the
comprehensive plan which were not attainable. Trustee Hartstein stated that
the policies stated are general statements of policy, and that the implementation
of these policies is encompassed in the zoning ordinances.
President Clayton stated that she feels that the Comprehensive Plan Goals and
Policies spells out the direction that we have discussed as being the direction
that we want to go.
Commissioner Davis asked about education. Mr. Sommer stated that education
would be covered in the Community Facilities and Services Policies section.
There was then discussion regarding education. Mr. Sommer stated that, through
the planning process, the school districts would have a maximum amount of input
to the Board in terms of school sites.
Commissioner Shifrin stated that he felt the staff did an excellent job in
preparing this report.
Mr. Sommer stated that this was to be done in three phases. The staff wants
the Board's approval of goals and policies before they go ahead with the
analysis of the existing land uses.
President Clayton stated that this would be put on the Consent Agenda for next
week's meeting so that the vote would be recorded in the official minutes.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
AUGUST 27, 1979
PAGE THREE
President Clayton explained to the Commissioners the Board's reasons for the
new procedure for pre-application conferences, and asked if there were any
questions concerning this procedure. Commissioner Davis stated that the
biggest concern of the Plan Commission is that developers are complaining
that the process of getting to build in the Village is taking too long. Mr.
Davis stated that the Commission appreciates the direction it gets from the
Board.
Mr. Balling stated that the staff has been working on adding one or two zoning
districts which will be added to the Buffalo Grove Zoning Ordinance.
Mr. Sommer pointed out that developers do not always provide the appropriate
information needed by the staff and the Plan Commission. He said that the
shortest possible time that a development can be approved is 90 days. He
stated that, in the future, there will be more detail on the plans before the
first workshop session of the Plan Commission. There will be a preliminary
review by the Village Engineer and the Director of Building and Zoning before
the first Plan Commission workshop.
Commissioner Davis asked if the Village Engineer could be present at Plan
Commission meetings. Mr. Sommer said they are working toward that point.
Mr. Balling stated that there must be a balance worked out so that the Plan
Commission has all it needs to work with, yet so the developer does not spend
a great deal of money on detail before he knows exactly what the Village desires.
It was stated that the Board should give conceptual approval , and then send the
plan to the Plan Commission. A developer should not be allowed to appear before
the Plan Commission unless all required items are submitted in time for dis-
tribution.
Trustee Hartstein stated that, if the Plan Commission differs with the Board
direction, he feels the plan should be sent back to the Board so that there
can be agreement before proceeding into more detail .
Trustee O'Reilly asked how the Village can better communicate to the developers
exactly what our requirements are. Mr. Sommer stated that each and every step
is clearly written out, and they just need to read and follow these instructions.
Mr. Sommer stated that, if a developer follows through on each step and provides
the staff with required information, they can get through the planning process
in 90 days.
A copy of the Comprehensive Plan, Goals and Policies for Future Development is
on file in the Clerk's office.
President Clayton thanked the Plan Commission members for their input.
RECESS: President Clayton declared a recess at 9:05 P.M. The meeting
reconvened at 9: 15 P.M.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
AUGUST 27, 1979
`./ PAGE FOUR
AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE #77-72 - Fire Districts and Library Districts
Trustee Hartstein stated that revisions to Ordinance #77-72 have been reviewed
by the Legislative Committee of the Board. He said that the idea of modifying
this ordinance would be to provide for contributions to the Library and Fire
protection districts.
Mr. John Ayres, President of the Park Board, read a report from the Park
District. Much discussion on this report followed.
Mr. Ayres stated that there is no precedent regarding commercial projects.
Regarding eliminating the $25,000 per acre figure, President Clayton suggested
that there be further investigation of this, because figures from different
sources can vary greatly.
Trustee Kavitt asked if the $25,000 figure could have an escalator clause
connected to it, so as not to involve the great length of time that an
appraisal would require. Mr. Balling stated that there is a problem in that
there is a tremendous difference in the values of residential properties.
Trustee Hartstein asked Mr. Raysa if the Village could be running into
problems if there are different requirements on different properties.
A representative from School District 96 stated that they have no dispute
with what has been written.
There was then discussion on exactly how donation money must be used; i .e.
must it be used strictly to build new facilities?
Mr. Dave Grupp of the Long Grove Fire Protection District stated that the
Fire Department has buildings and structures to consider. He said that there
is the possibility of a municipal fire department in the near future. Fire
equipment must be replaced. Regarding the exact use of donation money, Mr.
Grupp stated that there will be a limit to the number of fire stations needed,
but alarm frequency might increase; therefore, they would need to increase
personnel .
Mr. Grupp said that there is a lag in receipt of funds. He said that, as soon
as a contractor begins excavation, accidents will occur; therefore, there are
a significant number of fires and accidents on a construction site long before
any money is derived from that property.
Mr. Sommer stated that he feels adding the fire districts to this ordinance is
premature until it is decided whether or not there is going to be a municipal
fire protection district.
Trustee Hartstein thinks that , as the ordinance is being put together, it would
be helpful to formulate something regarding the fire protection districts.
�./ Mr. Raysa stated that the park and school donations are acceptable, but he
feels when the fire and library districts are included, there will be other
agencies who would also want to be included, and the question then is where
to stop. It was agreed that this is true, but, on the other hand, certain areas
are particularly hard hit by rapidly growing communities.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
AUGUST 27, 1979
PAGE FIVE
A great deal of discussion followed on how these various donations could be
worked into an ordinance.
President Clayton asked Trustee Hartstein if there was any further information
that the Legislative Committee required. Trustee Hartstein said he would
specifically like more information on the library districts, and asked Mr.
Balling to send a letter to the library districts asking them to attend the
next meeting. Mr. Hartstein also stated that he would welcome pertinent
information that anyone would have.
All background information for this discussion is on file in the Clerk's office.
HOME RULE
Trustee Kavitt stated that he feels it is time for the Board to decide whether
or not there will be a referendum.
Trustee Gerschefske stated that he feels educating the voters regarding this
issue is going to be difficult.
Trustee Hartstein stated that home rule would give the Village a tool to work
with. He thinks the Board owes it to the residents to give them a clear idea of
what home rule is, and they should have the opportunity to decide whether or not
they want the Village Board to have this power.
President Clayton asked if it would be possible to put some kind of a ceiling
on spending to alleviate fears of overspending by the Board.
Trustee Hartstein stated that he does not know the legality of such a proposal .
He thinks the citizens must feel that they have faith that their elected officials
would not abuse these tools. Trustee Kavitt suggested that the citizens would
possibly have less fear of overspending if the Trustee terms of office were
changed.
Trustee Gerschefske asked if the home rule referendum would be tied to an issue.
Trustee Hartstein said that he does not think it is necessary to tie it to some-
thing. He feels it is better to let home rule stand or fall on its own merits.
There was discussion on the time table for this referendum, and also whether
or not this referendum should be held separately, or in conjunction with other
issues, such as the municipal fire protection district. It was felt that having
three referenda together would be very complicated.
Trustee O'Reilly feels they should be held separately, and far apart.
Mr. Sommer felt that the fire protection referendum should be held before home
rule.
Trustee Hartstein said that community-type meetings should be held in different
sections of the Village to educate voters. Also, there should be explanation
of these issues in the Village newsletter. Mr. Hartstein said he would like to
have this issue on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Board.
•. .
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
AUGUST 27, 1979
PAGE SIX
'40•
In answer to a question by Mr. Raysa, Trustee Hartstein stated that the newsletter
would just contain informational data, and would not support the referendum.
It was the consensus of opinion that the home rule and municipal fire district
referenda should be held separately.
FAP 432 (DiMucci Subdivision - Long Grove)
Trustee Kavitt thanked President Coffin of Long Grove for his information on
this subject.
President Clayton stated that the Northwest Municipal Conference is in agreement
with Buffalo Grove. She also thanked the staff for the report they put together.
Trustee O'Reilly does not think that the issue has been addressed seriously
enough. She feels Long Grove has a warranted concern regarding water.
Trustee Hartstein stated that a significant point is the outline of the impact
of existing developments on the road networks in Lake County. He said Route 83
does not have sufficient capacity. He feels that Route 53 will be needed to
meet existing transportation needs.
Trustee Hartstein also fears that, when Arlington Heights Road is widened all
the way to Route 83, there will be even more traffic than there presently is.
Trustee Gerschefske stated that, at that point, there will also be increased
traffic from McHenry County. Trustee Kavitt feels that the Village must do
everything within its power to reduce traffic on Arlington Heights Road, and to
encourage the extension of Route 53.
Mr. Kavitt asked for a polling on this , and also asked that it be placed on the
agenda for the next regular meeting.
President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of the resolution
opposing the DiMucci Subdivision; "No" indicates opposition.
YES - Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske
NO - O'Reilly (she sympathizes with Long Grove's position)
ABSENT - Marienthal , Stone
The polling indicated favor of passing the resolution.
President Clayton adjourned the meeting at 11 :05 P.M.
It,� I I I�, -.).;\,lcLi1LtA.
Janet . Sirabian, Village Clerk