1993-11-17 - Plan Commission - Minutes REGULAR MEETING
BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION
November 17, 1993
Checker Place, Northwest Corner of Buffalo Grove
Road/Checker Road - Rezoning from the B-3 District to
R-9 P.U.D. and Approval of a Preliminary Plan--Workshop #3
Vice Chairman Goldspiel called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
in Room 24, Buffalo Grove Park District Alcott Center, 530 Bernard
Drive, Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
Commissioners present: Mr. Goldspiel
Mr. Krug
Mr. Rhodes
Mr. Rosenston
Mr. Samuels
Ms. Genell
Mr. Berman
Commissioners absent: Chairman Silbernik
Ms. Howard
Also present: Mr. Lawrence Freedman, Ash, Anos, Freedman
& Logan
Mr. Russ Taylor, Ralph Burke Associates
Mr. Bernard Gold, G.S. Building Corp.
Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Commissioner Genell, seconded by Commissioner Rosenston
to approve the minutes of the Special meeting of October 13, 1993.
Commissioner Rosenston asked that the word "now" be added to page
12, paragraph 14. Vice Chairman Goldspiel asked that the word
"asked" be added to page 5, paragraph 4. All Commissioners were
in favor of the motion as amended and the motion passed
unanimously with Commissioners Rhodes and Genell abstaining.
Moved by Commissioner Genell, seconded by Commissioner Rhodes to
approve the minutes of the public hearing of October 20, 1993 .
Commissioner Genell asked that the word "for" be deleted from page
6, paragraph 10 and the word "how" be substituted for the word
"what" . She also asked that paragraph 12 add the words "nature of
the property to the south". Vice Chairman Goldspiel asked that
the word "and" be substituted for the word "but" on page 5,
paragraph 1. He also asked that the word "are" be substituted for
the word "as" on page 4, paragraph 8. All Commissioners were in
favor of the motion as amended and the motion passed unanimously
with Commissioners Rhodes and Rosenston abstaining.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 1
Moved by Commissioner Genell, seconded by Commissioner Rhodes to
approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 20, 1993 .
Vice Chairman Goldspiel noted the word "a" to be removed from page
8, paragraph 2 and the word "give" to be substituted for the word
"five". All Commissioners were in favor of the motion as amended
and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioners Rhodes and
Rosenston abstaining.
Moved by Commissioner Rhodes, seconded by Commissioner Berman to
approve the minutes of the public hearing of November 3, 1993 .
All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion
passed unanimously with Commissioners Rhodes and Genell
abstaining.
Moved by Commissioner Rhodes, seconded by Commissioner Genell to
approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 3 , 1993 .
All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion
passed unanimously with Commissioners Rhodes and Genell
abstaining.
COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS
Commissioner Berman attended the Village Board meeting of November
15, 1993 and stated the following items were discussed:
1. Referral to the Plan Commission of a proposed development of
a nine single-family lots on the Relics of Old property on
Route 83;
2 . Referral to the Plan Commission of a proposed development of
31 single-family lots in the R-3 District on the 14-acre
DeGrazia property on Prairie Road south of the new school on
Brandywyn Lane.
CHECKER PLACE, NORTHWEST CORNER OF BUFFALO GROVE ROAD/CHECKER ROAD
REZONING FROM B-3 TO R-9 P.U.D. WORKSHOP #3
Mr. Freedman noted several changes to the proposed plan had been
made in response to the Commission's comments and introduced Mr.
Taylor to review these changes.
Mr. Taylor stated that they had tried aligning the street to
Checker Road with Manchester Drive as Mr. Carmignani had suggested
but found this does not work well as it reduces open space on the
site plan. In working with staff, it was noted that the primary
concern is to provide a distance of at least 250 feet from the
right-of-way of Buffalo Grove Road to the new street for proper
stacking in the turn lane on Checker Road. He stated that the plan
provides the necessary distance to Buffalo Grove Road.
Mr. Taylor stated that the number of dwelling units on the plan
has been reduced from the original 56 units to 50 units, and this
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 2
redesign has allowed them to incorporate some side loading
garages. He noted that the side to rear wall separations of 40
feet and the side to side separations of 24 feet between buildings
will be provided, and in most cases the separations will be
larger than required by the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Taylor explained
that the reduced number of parking spaces on the revised plan is
due partly to the fewer number of dwelling units, but mainly
because only two spaces per driveway are included in the parking
count, even though some driveways will accommodate three vehicles.
He noted that there are two parking spaces per dwelling unit in
garages to meet the minimum requirement of 100 spaces, at least
two spaces per unit on driveways, and twenty-eight unassigned
spaces in perpendicular stalls partially within the street right-
of-way.
Mr. Taylor noted that the landscape plan is still being refined.
He noted that some of the amenities include grade changes and
walls to add privacy to back yard patios. He further noted that
all carriage walks have been removed, and the sidewalks between
the internal street sidewalk and the Buffalo Grove Road sidewalk
are now separated from the driveways and parking spaces serving
the dwelling units.
Mr. Taylor noted that the number of "flats" has been reduced from
the previous plans by the use of townhouses on the ends of some of
the buildings. The majority of the dwelling units are now two-
story townhomes.
Mr. Gold stated that originally there were 36 flats and 20
townhomes and now there are 32 townhomes and 18 flats. He further
stated that the number of buildings has remained the same as the
original plan, however, the building sizes have become smaller.
He noted that the buildings in the northwest and southeast corners
of the site have been adjusted as suggested by the Plan Commission
to open up the plan and provide larger setbacks to adjacent
buildings.
Vice Chairman Goldspiel commented that he likes the new
relationship between buildings four and five, not only for the
residents of that building but also for the surrounding property
owners who back up to those buildings.
Commissioner Rhodes asked for a review of patios and decks.
Mr. Gold stated that decks would be above the flat units and every
unit would have a patio except for those units.
Commissioner Rhodes asked if only building eight would have patios
or back yards facing Buffalo Grove Road.
Mr. Gold stated that is correct.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 3
Commissioner Rhodes stated the development team had done an
excellent job on improving the site plan.
Mr. Gold stated that landscaping and accent walls, rather than
fencing would be used to provide screening for the buildings.
He commented that fencing usually has a harsh appearance, tends to
deteriorate over time. He stated that they will provide a
landscaped buffer between patios.
Commissioner Krug if there is an existing sidewalk on Buffalo
Grove Road.
Mr. Freedman stated there is an existing sidewalk.
Commissioner Krug asked if there is an existing bikepath on
Checker Road.
Mr. Freedman stated there is an existing eight foot bikepath
extension on Checker Road.
Commissioner Krug asked if the sidewalk at Vintage is eight feet
of five feet.
Mr. Pfeil said that the Village Bike Path map does not show an
eight-foot sidewalk in the Vintage development along Checker Road,
so the sidewalk may only be five feet wide. He noted that an eight
foot bikepath is planned along the south side of Checker Road to
ring the golf course and an eight foot bikepath now exists on the
north side of Checker Road in Willow Stream Park.
Commissioner Rosenston stated he feels a full eight foot bikepath
is needed on the north side of Checker Road as there will be many
people coming south along Buffalo Grove Road heading for the park.
Commissioner Krug noted that this development should have the
bikepath now if such a bikepath is going to be necessary on the
north side of Checker Road in any case.
Commissioner Rosenston asked if all units will have two-car
garages.
Mr. Gold stated all units would have two-car garages.
Commissioner Rosenston asked the square footage of the units.
Mr. Gold stated the two-bedroom flats would run between 1, 225 to
1, 550 square feet at a cost of $145, 000 to $155, 000. The
townhomes would run between 1, 650 to 1,730 square feet at a cost
of $170, 000 to $190, 000 with no basements in any units.
Commissioner Berman asked how the 56.5 percent green space
compares to the previous plan.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 4
Mr. Taylor stated the previous plan had approximately 51 percent
green space.
Commissioner Berman asked how high the berms would be.
Mr. Taylor stated berms would be about three feet.
Commissioner Berman asked what the building elevations facing
Buffalo Grove Road would look like.
Mr. Gold stated the elevations will look like the front. He noted
they intentionally tried to avoid flat dead ends. Everything
wraps around completely to look like the front and there are a lot
of windows on the sides.
Commissioner Genell asked about the distance from the stop sign at
Buffalo Grove Road to the new street proposed to Checker Road.
Mr. Taylor said the distance is approximately 260 feet.
Commissioner Genell inquired concerning the distance between the
planned street connection to Checker Road and Manchester Drive.
Mr. Taylor noted the distance is approximately 110 feet, center
line to centerline.
Commissioner Genell asked about the distance between the Vintage
Lane and Manchester Drive.
Mr. Taylor noted the distance is at least 150 feet, and may be
almost 200 feet.
Commissioner Genell asked about the projection of the garages out
toward the street.
Mr. Taylor noted the garages will project was approximately 15 to
18 feet from the main front walls of the buildings.
Commissioner Genell asked how the developer reached the figure of
120 people to reside in this complex together with 20 school age
children.
Mr. Taylor stated they used the Illinois Municipal Consultants
tables for ultimate population.
Commissioner Genell asked if there would be a school donation per
unit.
Mr. Taylor stated they have not computed the cost per unit as yet
but would be willing to give a cash donation in lieu of land.
Commissioner Genell asked for a review on the parking.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 5
Mr. Taylor stated there would be two car garages for each unit,
space for at least two cars in front of each garage, and the
remainder of the 228 spaces would be perpendicular parking along
the street and in some other off street locations.
Commissioner Samuels if the brick would be continued on the sides
of the buildings.
Mr. Gold stated affirmatively.
Commissioner Genell asked what material would be used for roofing.
Mr. Gold stated they would be using fiberglass or asphalt shingle.
Commissioner Goldspiel stated he is very enthusiastic about the
plan. He noted it is a challenge to come up with something in this
density range that transitions from the Town Center to the single
family residential and from the mid-rise to the single family. He
noted that this development now provides a very nice streetscape
in all directions and provides a very nice living environment.
Commissioner Goldspiel asked if it makes sense to connect up with
the park bikepath or wait until the Village eventually builds a
path around the golf course.
Commissioner Rosenston stated that he feels that these bikepaths
are independent as many people will be coming from the Town Center
and south on Buffalo Grove Road to reach the park. Even if the
path is built around the golf course, it will have nothing to do
with the traffic coming from the north and east. He further noted
that he would like to see the sidewalk along Checker Road in the
Vintage development be widened to eight feet.
Commissioner Berman noted that there may be a safety concern
regarding the sudden narrowing of the sidewalk from eight to five
feet and noted concurrence with Commissioner Rosenston's
sentiments.
Commissioner Goldspiel asked if a park donation is required or if
it had been taken care of in the original annexation.
Mr. Pfeil stated that he believes a park donation based on a per
unit fee will be required. He noted that he would review the
Vintage annexation agreement and discuss the Title 19 donation
requirements for this development with the Village Attorney.
Commissioner Goldspiel asked if this donation could be used toward
the widening of the bikepath toward the park.
Mr. Pfeil noted if the donation is required, the concept of using
same toward enhancement of the bikepath is a possibility, and he
would ask the Buffalo Grove Park District if the park donation
fees could be used for this purpose.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 6
Commissioner Samuels stated that it is his understanding that the
Village cannot use park donation fees for specific items; these
fees go the Buffalo Grove Park District's development
fund.
Mr. Pfeil commented that this may be a negotiable item with the
Park District, and he would ask Mr. Rylko if the donations could
be used to build a wider sidewalk.
Commissioner Genell noted her continued concern with the traffic
flow and the offset between Manchester Drive and the proposed
street to Checker Road.
Mr. Freedman stated that Mr. Carmignani has commented that the
offset is acceptable.
Mr. Pfeil noted that Mr. Carmignani said that the best design is
to align the streets, but the proposed offset design does work.
Mr. Gold stated that the amount of through traffic is so minimal
here that the offset will not cause traffic problems.
The Commission concurred that the project could be scheduled for a
public hearing.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - None
FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE
Mr. Pfeil stated there would be a meeting on December 1, 1993 to
hold a public hearing concerning Busch Grove Community Park.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS - None
STAFF REPORT
Mr. Pfeil noted that the Village Board discussed the Golf
Department budget at the November 15th meeting, and this budget
proposes improvements to the Arboretum Golf Course. These
improvements include a modular structure for a locker room
facility and a tent structure for outdoor events. The plan will
probably be sent to the Plan Commission as an amendment to the
current special use.
NEW BUSINESS - None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Commissioner Rosenston, seconded by Commissioner Rhodes
and carried unanimously to adjourn. Vice Chairman Goldspiel
adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 7
Restfully ubmitted,
Fay' Rub'n, /Recording Secretary
APPROVED BY:
_ iLLL_ _ _
ST HE GOL PILL, Vice Chairman
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-November 17, 1993-Page 8