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1997-04-02 - Plan Commission - Minutes REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION April 2, 1997 Continental Cablevision of Northern Illinois, Special Use in the B-3 Planned Business Center District for a fiber optic hub facility, including a structure approximately 24 feet long and 12 feet high Village Well Site 4 & 5, north of Dundee Road, west of the Plaza at Buffalo Grove and east of the Arbors Condominiums Workshop #1 Congregation B'Nai Shalom,Annexation with R-7 zoning and approval of a Special Use for an educational center,3.2-acre site west of Congregation B'Nai Shalom Building, 701 W. Aptakisic Road Workshop#1 Chairman Goldspiel 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 Goldspiel Mr. Krug Ms. Howard Mr. Rosenston Mr. Samuels Mr. Berman Mr. Lundine • Commissioners absent: Mr. Trilling Mr. Ottenheimer Also present: Mr. Bradley Metzger, Continental Cablevision Ms. Sharon Douglas, Continental Cablevision Mr. Tom Arvidson, Continental Cablevision Mr. Mark Silverberg, President, Congregation B'Nai Shalom APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Samuels, seconded by Commissioner Krug to approve the minutes of the public hearing and regular meeting of March 5, 1997. Chairman Goldspiel requested correction of typographical errors on pages 3 and 4 of the public hearing He also requested correction of typographical errors on pages 5 and 8 of the regular meeting. All Commissioners Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 1 were in favor of the motion as amended and the motion passed unanimously. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS -None CONTINENTAL CABLEVISION OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS, SPECIAL USE IN THE B-3 PLANNED BUSINESS CENTER DISTRICT FOR A FIBER OPTIC HUB FACILITY, INCLUDING A STRUCTURE APPROXIMATELY 24 FEET LONG AND 12 FEET HIGH, VILLAGE WELL SITE 4& 5. NORTH OF DUNDEE ROAD, WEST OF THE PLAZA AT `./ BUFFALO GROVE AND EAST OF THE ARBORS CONDOMINIUMS --WORKSHOP#1 Mr. Bradley Metzger stated they are requesting a Special Use on a parcel behind Buffalo Grove Road and Dundee Road. He noted there has been some modification to the original plan and the structure has now been shifted in position creating a driveway going to the east as opposed to the north, giving them access to the existing easement. He specifically stated their request is strictly for a building without any kind of antenna tower. Chairman Goldspiel asked the purpose of the propane tank. Mr. Metzger stated the propane tank is for the backup generator. Chairman Goldspiel stated the Commission is generally concerned with anything that might effect the surrounding neighborhood. I I Ms. Douglas stated the facility is a fiber hub which takes the head end which is in Rolling Meadows and sends the signal to this fiber hub which is then connected to all the fiber nodes within all communities. This fiber hub sends the signals to the individual nodes which runs the cable system. This will allow them to offer more cable channels and to do different services such as interne. Chairman Goldspiel recessed the presentation to await arrival of the technical expert. CONGREGATION B'NAI SHALOM, ANNEXATION WITH R-7 ZONING AND APPROVAL OF A SPECIAL USE FOR AN EDUCATIONAL CENTER, 3.2-ACRE SITE WEST OF CONGREGATION B'NAI SHALOM BUILDING, 701 W. APTAKISIC ROAD -- WORKSHOP #1 Mr. Mark Silverberg stated the Congregation was established in 1977 as the first and only synagogue in Buffalo Grove for many years. In 1988 it occupied its current location on 2.5 acres. In December, 1994 they acquired the adjacent 10-acre parcel immediately to the west. That 10- acre parcel was located in Long Grove and after two years 3.2-acres has been successfully disconnected from Long Grove. The 3.2-acres constitutes a significant majority of buildable land. The rest of the parcel is largely flood plain and other terrain. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 2 Mr. Silverberg stated their goal is to construct a day school facility that will be attached to and integrated with the existing synagogue facility. He stated they wish to gain approval for annexation of this property into the Village of Buffalo Grove. He stated they do not anticipate development or construction of this facility for some time because they must first do the fund raising for this construction. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the request is for the approval of the plan submitted or just for annexation. Mr. Silverberg stated they are asking only for annexation. He noted the plan submitted to the Commission was a plan developed for the purpose of discussion with Long Grove in order to acquire their approval for disconnection. Along with that ordinance for disconnection was a simultaneous ordinance for Special Use as it pertained to the remaining acreage in Long Grove for the remaining parcel. Mr. Silverberg further stated they would like the Commission to look at the plans presented for an independent opinion as these plans are basically what Long Grove will be expecting to see. Chairman Goldspiel asked for clarification of exactly what part is to be annexed. Mr. Silverberg noted the 3.2-acre section which occupies the northern portion of the 10-acre parcel is to be annexed. The western boundary of the 3.2-acres includes a 50 foot berm which technically will reside within Long Grove. Chairman Goldspiel asked that any changes to the existing configuration be indicated. Mr. Silverberg stated the current parking lot on the south side of the synagogue would be sacrificed in order to integrate the school and would be more than replaced by the parking that will be provided on the north and west side of the school. The plan indicates accommodation for 205-210 parking spaces and therefore more than doubles the current parking capacity. This will also hopefully alleviate the parking problem during High Holiday services wherein many people park on Aptakisic. Chairman Goldspiel asked for some specifics on the day school itself. Mr. Silverberg stated the long term end point will probably be from pre-school, and then early grades through grade 12, as well as the potential for adult education. The maximum capacity on the average would be 600 students at any one time. The hours of operation would be the same as those in the public school system. Commissioner Samuels asked if a church or synagogue use is a permitted use in an R-7 district. Mr. Pfeil stated it is a special use. The annexation agreement would address the issue of how Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 3 long the special use zoning remains in effect if construction is not started for an extended period after the initial approval. Commissioner Samuels stated that is why he does not see it as necessary to deal with the special use issue at this time since a detailed site plan has not been submitted. Mr. Silverberg stated that one of things they are anxious to complete is all of the administrative pre-requisites with both Long Grove and Buffalo Grove. Once they have closure on annexation and special zoning they are in a better position to go to major contributors in the Chicago land area. Only if they can show progress with government and assurance of minimal delay possibilities can they sell this project to contributors. Chairman Goldspiel asked how much influence the state would have on the school design. Mr. Silverbergstated theyhave retain architects who have assisted with the drawings and g presentations to Long Grove. They have also interpreted applicable state code and Village code for both Long Grove and Buffalo Grove. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the applicable state requirements for school buildings would apply to this structure. Mr. Silverberg stated they do apply to this structure and have been considered by the architects. Commissioner Rosenston asked if there will be a problem with setbacks and other issues considering the fact that the property will be regulated by both Long Grove and Buffalo Grove. Mr. Pfeil stated that for this type of special use there are no standard requirements for landscaped yards, and the Plan Commission can determine setbacks and screening that are appropriate for the specific proposal. Commissioner Rosenston asked how to handle the plan if the building coverage exceeds 25 percent of the Buffalo Grove piece, yet is well less than 25 percent of the total piece. Mr. Pfeil stated the Village can vary any zoning standard as long as it is based on a good engineering plan and other site design parameters. Commissioner Rosenston stated that this development must be looked at as development of a total parcel even though part of this parcel is within Long Grove. Mr. Pfeil stated this is manageable. Chairman Goldspiel asked if all surrounding property is either park of residential. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 4 Mr. Silverberg stated to the west is residential, the northwest corner is undeveloped and currently under the ownership of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Immediately to the west of the proposed development is a single family residence where the 50 foot berm is proposed Chairman Goldspiel asked how much of the property shown is flood plain. Mr. Silverberg stated a majority of the property is flood plain. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the existing pond will be enlarged for needed detention. Mr. Silverberg stated that is correct. Chairman Goldspiel noted his concern with a traffic flow problem if the property is developed as an elementary school. He stated careful consideration will need to be given to radii for school buses. He also noted the proposed parking lot appears to reduce the utility of the drop off area by the synagogue and that it may be better to have a separate in and out lane for the synagogue. He further noted his concern with fire access around the building stating the Fire Department is very sensitive to fire access for schools. Mr. Silverberg stated the traffic flow of buses has been taken into consideration by the architect and will accommodate the use of those buses. He further noted they have asked the Illinois Department of Transportation to recommend the proposed pattern as well as the access routes to Aptakisic. He stated it was a requirement they met at the request of Long Grove. The main entrance envisioned for the school would be on the north face of the proposed building. That would be used for all of the drop off activity which will occur in the building. The use of the current main entrance of the synagogue should not involve heavy traffic. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there are any plans for turn lanes on Aptakisic. Mr. Silverberg stated currently there is a westbound left turn on Aptakisic. An eastbound right turn lane does not exist, but would be developed if required. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there is any bikepath requirement here. Mr. Pfeil stated nothing on the Buffalo Grove plan goes that far west on the south side of Aptakisic Road. Mr. Silverberg stated there is a bikepath within 50 feet of the synagogue property. When the synagogue was constructed a wide sidewalk and bikepath was constructed up to the property. Commissioner Lundine asked if the pond will be filled with water all the time. Mr. Silverberg stated they expect the pond to be wet most of the time but not necessarily all the Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 5 time which is the current configuration of the flood plain and they do not intend to dramatically alter the flood plain. He further noted their expectation is to have some kind of child related barrier. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there is sufficient set back for visibility at the proposed drop off area. Mr. Silverberg stated they do not have that dimension as yet. Trustee Braiman stated his concern is for the difficulty between the Village of Buffalo Grove and Long Grove as to the use of the Fire Department and Police Department and which Village would be called. Mr. Silverberg stated they will be calling 911. Trustee Braiman noted this is something which needs to be discussed with staff Trustee Braiman asked if parcel C is to be some kind of lawn. Mr. Silverberg stated they home to keep as much of it as possible in a natural state. Trustee Braiman asked if there is any intention of a sprinkler system. Mr. Silverberg stated there is no such intent at this time. Commissioner Krug asked if the school will be run all day. Mr. Silverberg stated yes. In addition, the pre-school would be run for about 3 to 4 hours per day. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the maximum of 600 kids per day would be exceeded. Mr. Silverberg stated they would not exceed that number at any one time. Pre-school would be there when other portions of the school organization would not be in session. Chairman Goldspiel noted concern with the size of this site for the number of proposed students. He noted it is a risk for the developers if the annexation is approved and the plans are later found not to fit. Mr. Silverberg stated they are willing to take the risk with the understanding that the facility may have under 600 students. He noted they have not been able to accommodate the need for educational programming in the current facility which is hampering their ability to serve the community. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 6 Chairman Goldspiel asked how many employees would be present at full growth. Mr. Silverberg estimated there would be about 30-40 employees maximum. Chairman Goldspiel asked if high school age children would be allowed to drive to school. Mr. Silverberg stated they have not as yet done an analysis on that but expect that once the facility is ready for occupancy, it would take several years to build the program grade by grade. �./ At that point there may be a maximum of perhaps 100-150 students of driving age coming to the facility. At that times they would be willing to establish conditions to control any problems of that nature. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there will be enough parking once the facility is integrated with the synagogue. Mr. Silverberg stated the maximum need for parking is during high holidays services. Currently there are about 100 parking spaces. The proposed configuration will double the amount of parking. The number of prospective members will probably never be more than 500-600 families. Parking will never be the problem that it has been since 1988. Chairman Goldspiel summarized the issues to be presented for the next meeting: 1. Staff to discuss the needs of emergency access with public safety and fire department 2. Traffic consultant to review traffic flow on Aptakisic as well as internal circulation 3. Village engineering staff to check out any wetland issues Commissioner Rosenston noted the wetlands are all in Long Grove. In that case, engineering would have to confer with Long Grove to see if the detention will be available where it is proposed. Chairman Goldspiel asked if a specific plan is needed prior to approval of a Special Use. Mr. Pfeil stated he will need to talk to the Village Attorney and Village Manager on how to handle the Special Use as many of the criteria which need to be met are dependent on an actual plan. He stated the annexation agreement may have language that says a Special Use will be granted when the detailed plans are actually approved. Mr. Silverberg stated they would appreciate help with this issue as annexation with Special Use approval will enable them to go out without any caveat to potential donors and state they are fully ready to proceed. He requested that the project be allowed to proceed to a public hearing. II Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 7 CONTINENTAL CABLEVISION OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS, SPECIAL USE IN THE B-3 PLANNED BUSINESS CENTER DISTRICT FOR A FIBER OPTIC HUB FACILITY, INCLUDING A STRUCTURE APPROXIMATELY 24 FEET LONG AND 12 FEET HIGH. VILLAGE WELL SITE 4 & 5. NORTH OF DUNDEE ROAD,WEST OF THE PLAZA AT BUFFALO GROVE AND EAST OF THE ARBORS CONDOMINIUMS --WORKSHOP#1 Mr. Bradley Metzger stated Continental Cablevision is rebuilding its fiber network throughout the Chicago land area to enhance services to the various communities. The services to be provided in the future from this facility include telephone services, high speed data which will provide access to the internet, enhancement of cable signals and addition of cable channels as well as 30 audio channels. Mr. Metzer stated this will be a DH site which is basically a transfer switch from the main signal in Rolling Meadows to this facility which is then sent out to the neighborhood. He noted the reason for the generator backup is to provide power in case an electrical line goes down within the building itself. Mr. Tom Arvidson stated the purpose of the distribution hub is to provide a transfer switch station to receive the signals from the Rolling Meadows hub. The signals from this facility are then split up into about 40 different paths that are then transferred into an optical light signal that will be brought out to the neighborhoods and individual receivers. This way the community is broken up into 40 small pockets which are managed individually. If there are any problems the effect is much smaller than it is today. Mr. Arvidson stated the size of the building is due to the amount of the fiber optics and optical receivers needed. This also requires a generator on site. In the future there will be telepathy based service which will require this generator backup for at least 8 hours in case power goes down.. Commissioner Samuels asked how often the generator will need to be run. Mr. Arvidson stated the generator is run once a week during normal business hours for about 1/2 hour. He noted the generator will have residential silencers and run about the same as the average residential air conditioning unit. Commissioner Samuels asked if there are fumes emitted from the propane gas when the generator is in use. Mr. Arvidson stated there are some fumes but they do not smell and there is no smoking. Commissioner Samuels asked how often the tank is refilled. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 8 Mr. Arvidson stated the tanks are checked quarterly and refilled are necessary. Commissioner Samuels asked if there are fumes emitted during the refill. Mr. Arvidson stated no. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there are any air wave transmissions. Mr. Arvidson stated no. He further noted all the signals are very low levels and travel through coaxial cable which is completely shielded. He also stated all the equipment in the building is checkout under the FCC for emissions and have enough shielding around them to prevent emissions. Commissioner Lundine asked if someone checks daily on the equipment. Mr. Arvidson stated checking is done automatically by a status monitoring system. He stated they also have technicians physically visiting the site at least once a week. Commissioner Howard asked if this will eliminate the problem of losing cable when it rains. Mr. Arvidson stated this facility will reduce that problem. The problem now is that the equipment gets wet when it rains and fails. With this new system, one failure will not take out the entire town. Commissioner Rosenston asked what geographical area is to be served. Mr. Arvidson stated this facility will be only for Buffalo Grove. Commissioner Rosenston asked what kind of landscaping will be done. Mr. Arvidson stated they plan to landscape on the side of the condos with whatever vegetation is acceptable to the Village. Commissioner Krug asked if it would be possible to use natural gas instead of propane for the emergency generator. Mr. Arvidson stated it is possible but they have not yet had a chance to look into the availability of natural gas. Commissioner Krug stated he would much prefer the use of natural gas or diesel fuel for the generator. Chairman Goldspiel agreed with Commissioner Krug. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 9 Commissioner Samuels asked what type of exterior maintenance is required for the building and how will graffiti and such be taken care of. Mr. Arvidson stated the building is constructed of aggregate stone on the outside and any type of graffiti can easily be scrubbed off. Chairman Goldspiel noted the two issues concerning the Commission are the use of natural gas instead of propane gas and what kind of landscaping will be provided. Daniel Wolf of Marc K. Schwartz& Associates stated he is the attorney for the Arbor Condominium Association and noted the association is concerned with the following items: 1. Restriction of any antenna in the future if a Special Use is granted 2. Proximity of the propane tank and the possibility of any spillage and leakage 3. Chain link fence and the appearance of the building Rick Hanson, Arbors Condominium, stated the main concern of the condo association is the possibility of any kind of antenna now or in the future. Mr. Metzger stated they are purchasing the property and would be happy to purchase same with a restrictive covenant on antennas. Trustee Braiman noted the decision on sale of the property or leasing has not yet been determined. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there will be any small transmitting devices to serve as burglar alarms or such. - Mr. Arvidson stated all communication from this building would be over the fiber optics feeding in. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - None FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil noted that a public hearing is scheduled for April 16, 1992 concerning the Apsen Woods subdivision at Farrington Drive and Route 83, and he requested that a special meeting be scheduled for April 23, 1997 for the Community Chapel public hearing. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS -None Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 10 I�i STAFF REPORT -None NEW BUSINESS -None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Rosenston, seconded by Commissioner Lundine and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Goldspiel adjourned the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Resp ctfully sub ' ed, F Rub' , Re ording Secretary APPROVED BY: ST P N GOLDSPIEL, airman Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Regular Meeting-April 2, 1997-Page 11