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1997-04-23 - Plan Commission - Minutes PUBLIC HEARING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION April 23, 1997 Community Chapel of Buffalo Grove Covington Office Plaza, Dundee Road/Golfview Terrace Chairman Goldspiel called the hearing to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers, Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Chairman Goldspiel read the Notice of Public Hearing as published in the Buffalo Grove Daily Herald, explained the procedure for the hearing and swore in all persons who wished to give testimony. Commissioners present: Chairman Goldspiel Mr. Krug Ms. Howard Mr. Samuels Mr. Berman Mr. Trilling Commissioners absent: Mr. Rosenston Mr. Ottenheimer Also present: Mr. Lawrence Freedman, Ash, Anos, Freedman& Logan Ms. Frances Fazio, Manhard Consulting Ltd. Mr. Ronald Brandt, Brandt-Carlson& Company Mr. James Murray, The Loewen Group Mr. Gary Hay, The Hay Company Inc. Mr. Gerald Lindgren, Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. Mr. Richard Kuenkler, Village Engineer Mr. William Raysa, Village Attorney Mr. William Reid, Village Trustee Ms. DeAnn Glover, Village Trustee Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner The following exhibits were presented by the petitioner at the public hearing: Exhibit 1: Preliminary Site Plan, dated March 20, 1997, revised April 22, 1997 Exhibit 2: Proposed Basement Plan, dated February 24, 1997 - Exhibit 3: Proposed First Floor Plan, dated February 24, 1997 Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 1 Exhibit 4: Proposed Second Floor Plan, dated February 24, 1997 Exhibit 5: Proposed North Elevation, dated January 4, 1997 Exhibit 6: Proposed South Elevation, dated January 4, 1997 Exhibit 7: Comparison Plan Exhibit 8: Special Added Features of the Community Chapel Exhibit 9: Funeral Processional Stacking.and Visitation Parking Schematic Exhibit 10: Comparison of Possible Parking Exhibit 11: Drainage Map Exhibit 12: Qualifications for the Appraiser, Ronald C. Brandt, SRPA Exhibit 13: Letter from Pollak& Hoffman Ltd. dated April 14, 1997 Mr. Lawrence Freedman of Ash, Anos, Freedman& Logan stated he represents The Loewen Group which is the contract purchaser of the property commonly known as the southwest corner of Golfview Terrace and Dundee Road. The property is zoned B-3, Planned Business Center District, and approved for development of three office buildings, one of which has been built to date. He stated they propose amending the planning and development to construct a funeral home, including offices and a garage in lieu of the two unbuilt office buildings. He stated the Loewen Group operates approximately 900 funeral homes and 250 cemeteries in the U.S. and Canada. The proposed facility will be multi-denominational. Mr. James Murray of The Loewen Group stated the chapel-and parlor rooms on the first floor will be used for visitations and funeral services. He stated there will never be two funerals held in the building at the same time. He stated both the chapel and the parlor can be divided, although this does not mean there would ever be two funeral services at the same time. He also stated there would never be a funeral service and a visitation held at the same time, although there could be two visitations held at the same time in separate parts of the divided rooms. The maximum number of visitations that could be held at any one time theoretically would be five. However, realistically it would be closer to three or possibly four visitations and more probably three visitations that might be held at the same time. Mr. Murray stated the average funeral service is 20 minutes long with everyone arriving and leaving at roughly the same time. Visitations generally run from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. with a constant flow of people coming in. There may be a lesser amount of people in the 3:00-6:30 p.m. slot with a heavier concentration from 6:30-8:30 p.m. He stated they anticipate serving between 400-500 families per year at the proposed facility. Of these 400-500 families approximately 72 percent of Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 2 them would have both a funeral service and processional. Mr. Murray stated on the morning of a funeral they will have two staff members in the parking lot at the entrance to the facility. They will greet every car pulling in and asking if that person will be going in the procession. If they are, they will be given a sticker and lined up in the appropriate space. If that car is not going in the procession, they will be asked to park in one of the other spots. As people come out of the funeral home, there will again be two people in the parking lot directing people to turn on their lights. Once the family is in their automobile, the hearse pulls out and stops until a staff member or Buffalo Grove police officers stops traffic in both directions. Then the procession begins with cars being released in an orderly row by row procession. He further noted his discussions with the Buffalo Grove Police Department regarding help in the case of a large funeral at the expense of the funeral home, were positive. Mr. Murray commented on the cooler capacity of twenty which was referred to in a letter by Mr. Maioriello, stating the proposed facility will be placing remains in the casket which is then placed into the cooler. The caskets are larger than gurneys so more room is required, and the cooler capacity will be about 7 to 10 caskets. He further noted that Mr. Maioriello's reference to multiple funeral processions is incorrect as there will never be two processions at the same time. 1 Mr. Murray commented on the remarks made in the letter by Mr. Katzenstein regarding the difference in the number of funerals initially suggested by Mr. Weinstein at 250 to 300 per year and what is proposed now. He stated Mr. Weinstein had been referring to the fact that in the first 2-3 years it would be a fair estimate that only 250 to 300 funerals per year would be held. As the proposed facility becomes established, the number will be closer to 400 to 500 per year. Mr. Murray further stated the top two reasons for a family's choice of funeral homes is the reputation of the funeral director and funeral home and its location. Proximity to a cemetery has no bearing on the decision. Mr. Murray stated the noon hour would not be used for funerals. Most funerals are scheduled either in the morning or early afternoon because staff and vehicles must then return for an afternoon funeral and there would be too much of a time constraint for a noon hour funeral. Mr. Murray stated there could possibly be a Sunday funeral as the Jewish faith does permit same but it would be infrequent. Mr. Gary Hay of The Hay Company, Inc. noted many changes have been made to the plan in response to concerns by the Commission. He noted the single entrance has now been expanded to the south so that there are two exits out and one coming in. They have also changed the curvature of the entrance so that it can take a steeper curve to allow emergency vehicles to enter ui . Htu ard the building has been expanded to allow emergency andgo aro vehiclesndthebuild to go ng around s the ated buildingstheradi. s In additionoun , there is a 14-foot, 6-inch portico which will allow clearance for emergency vehicles. The building is 90 feet from the right-of-way Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 3 of Dundee Road; 70 feet from the projection area and 38 feet at the portico. He reviewed the possible scenario of office buildings in relation to the condominium units if the approved plan were to go through and noted the proposed project will be much less intensive in area. The proposed 42,000 square foot building will actually be 18,000 square feet smaller than what has been approved for the site. Mr. Hay noted most of the time the parlor and chapel of the proposed building are what bring the people in. The top floor of the proposed building will be occupied by local administrative offices of The Loewen Group. The basement, at 8,654 square feet, houses the facilities to handle the arrangement of the funeral and receive the bodies. There is also an eight car garage as part of the building. The second floor will also house a vault and casket selection room. There is also a cremation display room as well as arrangement rooms. Mr. Hay stated chapel A divided into two amounts to 3,036 square feet and has an occupancy of 407 people. The west room is divided into three and has a square footage of 2,176 and an occupancy of 292. He further noted the proposed facility is only 5 percent larger than the Memorial Grove facility on Buffalo Grove Road and has a much wider range of amenities than is proposed at that facility. In addition the proposed site has twice as much parking as that at Memorial Grove. Ms. Frances Fazio of Manhard Consulting, Inc. stated she compared the proposed use with what was originally approved for the site and the proposed plan is slightly less of an impervious surface than what was approved. Impervious surface refers to parking lots,buildings, curbs and anything which will not absorb stormwater and cause it to run off She stated the detention will not be changed as it is already sized for the larger impervious surface. Ms. Fazio reviewed the existing drainage on the site noting the detention pond for the site drains to the detention pond for the multi-family and all is stored and released at the acceptable rates allowed in Buffalo Grove as well as Cook County. This is then released through the ditch system and eventually makes its way over to the 12 inch stormsewer and goes under Dundee Road. She stated this project will not increase the rate of runoff from what the detention basin has been sized to do. Mr. Hay noted he has spoken to the adjacent church regarding landscaping and any improvements they would like which will be done by the developer. He stated the plan proposes a sidewalk extension over to the church which lines up directly to their door. The small section between the church and the office building will be landscaped. Mr. Hay stated the parking now has 273 spaces of which 9 are handicapped parking and 11 are in the garage. Fire Department requirements have been met as have any requirements by the Police Department. - Mr. Gerald Lindgren of Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. stated they surveyed existing Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 4 conditions and estimated the development traffic related to a funeral home,the size of the facility and the magnitude of traffic that is estimated to occur because of it on the roadway system. This is done based on surveys of other similar facilities and whatever data is available from the Institute of Transportation Engineer's Manual. Mr. Lindgren stated there have been changes to the plan such as the elimination of the Parkview entrance, the access on Golfview which was a right turn in was eliminated and access on Dundee Road was denied by IDOT. The two way circulation on the north side of the building has been changed to one way circulation and there may be a further modification as a result of suggestions by the Village consultant to change the perpendicular parking spaces on the west end to become angled spaces. Mr. Lindgren noted they also made comparative analyses because the property is currently zoned to be an office complex. The important thing from this perspective is that the office development generates traffic every morning on a weekday. He noted there would probably be an additional 130 vehicles coming into this area in the morning and another 130 going out at night with the approved office complex plan. They then compared that with the funeral home generations and found very limited usage in the mornings. Noontime traffic is about the same and the evening hour traffic is about one third what would be generated by two office buildings which could be located here. From this prospective, the funeral home would not generate nearly as much traffic as office buildings. In addition, the funeral home would not generate traffic at the peak times of the adjacent highway system which is a critical element as it relates to the signal located at Golfview and Dundee. If the two office buildings were added to the existing one and this was added to the system, there would be another 130 vehicles in the evening peak hour trying to exit this facility onto Dundee Road which would literally take up almost all of the time that is available at the signal. From that perspective those vehicles would use up a lot of capacity of this facility in the evening peak hour. Mr. Lindgren stated they reviewed a possible connection on Dunlo to the east of the facility which is opposite Covington Terrace. He stated they have spoken with John Ayres who is to come back with some kind of decision. From a grade standpoint the connection is possible and might be desirable. Mr. Lindgren reviewed the signal timing noting that presently the full signal cycle that occurs at Golfview and Dundee Road is 140 seconds. Golfview currently receives only 8 seconds of green time. The light changes only if someone comes up to Dundee Road either from the south or the north and trips the signal system. This is a fully actuated signal system which operates like semi- actuation. Full actuation means there are detectors in all of the lanes both on Dundee and Golfview so that the whole intersection is surveyed each time the traffic is going by. He noted there is a retiming in the works for this signal which is expected to be completed before the end of May. There will be three different cycle lengths. One will be a 140 second cycle which will generally be during the morning peak time periods. At midday from about 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and then after 7:00 p.m. in the evening there will be an off cycle at about 105 seconds. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 5 During the evening peak period there will be a 120 second cycle. 1DOT's program is that during all of those cycles they will allow the extension on Golfview Terrace to go up to 21 seconds, including the clearance. This adds 7 seconds to the green time per cycle and keep the existing 6 second clearance interval. Mr. Lindgren stated from the standpoint of traffic impact and the amount of traffic generated, the times when the traffic is generated and the capacity it uses on the system, they feel this will be a relatively insignificant issue with respect to traffic by comparison to what could happen on the property. Mr. Ronald Brandt, SRPA, stated it is his opinion that the development as proposed would have a minimal impact on the value of the surrounding residential real estate. He stated he usually does a comparison analysis between like properties. From a given set of circumstances he then analyzes the property based on what he sees in the market and how he interprets market situations. Mr. Brandt stated he has reviewed other properties with funeral homes and the surrounding areas and noted that many new town home developments adjacent to funeral homes have completely sold out. He noted examples of other areas where funeral homes have been pushed back and abut residential homes, thereby becoming much more intrusive to residents than the proposed plan. The conclusion from surveying these various areas is that if properly designed, the impact on value is actually minimal. Mr. Freedman commented on one of the letters sent to the Commission relative to the representation of the understanding with the Kingswood United Methodist Church for utilization of their lot for overflow parking. He noted the testimony is clear that there is parking available in excess of that required by ordinance and they are not relying on overflow parking. The understanding, however, is that there is a mutual relationship for overflow parking between the church and the funeral home as needed. In discussion with Bruce Hoffman, the attorney who represents the church, the following letter was received which stated: "I represent Kingswood United Methodist Church, the western neighbors of the proposed building project described above. In order to prevent confusion and miscommunication, I felt it would be prudent to state the position of Kingswood United Methodist Church in regard to the development of your client's parcel. If use of the parking facilities of Kingswood United Methodist Church are desired by your clients, the church Trustees would be willing to review a proposal pertaining to the availability of a specified number of parking spaces. Any agreement should be reciprocal subject to sixty day revocation, in the event of the sale of church property or future addition of the church facilities. Kingswood would require a pedestrian walkway to be constructed at the-sole cost of your client. Kingswood also requests that the maintenance of the walkway be borne by your client. Any agreement is contingent upon approval by the church Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 6 Administrative Board. Kingswood also requests that the landscaping plan of the development complement the existing landscaping plan of the church...." Mr. Freedman responded on the basis for a variation request, noting the staff report indicates the setback is not determined under the ordinance by the usage of the site but by zoning classification. The zoning classification is residential on the west,thereby imposing a great setback requirement. The use obviously is a church and church parking lot and as such a realistic setback request has been based upon open space instead of a residential building. It is also necessary to request this variation since they have adjusted the plan and have had to move the garage area up to the Dundee Road portion of the property in order to avoid placing the garage in the rear of the site which could have been done without the need for a variation. Mr. John Ayres, Wheeling Township Highway Commissioner, stated he has submitted the information received from the developer to the Cook County Highway Department. He noted some concern relative to additional water being added to the area which is already a flood problem. In addition, there are some existing problem with traffic in the area, especially on Betty Drive. To date,there has been no indication that any connection is being considered for that area. Mr. Pfeil noted a letter from Benes& Associates has been included in the Commission packet and distributed to other people involved in the project including both citizens and the petitioner. Benes and Associates has reviewed all of the traffic reports done to date by the petitioner and in the workshop process the Village's traffic consultant requested more information concerning parking and procession stacking at similar facilities. The current report by the petitioner's consultant incorporates this survey information, and the Village's traffic consultant has not identified any flaws with the revised traffic and parking analysis. The Village's consultant bases his conclusions on the representations that the facility will not be operated with more than one funeral procession at a time, and various funerals and visitations will be scheduled to avoid overload of the available parking on the site. The Village's consultant concurs with KLOA's statement that the signalized intersection at Golfview and Dundee has the capacity to serve the projected traffic from the proposed use. The Village consultant concludes that the overall impact of traffic related and parking demand issues appear to be workable if the facility will be operated as represented by the petitioner. Commissioner Krug asked if all the uses listed in the ordinance under B-2 and B-1 are allowable under the current PUD ordinance for this property. Mr. Pfeil stated the property was annexed in 1981 and there is an annexation agreement that confers PUD zoning for offices and similar uses. That agreement references some use restrictions and the petitioner is asking to amend the PUD language to state that-this use, the funeral home facility, be allowed. That is a specific request of the petition as is the revised preliminary plan. The language used in the original PUD agreement was inclusive rather than prohibitive. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 7 Mr. Raysa stated the development ordinance states that said development shall be for offices and such other accessories. He concurred that the language in the 1981 ordinance was inclusive rather thanprohibitive concerningpermitted uses. Thepetitioner is requesting the use of a funeral 9 g home, which is a permitted use in the B-2 District, and the B-3 District allows B-2 uses unless there is a specific prohibition in the P.U.D. ordinance for a property. Commissioner Krug asked how the calculations were done for the detention on the proposed site and what kind of landscaping would be used in conjunction with the desired detention. Ms. Fazio stated it is her assumption that the project will have grass or some sort of natural growing element. She noted the whole point of their analysis was to be sure they would not be exceeding what was allowed. Commissioner Howard asked if Golfview Terrace would be sufficient in width to provide both right and left turns to allow residents to pass a procession and made a right turn. Mr. Lindgren stated it is possible but he would not recommend same. It is a bad situation to allow one type of operation while another type of operation is happening. He noted he did not feel the procession would be long enough to be that much of a problem. Running a car up alongside a procession could cause a problem if someone should suddenly decide to leave a procession. Commissioner Howard asked for a review of the exit time of a procession. Mr. Lindgren stated they anticipate about 3 seconds per vehicle to get out onto Golfview and then immediately unto Dundee. With a typical 50 vehicle procession that would be approximately 150 seconds. Commissioner Howard asked how many parking spaces are on site currently. Mr. Hay stated there are currently 134 spaces available now for the existing office building. Commissioner Samuels asked if angled parking would be a good or bad idea for the office parking portion of the funeral home on the north side of the building. Mr. Lindgren stated the developer is amenable to that suggestion if the Commission so desires. He stated he prefers to keep a few more spaces open at the front door for the convenience of the families. Commissioner Samuels stated he would prefer the angling as it does encourage a one way flow and if only a few spaces are to be lost it would be preferable to angle the parking there. Commissioner Samuels asked if there has been any further comment from the owner or manager Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 8 of the existing office building relative to on site traffic flow. Mr. Freedman stated he believes Mr. Lieberman is satisfied. He stated they have reviewed all the aspects and changes to the plan. Mr. Hay stated the office building and the existing property are under one initiative. Once purchased by the Loewen Group, it will become two separate entities. Commissioner Samuels asked if the lighting in the parking lot will change as a result of this development. Mr. Hay stated there will be some changes and this will all be submitted along with the landscaping plan for approval. Commissioner Samuels asked if there are obnoxious noises associates with the operation of a funeral home. Mr. Hay stated no. Commissioner Samuels asked what the hours of operation would be. Mr. Murray stated staff would arrive a 8:00 a.m. Funerals will be scheduled between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Visitations end at 9:00 p.m. and there would be a cleaning crew until approximately 9:30 - 10:00 p.m. Commissioner Berman asked if there was a report from either Police or the Fire Department. Mr. Pfeil stated they have written various memos throughout the process and the most recent one from the Fire Department identified no major concerns other than noting careful attention should be placed on procession stacking so that it never interferes with emergency access into the site. The Police Department noted that emergency response even during a funeral procession would not be problematic for police response. In their opinion they believe that the street capacity is adequate and see no traffic issues that would affect police operations. Commissioner Berman asked for a review of the setback issue. He asked what the setback requirement would be if the church property was zoned commercial. Mr. Pfeil stated there would be no side yard requirement. Commissioner Berman asked if the Village Engineer has reviewed the calculations on stormwater detention and can verify the petitioner's representation that the existing facilities are sufficient for the proposal. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 9 Mr. Kuenkler stated that was correct. Commissioner Berman asked about overlapping and scheduling to ensure people do not pull into the lot at the same time an existing procession is still there. Mr. Freedman stated they are saying that based on the numbers being quoted and the desire to schedule funerals an hour or two apart there should not be a problem. Everything possible will be done to avoid any overlapping. Commissioner Berman stated it would be a comfort to him to have a firm representation from the petitioner that there would never be two at one time. Mr. Freedman stated that has already been affirmed by the petitioner. Mr. Murray reviewed the timing and scheduling of one funeral after another, noting some overlap could be possible in the arrival of a family while a procession is departing the funeral home. Commissioner Berman asked if the petitioner is willing to agree to put the condition that no two funerals would take place at the same time into the PUD amendment. Mr. Freedman stated yes. Commissioner Berman asked if the maximum attendance in Chapel A is 407. He asked what percentage of those people would then attend the procession. Mr. Murray stated it would be approximately 60-65 percent. Commissioner Berman noted that meant about 120 cars in the processional. Mr. Lindgren noted that this would not be the norm, although it can certainly occur occasionally. Commissioner Berman asked if there has been any financial analysis of the funeral home to suggest viability of the project and the kinds of numbers needed to make it so. Mr. Hay noted the Loewen Group now rents space in the Covington Office Park. The rent paid there would be paid to the funeral home. Mr. Murraytated theyhave done a cost and cash flow analysis for a fiveyear projection and Y Y would be comfortable with 400-500 funerals per year. In addition part of the cost of the building would be offset by three separate rental entities. Commissioner Berman asked if it was still the Loewen Group's intention to have staff available to prohibit or stop parking on residential streets. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 10 Mr. Murray stated that was correct. Commissioner Trilling asked how long it would be between the arrival at the funeral home of a body to the time the deceased actually leaves the funeral home. Mr. Murray stated it varies on the religious background and the average time is two days. Commissioner Trilling asked if there is a difference in the number of persons who attend a funeral whether or not there is a procession. Mr. Murray stated no. Commissioner Trilling asked if a lead car would be sent out to trip the traffic signal on Golfview. Mr. Murray stated they would rather go into the intersection with a stop sign to stop traffic. However, if a car is necessary to trip the light they will do so. Commissioner Trilling noted this may increase the amount of time needed to get the procession out as the lead car would need to effectively stop the traffic on Dundee. Mr. Freedman stated it might increase the amount of down time on Dundee Road but not on the site because other than the lead car none of the other cars in the procession would be leaving the facility until the light is green or traffic is stopped. Therefore, there will not be a situation where the cars are lined up on Golfview waiting for the traffic to stop. Mr. Murray further noted that if there are one or two cars waiting for a procession to clear, staff would be informed that traffic on Dundee is to be held until those people have a chance to get out. Commissioner Trilling noted there are two parking spaces at the north end of the office building that do not have the ability to back out and then face forward. Instead they must back out entirely from the aisle. Mr. Hay stated that was correct but they would be willing to change that. Commissioner Trilling stated he would suggested changing that configuration. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there has been any coordination with the Police Department regarding help during larger processions. Mr. Raysa stated language could be specifically spelled out in the PUD agreement for coordination with the Buffalo Grove Police Department stating that any and all traffic would not be hindered. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April ril 23, 1997-Page 11 Chairman Goldspiel asked what was the effect on residential home adjacent to funeral homes. Mr. Brandt stated he had researched residential properties that surrounded funeral homes and found a number of sales surrounding the Matz Funeral Home on Rand Road as well as some other areas. He then looked at the tax records to see how the assessor viewed the situation. In every case properties that backed up to a funeral home and had a like lot size, the assessed valuations for the land were identical. Chairman Goldspiel asked if any research had been done on how long it took to sell such properties adjacent to funeral homes. Mr. Brandt stated it seems as though the funeral homes he researched had some open space where impact on value is minimized in comparison to other commercial uses that could be put on that site. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there would be some small negative effect on price from being located near a funeral home. Mr. Brandt stated that depends on what you are comparing it to. If it is going to back onto other commercial uses as proposed on this site, you will lose more value rather than the funeral home. This is due to the fact that the focus of the improvements to the site under the proposed plan are at the far end of the site to the north away from the residential uses. This will minimize the crowded feeling you would get if the office building were put as it is proposed. Chairman Goldspiel asked if it would take longer to sell a property backing onto the funeral home than one backing onto an office building. Mr. Brandt stated it would probably be easier to sell a property backing onto a funeral home given this proposal. Chairman Goldspiel asked why there would be no adverse effect from flooding on the surrounding area. Ms. Fazio stated the detention basin is currently sized for full development of that site. She noted the ponds acted as they should during the recent flooding, they overflowed in the direction as designed. The problem lies in the fact that at the ultimate end of the subdivision, the storm sewer is too small to accommodate the stormwater runoff from the subdivision. The detention basins designed for the townhouses, the roadways and the proposed development on the five acre site for the office development are all acting as designed and are appropriate. Chairman Goldspiel noted that even though the water is being released properly, there is a restriction downstream which is creating flooding. Therefore, perhaps the water is not being held long enough. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 12 Ms. Fazio noted that would mean proposing the upstream development take care of the lack of detention at the downstream location. Chairman Goldspiel asked if given the restriction of the 10 inch pipe under Dundee Road, is water being released in such a way that it is causing additional hardship downstream. Ms. Fazio stated theoretically it should not make the situation worse. Commissioner Samuels noted that water falls off all land and the idea behind detention is to take the excess water that would fall off faster due to impervious surface development and hold it so that it leaves the land at the same rate it would if there was no development. Mr. Kuenkler stated that was correct. Commissioner Samuels noted that if detention has been engineered properly, it is therefore irrelevant to the land downstream whether the development is on the property or not. If there was no development and no detention, the same amount of water would reach downstream at the same rate. Mr. Kuenkler noted that property is developed more water is generated in theory. However, nothing done on this property is going to change anything at Dunlo Highlands because it is basically a problem of an outlet or lack thereof. Chairman Goldspiel asked if anything can be done to alleviate the situation in Dunlo or if, in fact, the release of water from this development would add to the backup downstream. Mr. Kuenkler stated no. Ms. Fazio also agreed there is nothing that can be done to alleviate the situation in Dunlo. Daniel Godzicki, 701 E. Dundee Road, stated that landscape architects deal with basins differently. He noted they try to make sure that they increase the percolation rate. Sand is used to increase the amount of water that actually stays on the site and goes into the ground water. That is how you begin to solve the problem here. Trees with shrubs underneath them will slow down the rate of water in terms of runoff There is abut a 2 percent retention of water by trees and shrubs. Calculations can be made to adjust for summer rains and water retention to avoid impacting the entire drainage system. Chairman Goldspiel asked where the ownership of the property will occur. Mr. Freedman stated the usage was separated under the first plan. The revised plan lends itself to an easier separation because of the location of the building in front. Undoubtedly there will have to be cross easements created between the two parcels because of shared access and parking. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 13 Chairman Goldspiel noted this should be made ready for the Village Board. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the parlors and chapels are interchangeable in terms of holding services and visitations and if so what is the maximum utilization for both areas at one time. Mr. Murray stated the parlors and chapels are interchangeable, noting there will never be two funerals going on at the same time. Funerals usually start in the morning and visitation usually starts at 3:00 p.m. The only overlap could occur if there is a funeral at 2:00 p.m. and a visitation starting at 3:00 p.m. There may be an overlap of family arriving. Since these rooms can be divided, they can theoretically have five visitations. However, three visitations would be the maximum they would be comfortable having in one day. Chairman Goldspiel asked how many people would be present if there were three visitations. Mr. Hay stated room size is all that would be allowed for occupancy. Mr. Murray noted visitations go over a six hour period which can vary as to how many people will attend. With three visitations the numbers could vary but at peak evening hours it could be about 300 people. Chairman Goldspiel noted his concern with the intrusion into the current setback from Dundee Road and asked what, if anything, would be done to mitigate that. He also expressed the importance of screening Parkview from the parking lot. Mr. Hay stated they are 90 feet from the right of way. He stated they are not really cutting anything down, although the berm may be dropping the setback down but the space is not being cut down. He noted the south side of the site on Parkview will have a five foot berm with 8 foot tall evergreens for a total height of 13 feet. Bob Wakum, President of the Coves Condominiums stated it is the contention of the residents and other affected Buffalo Grove citizens that the proposed community chapel is not an appropriate development for the property at Golfview and Dundee. The reason is that the only access from this development is at Golfview which is the only entrance and exit available to 150 homeowners. It will cause unacceptable traffic congestion because the business plans of this facility are more extensive than the developers are leading the Plan Commission to believe. Mr. Wakum stated he grew up in the funeral business. He stated at current building costs this will be a 6 to 8 million dollar building. That hinges on how much business will be done at this facility which will impact the amount of traffic that goes on in this area. He noted the capacity of the casket storage and coolers is very large and if used to capacity would imply many bodies will be processed in this facility and many more funerals than suggested. He noted the chapels are large and can hold 400 to 500 people. He suggested the connecting vault display rooms on the second floor could be moved and used as a second room for another funeral parlor. He noted a facility of Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 14 this size would probably have a monthly overhead of$50,000 which would probably mean a break even point of 50 funerals per month or 600 per year. Mr. Wakum stated he does not oppose a funeral facility but he does oppose a facility of this magnitude. Mr. Howard Katzenstein, 488 Park View Terrace,noted the credibility of the numbers of funerals for a break even point is an issue. He stated he questions the radius that will be drawn to this facility as there is no demographic information that gives us this information. It would seem that a facility of this magnitude might well draw from the entire north shore. He noted his own study of the Weinstein facility over a 2 week period and came up with 23 funerals during that time which comes out to approximately 600 funerals per year. He stated it would seem logical to see some financial information because if the facility is not viable, it will become an abandoned eyesore. Mr. Katzenstein noted the issue of overflow parking has not been completely addressed as yet. He stated this facility will set a precedent on the north shore. There is no major funeral home on the north shore with this type of access. Every other funeral home in the area has access to a major thoroughfare. Mr. Katzenstein noted the petitioner's traffic study notes there is very little traffic impact in the mornings and evening peak hours. Currently there are 70 cars using this exit in the evening peak hour and it is estimated there will be 100 with the development of the proposed facility. This is a 40 percent increase in traffic which cannot be called insignificant. The middle of Saturday will see traffic increased by 75 percent. He further noted the average funeral consists of 90 people with an average of 45 cars. This added to the 20 cars that use the facility daily increased traffic 225 percent. A large funeral of 200 people with 100 cars will increase traffic 500 percent. These are huge numbers which will not allow the residents to get to their homes. It will be equally difficult for those cars not going in the procession to get out of the facility as they will be stuck waiting until the procession gets out and then waiting for innumerable signal cycles before they can fully exit. Mr. Katzenstein reviewed the parking numbers noting that the petitioner will not have a functional amount of parking for a significant amount of time even though they may have the numbers. It would seem this facility is being built bigger than the parking will ever be able to accommodate. In addition he noted there will be traffic jams at the access which will be dangerous for children. Mr. Gerald Scott, 508 Parkview Terrace, stated the residents oppose granting approval of this over ambitious use of a previously approved development. It will alter the essential character of the neighborhood. The impact on the neighboring properties and public facilities is unacceptable. The criteria for variations is limited by stating"...the use will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, general welfare and the intensity and use of the property, the size and location of the site with respect to the streets giving access to it shall be in harmony with the Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 15 district in which it is located." In addition the proposal does not comply with the following standards established by the ordinance. The side yard variation shall not exceed 20 percent of the required side yard requirement. This proposal requests a deviation from 12 feet to only 2-3 feet. This is over a 500 percent variation. The building setback of 28 feet instead of 50 feet does not comply with the code. Most importantly, the parking does not comply with the Buffalo Grove ordinance. There is no assurance that these people will not park on Golfview or Parkview. The ordinance requires 248 parking spaces. By queuing up cars to form processions which effectively removes 56 spaces, there is a deficiency in parking spaces. Mr. Elroy Sandquist, attorney for Covington Manor Condominium Association, stated that a project of this size is designed to and will generate many large funeral services and processions which will have a deleterious impact upon the surroundingcommunity. If the standard applied to P P tY PP this project versus the approved office complex, the proposed funeral home while generating traffic at "off peak hours"will ultimately be worse than a project that generates traffic when you expect it at rush hour. The services and processions occur at all times and even on Sundays when the adjacent church is having their services. At the time Covington was approved the homeowners were told they would have an alternate access other than Golfview. This apparently is not feasible and beyond control of the Village. Because of the unique landlocked nature of this particular site, the residents of the Covington and Coves developments, do not see this plan as suitable for this site. Mr. Robert Sherman, Box 7410, Buffalo Grove, initially noted that passing a funeral on the right is illegal and is therefore not an option. He stated the question at hand is what level of inconvenience is reasonable and acceptable. The inconvenience here can and will occur on a daily basis which is not reasonable. He noted this is a residential neighborhood which will be inconvenienced by a variety of nighttime noises and headlights until at least 9:00 p.m. You cannot turn the civil rights of the residents to come and go to businessmen. This type of facility is a necessity for the community but needs to be at a different site. Mr. Bob Haskin, president of the Dunlo Highlands Homeowners' Association, stated their primary concern is the flooding which occurs in the neighborhood and what effect any new development might have. Before development of Covington there was plenty of land to absorb stormwater and the land was the same elevation as Dun-lo. Since development, all stormwater has been diverted through a system of retention ponds and sewers into one inadequate drainage ditch that runs through the neighborhood. The rapid flow of that water combined with some stormwater from Arlington Heights are more than can be discharged. He asked for help in development of a plan to correct the original problem and make sure that any new development does not add to their distress. A secondary concern is the possible road connection at Dunlo and Covington. The roads in Dunlo are rural, narrow, no sidewalks and infrequently repaired, poor patrolled. He noted they currently get a lot of traffic from Arlington Heights and more traffic would only further jeopardize the children and residents of the subdivision. Cantor Joel Gordon, 830 Buffalo Grove Road, stated this is an impeccably run organization and Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 16 these men are honorable men. He noted such a development would be an asset for the community. He noted he has personally not done many Sunday funerals nor has he done many noon funerals. Melanie Ahlquist, 355 W. Dundee Road, stated people in her office building would have a logistics problem with this development. She stated her office has people coming and going all day long during very specific time pockets and the proposed development would shut down their business. The kind of delays being projected by funerals would create enormous problems all day long for her clients and others in her building. Ken Blazek, 1034 Brentwood Circle, noted concern with the statement that the residents here would suffer only a minimal loss to their property values. The increasing amount of traffic would probably add to that decrease in property value. He stated the amount of dirt to be removed by this development will add to the flooding woes of the Dunlo Highlands. Rafael Pena, 355 W. Dundee Road, stated his patients' schedules are set and will be thrown off by the increased traffic to the point that it will put him out of business. Mike Kerns, 364 Dundee Parkway, noted that incoming traffic from Dundee Road will create a bottleneck on Golfview. Those people who cannot park in the lot will certainly park on the residential street and there will not be anyone from the funeral home out there for six hours to discourage such practices. Mary Pat Davis, 3328 Betty Drive, noted that being landlocked in the area is part of the charm of the area which provides privacy and a real country feeling. She noted that children walk to school and will have to wait at the signal at Golfview and this can create a safety issue. Marlene Kornick, 512 Parkview Terrace, stated she has 130 names on a petition of people against development of this project. She noted funerals are a time-of confusion and despair and many accidents will occur in this area. She further noted concern with snow removal. Ruth Reynolds, stated the paving and retention ponds keep coming and getting worse. She noted the Fire Department is close by with its emergency vehicles and to the east is the intersection of Dundee and Buffalo Grove Road which has been called one of the most dangerous intersections in town. She further noted there have been no plans for access to the overflow parking area at the church. In fact, the church development has brought bright lights to the area which has cut down on any privacy for the residents in the area. Lynn Mickle, 1026 Brentwood Circle, asked who will take care of the maintenance for the proposed building, especially if owned by two different owners. Chairman Goldspiel read a letter from the Buffalo Grove Chamber of Commerce to be included in the record as follows: Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 17 I "The Buffalo Grove Chamber of Commerce welcomes the proposed funeral chapel and feels that it would be beneficial to the community. However, the Chamber also understands that the Village must be sensitive to and address the legitimate issue of traffic related to this project." Chairman Goldspiel also read into the record a letter dated April 7, 1997 from the Grove Memorial Chapel as follows: "I ask that you please allow this letter to be entered on record for the Public Hearing to be held on April 23, 1997 regarding said proposed Funeral Home at the corner of Dundee Road and Golfview Terrace in the Village of Buffalo Grove. With my 25 years of practice in the funeral profession, I feel that I can give testimony of expertise on both function and design. I have designed and built two funeral home facilities which are comparable in size to most suburban and city facilities. Funeral homes are typically designed to accommodate the needs of the area they would expect to serve. The funeral home facility proposed by the Loewen Group Inc. Offers an unusual expanse of space in comparison to any facility in the country. The main floor plan shows two large chapels or visitation rooms called parlours. The east room which is 5,561 sq. Ft. is divisible by two, and is the equivalent in size to all of the visitation space of the existing facility in Buffalo Grove known as Grove Memorial Chapel. The west room is 2,788 sq. Ft. and is divisible by three. It is the equivalent to the entire visitation space existing at the Glueckert Funeral Home located in Arlington Heights. The proposed main floor is designed to accommodate FIVE separate visitations or services simultaneously. The second floor plan illustrates rooms labeled as Cremation Room, Conference Room, and casket - Vault Selection Room. The size and configuration of these rooms suggest a possible alternative use as a chapel or visitation room if the need should arise. Coupled with the proposed five rooms on the main floor, the capacity would now be NINE services at once. The design intention is certainly in place. In the basement floor plan, The Loewen Group Inc. proposes a"WALK IN COOLER". This cooler would have the cold storage capacity of TWENTY. This cooler capacity is equivalent to Alexian Bros. Medical Center, Northwest Community Hospital and Condell Medical Center combined refrigeration. So one must ask, what would be the purpose of refrigeration capacity so large relative to the number of services proposed by THE LOEWEN GROUP INC. The cold storage and visitation room planning strongly suggests that the proposed volume given by the Loewen Group Inc. Is extremely understated. The high volume intent could never be accomplished with the existing parking lot Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 18 plan that is shared with the existing office building. The parking lot plan illustrates the stacking of a single, medium size, 50 car funeral procession. The stacking is in the first isle adjacent to the side street. Multiple funeral processions would require two or three service stackings simultaneously. Because of the large Catholic population of the area, it would be quite possible to have a 10 am funeral mass at St. Mary's Church and a 10 am funeral mass at St. Edna's Church on the same day. Both churches being somewhat equidistant, the processions would have to leave at the same time or one immediately following the other. I have experienced this often in Elk Grove Village. I am certain that this would cause a traffic problem on Dundee Road. The Loewen Group states that a percentage of the business would be cremations and would therefore not create a traffic situation. This is untrue because it is still possible to have a funeral mass and then effect the creation. People of the Hindu religion customarily go in procession to the crematory from the funeral home. Multiple stacking was omitted from the Loewen Group site plan. It is obvious that coupled with the existing office building there would be very little parking left for the people coming to attend other possible services and visitations that would be going on with a funeral home of this IImagnitude. The Planning and Zoning Commission might want to review the current Village Ordinance as it pertains to the number of parking spaces required per one thousand square feet of building space. The current requirement being 4 spaces would not be enough for any size facility. If 10 spaces per thousand sq. Ft. was a basic requirement, there wouldn't be a very tight parking situation when multiple stacking was necessary. Grove Memorial Chapel has 10 spaces per 1000 sq. Ft. How does the capacity of this funeral home relate to the current death rate of the Village of Buffalo Grove (125-150 per year)? The size of the Loewen Group Inc. Funeral home would require at least 600 funerals per year to reach a break even point with their cost of operation. Their clients would have to come from all over Cook and Lake Counties to effect a market share equivalent to 600 funerals a year. Given the number of Funeral Directors which would be staffing this facility, this number is a possibility. The service area of a funeral home can vary from an entire county in a rural setting to four square blocks in an inner city neighborhood which is densely populated. The capacity of a funeral home to service a given area is relative to the median age of the area and the size of the population that is being served. I am offering this information for your consideration. The credibility of the information is based on my 25 years of experience as a professional funeral director and funeral home owner." Marlene Kornick presented a signed petition of 130 residents of the Covington Condominiums III Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 19 and Coves Condominiums who are against the proposed project. Chairman Goldspiel noted the petitioner stated, "We the undersigned are opposed to the plans to build a funeral home on the southwest corner of Dundee Road and Golfview Terrace." Grant Christie, 636 Parkview Terrace, stated he is against the plan which is asking a lot of current or future residents. He stated the people in the existing office center ought not to be hindered in their business by not being able to schedule their clients and customers during certain times. Li Morton Winoker, 371 Covington Terrace, asked how often bodies would be delivered to the chapel and how frequently caskets would be delivered. He also asked what happens to a procession when obstructed by delivery trucks of all kinds. Dolores Cavanaugh, 397 Covington Terrace, stated all three parcels still belong to people out east and Mr. Lieberman is only the manager of the building at this point. Mr. Freedman addressed the concerns and points made by the residents as follows: 1. The commentary relative to use of the second floor for visitations or funerals can be restricted in agreements that the only services or visitations would be limited to the first floor in rooms as shown. 2. The maintenance of the landscaping will be done by the Loewen Group and there will be covenants that control cross parking and the shared costs and obligations of the maintenance of the landscaping. These items have not as yet been negotiated but will be part of the covenants. 3. In response to the minimal loss of values as noted by one of the residents, Mr. Brandt stated that once the property was zoned commercial, value was impacted and the only question is how much. Given the two alternatives, a higher sale price could be commanded given the aesthetics of the funeral home. 4. Mr. Murray stated one of the reasons the plans show a casket storage area is so that they do not need to have casket trucks pulling up daily. Deliveries are usually on a 10 day to 2 week basis. He further noted bodies are removed from the site of death as needed which is the nature of the business. 5. Mr. Lindgren spoke on the traffic issues raised by residents. He noted the capacity of the street and signal system, with the revised timing, can handle about 300 cars per hour coming out of the facility using the green signal. He commented that 150 homes are never going to generate that kind of volume. He further noted the number of times that a funeral would have a massive capacity is almost never. In fact if it happened a number of times, the Fire Department would descend because it would exceed the fire capacity of the facility. He further noted that missing time commitments due to a funeral can happen anywhere at any time. From a functional Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 20 standpoint, once the PUD was approved as a commercial development, from the driveway to Dundee Road, a collector was developed on the roadway system which is not a residential collector but in fact a shared mixed use collector. Mr. Freedman stated the reason they have used the office plan as an example for comparison is because that is what the property was approved for. However, it is not only two options here. There is an annexation agreement which was executed in 1981 which will expire in 2001. Assuming that the agreement as presently drawn precludes other uses under the B-3 zoning district. After the expiration of that time period, this petitioner could seek approval for any of the uses in the B-2 or B-3 district and if the Village unreasonably denies that approval, would have a legal right to seek court approval of those uses. Mr Freedman stated they are not seeking a zoning change. This property is zoned B-3 and a funeral parlor is a permitted use in the B-3 district as well as the lesser B-2 district. He noted they are seeking an amendment to the existing PUD to develop the property as proposed. Whenever a change in use is proposed there are concerns about safety, traffic and stormwater. These issues can only be answered by expert consultants and engineers. From a safety standpoint, it has been noted that both the police and fire departments have indicated they have no objection to the proposed plan. From the standpoint of stormwater, the proposed plan will not add problems and the rate of runoff after development will be no greater than presently. The Village Engineer has confirmed the testimony of petitioner's engineer in that regard. Mr. Freedman noted traffic is a key issue here. He stated they have no obligation to demonstrate the traffic which will be generated by this proposal will have no impact on surrounding land use. He stated they must demonstrate it will have no negative impact on surrounding land use as compared to what other uses can be approved and developed on that site. Inasmuch as the property is already approved for two office buildings, the petitioner has established that the proposed development's traffic will be equal in impact and not greater. Mr. Lindgren's study concluded that the proposed funeral home would generate significantly less traffic during morning and evening peak hours than would the office project and would require less parking than would the office project if built out. He also concluded that the traffic generated by the proposed facility would have no significant impact on area land uses or the road network. This is particularly the case since only peak use situations which occur are those at funeral processions. However, processions will average less than two per day. Testimony has been given that these processions would amount to approximately 10 minutes in the aggregate for an entire day. The queuing is to be lined up totally within the parking lot and there will be personnel outside to control the traffic signal until traffic clears. In addition, the study done by Benes& Associates for the Village confirms the conclusions of the petitioner's consultant. The petitioner's study notes that even the worst case traffic conditions during capacity funerals could be accommodated at both intersections (Golfview and the access drive and Golfview and Dundee). The study further noted it will generally take under 2 minutes from the time the lead vehicle leaves the site to the last vehicle in the procession exiting and the impact of the procession will be minimized. Further, the study states the proposed parking spaces will be sufficient to accommodate the vast majority of Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 21 parking demands that would be generated by the proposal. The Benes& Associates study concludes that the petitioner's traffic consultants report adequately addresses Benes& Associates previous concerns and that the revised site plan minimizes the impact the proposed development would have on the neighboring street network. Carl Demerick, stated it is difficult to get a land use standard to compare to this facility in order to really measure the traffic. He noted his concern that this facility will continue to grow yearly and max out more and more each year until it is well beyond the projections presented. Mr. Katzenstein stated he did not see any data on traffic during the day in the Village traffic consultant's report. This has been omitted by both the Village and petitioner's traffic consultants. Chairman Goldspiel noted traffic reports generally focus on peak hours as that is when you expect the system to overload or break down. Mr. Sherman noted his concern that the existing office building will become a blighted vacant building which will be difficult to rent out in future. Arnie Slutsky, 516 Parkview Terrace, asked why a cremation viewing room or selection room is necessary if there are to be no cremations at this facility. Mr. Murray stated they do handle cremations at other locations and bodies are transported to the crematoria. The viewing or selection room displays urns and cremation caskets which are especially designed for cremations which is why the size of the room is somewhat larger. There being no further comments or questions from anyone else present, Chairman Goldspiel closed the public hearing at 12:00 a.m. Respectfully submi d, Fay ub. , cording Secretary APPR VED BY: ST P N GOLDSPIEL, C airman Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Public Hearing-April 23, 1997-Page 22 1 SPECIAL MEETING B F• • ' • L ' OuI► t ON April 23, 1997 Community Chapel of Buffalo Grove, Southwest corner of Dundee Road/ i lfview Terrace Chairman Goldspiel called the meeting to order at 12:05 a.m. (April 24, 1997) in the Village Council Chambers, Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Ra pp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Commissioners present: Chairman Goldspiel Mr. Krug Ms. Howard Mr. Samuels Mr. Berman Mr. Trilling Commissioners absent: Mr. Rosenston Mr. Ottenheimer Also present: Mr. Lawrence Freedman, Ash, Anos, Freedman& Logan Ms. Frances Fazio,Manhard Consulting Ltd. Mr. Ronald Brandt,Brandt-Carlson& Company Mr. James Murray, The Loewen Group Mr. Gary Hay, The Hay Company Inc. Mr. Gerald Lindgren,Kenig;Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. Mr. Richard Kuenkler, Village Engineer Mr. William Raysa, Village Attorney Mr. William Reid, Village Trustee Ms. DeAnn Glover, Village Trustee Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner Moved by Commissioner Krug, seconded by Commissioner Trilling to change the order of the agenda and allow discussion and voting on the matter at hand prior to approval of the minutes. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-April 23, 1997-Page 1 THE COMMUNITY CHAPEL OF BUFFALO GROVE, THE COVINGTON OFFICE PLAZA, SOUTHWEST CORNER OF DUNDEE ROAD/GOLFVIEW TERRACE - AMENDMENT OF A.PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT AND PRELIMINARY PLAN IN THE B-3 DISTRICT FOR A FUNERAL HOME FACILITY Moved by Commissioner Samuels, seconded by Commissioner Berman to recommend approval to the Village Board of the petition for approval of an amendment to the Planned Unit Development in the B-3 Planned Business Center District and approval of a Preliminary Plan with `./ the following variations: ZONING ORDINANCE - Section 14.44.040.D.3 and D.S. (To allow a building setback of 28 feet instead of 50 feet and a transitional buffer yard of less than 12 feet from the west property line adjoining the Kingswood United Methodist Church, zoned in the R-1 District), subject property being Lots 2 and 3 in Covington Office Plaza pursuant to testimony and exhibits, subject to: 1. A restriction that not more than a single funeral be held in the building at any one time 2. The operator of the building not using any portion of the facility not designated on the floor plans and other exhibits as parlor or chapel space for conducting funerals or visitations 3. Realignment or restriping of the parking on the north side of the building to be angled spaces to facilitate one way traffic in a counter clockwise direction 4. Inclusion in the Special Use ordinance that an arrangement be worked out between the petitioner and the Police Department regarding control of traffic flow during funeral processions leaving the premises and entering onto Golfview Terrace and Dundee Road Commissioner Trilling said that making a decision concerning this project has been very difficult. He commented that the use would be beneficial to the Village and the residents, and the location on Dundee Road is acceptable. He said the biggest issue is the traffic impact and the affect on the Covington residential area. He commented that access to Golfview Terrace will be affected, and this would create a hardship for residents needing to use Golfview. He indicated that based on his concerns about the impact on the adjacent residential area, he would not support the motion to approve the petition. Commissioner Samuels stated the development team has made a very professional presentation and has been responsive to the concerns of the Plan Commission, including revising the plan in accordance with the wishes of both the residents and members of the Commission as well as the traffic experts. He stated this is a B-3 property with a B-3 use and the testimony has been consistent that this use is less intensive than the use that is already approved for this property. He noted that the residents' may be impacted by this development but the impact will be minimized by the fact that there will most likely only be two funerals per day in this facility which will occur in the middle of the day. This will occur quickly and does not occur during peak traffic hours of Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-April 23, 1997-Page 2 the day. In addition, the overall usage of the property from a traffic standpoint also shows this to be a less intense use than that already approved. He commented that people tend to object to a development that is proposed near their neighborhood, but have little interest in projects in other parts of the Village. He noted that people tend to lose sight of the fact that Buffalo Grove is a large village and in order to grow and become a stable economic entity it requires growth throughout the Village regardless of neighborhood boundaries. There will always be projects that bring inconveniences to people on a very localized basis. In this instance, however, he stated there is not enough of a problem to vote against the project and he will therefore support the petition. Chairman Goldspiel stated the original plan started out as totally unacceptable to him and it has now been improved as much as possible given the constraints of the size of the property and the use. It is clear from both traffic consultant's reports that the intersection on Dundee Road will function with or without this development. The effect on Golfview is a more difficult thing to measure. The significance of the point that Golfview Terrace is the only access to the residential area should not be overlooked. Chairman Goldspiel stated the parking for the normal situation is in order but he is not satisfied that an agreement has been reached with the church for overflow parking. Engineering issues are troubling, although both engineers have testified the system is operating within design. He noted the Village should work with representatives from Dunlo Highlands and with Wheeling Township to see if something can be done to help solve their flooding problems. Chairman Goldspiel noted concern with reducing the setback adjacent to the church and losing part of the green space on Dundee Road by a building which is too large and a use that is too intense. He noted he is particularly sensitive to the fact that this facility will have an adverse impact on the usability of the existing building and he therefore does not feel that a funeral home works in a PUD with an office building on the property. He has not yet seen how the property would be divided and he can see many difficulties in having two such uses working together. He stated he is basically not opposed to the use rather to the size of this proposed use. Commissioner Berman stated the general tenor of the objections all lead to access on Golfview being tied up. The difficulty he has with this objection is that if this property were to have direct access onto Dundee or if the property were located one-half block away,the impact on Golfview would be substantially the same. He noted agreement with Commissioner Samuel's comments and is sympathetic to the issues raised by the public. However, he too believes that the impact of this development as proposed will be less than that which is already approved on the site and that the benefits to the Village outweigh those impacts on the local residents and will therefore support the proposal. Commissioner Howard stated she will not support the development as she feels this development will have an impact on the neighborhood being a seven day a week operation. She noted there is a compatibility problem with the office users and there will be a problem with the shared parking. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-April 23, 1997-Page 3 Chairman Goldspiel called for a vote on the motion and the vote was as follows: AYES: Krug, Samuels, Berman NAPES: Howard, Trilling, Goldspiel ABSENT: Rosenston, Ottenheimer ABSTAIN: None The vote was 3 "ayes"and 3 "nayes," so the motion failed to gain a favorable majority, and was not approved. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Samuels, seconded by Commissioner Krug to approve the minutes of the regular meetingof April1997theneedfor additional verbiage . Chairman Goldspiel noted o ad o � 2, on page 1 as well as correction of typographical errors on page 4. Commissioner Berman noted the need for a verbiage clarification on page 4 and addition of a word on page 6. Commissioner Krug asked for additional language to be included on page 9. All Commissioners were in favor of the amended motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Trilling abstaining. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS -None CHAIRMAN'S REPORT -None Chairman Goldspiel noted there will be an open house at the Chicago area transportation study office to discuss the proposed fiscal year 1997-2000 transportation improvement program and to receive public comment on May 12, 1997 from 3-7 p.m. FUTURE AGENDA Mr. Pfeil stated the next meeting will be the regular meeting and two public hearings on May 7, 1997. STAFF REPORT -None NEW BUSINESS -None ADJOURNMENT Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-April 23, 1997-Page 4 Moved by Commissioner Trilling, seconded by Commissioner Berman and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Goldspiel adjourned the meeting at 12:40 a.m. (April 24, 1997). Res ectfully s 'tted, ay R in, ecording Secretary APPROVED BY: TE N GOLDSPIEL, C airman Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-April 23, 1997-Page 5