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1999-10-20 - Plan Commission - Minutes REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION October 20, 1999 Village of Buffalo Grove,Buffalo Grove Golf Course,Proposed maintenance facility and site improvements,454 Old Checker Road Amendment of a Special Use and Preliminary Plan in the R-4 District--Workshop#1 Belmont Village,Proposed senior citizen assisted living facility, Buffalo Grove Town Center, 611-acre site north of Town Place, adjacent to Buffalo Grove Road and IL Route 83,Amendment of a Planned Unit Development(P.U.D.)And Preliminary Plan and change of B-5 sub-district designation from Commercial to Residential—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. Samuels Mr. Trilling Mr. Ottenheimer Ms. Dunn Mr. Feldgreber Mr. Johnson Mr. Panitch Mr. Smith Commissioner absent: None Also present: Mr. John Green, Groundwork, Ltd. Mr. William Balling, Village Manager Mr. Carmen Molinaro, Director of Buffalo Grove Golf Course Mr. Harold Francke, Rudnick& Wolfe Ms. Kathy Farr, Belmont Corp Mr. David Nussbaum, Belmont Corp Mr. Stephen Brollier, Belmont Corp Mr. Michael Werthmann, Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved byCommissioner Ottenheimer, seconded byCommissioner Johnson to approve the pP minutes of the public hearing and special meeting of October 4, 1999. Chairman Goldspiel noted the required change to a street name on page 3 of the public hearing. He further noted page 5 required the addition of a name of one of the tenants. He also noted that the minutes of the special meeting should reference the fact that the public hearing was continued during the special `./ meeting and was closed at 8:45 p.m. Commissioner Trilling noted a correction on page 3 of the special meeting. All Commissioners were in favor of the amended motion and the motion passed unanimously. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Smith stated he attended the October 18, 1999 meeting of the Village Board and noted the following items were discussed: 1. Referral to the Plan Commission of Areawide Cellular for retail sales in an Industrial District 2. Referral to the Plan Commission of the Chabad synagogue development at the northeast corner of Buffalo Grove Road and Deerfield Parkway 3. Walgreens development at Plaza Verde was referred back to the Plan Commission VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE. BUFFALO GROVE GOLF COURSE, PROPOSED MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND SITE IMPROVEMENTS, 454 OLD CHECKER ROAD, AMENDMENT OF A SPECIAL USE AND PRELIMINARY PLAN IN THE R-4 DISTRICT-- WORKSHOP#1 Mr. Green stated he represents the Village with regards to a proposal to redevelop the Buffalo Grove Golf Course maintenance facility. The parcel is only about 150 x 150 feet on the south side of Old Checker Road adjacent to the Manchester Green development which was originally known as golf course east. This particular corner of the course currently has the maintenance building which has been there since the golf course began. That maintenance facility and storage yard has the first green to the south, the eighth green to the west and the ninth tee to the east. The current building is 3,500 square feet and set back 75 feet from the right of way of Old Checker Road. The current right of way for Old Checker Road adjacent to this parcel of the golf �..� course is only 33 feet wide and the right of way standard today is 40 feet. The existing storage yard extends from the right of way line to the building. There is no front yard between the golf course maintenance building and Old Checker Road. There is a fence now along the face of that existing maintenance yard which is board on board face which is there to screen some of the storage that is done outdoors between the building and the road. As a result, the outside storage occupies the entire 75 feet, but because of growth over the years it is also expanded into the Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 2 be enclosed but they feel it is important to provide some miscellaneous access parking is needed outside of that gated environment. By creating two parking spaces outside of that fenced area, they are able to provide for those occasional individuals who need to come over to the building and they can access the building without having to go into the yard. The public walk will be extended to the public entrance to the facility. Currently there is a bikepath that extends through the Manchester Greens development and the Village bikepath extends along the north side of Old Checker Road so the crossing between those bikepaths will finally occur. Mr. Green stated a five foot high ornament fence consistent with the style and design of that along the Manchester Greens portion of the golf course will be extended from the east end of the golf course to the new maintenance building so that the match will wrap around have some continuity. The balance of the yard will be enclosed on the west and south to the west of the open air storage facility with an 8 foot high board on board fence. That fence will also help to protect between the eighth green and first green. He stated they will provide a chain link fence along the east portion of the yard to complete the closure. There is already a heavily screened landscaped area along that side and in order to insure that those evergreens do not suffer. they require a chain link fence. Mr. Green stated the new facility will have a total of 6,600 square feet. It will be divided into cold spaces and temperate spaces. The entire building will be sprinklered and meet all of the Village standards for construction. The cold area will be handled with a dry sprinkler system and the temperate areas will have a wet sprinkler system. Mr. Green stated they have endeavored to design the building so that its front would be on Old Checker Road and will have the feel and flavor of the residential character. The windows on the western portion of the north facade are sized to help bring the sense of scale down to make it feel as if it is a one-story high structure, but they are also set so that storage can be between and below them so that the space inside is functional and usable. He stated they have created an entry porch on that front that serves as a rain cover and also allows them to break up the roof. The yard in front of it is now completely open and is a real front yard. The ivory and green exterior metal panels are divided into two sections. The lower section is 3 feet high, the ivory portion above that is to the roof line. The 3 foot high section is a reinforced section. The lower 3 feet is where some damage could be anticipated. With reinforcedpanels in 3 x 3, theyare g P removable and replaceable so that any damaged panels can be removed and replaced. There are shutters on the windows and styled as typical double hung windows and the door has been scaled to a standard building entry door. Mr. Green stated everything will be retained with regard to existing vegetation except for one silver maple which is on the Village's list of trees to be removed. In fact the building has been designed so that the one existing tree along the right of way line will be maintained and the walk will work around that tree. The have also designed to work with existing grading. The front yard would have four new deciduous trees and even an annual flower bed. There will be one sign placed out in front of the building on the west side of the entrance drive. There is also a fair Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 4 small area of open space that extends to the east of this maintenance building between the maintenance building and the Manchester Greens development. Some of this area is now paved and some is not. The existing building and storage yard occupy a total, including the area that is now being used of 15,600 square feet. Mr. William Balling, Village Manager stated the Village has been in the golf business since late 1974, having been contract purchasers of the Buffalo Grove Golf Club. That building was finally purchased in 1977. The building was from its construction to today used solely for the maintenance support for the Buffalo Golf Club. It was built in 1967 at a time when Old Checker Road was a dirt road. Since that time Old Checker Road has become one of the more actively used streets. The embarrassment of not having a finished front yard and appropriate building is becoming more and more conspicuous. In 1987 the Village reconfigured the Municipal Campus and tore down the clubhouse. Due to the complexity of the Village Campus,they deferred doing the maintenance building because it was not a front line priority facility. The maintenance facility stands as a sub-standard project not only from a zoning standpoint but as to building codes. He noted the Village is now looking to recover the front yards and make it look like a facility one can be proud of. He noted this facility was probably sub-standard at the time it was built and is definitely substandard in size. Mr. Balling stated the time has come not only to rehabilitate the building but remove the building and rehabilitate the entire site and bring it up to conforming Village standards and to finish off the golf program. He noted this project can be cash financed and can easily be developed. Mr. Green stated the goal and objective is to consolidate and reposition so that this operation can become efficient, effective and visually one that the Village can be proud of and and interfaces into the community that has grown up surrounding it. Mr. Green stated the proposal is to give back the front yard and to use the building as a visual addition to that front space and to open the view between the building and the road. Residential developments have grown around it and the park is across the street. The layout is a 54 x 120 foot long pre-engineered structure to replace the existing building. The maintenance yard functions would be collected together and located south of the building in one yard. Sand, chips, gravel, and bark would be stored and maintained dry in open air covered structures at the south end of the yard located between the first green and the maintenance yard itself so they also help to serve as a shelter from golf balls. The cart path would be moved about 20-25 feet closer to the first green and set to provide also for emergency access onto the golf course. The Fire Department has been contacted and the route system will finally provide the necessary turning radii and for the paving area to make it a fully accessible emergency route. Mr. Green stated the existing curb cut out onto Old Checker Road will be maintained and widened and curbed and reconstructed to current Village standards. The 40 foot wide right of way dedication that is currently needed for standards on Old Checker Road will be developed and created and provided and the entire front yard will be opened up. The maintenance yard will Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 3 amount of landscaping along the south side of the facility but some additional deciduous trees will be placed along that area. In order to ensure that the view from the west to the east would also feel as it should a row of arborvitae will be planted along the 8 foot high fence. Mr. Molinaro stated the building was built over 30 years ago and inadequate from the first. He stated they have a need for space to physically care for all the equipment and tools to maintain all of the machinery that cares for a 120-acre golf course. The second need is to get a Village `./ building up to standards and codes. Some of the major inadequacies right now include, two walls with structural problems, electric and gas utilities are substandard,there is no formal employee lunchroom and employee are forced to eat either outside or at a table in the middle of all the machinery. There is also inadequate heating and air conditioning and there is no real space to work on any of the equipment. There are no fire prevention sprinklers and the most important fact is that a separate area is desperately needed for the fertilization storage application and rinse. Mr. Green stated the golf course is already designed as a detention facility. The current area occupied is 15,600 square feet and the proposal is to go to 17,600 square feet, with no variations requested. Commissioner Johnson asked for some further description of the linkage to the proposed detention. Mr. Green stated all drainage now is done by existing pitching of grade. The facility that exists does not have any downspouts that are tied in to storm sewer lines. The paved area does not have any pitching to the center nor is it collected. All of that would now be provided. It will all be collected and tied into the existing stormsewer system. The downspouts would now be collected and tied into the existing stormsewer system. Commissioner Johnson noted a disparity of scale between the front door and window and the remaining windows along the right on the north elevation. Mr. Green noted it is two different scales and that is why they pulled the front elevation down at the porch area so that scale would work better and also that is broken up by the arch trim. The other element is the front plane where the door and window serving the office are not in the same plane as it was pulled out about a foot. Commissioner Samuels asked if any foundation plantings are planned. Mr. Green stated there will be limited foundation planting in front of the building. The area to the east of the porch canopy will have an annual bed. There will be planting in front of the parking. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 5 Commissioner Samuels stated he would like to see some foundation planting as it will aesthetically scale the house and make it more appealing for the neighbors across the street. Commissioner Samuels asked if this would be a prefab structure. Mr. Green stated it was a prefabg structure that is designed for this sort of use. `..� Commissioner Samuels asked what the hours of operation are. Mr. Molinaro stated peak season is 5:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the maintenance department. Starting hours are scaled back in spring and fall. Winter hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Commissioner Samuels asked if the windows would provide natural light. Mr. Green stated yes. Commissioner Samuels asked if the facility would have lights on in the evening. Mr. Green stated the windows would be dark until 5:30 a.m. He further noted there will be recessed lighting under the entry porch. On the rear and side there will be lights adjacent to all the entrance doors. Commissioner Samuels asked if the windows will be left clear. Mr. Green stated yes. Commissioner Samuels asked if there would be no light standards outside of the building and only lights standards affixed to the underside of the eaves. Mr. Green stated there will be light standards at each end of the maintenance yard on the golf course side. Commissioner Samuels asked if the gate at the entrance is locked. Mr. Green stated yes. j Commissioner Samuels asked why the extra parking is being designed. Mr. Green stated it is actually a reasonable convenience for someone needing to come to the building. Rather than have the person come inside the yard, it can be a controlled space. Commissioner Panitch asked if the fuel tank is protected. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 6 Mr. Green stated yes. He noted that is one of the improvements to be made. The existing fuel tank is not a dual line tank or a divided tank. Commissioner Panitch noted a tree in the middle of the cart path and asked if there is enough room for carts to go on all sides. Mr. Green stated yes. Commissioner Panitch asked if the west side of the building will be able to withstand golf balls. Mr. Green stated it is like aluminum siding so it will probably dent, but it is also replaceable. Commissioner Panitch asked how many people generally work in this facility. Mr. Molinaro stated about 8-12 people work there in peak season. Commissioner Trilling asked where those people will be parking. Mr. Molinaro stated right now they just park in the yard area and will continue to do so. Commissioner Trilling asked how parking occurs without interfering with the operations of the yard. Mr. Green stated there are ongoing operations and material is being constantly moved. He noted theyhave tried to set upthe area so there is room topark to the fuel tank and adjacent to adjacentJ the building. Commissioner Trilling stated his only concern is that this facility may not be large enough and he would like to ensure the facility is used in the way it is intended. He noted it miht be II11k1 1 V� �A1U pricing. Co i Aa a g Mr. Green stated one of the reasons for not developing permanent parking spaces is so that the yard can be best utilized. He stated he can show the scale of how that can work. Commissioner Trilling asked how fertilizers are treated. Mr. Green stated a fertilizer room will be created which has a 3 foot high concrete wall around the lower 3 foot level and pitched concrete floor. They are essentially creating a tub. The goal of working with fertilizer room is to ensure that if there is a spill or if there is a problem it can be contained. This room will now be created to meet all of the EPA standards for that containment. In addition to that, in the Village of Buffalo Grove, any room over 200 square feet requires sprinklering. In the event the sprinkler goes off,they do not want the sprinkler water contaminating or having the fertilizer elements spill out beyond the system. Therefore, they are Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 7 also creating a dry sump basin within in the event of such an occurrence. Within the fertilizer area there will also be an emergency shower. Commissioner Trilling asked if the fertilizer was liquid or dry. li Mr. Molinaro stated both. Commissioner Trilling asked what a dry sump is. Mr. Green stated a dry sump is a sump pit that does not contain any water and would only fill in the event there is an emergency situation and the sprinkler or shower goes off. This goes through a series of basins so that it is settled out and then into the sewer system. Commissioner Trilling asked what kind of floor the mezzanine would have and what it would be used for. Mr. Green stated it would be a wood frame floor. Mr. Molinaro stated it would be used strictly for storage. Commissioner Trilling also stated he would prefer to see foundation planting. Chairman Goldspiel stated he agrees with Commissioner Samuels regarding the need for foundation planting and noted it may be possible to get larger varieties. Chairman Goldspiel noted the bikepath now comes out of Manchester Green and would go across in front of the park and crosses Checker and comes back across Checker again by the coach houses. He asked what is the bike path plan for this section. Mr. Pfeil stated the bike path plan still has the 10 foot path planned for the south side of Checker. It is not part of this plan and there are some issues about installing that bike path so at this time it is planned but not scheduled for implementation. He noted the Village Engineer does not support the pedestrian crossing on Old Checker Road shown on the proposed plan for the golf course maintenance facility. There is already a crosswalk a little farther east near Vintage Lane and the Village Engineer believes that should continue to be the main crosswalk in this area and a second crossing should not be added as shown on the current site plan. Chairman Goldspiel wondered if the part of the bike path plan that is available should be implemented where the new 5 foot concrete sidewalk is being put in. Mr. Pfeil stated that 5 foot concrete sidewalk will be upgraded to 8 feet. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 8 Mr. Balling stated they took two looks at the bike path on the side of Checker. One of the problems to connect it all the way to Rose Glen is a very severe change in grade between existing Checker and the golf course. Therefore, if you crowd the curb line you would literally have about a 2 'Y2 foot difference in height and the curb line would be where the bike path would be. If you pull the bike path to the south, there is a protective tree line adjacent to the eighth fairway that protects both cars and other people from golf balls that would be lost. The other complication is that if you crowd the golf course further, you really create a bombardment zone `./ for people that will be using the south side of the road. Between the pavement grade differential and the loss of the tree line and the narrowing of the course,they felt the negative side of installing that bike path far outweighed the benefits of having the connected loop. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the Village Engineer will review these plans and ensure detention is proper. He asked how far this proposed building area is from the flood line. Mr. Green stated the flood plain does not get close to this facility at all. He stated that at the time the Manchester Green development was done a pond was created west of the eighth green. The flood line is defined by the channel so it does not even come to the eighth green. Mr. Molinaro stated in the past all excess water flows to the west. Chairman Goldspiel asked if there are any stormsewers. Mr. Green stated there is a stormsewer that goes through this general area which was also installed at the time of the Manchester development was done so the stormsewer exists to tie into. Chairman Goldspiel asked if the ninth tee area can be opened up somewhat instead of boxed off Mr. Green stated he will see if the site line can be improved in that area. Chairman Goldspiel noted the door looks out of proportion to the windows on the building facility. Mr. Green stated he may be able to create some transom door elements to improve the scale. Mr. Green noted the following items needed to be addressed prior to the next meeting: 1. Review additional foundation planting 2. Check scale of the front door and its adjacent window and consider increase in door size and/or working with transom patterns or elements 3. Adjust the bike path width and pedestrian crossing on Old Checker Road as Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 9 recommended by the Village Engineer 4. Demonstrate a sample parking concept for employee vehicles in the maintenance yard 5. Evaluate the location of the south gate Trustee Marienthal noted the ninth tee area is a very open area as is. The Commission agreed this matter is ready for a public hearing. BELMONT VILLAGE. PROPOSED SENIOR CITIZEN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY, BUFFALO GROVE TOWN CENTER. 6.11-ACRE SITE NORTH OF TOWN PLACE., ADJACENT TO BUFFALO GROVE ROAD AND IL ROUTE 83. AMENDMENT OF A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT(P.U.D.) AND PRELIMINARY PLAN AND CHANGE OF B-5 SUB-DISTRICT DESIGNATION FROM COMMERCIAL TO RESIDENTIAL-- WORKSHOP #1 Mr. Harold Francke stated they are proposing the rezoning of a portion of the 6.11-acre parcel so that an assisted living facility and restaurant can be developed. He noted one of the issues raised by the Board is the fact that this site had been rezoned two years ago for a hotel/banquet facility. They expressed concerns about the change in use to a non-sales tax generating use. He stated it is their goal to introduce the concept of Belmont Village and then they will address some of the questions and issues. He stated the restaurant component of this project is important to the Board and the Village and they understand that eventually these two components will have to catch up with each other. Ms. Kathy Farr stated assisted living is a need driven business for frail, but not ill, people who can no longer live alone. It provides residents with a rental of a living unit, inclusive of their utilities. This is done on a month to month basis with no buy in. There is full service dining in a restaurant setting, weekly housekeeping and laundry, social and recreational activities planned on a regular basis, transportation, medication management and help with activities of daily living such as bathing, grooming, dressing, etc. Ms. Farr stated there is an incredible demand for assisted living communities and this demand is expected to increase dramatically over time. Chicago as a whole has the third largest 75+ population in the nation with over 400,000 seniors. This population is expected to rise five times faster than the entire population. There are currently only 3,000 existing assisted living units to meet this demand. In the Buffalo Grove market there are 8,700 seniors in need of assistance. Ms. Farr stated they look for certain characteristics in a site. First, they want a site close to health care. This site has the Northwestern outpatient clinic adjacent to the site. It is also 'V2 mile from Northwest Community Hospital Treatment Center and the Grove Medical Center. From a commercial aspect, they like to have good commercial and retail services nearby. The Town Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 10 Center is adjacent and would be available to the residents. Ms. Farr stated this site is a good community setting with a mixture of different residential types of housing and it provides a warm and infill location for this type of community. There are also places of worship available Ms. Farr stated the Belmont Corp is the owner, developer and operator of assisted living communities. They are a relatively new company and they are dedicated to the long term ownership and operation of these communities. The first community was opened in Houston and most recently another one in Nashville. They have three projects under construction and just broke ground on their first project in Carol Stream. They have another project in the development approval process in Glenview and they are also processing several sites in southern California. She stated that while they are a relatively new company, they spent three years in the research and development phase of learning the business. Lastly,they have a strong parent company which provides strong management oversight and funding. Mr. David Nussbaum stated the average age of the residents is 84 years of age who are healthy but frail. Their environment is very important to their health and safety and happiness. The length of the corridors is designed to be a distance that residents can travel comfortably. The corridor widths are 8 feet wide to accommodate walkers and wheelchairs. At the end of the corridors are lights so that there is always plenty of light. He noted they also have dementia units and they are specially designed to meet their needs. Mr. Nussbaum stated the architecture is designed to represent a village. Each of the pods in the building contains three levels and each level is its own neighborhood. The neighborhoods all surround the core of the buildingand in the core are all of the common areas. Theydo try to make it look like a village. They try to break up the facade, use a combination of building materials and have various roof lines, in order to create the look and feel of a residential setting. Mr. Nussbaum stated they understand from the Board that they need to resolve the tax generating portion of the site before they can move through the process and they will work toward that end. Mr. Nussbaum noted the building is a three-story building of 158 units. There will be an entry off of Buffalo Grove Road and off of Route 83 which will line with Cherbourg across the street. The assisted living portion of the project occupies about 4.5 acres and the restaurant site is about 1.6 acres. There is a total of 81 parking spaces shone on the site plan. 73 spaces are shown and 8 spaces are landbanked. They would like to leave that area as open space and if parking is needed in the future, they will add those spaces. He noted national senior housing studies show a need for about 0.22 parking spaces per unit for assisted living. Most of the parking is for employees, visitors and service type of activities. Mr. Nussbaum noted detention is shown on the Buffalo Grove Road side. He also noted they have spoken to some people from the residential area to the south and there are some letters of support from those people. They feel this project would be a good fit for the neighborhood because the traffic generation would be very low and this is a Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 11 residential type of use. Ms. Farr stated they have been working on finding a restaurant use for this site. She stated they have contacted and provided information to 53 different restaurant users. They have also contacted and provided information to 40 members of the Chicagoland Restaurant Brokers Association to help in the search. They are also having discussions with parties who have expressed interest and they are committed to continuing these efforts. Mr. Francke stated discussions have already been had with IDOT relative to the issue of the access across from Cherbourg. The understanding is that is not an issue or problem for IDOT. Commissioner Ottenheimer asked how this facility differs from Sunrise Assisted Living. Ms. Farr stated it is a similar product. Sunrise also provides assisted living, but Belmont Village is at a different price point. She noted Sunrise is typically at the pricier end whereas Belmont Village is somewhat more moderate priced. Belmont Village also has more common area within its facilities and the social activities are therefore more vigorous. Mr. Nussbaum noted that another difference is that Belmont Village is not yet full and Sunrise is about 90 percent full now and probably will be 100 percent full by the time Belmont Village would open. Commissioner Ottenheimer stated he is having a difficulty with the statistics showing Chicago as the third most populous area of need. He asked to be supplied some independent studies showing such a need in the Chicago area. Commissioner Ottenheimer stated he is not convinced this site is the appropriate use for this type of facility and would need to be convinced of same. He noted some concern with trying to put too many things onto the site. Lastly, he noted the restaurant is very important for many reasons. He asked how many responses were received from the 53 proposals sent out. Ms. Farr stated they have not just sent information but have attempted and made contact by phone or visitation. She stated they have had about 20 expressions of interest. She noted they are still having discussions with about 8-10 of those people. It will take a unique user for the site. Commissioner Ottenheimer stated one of his concerns is sales tax revenue and generation of sales tax revenue. Commissioner Samuels asked for references from the other facilities, either families of residents or people in the communities. Commissioner Samuels asked how parking compares with that at Sunrise. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 12 ii Mr. Pfeil stated Sunrise is approximately 0.55 spaces per unit and Belmont is slightly less than that. Mr. Nussbaum noted they are at 81 spaces for 156 units, including the landbanked spaces, slightly over .5 which makes it very comparable to Sunrise. Commissioner Samuels asked if the Fire Department has seen the land plan and made any ./ comments. Mr. Pfeil stated they have been provided with the materials but there have been no formal comments from them as yet. Commissioner Samuels asked how the size which has been left for the restaurant parcel compare to the sizes required by some of the more national chains. He asked if the space is adequate or if it is one of the difficulties here. Mr. Nussbaum stated their land planners have told them it could accommodate an 8,000 square foot restaurant with the required parking that is in the Town Center ordinance and this is larger than a lot of the national chains around. Commissioner Samuels stated he does not know what anything Belmont does will affect the ability to populate this site with that type of restaurant. Commissioner Samuels asked if it is necessary to see a land plan for both parcels. Mr. Pfeil stated he understands the Board's directive was that the entire 6.11 acres has to come back to the Board as a completely planned site. Restaurant use was specifically spoken of but it is not clear if the Board would accept some other sales tax generating type use or other use. However, the Board was explicit that it must be planned as a unit when it returns to them. Commissioner Samuels asked what the Village would expect in sales tax revenues from a successful restaurant operation and how that would compare to an alternative commercial use. Mr. Pfeil stated the Village staff and the Board have not done a comparative analysis. The restaurant use was suggested as one that may be feasible, but other retail uses were not specifically discussed by the Board. Commissioner Samuels asked if Belmont has conducted any analysis of what a typical restaurant would do here. Ms. Farr stated she believes the sales tax number in the analysis included in the packet is around $37,500 per year for the Village. ii Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 13 Commissioner Samuels asked what kind of merchandise store would it take to generate a comfortable level of tax revenue to the Village. Mr. Nussbaum stated it is based on sales of about$2,500,000 which is typical of a Bennigans or Chili's type of restaurant. President Hartstein noted the Board's principal concern is that this plan not come back simply as �./ a pad to be developed. A restaurant was chosen because that seemed like a logical transitional type of use to be adjacent to this facility. The Board would have an open mind if it was something that was an appropriate use. Commissioner Trilling stated he feels this use is very complimentary to the area because of the surrounding uses and the location. This would be a low impact traffic generator and would be very nice here. Commissioner Trilling stated he would have liked to see the restaurant located as far south as possible from a parking standpoint with an entrance to a parking lot as quickly off the entrance drive as possible. Mr. Nussbaum stated they would certainly work with the restaurant user and the Plan Commission to design that when the user comes in. Commissioner Trilling asked if the local real estate broker has been given any information about the types of uses that may be acceptable in this area. Ms. Farr stated they have had the broker focus on a restaurant use. Mr. Francke stated they would like to come out of this workshop with a consensus of the whole Commission on the issue of restaurant versus other uses. Commissioner Samuels stated he wants a successful business operation here and one that will continue to provide traffic to increase the business aspect of the Town Center and will provide sales tax to the Village. Ms. Farr stated that is important to them also that their neighbor be successful as they are undertaking a large investment. Commissioner Trilling noted that he would like to see this project adhere to the Town Center appearance. Commissioner Panitch asked how large the other facilities are. Ms. Farr stated they are the same scale. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 14 Mr. Nussbaum stated the Carol Stream site is a little bit larger but a lot of it is wetlands. Commissioner Panitch asked if the Board was more interested in traffic and having a viable business or in sales tax generation for the Village. Mr. Marienthal stated the Board was interested in having at least a portion of this site as a tax generating business since this was a complete divergence of what was originally foreseen on this site. Commissioner Panitch concurred with the Board and the Plan Commission that some research should be done on some additional tax generating businesses. Other than that,he is in agreement with this concept. Commissioner Johnson stated he also had a hard time with the statistics of the need for this kind of service. He would also like to see the figures of the number of senior citizens in need of assisted living focus more on the North Shore area. Secondly, he feels that a restaurant would probably be the only viable business here since it is separated from the remainder of Town Center by the residential uses and any kind of retail facility would not generate enough drop in traffic. He also noted this is another site that is surrounded on all sides by streets which presents an architectural nightmare in terms of designing a facility that looks good on all sides. He also noted he would like to see a tax generating use on the whole parcel, but if not,this is a nice use for the site. Chairman Goldspiel stated he is very troubled by the use proposed. Originally this area was conceptualized as office and he feels some study needs to be done on what this proposal will do to the mix of the TIF and what it will do to the interaction of the rest of the Town Center both traffic wise and financially. He noted the office market has rebounded in the last 10 years and that type of use needs to be further explored. He stated he needs to see some way in which this proposal interacts with the rest of the Town Center in a positive manner. Chairman Goldspiel asked what are the peak hours of this type of facility and how adequate are the parking proposals and is there enough stacking spaces if the entrance to the parking lot is placed as shown or are we choking off the entrance. Mr. Werthmann stated this use is a very low traffic generator as most residents do not own a vehicle. Vehicle ownership is in the range of 5 percent. The main generator of traffic are visitors and employees. Most of the employees arrive before the morning peak hour and leave before the afternoon peak hour. In addition,most of the visitors come during the evening hours and weekends. As a result a minimal amount of traffic is generated during peak hours. He noted they are talking about 35 total trips in the morning peak hour and 35 trips during the evening peak hour. Because of the low volume of traffic to be generated here, the proximity of the access drive to Route 83 will not be a concern. In addition, the new road will basically serve the assisted living facility and the restaurant and perhaps act as a secondary access to the Town Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 15 Center. Therefore, they do not expect a lot of traffic on this road and should not pose any safety or operational problems. Chairman Goldspiel asked the traffic consultant to discuss the Saturday peak as this is a shopping center and how it would interact with the visitor peak. Mr. Werthmann stated the visitor peak on the weekends is all day long. In addition on the weekends, employee traffic is much lower. Therefore, the amount of traffic out there on weekends would be no greater than the 35 in an hour spoken of for peak hours. Mr. Werthmann stated there is a great deal of shared parking within the facility. There is shared parking between the visitors and the employees. It is about a .51 ratio. A study by the American Senior Housing Association of traffic and parking applications on a number of assisted living facilities and they have come up with a peak parking demand of 0.22 spaces per unit. The ITE category is just for senior housing which includes assisted living, nursing and independent facilities and their peak was about .32. Therefore, 81 spaces as proposed is about twice the amount of parking that will be seen here. The traffic generated by the assisted living facility and an 8,000 square foot restaurant is approximately half of the peak hour traffic that was expected to be generated by the previous application proposed here. Commissioner Smith stated this is a commercial district and he would like to see more traffic and more business come into the Town Center. Therefore, he has a real problem with this use and changing the zoning from commercial to residential and he will need to be convinced this is a proper use. Only if the restaurant site comes in will he be persuaded to vote favorably on this use. He asked if any discussions have been had with the new Assistant Village Manager whose job it is to generate new business and to foster new business. Mr. Nussbaum stated they have talked to the Assistant Village Manager and she gave them a referral that they did follow up on. Commissioner Smith stated he would like information concerning the Assistant Village Manager's efforts in finding uses for commercial sites such as this parcel in Town Center. Mr. Pfeil stated the property is owned by Simon Properties, and the Village has consistently asked Simon what they have been doing about marketing Town Center. The information is often disappointing in that Simon has not been able to fill the vacant spaces with retail tenants. `./ Mr. Nussbaum stated they will continue to meet with the Assistant Village Manager and discuss and cooperate with her. Commissioner asked the average number of employees during the regular day. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 16 Mr. Nussbaum stated the peak is 33 employees during the 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. shift. It goes down during the non peak shift. Chairman Goldspiel stated he supports Commissioner Smith's comments about the Town Center. The whole Town Center concept was for it to be a high density,high use area. Chairman Goldspiel asked how much interaction is there likely to be between the residents here `.J and the Town Center. Mr. Nussbaum stated events in the Town Center such as the Rotary concerts would attract the residents. Also, visitors coming into the facility like to go out with the residents and would probably use the Town Center. Ms. Fan stated these residents have not stopped shopping and still have retail needs and part of the services provided is transportation for the residents to get out and do retail shopping. Mr. Nussbaum stated one of the things they look for in choosing a site is the proximity of retail shopping. Chairman Goldspiel asked the developer to find out what the parking demand, both visitor and resident is at the existing Sunrise facility located on Route 22. Commissioner Samuels noted he agrees with Commissioner Smith that the Town Center was designed to be a far denser commercial use area. However, the fact is that the way it has developed has diluted the use and it will not be saved by these 4 acres. It is unfair to point the finger at this use as being something that will have an adverse effect on Town Center. This use will not reverse the adverse situation at the Town Center. He noted a community is judged by the way it services the needs of a wide range of residents and this is certainly a good thing to have and it is a good location due to the access to all the facilities which surround it. He noted this use is very consistent with the concept of a Town Center. Chairman Goldspiel noted the Plan Commission is certainly willing to explore other uses besides a restaurant for this parcel. Commissioner Ottenheimer noted some kind of use that would be viable, tax generating and compatible would be a good idea. Commissioner Trilling asked if the sale of this parcel is important enough to give up some of the land to be marketed by others in order to build this facility and do this deal. Ms. Fan stated the attorney states they are very flexible. This added land is not a very meaningful piece for their facility. They are not in a position to just give it away but they are not also trying to get top dollar for same. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 17 Commissioner Smith asked about the dementia aspect of this facility. Ms. Farr stated they have a dementia program operated within this community. It is a separate neighborhood within the community. They have done extensive studies on Alzheimer's and dementia and they need a lot of queuing and direction. This is a much more appropriate environment for them than a nursing home. They provide a secure environment and staff that is trained in how to deal with these people and to give them things to do that they are capable of doing to help treat the illness. Mr. Nussbaum noted that the school districts are big winners here. They get would get approximately $273,000 per year with no expenses. FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil noted that meetings are scheduled for November 3, 10 and 17. The Commissioners agreed to same, noting they would not want any special meetings in December. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Chairman Goldspiel noted there is a group trying to make the waterways in the Chicago area accessible for public recreation and use is trying to evaluate access points and various stretches of the Des Plaines River. He asked if there is anyway to get connected to that process. Mr. Pfeil stated the Northeastern Planning Commission is also part of this regional waterways plan so the Village is knowledgeable about this. The County Forest Preserve District will probably dictate where the various launches for canoes and watercraft will be on the DesPlaines. The Village's issues would be the access to those facilities and this will be monitored. Chairman Goldspiel noted it would be nice to have someone come to speak on this matter to the Commission. He also asked if there have been any developments on the plans at Lake Cook and Arlington Heights Road by the Army Corp of Engineers. Mr. Pfeil stated there is an active plan to add more capacity at Buffalo Creek. However, there seems to be great sensitivity by the Forest Preserve District to do minimal damage to the existing setting. NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Panitch stated the Plan Commission should note how firmly the Village Board handles developers, and the Commission should not allow developers to pressure the Commission into rushing the review process. Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 18 ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Dunn and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Goldspiel adjourned the meeting at 11:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: STEPHEN GOLDSPIEL, Chair Buffalo Grove Plan Commission-Regular Meeting-October 20, 1999-Page 19 �I V