1998-07-09 - Appearance Commission - Minutes ' : ik
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APPEARANCE COMMISSION
VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1998
I . CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Richard Gordon called the Appearance Commission
meeting to order at 7 :35 P.M. on Thursday, July 9, 1998 in
the Council Chambers of the Village Hall, 50 Raupp Blvd.
II . ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present : L. Dorfman, E. Smith, C. Masure
M. Cea, C. Johnson and R. Gordon.
F. Weissman arrived at 7 :55 P.M.
Commissioners Absent : None
Bldg. Dept . Liaison: Richard Jensen, Building Inspector
III . APPROVAL OF MINTUES
June 25, 1998 - Com. Johnson made a motion to approve .
Com. Dorfman seconded the motion.
There no were no additions or corrections.
Roll Call Vote : AYE - Dorfman, Smith, Cea,
Masure and Johnson
NAY - None
ABSTAIN - Gordon
Minutes of June 25, 1998 were approved as submitted.
IV. BUSINESS
A. 1191 McHenry Road - Harris Bank
Parking Lot Lighting
Mr. Michael Storako, Seivert Electric Service & Sales
Company, 1230 S. Hannah Street, Forest Park, IL 60130
requested approval of the installation of two (2) new light
poles in the parking lot to increase security at night .
The parking lot is very dark. There is one existing pole
light in front of the building and one (1) new one will be
located at each end of the property. The poles and fixtures
will match the existing lights . The poles will be 25 feet
in height and will have 400 watt high pressure sodium bulbs .
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Harris Bank is located within Strathmore Shopping Center at
the southeast corner of Arlington Heights Road and Route 83 .
The photometric plan was reviewed. Ch. Gordon observed that
the light levels are high at the permimeter but they are
adjacent to parking lots.
Com. Cea made a motion to recommend approval of the new
lighting as submitted for the Harris Bank, 1191 McHenry
Road.
Com. Smith seconded the motion.
Roll Call Vote: AYE - Dorfman, Smith, Cea, Masure,
Johnson and Gordon
NAY - None
ABSTAIN - Weissman (arrived during discussion)
Motin Passed - 6 to 0, 1 absention.
B. Dundee Road and Arlington Heights Road
Strathmore Square - Landscape Plan
Mr. Marvin Feiger and Mr. Norman Litz, Raybec Investments,
7855 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL 60077 (677-1000) were
present . Mr. Feiger described the proposed landscaping
for Strathmore Square Shopping Center which is undergoing
extensive renovation.
Mr. Feiger said they consulted Mr. Ray Rigsby before they
started the design procedure and have incorported Ray' s
recommendations in the plan.
The Plan Commission has recommended approval of an Osco
Drive-Thru at the east end of the building (now Blockbuster
Music) along Arlington Heights Road. They have added a
curb and landscaping with four (4) planted islands along
Arlington Heights Road, north of the Mobil Gas Station.
The islands will be planted with matching bushes . There
is a long island consisting of bushes and bed rock in the
center of the parking lot area and a small planted "finger"
on the east elevation that will have flowers and bushes .
About thirty (30) bushes will be added to the existing
bushes along the fence at the north property line .
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JULY 9, 1998 - PAGE TWO
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On Dundee Road, all the existing grass will be removed and
bushes will be planted along the front of the property.
The existing honey locusts will remain. Some of the cement
around the ground sign will be removed and three (3) islands
with large planters will be created on the east side of the
driveway. The entrance driveway is very wide and a sidewalk
will be installed on the west side of the entryway.
The plantings on existing islands in front of the stores
will be removed and replaced with new bushes, including
wild roses.
There will be a variety of flowering plants all year with
evergreens and Honey Locust trees . The existing utility box
will be surrounded with bushes and flowers .
Ch. Gordon questioned whether the planters on the east side
of the entrance driveway are high enough and plantings
durable enough to withstand the salt used for snow removal?
The plows will push snow right up against the planters.
Mr. Feiger said he and the landscaper met with Mr. Rigsby
to discuss the hardiness of the chosen plants because they
do not want to have to replace the shrubs, etc . There is a
sidewalk next to the parking lot with wheels stops and they
will use mulch around the plantings.
Ch. Gordon asked if the parking is sufficient? The section
between the Mobil Station and the corner space (now Block-
buster Music) is very wide open and cars are driven across
the lanes dangerously. He suggested reducing the number of
parking spaces to create (2) planting islands at each end
of the area (shown as ovals on the plan) . This will add
some greenery and provide a barrier that will help control
traffic.
Mr. Feiger said the parking lot is going to be restriped.
He had no objection to the proposal, but said he would have
to talk to his architect and Mr. Rigsby before making the
changes .
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JULY 9, 1998 - PAGE THREE
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Com. Johnson made a recommendation to recommend approval of
the Landscape Plan submitted for the Strathmore Square Shop-
ing Center with Ch. Gordon' s suggestion that two (2) planted
islands will be added to the southeast quadrant of the plan,
all subject to the review and approval of Mr. Ray Rigsby.
Com. Smith seconded the motion and added favorable
comments on the appearance of the shopping center.
Roll Call Vote: AYE - Dorfman, Smith, Cea, Weissman,
Masure, Johnson and Gordon
NAY - None
Motion Passed - 7 to 0 .
C. WORKSHOP:
Walgreen' s with Drive-Thru Pharmacy and Retail Center
Buffalo Grove Road and Aptikisic Road - Elevations,
Materials, Colors, Lighting, Landscaping and Signs
Mr. Timothy F. Stewart, AIA, Stewart-Nosky Architects, Ltd.
1430 Branding Lane, Suite 100, Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630-241-0444 made the presentation. Mr. Douglas A. Bean,
Vice President of Terraco, Inc . , 8707 N. Skokie Boulevard,
Suite #303 , Skokie, IL 60077 847-679-6660) was also present .
Com. Cea disclosed that his company is doing the site
planning for this project, but he is not personally
involved and his observations and comments will not be
affected.
Mr. Stewart described the site plan. The Walgreen' s store
will be located at the north end of the property. The
retail building will be constructed south of Walgreen' s and
the detention pond will be located on the long narrow strip
south of the buildings . The land across the creek will be
donated to the Park District . Com Ed property is located to
the east of the site. They are in discussion with Lake
County regarding the traffic flow.
1 . LANDSCAPING:
The site will be planted with canopy trees, evergreen
trees and perennial flowers at both entrances and at
the corner of the site.
A Landscape Plan Review was not available.
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JULY 9, 1998 - PAGE FOUR
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2 . ELEVATIONS, MATERIALS AND COLORS :
The Walgreen' s Building will be the new prototype with
the drive-thru pharmacy on the south elevation.
Materials consist of grey brick (Glen Gary, Hanley
W 56 FB) and grey/tan (Buckskin, #449) stucco.
There will be a canopy at the front corner that has a
see-thru tower with a mortar & pestal logo sign that
can be seen behind the glass.
The drive-up window has a canopy made of the drivit
material with a Drive-Thru Pharmacy sign
The Walgreen' s building has several signs on the
north and west elevations : pharmacy food mart and
1-hour photo.
The architecture of the Retail Building faceing
Buffalo Grove Road is maintains the character of the
Walgreen' s building using the same grey brick with the
grey/tan stucco material over the entrances with fiber-
glas columns on the east, south and west elevations.
The east elevation is all brick, with tan doors .
The store fronts on both buildings will be clear
anodized alumiumum with clear glass .
3 . SIGNS:
The signs for the retail building were described.
The tenants will be permitted to choose the color
and style of lettering.
There will be two (2) ground signs on the site .
A Walgreen' s monument sign on the corner and a
tenant identification sign on Buffalo Grove Road,
with spaces for three (3) tenants . These signs
meet the specifications of the Buffalo Grove Sign
Code as to height, size of letters and dimensions .
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There could be from three (3) to five (5) tenants
in the retail building, but the sign will only
identify three (3) of the tenants and these tenants
will be limited to 20% of the wall sign area, per
the Sign Code . A sign will be requested for the north
elevation for a major national tenant .
Mr. Stewart was informed that signs on the north and/
or south elevations will require a variation.
Com. Weissman noted that the south elevation of Walgreen' s
with the drive-thru window is very plain and when the same
building was presented for the corner of Buffalo Grove Raod
and Lake Cook Road, the developer agreed to break up the
east elevation with some brick columns for relief .
Mr. Stewart said there is a soldier course on that elevation
but he had no objection to providing some brick pilasters.
Ch. Gordon said the developer is not limited to pilasters
and can choose some other feature to break up the elevation.
He asked that drawings be submitted when the project is
brought back for Appearance Commission final recommendation.
The canopy under the corner tower with the neon sign is
recessed about ten to twelve feet (10-12 ' ) .
The tenant building has a 1-1/2 foot to 2 foot projection
but no canopy.
Regarding the Walgreen' s ground sign, when Mr. Stewart was
informed that changeable copy signs are not permitted, he
asked if a 1-Hour Photo sign panel would be acceptable?
The Walgreen' s wall signs shown on Page E-1 included
Pharmacy and 1-Hour Photo. Mr. Stewart' s exhibit had been
revised. Pharmacy, 1-Hour Photo and Food Mart were on one
(1) line below Walgreen' s.
Ch. Gordon commented that Pharmacy is synonymous with
Walgreen' s and the Commissioners preferred the E-1 drawing.
The Walgreen' s signs will all be red.
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The tenant signs were discussed. The petitioners were
reluctant to limit the fonts or colors of the signs because
they anticipate nationally known tenants with corporate
colors and logos . The background of the ground sign panels
will all be white and there will only be three (3) tenant
panels. It was understood that the wall signs would be
limited to 200 of the sign band if the tenant' s name is on
the ground sign.
Ch. Gordon informed Mr. Stewart that the Village prefers
strip centers to have written sign criteria and any signs
that do not conform the criteria all the tenant signs would
have to be submitted for Appearance Commission review.
The roof top units will be screened by the parapet walls
which are 3-1/2 feet in height . The height of the building
will be 28 '4" at the corner and the sides are 21 ' tall .
The dumpster is at the rear of the Walgreen' s building is
enclosed with a fence. The tenant building dumpsters at the
southeast corner of the building are also enclosed.
Entry to the Drive-Thru Pharmacy is eastbound only. The
Village has proposed limited access on Buffalo Grove Road
and full access from Aptakisic Road, but they are negotiat-
ing with Lake County for full access from both interchanges .
A tree survey was submitted to Mr. Rigsby and he informed
the landscape architect that he is not going to recommend
preservation or relocation of any of the trees .
Com. Weissman observed that the Walgreen' s ground sign on
Aptakisic Road will be too high without the changeable copy
because it will look like it is on stilts . He suggested
lowering the sign and placing it on a berm withlandscaping
surrounding the base.
Mr. Stewart said they will probably resubmit a larger sign
and it will possibly be lower, but they want to comply with
the Sign Code .
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JULY 9, 1998 - PAGE SEVEN
Com. Johnson commented that there are no other ground signs
at that intersection. A lower sign will be more compatible
with the area, which consists of park and farm property.
Mr. Stewart said the sign is lower than the building and
Walgreen' s typically asks for signs that are higher than
the building. He asked about the possibility of Sign "C"
on the tenant ground sign being a Walgreen' s sign to give
it identity on Buffalo Grove Road?
The Commissioners had no objections and agreed this might
be good because it would identify the entrance. The total
frontage could permit a second sign for the parcel . If not
a variance could be requested.
The LIGHTING was reviewed and found to be acceptable . The
light source will be metal halide.
Mr. Stewart said the revisions discussed will be incorpor-
ated into the plans when they are resubmitted for final
review after the project has been approved by the Village.
V. ANNOUNCEMENTS
1 . Com. Weissman mentioned seeing a hol.e in the wall on
the east elevation of the Strathmore Square Shopping
Center and wanted to make sure that it is closed when
the renovtions are completed.
2 . Com. Smith said he observed a blue wall sign at Town
Center and asked if it was permitted?
Mr. Jensen will check this out !
VI . ADJOURNMENT
Com. Cea made a motion to adjourn.
Com. Weissman seconded the motion.
Voice Vote - AYE Unanimously
Ch. Gordon adjourned the meeting at 8 : 50 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Shirley Bates
Recording Secretary
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