Loading...
2007-12-05 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 12/05/2007 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION Land & Lakes property, Milwaukee Avenue north of Busch Parkway: Annexation with zoning in the Industrial District with a special use and consideration of Preliminary Plan for the East Parcel, and annexation with zoning in the B-3 District and consideration of a concept plan for the West Parcels —Workshop #1 Chairman Ottenheimer 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 Ottenheimer Mr. Smith Ms. Bocek Mr. Khan Mr. Teplinsky Mr. Stark Ms. Myer Mr. Weinstein Commissioners absent: Mr. Cohn Also present: Mr. James Cowhey, Jr., Land and Lakes Ms. Mary Margaret Cowhey, Land and Lakes Mr. Bruce Knapp, Land and Lakes Mr. James Putnam, Jacob & Hefner Associates Mr. Matthew Norton, Holland& Knight Ms. Jan Merl, STS Mr. Christopher Groesbeck, VOA Mr. William Brimm, Village Manager Mr. Steve Trilling, Village Trustee Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Teplinsky to approve the minutes of the public hearings of November 7, 2007. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Weinstein to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 7, 2007. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Khan attended the Village Board meeting of November 19, 2007 where Land & Lakes were the presenters concerning the proposed development of the parcels on Milwaukee Avenue that will be discussed at this evening's workshop. LAND&LAKES PROPERTY, MILWAUKEE AVENUE NORTH OF BUSCH PARKWAY — ANNEXATION WITH ZONING IN THE INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT WITH A SPECIAL USE AND CONSIDERATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN FOR THE EAST PARCEL, AND ANNEXATION WITH ZONING IN THE B-3 DISTRICT AND CONSIDERATION OF A CONCEPT PLAN FOR THE WEST PARCELS—WORKSHOP#1 Mr. Jim Cowhey stated this parcel is on the west side of Milwaukee Avenue that has been in the Cowhey family for over 40 years. It has had a number of different uses from a former construction, demolition debris landfill to yardwaste compost transfer and now to its final development stages with annexation into Buffalo Grove. The east parcels were parcels that were originally just homes they acquired to move an operation to that side of the property. Mr. Cowhey noted the property is north of Busch Parkway, south of Aptakisic and just south of the City Park development. Both properties are on Milwaukee Avenue, with the large parcel on the west side, comprised of about 17 acres in frontage and about 41 acres in the rear. The property on the east side of Milwaukee Avenue is about 7.34 acres and they are here tonight relative to a two-phased operation. The first thing they want to do is get the annexation and zoning and the preliminary plan for the east side parcel so they can move an existing business which is now located on the west to the east side of Milwaukee Avenue and then open up that property for future development. Mr. Cowhey noted the east side parcel is approximately 7.34 acres to be used for a new yard waste for landscape waste transfer station. They are bringing in yard waste in, depositing it on the asphalt pavement, reloading it into larger trucks and taking it off to one of their compost facilities at other locations at both Lake, Cook and Will counties. They also sell landscape materials such as mulches, rock, sand and nursery stock. He stated they have applied to the Illinois EPA for a permit and have received that permit. They are now here for the annexation and zoning which will allow them to transition the west parcel operation to the east and then open this property for future development. Mr. Cowhey stated they have hired VOA as their architectural and land planning firm. He pointed out the 17 acre frontage which is virgin property and the back parcel encompasses 41 acres which includes the former landfill property. They have included uses of hotels, retail, and restaurants on the 17 acres in the front. The back parcel consists of a lot of parking and a large center of attraction called a piazza to pull this whole concept together. The second phase of this development would be more retail buildings on the far back piece of that property. Mr. Knapp stated Land and Lakes has been running multiple compost facilities for a very long time. He reviewed the type of operation procedures they follow. You have private landscapers and lawn maintenance companies hauling lawn clippings and brush. They bring the material into the facility up to the scales where it is weighed. They are given a ticket from the clerk who inspects the materials to make sure it is yard waste and then they bring the material around to be dumped. There is an operator on the front end loader that picks up the material. Semis are parked along the wall sitting on a scale which is then loaded to their maximum legal capacity and the material is hauled off the site to one of their composting facilities. The reason they have gone to a transfer station here versus active composting is because of how much the area here has been built up. Any kind of odor became intolerable to the people who operate in this area. He stated they have been operating a transfer station on the opposite side of the street for about three years now and since they switched from active composting to the transfer station they have had zero complaints about odors. Mr. Knapp pointed out where they will be storing their landscape materials. Small landscapers who drop off grass and leaves come over here to pick up landscape materials and then bring them back over to the scale house, pay and exit the facility. He pointed out the entrance to the facility where they believe IDOT is proposing the traffic signal. Commissioner Khan asked if there would be two access drives off Milwaukee Avenue, one with the signal and one without. Mr. Knapp stated yes. He further noted the middle access is an existing curb cut and they included it in the design. It is very possible and likely that IDOT will require that one to be eliminated which is fine with them. Commissioner Khan noted that his concern is the speed limit on Milwaukee at 45 mph and the slow moving landscaping trucks with trailers in the back who wish to make left turns would not be a good situation. Mr. Knapp stated he agreed with that assessment. Commissioner Teplinsky asked if there is a use contemplated or proposed for the rear portion of the parcel which appears to be fairly dense with trees and abuts the Des Plaines River. Mr. Knapp stated they are using the front portion of that where the trees do not exist as detention for stormwater. The back portion they will leave wooded. There is a walking and bike path along the river there and there will be a good screening of vegetation between them and the path. Commissioner Stark asked if there would be big piles of compost left or is it taken away right away. Mr. Knapp noted their permit from IEPA requires the yard waste be transferred with 24 hours of receipt so there will be piles overnight that will be transferred out first thing in the morning but that is the maximum amount allowed. Commissioner Stark noted this new proposed facility appears about eight times smaller than what they have now. Mr. Knapp stated in reality has an area set aside as the transfer area and it is actually about the same size. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if the current transfer station is a 24 hour facility. Mr. Knapp stated no as none of them are 24 hour facilities. Chairman Ottenheimer asked what happens on weekends. Mr. Knapp stated they are open Saturdays and Saturday night it must all be gone. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if there have been any citations, complaints, inquiries, etc. on the current facility from the Illinois EPA. Mr. Knapp stated no. Commissioner Khan asked if the facility is gated. Mr. Knapp stated yes and pointed to the gates and assured all that access would be restricted. Commissioner Teplinsky asked what exists just south of the parcel. Mr. Knapp stated that area is a private business which is a roll off garbage collection dumpster type of operation. Commissioner Teplinsky asked if there any residents just to the south and east of that. Mr. Putnam stated there are two homes, one immediately south of this parcel which is the roll off operation of basic construction type containers and that house is used apparently as some type of guard house. The same situation exists on the parcel immediately south of that parcel which is another company called the Mulch Center which has another home. The workers who work at that facility live in that facility. Mr. James Putnam stated they have been in conversation with Mr. Kuenkler and worked with him and can iron out any issues he had. He has approved the site plan for the detention in the back as well as the flood plain, compensatory storage and everything associated with it. They have preliminarily submitted other plan on the west side to Mr. Kuenkler and he has approved the layout for detention and everything else. Mr. Matt Norton stated the Village currently does not have in its zoning code a landscape transfer station as a permitted or special use so they would need a text amendment to the zoning code. He stated that Village staff would agree that the Industrial District is probably the appropriate place for a special use for a landscape waste transfer station. They have included in the application a proposed text amendment. They have used as a basis for the text amendment the language that already exists in the Illinois Environment Protection Act that defines some of the terms. The text amendment would include a couple of components such as to simply add landscape waste transfer station as a special use in the Industrial District. Then they would want to define some of the terms so they would add a couple of definitions. The definition of landscape waste is based on the definition of that term under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act: any accumulation of grass or shrubbery, cuttings, leaves, tree limbs or other materials accumulated as the result of lawn, shrubbery, vines or trees. Finally a definition of landscape waste transfer station which is a site or facility that accepts landscape waste for temporary storage or consolidation and further transfers to another site facility or vehicle. Commissioner Weinstein asked if the word "temporary" itself was defined. Mr. Norton stated it is not. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if that would be something that would need to be put into the Village" text amendment. Mr. Norton stated it could be done as a part of this definition or include it as a condition to the special use permit. Chairman Ottenheimer noted it may be better as a condition to the special use permit. Mr. Putnam stated they have a meeting set up with IDOT to discuss the traffic signal and location with the north access point which was predetermined by IDOT. That also ties with the west parcel. They will find out more details at their next meeting with IDOT on how to proceed. Commissioner Khan stated he is looking at the geometrics of the intersection where the signal will go and asked if there will be an exclusive right turn lane for the east parcel and a left for the west parcel and two through lanes. If that is the case, he asked if more right-of-way may be required then for the widening of Milwaukee Avenue. Mr. Putnam stated that is something they will definitely bring up with IDOT and see what they will need. Commissioner Weinstein asked if they anticipate any increased use of the facility with the move to the west side. Mr. Cowhey stated they are basically looking at the same operation and volume of business. Mr. Cowhey stated the new proposed Lake County Forest Preserve trail is depicted on the very east portion of their east parcel. They have sold off to them at their request approximately just under an acre of property for the portion of land that abuts their property. He noted he does not think they have all the pieces as yet to put that together, although it is their intent to connect that from the north and south along the river. He noted they are looking at an opportunity to connect their east parcel to that trail. It would certainly make sense although they are not as yet sure about the IDOT traffic signal. It would seem to make sense that if they could connect where the traffic signal connects, it would be ideal but they are still going through discussions with IDOT. However, it is their intent if they can put the traffic signal at the north property line of the east side which is just about equal distance in the middle of the west parcel. Commissioner Bocek noted that property with frontage along Milwaukee Avenue has potential for commercial development, so why is the transfer facility being proposed for the East Parcel instead of at the rear of the West Parcels, where it would not be highly visible. Mr. Cowhey stated they have tried to come up with the best plan possible. One of things they tried to do was to maximize the use of the West Parcels. The west area is better suited for commercial development than the East Parcel. He noted that the East Parcel is encumbered because of the flood plain/flood way issues, and relatively little land is available for buildings. In the overall planning for the west and east properties, it makes the most sense to relocate the landscape waste transfer operation to the east side of Milwaukee Avenue. Commissioner Bocek asked why the two areas being shown aren't mover farther back so that it is more presentable from Milwaukee Avenue. Mr. Putnam noted that nothing that would block the flow of water east of the flood plain line can be built. Mr. Cowhey reviewed the west parcel and noted the elevation changes which are approximately 15 to 20 feet in difference between the frontage 17 acres and the rear parcel. He stated there are two reasons for the phasing. First it is logical and easy to do the frontage 17 acres. It is virgin land right on Milwaukee Avenue and lends itself easily to starting this development. The rear parcel has one area of concern which is the former landfill which is in post closure care which is a 15 year period of time the property is monitored and maintained. They have been doing this now for about 12 '/z years and they have about 2 '/z years left on that time period. This does not prevent them from fully developing the area but it does prevent them from entirely developing it. They can put parking on the back which they are showing and they can do the piazza and a number of things in and around it but they must wait the 2 '/z years to the rear buildings. Mr. Jan Merl stated one way they will take advantage of the remaining time of the post closure period will be by doing some ground improvements. There are issues from potential settlement and when you add additional load on it there will be more settlement. She stated there things that can be done to get around settlement problems. The foundations will be important and need to be designed so if there is differential settlement you don't have cracking. You want to keep the structural loading as low as possible which can possibly be achieved through smaller bay sizes so you do not have light spans between columns which would add more tributary area to load the foundations. They can also do some proactive engineering by preloading the soil by placing concrete blocks and add weight out there. They can also do the soil berms and just increase the load temporarily so that the landfill material has time to settle. Then you take that out and you can start your building over it and it helps reduce the amount of settlement. Another approach would be to do some compaction which would help support the building and reduce differential settlement. Another engineering issue would be handling of gas. She noted they encountered a lot of lumber and when you have organic matter decomposing it gives off methane gas and carbon dioxide. When you build over that you want to make sure that you vent this gas away. She noted it is very possible to engineer the building so that you could vent off this gas. The final issue to consider here is the grade change and getting up to that back parcel. You will need to construct some ramps to get back up there. Any time you add soil on top of soil you are preloading it significantly. She stated they need to look at preloading and possibly using lighter weight fills when it is constructed. Commissioner Khan asked if there is something called continuous footing which designs the footing for all the building which are contiguous to each other rather than just having a footing for each building. Ms. Merl stated one type of foundation they are looking at would build a structural box with walls, floor and ceiling and inside you would ideally leave it hollow. This would be constructed below the existing grade. This way the hollow space would eliminate extra loading from the soil that was there. You would eventually remove the soil that is there, put in a structural box and since that space would be open you would be able to facilitate the removal of the gas that could collect underneath the building. You could conceivably construct that across for all three buildings but it probably would not matter too much as long as each building had its own structural box. It could possibly be more of an issue if you have grade changes between the three buildings if they are not exactly at the same elevation. Commissioner Khan asked if there is a possibility of excavating this fill and bringing in clay to make sure the foundation and its structure is steadier. Ms. Merl stated it would be very costly to remove any of the waste and haul it off site. It is not very good environmentally either because you increase fuel costs and you are just moving waste from one location to another. There are ways to engineer around waste. Commissioner Stark asked about the soil borings and asked if different areas will have different engineering issues. He asked if there might be some engineering hang ups without solutions. Ms. Merl stated composition in waste varies but they did not see a lot of debris. Commissioner Smith asked for a review of the parking elevation issue and how that will work as well as the negatives of that situation. Mr. Cowhey stated they can discuss this better at a later point. Chairman Ottenheimer asked what is planned in terms of the commercial uses there. Ms. Cowhey stated they still feel their name is attached to this re-development and they want to come out with a quality product. One of the things that is a great advantage is that this is in Buffalo Grove which is a great socio-economic area. It has all the characteristics for bringing in high end retail. When they look at this site they note there will be increased costs of development due to its nature but they think with these demographics they can bring in the high end that will help to payoff the additional costs. She noted one of the reasons they have gone with VOA as their planning firm is their incredible architectural division and their planning department has a reputation for creating a destination location. Here with the 20 foot elevation from the frontage which cannot be ignored they felt they wanted it to be made into an asset. She noted this is such a prime retail area and could be more of a retail tax base for the Village. Ms. Cowhey stated with the piazza idea that VOA has come up with you will have from the stop light a view up to the top. What they are trying to do is create the piazza look with some of the teaser parking that gets people to come in that have more of the parking garage system on that elevation where you would have sky bridge kind of access over to the frontage area. Right now they are looking at themed development up front. The three frontage spots will probably be restaurants. Every major restaurant company on the high end of the market has contacted them. The rear will be retail especially more of a themed retail. Possibly high end home stores that are going for green products which can be tied into the bike trail. Ms. Cowhey noted the variable settlement that will take place on the rear portion needs to be worked on to be as settled as possible and then they can see how large a footprint can go there. By then they should be able to identify more of the retailers that would be interested. Ms. Cowhey further noted that between the first row of retail and the frontage there is a street that goes through and the idea is to have the street connect through the theaters in City Park and connect down to Busch Parkway right between the building that is at the light there. Chairman Ottenheimer noted that nothing can be built for at least another 2 '/z years. Ms. Cowhey stated the frontage could be developed immediately. From the time that approvals would start they are not so far out from getting the structure in. As soon as the yard waste transfer is moved to the east portion, they can then start doing things such as dealing where the ramps are going to go, putting some of the surcharging on and the parking area to service the frontage. With infrastructure development which can start immediately after approvals they are probably looking at getting the first outlot moving pretty quickly on the frontage but they will not be building on the far rear until the post closure runs in 2 '/z years. Chairman Ottenheimer noted they will not be able to build on the far rear portion even after the 2 '/z years. Ms. Cowhey stated they have heard from the engineers that the sizes they have projected are likely but it is going to come down to how much it has settled and how much does it cost. It changes the tenants that you will have in there. It is definitely all feasible but is a question of what tenant is going to pay for that. There are certain tenants in the market place that actually want the idea of being on a redeveloped site. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if Land and Lakes has been involved with developing other parcels. Ms. Cowhey stated over the last 15 years they have done several residential subdivisions and they also build big box industrial warehouses. They are also doing a town center development which is 80 acres in Pleasant Prairie right now. Chairman Ottenheimer asked about the proposed hotel. Ms. Cowhey stated they definitely have hotel interest on the site which is one of the things staff had mentioned. They have been referred to a lot of hotel brokers by Village staff. This will depend again on where the market is as it is developed. The interest they are finding is from the business hotel line. The types of hotels that have contacted them have been business hotels or suite hotels where they are looking to catering to the business customer. They generally do not have a restaurant enclosed and want to see restaurants on the out parcel. They are looking at about 150-200 rooms at about 4-6 stories which works well if you are going to have parking for the hotel be across the bridge. She stated they have not made any commitments to anyone but they have gotten dozens of calls from either brokers representing hotel chains or from the chains themselves. Their concern is if they want to go high end retail they must have the hotel that matches that. Commissioner Bocek stated when you do a site plan you have to have an idea on who you are appealing to. However, she stated it sounds as if they are trying to appeal to the high end specialty retailer and that concerns her because she does not think it is conducive to that kind of retailer. The back area is probably much more destination oriented and there are probably bigger box users for this. She stated the area still has a kind of strip center feel in her mind. There are really two separate developments and she does not think anyone is going to park in this back area and then walk all the way around to the front of the retail spaces. She stated they might want to think a bit more on whom they want to appeal to and make some modifications that way. Ms. Cowhey stated one of the things that is very popular in this market are some of the furniture stores further north and the rear here might actually fit the Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn type stores. Some of those stores are already two-story stores. This site may be fit for some of the mid line types of things for home purchases. Given the fact that they have different sizes they are going to be able to find main line retailers with the high end cache. The parking issue is something they will keep on designing and figuring out a way to make it more accessible. Commissioner Bochek asked if they had actually shown this plan to the Restoration Hardware type people. Ms. Cowhey stated they have talked to all of those kinds of stores through brokers. Their broker reps have said they want this location and they have told them the sizes of the footprints they usually like and have said they are interested in being here and it is a question of when it comes on the market and where else they are then. These sizes would accommodate a mix of those types of retailers. Commissioner Bochek asked how the two story retail works. Ms. Cowhey stated some of it might be a false second floor appearance. She stated her preference is to have the same retailer on both stories. Commissioner Smith asked what is a reasonable time frame to get going on the front portion. Ms. Cowhey stated they have been discussing annexation and development issues with the Village, and if the annexation agreement is finalized soon, they could start doing the infrastructure improvements late this spring. The next point would be IDOT approvals. The transition from the west side to the east side would happen immediately once there are approvals. Commissioner Smith asked for details on the piazza concept. Mr. Groesbeck stated the intent here is the overriding architectural content. The activity based environment makes people want to come here. He stated as they started to look at this site they are trying to grasp a sense of the community as every community is different. He noted they also look at what makes developments successful around the area. He noted that if you create a great place to come where people know it by the collection or entire environment they will come to that place and will have knowledge of the stores. The architectural environment would say a lot about this particular place that starts to say it is a good place to hang around, good place to circulate. That is not something that is done overnight but rather developed and it is a real synergy between the planning of the architecture. Once you create that place then you create the value in the front parcel which will create value in the back parcel and everyone identifies it as an area. One example is the Oak Brook shopping center. You cannot see the stores from the outside. You must park and go inside but since it is such a nice place to go, you go there and keep going there. Mr. Groesbeck stated many of the town centers are basically based on just getting the ability to see something on the street and go in. The concept is to create an activity based environment that attracts visitors. Mr. Groesbeck noted that part of their strategy is to raise the elevation on the west parcel so that the separation between the back parcel and the front parcel is minimized. This design would work with well—directed circulation focused on activity areas. Mr. Groesbeck stated that a very important principal they are trying to address is visibility from Milwaukee Avenue. They are trying to create a connection between the stores, allowing an intense pedestrian experience that would be seen from Milwaukee Avenue. The coordination of design, landscape and ultimately the architecture of this place would give it thematic appeal that works both on an iconic level but also on an activity level. The entrance area should allow people to see the other components of the development. They think the issue of seeing activity, being visible and having an overall architectonic character are the components that will make this particular site successful. Commissioner Smith asked for Mr. Groesbeck to define the piazza concept. Mr. Groesbeck stated the piazza concept is a place that caters to a very comfortable pedestrian experience as connections between the different places in the stores. It is a place where if there were restaurants people would sit outside when weather permits and it is a place that would be comfortable with families with children to walk between stores. It is also the connecting theme between all the components of the development. Commissioner Smith asked if any banks or pharmacies are slated here. Ms. Cowhey stated they are allowing space for one bank and one office, etc. If the idea of a hotel dries up within the next year it might become an office building with a bank. But this plan does not include any specific spots for a bank. Commissioner Myer noted that when you look at this plan with the total amount of square footage that is proposed with respect to the three restaurants, the two story retail and the potential of a hotel it seems rather congested. She stated it is congested simply from a parking standpoint. Also, part of the pedestrian experience is how close one parks to a destination and she asked how the parking component would be adequately addressed, knowing that we also have some climate factors that need to be taken into consideration. Mr. Groesbeck stated that most new developments actually accept the idea of congestion and closeness. As long as you know where you can go when you do not see a parking space and it is very clear as to where parking is going to be it is not that much of a problem. Chairman Ottenheimer asked how serious they were about opportunities for buildings to be designed for the LEED "green building" certification. Mr. Groesbeck stated he is a LEED certified professional There is actually one category that covers retail and mixed use. The components of LEED that this would fit into is the fact that they are reusing a site that was once a landfill site, the way they handle stormwater can be done in such a way that would certify for LEED and then the way they construct the buildings. More and more retailers are realizing the importance of lighting and energy. Mr. Cowhey stated they believe there is an aspect of this that can be green and LEED is a big part of that. If they can do parts of it as they look into it. Commissioner Myer noted that often, especially with LEED type buildings or buildings that incorporate some of those elements, there is not necessarily a big cost differential to embrace some of those opportunities up front. She stated she would encourage the developer to make sure that they are doing right by the environment. Chairman Ottenheimer noted the plan provides for essentially less parking spaces than the requirement. Mr. Groesbeck stated the plan provides 1,318 spaces for the first phase. For the first phase they would be building part of the parking lot in the back which they can do right away and together that would give them the 1,320 spaces required for the development. Chairman Ottenheimer asked if there was any intention on the part of the developer to ask for a variation in the number of parking spaces required. Mr. Groesbeck stated no. Commissioner Smith asked the developer to review the elevation of the parking lot. Mr. Groesbeck noted there are a lot of challenges with an elevation difference. That is why they felt it was important to have a pretty comprehensive piazza system that connects everybody. He reviewed the proposed plan which is still in developmental stages. Chairman Ottenheimer asked about the internal pedestrian sidewalks and paths. Mr. Groesbeck stated they will work with the Plan Commission to determine what the best way to connect pedestrian activities. They could create a setback and a defined walkway in front along Milwaukee Avenue or as they develop this system they could bring it back and through within the development and integrate it with the development itself. There are a couple of ways of approaching that and as they get into more detail part of that will be what the Commission is best for the community. Chairman Ottenheimer asked for some detail on vehicular access connections to the adjacent properties. Mr. Groesbeck stated there is a potential development to the south that is actually looking to see what happens here before those plans are solidified. Then there is the development to the north. One of the issues is where they actually make this connection so that they can get people off the street and have this cross connection. They are looking at combining the connection to the properties on the north and also possibly where they are servicing some of the stores so that they can bring people up and through this development and then make it clear that it connects to that roadway system and people can be brought in and out of this development at any one point. Commissioner Khan noted that some kind of cross easement access will be necessary from the parcel owner on the north and to the south and he asked if the developer has spoken to them about connection to the north. Mr. Cowhey stated yes. He noted they have had numerous conversations with Scott Greenberg who is the owner/developer of both City Park and the parcel immediately south of them. They have been talking for a number of years and he is receptive to their plans and it is to the benefit of both of these properties to make these connections and make them work because they will have a new signal somewhere in the middle of their property serving both east and west parcels and there will also be a signal that he has with the connection that comes out onto Aptakisic Road. There is also a signal at Busch Parkway. It really makes a lot of sense to connect them all and to have the ability for anyone to traverse through the three properties. Chairman Ottenheimer asked where IDOT is in terms of right—of—way for future improvements to Milwaukee Avenue. Mr. Putnam stated they will meet with IDOT and advise the Plan Commission of IDOT's comments at the next meeting. Chairman Ottenheimer asked about opportunities for connections to bus and rail facilities for employees traveling to the property. Mr. Cowhey stated VOA has looked at this as it makes a lot of sense and if there is an opportunity or way to have a bus stop internally in there it would be nice. He noted there is a shuttle right now that runs northeast of this property on Milwaukee Avenue that shuttles back and forth to the Buffalo Grove Metra station. There might be a way to connect a shuttle including the City Park property, Land & Lakes and the parcel at Busch Parkway. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT—None FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil noted that the next regular meetings are December 19d'and January 2nd, and he will advise the Commission if these meetings are canceled. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None STAFF REPORT—None NEW BUSINESS—None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Bocek and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 9:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair