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2007-11-07 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: ❑A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 11/07/2007 Type of Meeting: PUBLIC HEARING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION November 7, 2007 Congregation B'Nai Shalom 701 Aptakisic Road Amendment of special use concerning proposed child day care facility Chairman Ottenheimer called the hearing to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers, Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Chairman Ottenheimer read the Notice of Public Hearing as published in the Buffalo Grove Daily Herald, explained the procedure to be followed for the public hearing, and swore in all persons who wished to give testimony. Commissioners present: Chairman Ottenheimer Mr. Smith Ms. Bocek Mr. Khan Mr. Teplinsky Mr. Stark Mr. Cohn Ms. Meyer Mr. Weinstein Commissioners absent: None Also present: Mr. Lev Treybas Mr. Rob Cheifetz Mr. William Brimm, Village Manager Ms. DeAnn Glover, Village Trustee Mr. William Raysa, Village Attorney Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner The following exhibits were presented by the petitioner at the public hearing: Exhibit A: Memo to the Plan Commission from Robert Pfeil dated November 2, 2007 Mr. Lev Treybas stated he is the owner of a home daycare facility. He stated he received his license from DCFS two years ago. He has had many years of experience in Israel as a manager of a day care center. The inspector for the DCFS recommended he find a place for more children. They made contact with Congregation B'Nai Shalom which has an educational wing which can be organized into a daycare center. Mr. Treybas noted the educational wing includes eight rooms together with restrooms. It is equipped with fire alarms and all other requirements. There are two entrances and everything is ready for daycare. Mr. Treybas stated the total number of children they can care for is 96 with a total staff of 13. He stated the hours of operation would be 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cars arrive from about 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. In the evening pickup is from about 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. There are about 100 parking spaces available for parking. He noted DCFS requires 25 square feet per child. He further stated the first year will probably have 50 children at most. Mr. Treybas noted they are open only Monday through Friday whereas the congregation has its activity mainly on Saturday and Sunday and the daycare will cause no hindrance. Mr. Rob Cheifetz stated the congregation moved to this space in 1981 and had about 350 member families with plans to expand to about 400 member families. Therefore the space is quire large and the parking is expansive. At the time there was a synagogue wing with a place for bar mitzvahs and such. There is also an education wing where there was a plan to have Hebrew school for all the children. At times it was used heavily although in recent years the education wing has been empty and synagogue membership has dropped. In 2001 there were about 250 member families and it has stayed at that level. The space itself is underused and there is room to grow and the education wing is certainly underused. Mr. Cheifetz stated the daycare center should not overlap to any great extent to what the congregation does. He noted their biggest crowds are for the Jewish holidays and because the daycare center is going to be required to operate by the congregation's religious guidelines it means the daycare center would be required to be closed on the Jewish holidays. Mr. Cheifetz stated they do have some services weekday mornings with only about 10 men but that traffic should not overlap with the daycare traffic because they start about '/z hour before the daycare center and finish 10-15 minutes before it starts. Mr. Cheifetz stated they are excited at the opportunity to rent the space out as it has been empty for a long time. Mr. David Rabin, real estate agent, stated this service will be a good thing for both sides. Ms. Victoria Rabin, stated her child attends Mr. Treybas' daycare and she enjoys it very much. She stated she is looking forward to having a more religious concentration in the daycare. They hope it will bring more multi-lingual facilities to the Russian community and thereby draw them into Jewish life. Olga Tabachnik stated her soon has been in Mr. Treybas' daycare now for over a year. She is extremely pleased with her son's progress at the daycare. Getting a bigger place will definitely be better for all as they can provide wider services Mr. Michael Vayner, 538 LaSalle Ct., stated his child has been going to Mr. Treybas' daycare for two years and he is very impressed with the progress his child is making. He is excited about the plan for a bigger facility which will make way for his child to learn Hebrew as well as Russian and English. Commissioner Smith asked if the synagogue is being used at all throughout the day. Mr. Cheifetz stated on weekdays the synagogue section of the building has one woman in the office to answer phones and do paperwork. Otherwise the synagogue is not used until occasionally in the evening at 7:30 if a member is in morning for a family member and they request a service. If they have such a service there is generally not more than 10-15 people. In the education wing there is a Hebrew after school. They do not come until the evening about 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and there are about 20 kids Monday through Thursday. Commissioner Teplinsky asked if the congregation owns the building. Mr. Cheifetz stated yes. Commissioner Teplinsky asked if the proposed lease is contingent upon the congregation continuing to own and occupy the property. Mr. Cheifetz stated he is not sure, but the lease is not final and if there is something the commission would like included it can be done. Commissioner Khan noted there was already a pre-school and daycare center here before and asked why another approval from the Plan Commission was necessary. Mr. Cheifetz stated they were surprised initially to hear that they needed to come before the Plan Commission for a special use. He stated he was informed that the Board had checked and apparently no one ever applied to use it that way or if they had applied, no one could find the paperwork. It surprised everyone that they needed to come here. Commissioner Khan asked if a license has already been secured from DCFS for a bigger facility. Mr. Treybas stated he is working with his agent from DCFS for a new license. Commissioner Khan asked what would be done with the existing license if a new license comes from DCFS. Mr. Treybas stated he has not decided yet as he does not know how many children he will get permission for from DCFS. DCFS needs to decide what capacity they will allow for the first year. However, there is no way he can be in two places. If he gets a new license he cannot be at home. Commissioner Stark asked if there is a left hand turn lane on westbound Aptakisic into the property. Mr. Cheifetz stated yes. Commissioner Stark asked if the Village Health Officer has been out. Mr. Cheifetz stated he does not know. Commissioner Cohn asked for a description of the type of land use surrounding the property. Mr. Cheifetz stated to the east is a wetland area and west there is 10 acres of undeveloped property. After you get through that you are in Long Grove. To the north there is empty land and northwest of the synagogue there is a winery and southeast there is a subdivision. Mr. Raysa asked what is meant by future classrooms on the exhibit. He noted he sees future classrooms 1, 6, 7 and a serving room with a boundary around them that appears to indicate they do not exist. Mr. Cheifetz stated they are currently classrooms and they are what the future use the daycare intends to put to each of the rooms. In the future there will be a classroom as room one and they intend to use what could be a classroom as a serving room. All these rooms currently exist and have desks and chairs. Mr. Raysa further noted the summary shows morning hours starting as 6:30 a.m. and he thought the testimony was 7:00 a.m. Mr. Cheifetz stated the daycare itself will start at 7:00 a.m. but sometimes parents like to get there early and Mr. Treybas' intent was to show from a traffic perspective when may be at the building and to be safe he put 6:30 a.m. There being no further comments or questions from anyone else present, Chairman Ottenheimer closed the public hearing at 8:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: ❑A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 11/07/2007 Type of Meeting: PUBLIC HEARING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION November 7, 2007 Lord's Love Community Church 1250 Radcliffe Road Review of amendment of special use ordinance Chairman Ottenheimer called the hearing to order at 8:15 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Chairman Ottenheimer read the Notice of Public Hearing as published in the Buffalo Grove Daily Herald, explained the procedure to be followed for the public hearing, and swore in all persons who wished to give testimony. Commissioners present: Chairman Ottenheimer Mr. Smith Ms. Bocek Mr. Khan Mr. Teplinsky Mr. Stark Mr. Cohn Ms. Myer Mr. Weinstein Commissioners absent: None Also present: Rev. Jeom Ok Kim, Lord's Love Community Church Mr. Rob Sherman Mr. Betty Haag, Betty Haag Academy of Music Ms. Mindy Seo Mr. Jonathan Sherman Mr. David Dordek, Attorney at Law Mr. Warren Skora, Attorney at Law Ms. DeAnn Glover, Village Trustee Mr. William Raysa, Village Attorney Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner Chairman Ottenheimer stated it would not be in the best interests of everyone here to be repetitive. Everyone on the Commission knows that the Betty Haag Academy is world renowned and the issue is not whether the Betty Haag Academy is good or not. The issue tonight really concerns the type of uses and the impact the uses may have. The following exhibits were presented by the petitioner at the public hearing: Group Exhibit A: Lord's Love Presentation of Church Uses and Parking Usage, dated November 7, 2007 Exhibit B: Memo from Robert Pfeil to the Plan Commission dated November 2, 2007 Exhibit C: Petition from Ron Mraz, dated November 7, 2007 Exhibit D: Document from Betty Haag Academy, dated November 7, 2007 Exhibit E: Letter from Alan Wegner, dated November 6, 2007 Exhibit F: Letter from Judith& Wesley Hougsted dated November 2, 2007 Mr. David Dordek stated he believes this hearing was called to discern what the word commercial use means. At present time the ordinance allows for "a place of worship and religious school and other uses, including, music and dance and athletic programs, academic enrichment programs, social and health services and child daycare." He stated Mindy Seo has applied for various permits for a build out and has been approved for those by the building commission for health and fire and is merely awaiting her license from DCFS in order to start this school. The church is working within the ordinance as it is operating a place of worship and religious schools as well as other ancillary uses including a music program and now desires daycare. He stated the Plan Commission has recommended language to modify the ordinance to provide community services such as daycare, small scale educational or personal enrichment opportunities such as music and dance lessons, academic programs and counseling and health screening and that other uses which are ancillary and not overly commercial in nature be allowed and that non-worship activities provide community services. The church is fully in favor of modifying or amending the ordinance to allow that so long as the primary use of the church is not commercial, that the church be allowed to lease out its space or use its space in ancillary uses which are compatible with the use of the church. He stated he does not see where the use of a daycare center, whether it is leased for various reasons, or whether it is wholly owned and operated by the church makes any significant difference. Traffic would be the same, the benefit to the community would be the same and the assistance of the church would be the same. Reverend Kim prepared a handout of the information asked for at the previous meeting. The current and future use for the church is for worship but the rental of some space is for the purpose of serving to their membership and the neighbors as well as laying the foundation for their ministry. He stated their worship services begin at 6:00 a.m. There is bible study at 10:00 a.m. and a pray meetings on Fridays. The estimate of cars daily is not heavy with perhaps 15-20 cars. Friday cars total about 45 and Sunday totals about 80 cars. Ms. Mindy Seo stated she has been trying to open a daycare inside the Lord's Love Church for about one year. She stated she has applied for the various permits for renovation to fire alarms, sprinklers etc. She finally has all the permits and has been approved from all the different departments. For now she has applied for a license for 40 children. She stated she is renting about 2,600 square feet from the church. She will be operating from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. She noted for her business there would be a maximum of about five parked cars throughout the day as most parents will be dropping the children off. Between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. parents will be coming in and out as well as between 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Chairman Ottenheimer stated it is his understanding of the issue tonight that the Plan Commission and the Village Board had approved certain ancillary uses in the church and there was either a misunderstanding or disconnect as to whether the church itself would be running these actual ancillary activities or whether the church would be able to use outside entities to lease space for these activities. Tonight the Commission is being called on to determine whether the ordinance should be amended so as to clarify that situation. Chairman Ottenheimer stated it did not come as a surprise to him that the church had contemplated ancillary activities that were not run by the church itself. He had attended all of the workshops and has looked at the minutes of all the meetings and clearly Mr. Skora had indicated at that time that they were going to lease to entities that had ancillary services that were approved. The question then is, do we want to amend the ordinance to clarify that situation? He further stressed the only question the Commission should really consider tonight is the impact, if any, the Betty Haag Academy has on the neighborhood. Chairman Ottenheimer read an excerpt from Mr. Pfeil's memo to the Plan Commission dated November 2, 2008. If amendment to the ordinance is deemed necessary, the type of language that may be utilized may be as follows: "Notwithstanding this prohibition concerning commercial use, the Property may be used for activities that provide a community service such as child day care or provide small-scale education or personal enrichment opportunities such as music and dance lessons, academic programs, and counseling and health screening. The Village shall determine, in its sole discretion, if uses are consistent with the intent of Ordinance No. 2005-28 that the primary use of the Property is a place of worship; that other uses are ancillary and not overtly commercial in nature; and that non-worship activities provide community service or education/personal enrichment." Ron Mraz, 1261 Radcliffe, stated he lives directly across the street from the church and has been there for 30 years. He stated the ordinance that had previously existed with the JCC was a great relationship. He passed out copies of a petition. Chairman Ottenheimer read the petition into the minutes as follows: "I know that Lord's Love Community Church has special use in R-5 District, for a place of worship and religious school and related uses. I thought when Lord's Love Community Church was granted the special use it was for their church only. I thought no other tenants could use this building unless they where affiliated with the church. The ordinance was the same as the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, only a few things changed. This was zoned for Lord's Love Community Church at the hearing. They did not bring up outside tenants to use their building. There are tenants in the building now since the church took over. They are not affiliated with the church. This building was not to be used for commercial use when the Village voted on it. They also have a day care coming in. Is it affiliated with the church? We would like to know in what way. When the Village voted it was for Lord's Love Community Church to purchase the property only and its use. They where asked many times can they afford the cost of maintaining the property by the Village of Buffalo Grove." Mr. Mraz stated there used to be a buffer of bushes which was taken out of the new ordinance for the church. He would like to see these put back in as these bushes were a good coverage from lights. The Academy has people all parking at the very end and the lights are always shining into his home. He asked how long the leases are for and noted there are townhomes being built in the area and there are also the new condominiums in the area and all of this contributes to the traffic. He stated you cannot get in or out of the intersection at Thornton and Old Arlington Heights Road right now. He stated a sign is needed there to have traffic leave an opening so that people can get out as well as signage that says local traffic only. He further noted there has been no hearing for the residents relative to the daycare concerning parking and noise or anything of that sort. He stated he would not like to see the building become commercial because it is a residential neighborhood. Mr. Patrick Metcalf introduced Mrs. Haag and passed out information discussing the traffic issue. Mrs. Betty Haag stated the Betty Haag Academy of Music is a non-sectarian school consisting of families of all ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds. Every other Saturday the students from the school gather at a different location in Buffalo Grove to make beautiful music together in preparation for their annual Orchestra Hall concert...each year at Christmas all the children come together to play Hanukah music as well as traditional carols. Those who wish not to take part in the concert because of religious beliefs simply do not participate but do not prevent the other students from enjoying the concert. For several years the school has operated quietly in the Lord's Love Community Church, a building which years ago was a public school and ideal for the operation of their music school. It was not until August 9, 2007 while Mr. Rob Sherman was taking pictures of the church property that he noticed the unobscure sign above the entrance. Until then he had no knowledge of the school existence in his neighborhood. Therefore, Mr. Sherman's complaints regarding the impact of the school's traffic into his area is groundless and without justification. No one traveling to or from the school enters Radcliffe Road, Stonebridge Road, Boxwood Road or Mill Creek Road as noted in the recent petition. All families drive from Arlington Heights Road into the parking lot. Since Mr. Sherman did not know of the school's existence for two years it indicates that the traffic from the school had no impact on the Mill Creek residents. Mr. Sherman's contention about hundreds of cars in the parking lot are deceptive. Adjacent to the building is also a public playground and a little league baseball and soccer field with multiple games being played during the year. These visitors also use the church parking area. Mrs. Haag further noted the school's calendar year begins in September and runs through the first week in June with a two week winter break and two week spring break. Mr. Sherman argues that this is a commercial operation within the church and suggests that they relocate the school to a strip mall so that parents attending lessons could put money into the Village. She stated that these parents are already frequenting the restaurants, music shop, clothing stores and other businesses in Buffalo Grove. She further noted it is ironic that the person making this complaint advertises on his website that he operates a travel agency business, a delivery business from his home. Apparently he is offering three commercial enterprises in his residence. Mrs. Haag sated when she applied for her business license in 2005 she as granted the license after the Village reviewed a traffic pattern and receiving no complaints from any neighbors. She stated she had submitted a careful analysis of their parking situation determined by the number of teachers teaching each day, the number of multiple children per family studying each half hour. On the average no more than five cars will come and go every teaching session. Mr. Dan Kublank is a parent of a child attending the Betty Haag Academy. He stated the Lord's Love Church does fill a need for the community in the Buffalo Grove area. They freely open their doors to outside groups, both sacred and secular to use their facilities. In that way they have become a community center for the Village. The Village outlines in their comprehensive plan opportunities "for the establishment of public spaces for community events and social interaction." It is also stated in the vision for 2025 that Buffalo Grove will strive to be a community that is diverse and multi-cultural. Buffalo Grove encourages the education of personal development, provides social and cultural programs and support for families and households. If these things do hold true, Buffalo Grove should allow the Lord's Love Community Church to continue its current operation as a church and as a community center. Currently the Betty Haag Academy uses the church facility to offer Suzuki violin lessons to a number of students from Buffalo Grove and the surrounding communities. The church's location is central to Libertyville and many other communities that the academy draws from. Mrs. Haag as well as I and many others wish to keep the academy in operation at the Lord's Love Community church. Any vote to change the current ordinance would be against the comprehensive plan the Village adopted, specifically to encourage and enhance education and personal development in the community. Mr. Rob Sherman, passed out minutes of the April 20, 2005 public hearing minutes where he has highlighted items he will be referring to. He stated it is his understanding from a previous meeting that they would be provided with a definition either by the Village Attorney or by Village staff as to what constitutes commercial use and what constitutes accessory use. Mr. Sherman noted that a prior comment made that the intense parking situation had not been a problem. He noted it had been a problem but no one was aware as to why there was such a problem for such a long time with so much parking going on there in the afternoon and evenings. Secondly, a comment was made in regards to the businesses he operates from his home. He noted those are home based businesses that are permitted by Village ordinance and operated consistent with the home based Village laws which include, among other things, no customers coming in. Mr. Sherman stated the issue is not the existence of the academy but the location and it is not just one person who is concerned as there were sixteen signatures on the petition presented by Mr. Mraz. Mr. Sherman noted that one of the church members had noted that under the ordinance accessory uses are allowed. However, he left out that in Section 3, paragraph A of the ordinance (2005-28) says that the worship and religious education is the principal use and accessory uses are allowed as proposed uses subject to review and approval by the Village. He noted the Village has not reviewed and approved these other uses yet. That is why we are here tonight. Also in Section A it states specifically that commercial use of a property is prohibited. Mr. Sherman stated the April 20, 2005 minutes shows Mr. Skora noted the programs and services will be primarily offered to the members of Lord's Love Community Church. However, they may be made available to other interested members of the community. These programs and services may be made by qualified outside parties who lease space to conduct such programs. He stated from his perspective the issue is not whether or not the services are offered directly by the church with their own people or whether they contract out. The issue is whether or not this is primarily for the benefit of members of the church. Mr. Sherman further noted from the April 20, 2005 minutes, there should be no confusion about their purpose as they are not seeking to be a commercial landlord. Any leases or rental agreements will be for the sole purpose to enable the church to offer the services and programs desired. The impact on the community and neighborhood will not be detrimental and will not unduly interfere with or injurious to the enjoyment of their property. He stated he feels that 50,000 trips a year into and out of his neighborhood are substantial and injurious to his neighborhood. Dance will include traditional Korean dancing that would be fairly limited. Mr. Skora noted they have provided this information to try to address some concerns that have arisen concerning the ability to run programs themselves or to have others run them and lease out space and have a second qualified party run these programs. Commissioner Teplinsky asked about Mr. Schar's comments about the appropriate use of the facility as a special use and a statement that the uses are compatible under the ordinance so long as they are for members of the congregation only. Mr. Sherman stated that at the previous workshop meeting his brother said there are people not only from throughout the metropolitan area but from out state that come in. That does not sound like members of the congregation. Mr. Pfeil stated that all activities should directly serve members of the congregation. Once again, he noted he agrees with that, whether it is an outside contractor or provided by the church itself. The promise was made that all activities should directly serve members of the congregation. He noted that Mr. Ron Mraz, 1261 Radcliffe, stated that tenants for the church be connected to the church and not separate entities rented out commercially. Mr. Skora stated any leasing they do will be solely for the purpose of accomplishing the objectives they have in the petition and would be programs or services that the church itself would provide if they had the resources to do so. If they want to have accessory uses such as music classes it is fine as long as that is for primarily the members of the congregation. It is the same thing for the daycare. If this daycare is for providing daycare services for members of the congregation and perhaps a few additional people from the community that want to participate that is fine also as long as it is primarily for the congregation. Mr. Sherman further noted that Mr. Craig Horwitz had commented at the public hearing on April 20, 2005 that it was amazing that a 65 member facility could finance something so large. He went on to say that he is concerned that the sub-leasing will be abused as it was in the case of the JCC who had leased the building to a college. Mr. Skora stated that clearly parking is an important issue and I had stated at that time that I feel the ordinance should apply and he thinks it is all about reasonableness. He stated it is still about reasonableness. The issue is whether it has a negative impact on the community. Mr. Sherman noted Mr. Skora continued at the public hearing on April 20, 2005 saying the impact on the community and the neighborhood would not be detrimental to the neighbors and would not unduly interfere with their use and enjoyment of the property or be injurious to their property values. He noted they are not seeking carte blanche approval to carry out any programs they wish. He stated they will not be a commercial landlord in any respect whatsoever. What happened to this promise? This ordinance does not need to be tweaked. It does not need to be modified, it needs to be abided by. Even in the proposed ordinance amendment you speak about low impact. This is not low impact as they something like 350 customers and you are looking at as many 100 trips in and out per day, 500 per week which is about 25,00 trips per year. That is a very intensive use and not what we agreed to. Mr. Sherman stated in conclusion Lord's Love Church is a fine organization but the promise made 2 '/z years ago was that this facility would be primarily a church and that any accessory uses, whether provided by the church or by outside contractors would be primarily for the benefit of church members and will not be simply a convenient commercial use where the residents or the neighborhood are bearing the impact of all this traffic. I ask that you keep the promise that was made and that the Betty Haag Academy locate to an appropriate location instead of a residential neighborhood with their high intensive usage. Mr. Rick Priller, parent of three children at the academy read a letter, dated November 6, 2007, from Alan Wegner who is a resident of Buffalo Grove. It states...he is a resident in Buffalo Grove and has a daughter enrolled in the academy. He notes her experience in the academy has afforded her opportunities that she may not have had otherwise. He states that his daughter's experiences may never have experienced without the dedication of Mrs. Haag and the generous support of the residents of Buffalo Grove and the surrounding community. It has been brought to the parent's attention that certain residents living in proximity to the church desire to amend Ordinance 2005-28 due to concerns over increased automobile traffic. He stated he believes these concerns are without merit and it is his understanding that the Ordinance 2005-28 grants the church to use the property as a place to worship and religious school and other uses including music, dance and athletic programs, academic enrichment programs, social and health services and a child daycare. I believe the academy's effect on local traffic is minimal at best. His daughter's lessons are on Saturday mornings and there are never more than 10-20 cars parked outside at any time during her lesson time. If each staff person and each student parent may have one car each in the lot at any given time on a Saturday morning. During the summer months there are Saturdays when many more cars may be parked in the church parking lot due to little league baseball games played at the park adjoining the church's property. The church graciously allows little league parents to use its parking lot so they do not have to disrupt the neighborhood by parking up and down Radcliffe Road. Furthermore, the church's entrance and exit area that opens to Radcliffe Road has been closed for years preventing any traffic from entering or exiting the church property to or from Radcliffe Road. The only operational entrance or exit to the church's parking lot is located off of Thornton Lane. The Thornton Lane entrance is located roughly 200 feet east of Old Arlington Heights Road. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that any of the church building patrons ever enter the residential area surrounding the church unless they live there. It should also be noted that the east side of the church's parking lot facing Radcliffe Road has been landscaped with the purpose of blocking the view of the parking lot from the homes along Radcliffe Road. Both of the property's prior owners had much greater traffic activity than the building's current owner has. During the Plan Commission's April 20, 2005 meeting Mr. Richard Katz of JFNC Facilities Corporation, the building's former owner stated that the daily population in the building fluctuated between 400-800 and with special events at times they got up to as many as 1800 people visiting the site on a single. The Lord's Love Community Church combined with the Betty Haag Academy have enough members to even generate as much traffic as the Duman Jewish Community Center did. He believes the Lord's Love Community Church has done everything possible to address the concerns of the local residents created as a result of the property's previous owner's intense use of the property. The church has been and continues to be a model neighbor. It is not uncommon or unreasonable for a church to let organizations to use their facilities for a contribution or a donation. The Buffalo Grove public schools allow outside organizations, including park districts, to you their facilities for a fee. These organizations depend on these sources of revenue to close budget gaps so they can continue to serve the community's needs. As a resident of Buffalo Grove I am honored that the Betty Haag Academy resides within our community. The academy provides programs and opportunities to our young people that the public schools cannot even begin to offer. The academy is a perfect representation of the Buffalo Grove Arts Commission mission statement which is to draw upon the diversity and artistic talent within the Buffalo Grove community and to promote a broad spectrum of the arts which will serve to enrich our Village. He encourages the Commission to dismiss the traffic concerns of the area residents and allow the Betty Haag Academy to operate out of its current location. Dr. Greg Cowell, Riverside, Illinois, stated if the benefit to the community is an important thing then it is an enduring benefit to Buffalo Grove. Mr. Jonathan Sherman, parent of two students, stated the academy and the staff inculcates certain values which are not seen often in our society. He stated there is not an intensive use of this building. There are only ever a handful of cars in the parking lot when you drive in. When you walk into the wing of the church in which the school is located there is very little activity with perhaps 5-10 kids there at one time. The fact is that we have not heard one person here say there has been a single car drive down a residential street of the neighborhood nor a single car parked on Radcliffe Road. This is not an intensive use of the building. Leaving the building empty would not be the highest and best use of this school building when there is a program of international renown that has found a home in Buffalo Grove. If the reason one could argue that the use is commercial is due to the presence of a lease. However, there are no customers coming and going and there is nothing being sold on the premises. There is no store operating there. To say that the use is commercial is merely incidental to the education use that is taking place on the property. He stated he is in support of the language of the proposed amendment. He asked that the Commission consider recommending to the Board that the school be permitted to have a modest sign mounted on the door. That kind of sign would not be offensive in an objective sense to the neighbors. It would make children and parents feel welcome rather than walking into the building without signage. Chairman Ottenheimer noted that signage is not an issue dealt with by the Plan Commission. Ms. Anya Raykovski stated she and her husband own a local business providing instruments for rental and purchase, instrument repair and restoration, accessory sales and music. She noted their business has increased due to the presence of the academy and this school has made a positive impact on the community as well as our business. Mr. Norm Kurz stated he lives three houses from the building in question. He stated it is not true that every resident who lives near by is concerned. He and his neighbors absolutely enjoy the company of Lord's Love Community Church in the community and they have been perfect neighbors. He stated have never had an issue with traffic or the people who attend the church and they are not concerned about the current use in the building. He stated they knew that there was music taught in the school as well as dance and they know there is space that is being leased to outside providers to provide music, dance and other services that enhances this community and he and his neighbors fully support that. Mr. Thomas Zeman, 2446 Grove, Berwyn, Illinois, stated he is one of the pianists at the Betty Haag Academy. He stated the Academy provides outstanding instrumental music instruction. Ms. Margaret Scymansky stated her son is a student at the academy. She noted she is shocked at this whole development. She noted the memo of November 2, 2007 which notes that both the police and fire departments have reviewed the current use of the property and have found nothing detrimental. She also stated that in the two years of coming to this school she has seen at most 5-10 cars in the parking lot. During the last two years of the school there have been no complaints from the residents. Just because one person objects to the use and brings unwarranted claims about the use it does not justify preventing this academy from remaining. Ms. Judith Hougsted stated she lives across the church at 1307 Radcliffe and the church never bothers her and when she received the letter she was indeed outraged. She stated she wrote a letter as requested by Mr. Pfeil. Chairman Ottenheimer read the letter stating: "We are neighbors at 1307 Radcliffe Road just south of Lord's Love Community Church and unfortunately we have a few people in our subdivision who have nothing better to do than to complain about the church and the type of activities they have in their house of worship for fears they have regarding expanded activities. It is the church's house and they should have the right to have programs, including music, dance, athletic programs, academic enrichment programs, social and health services and child daycare. They should not have to answer to the public as long as they are not doing anything illegal or disturbing the neighborhood. The previous owner had programs just like the church would like to have. To date the church has been very responsible and is an excellent neighbor. They have their own parking lot and never cause parking problems on our streets. My husband is a pastor working in Mundelein and they have various programs such as mentioned above." Mr. Ron Mraz stated there are four houses directly across from the property and the lights from parking face the homes and shine into the homes. Everyone parks at the far end even though there is a whole lot to park in. People living around the corner don's have the lights shining in their homes and doors opening and slamming. It would be more cooperative if they used the other part of the parking lot. He noted they did trim the bushes but it adds to the problem. They do keep the windows and doors closed in the music studio so they do not hear anything. He noted they are good neighbors and if perhaps they all parked at the front entrance like the JCC did it would be great. Ms. Karen Barnes, parent of a student at the academy, stated they are at the church because they felt the church would accept them. Dr. Jason Cheng stated he is a resident of Buffalo Grove and his children attend the academy and noted the children gain discipline and confidence that will help them to face many difficulties in life. These teachers are role models. This academy has a world class reputation for making positive impacts on future generations and we should be proud to have them in our neighborhood. He stated the parents were given specific instructions as to where to park and where not to park. He further noted he has never seen more than 5-6 cars in the parking lot. Ms. Kim Mulligan 1535 N. Vail, Arlington Heights, stated she is a former student of Betty Haag. She read a portion of a letter she wrote: "I implore you to maintain the location of this academy in the neighborhood in which it is located. Many children from this school of music attend local public schools and positively impact their music programs. My brother, who teaches at Buffalo Grove High School, has seen first hand the positive impact of Mrs. Haag's academy on the wonderful music program at Buffalo Grove High School because many of Mrs. Haag's students have had a positive impact on that program. Being a high school chemistry teacher myself at a local high school for many years I have seen a strong direct correlation between academic achievement and early and excellent musical training. The connection is undeniable and Mrs. Haag's academy provides both early and excellent musical training. Therefore, the impact of Mrs. Haag's academy on local schools, especially in Buffalo Grove, is seen in the area of academics as well as music. We all know that Mrs. Haag's academy is a prestigious school of music. It is filled with people who are not rowdy but are hard working and high achieving. It has a positive influence on local schools and is nothing but an asset to the surrounding community." Mr. Walter Gottesman, 201 Hibbard Road, Wilmette stated he drives his daughter to the academy often. Last week he noticed several teenagers in cars getting in and out of several cars and slamming doors. That area is somewhat isolated and it may be that other people do come and use that parking lot and this should be taken into account when looking at the overall picture of the traffic issues. Ms. Jackie Fisher stated she is a faculty member of the academy and stated that Mr. Rob Sherman may have miscalculated the number of cars coming and going because on any given day there are between three and ten teachers there and those cars do not leave. Therefore, those particular cars should be considered in the coming and going of cars. Mr. Rob Sherman stated the traffic is the most important issue that should be considered. Second, he is asking that the ordinance be preserved as is because from his perspective the ordinance does not allow this type of situation. Third, he asked that Mr. Skora comment on whether or not the presence of the academy is consistent with his promise that programs and services would be primarily offered to members of Lord's Love Community Church and that they will not be a commercial landlord in any respect whatsoever. Finally, he asked that the proposed ordinance modification add a requirement that parking for the Betty Haag Academy be located in the southwestern portion of the lot, along the Arlington Heights Road side closest to the building. Move the parking away from the four houses that are on Radcliffe. If you allow this use to remain, let's see if we can achieve some kind of balance of the various competing interests. Mr. Skora stated that two years ago when they filed their petition it clearly stated what their purposes were. Daycare and music schools were clearly listed as ancillary purposes. Also in the minutes of the proceedings of April 20, 2005 refers specifically and includes music schools and daycare. All of these activities are permitted special uses under provisions of Chapter 17.40.20. The programs and services will be primarily offered to the members of Lord's Love Community Church. Please note it does not say exclusively. However, as with many houses of worship they may be made available to other interested members of the community. There is no question that if a transcript of the workshop, board meetings and Plan Commission meetings from 2005 there were many references to the fact that it would likely be necessary for Lord's Love Community Church to basically lease out space to accomplish their goals and their mission as set forth in the petition. Clearly the church did not have then, and still does not have, their own substantial financial resources and personnel to be able to support and run these programs. Therefore as contemplated in 2005 and as presented to the Plan Commission and to the Board they clearly anticipated leasing out space to a qualified party those operations. Mr. Skora noted many of the Board members and a number of community members who questioned this issue of leasing received responses clearly indicating they would most likely do this and that the program would be open to people who were not members of the church. So there is no surprise and there was no indication at all that these programs would be exclusively for the church. Mr. Skora noted it is also important to note relative to Mr. Mraz that he does recall discussions and comments made about the bushes and screening. If it is a problem, they could accommodate that problem and ameliorate that situation. It was also his understanding from Pastor Kim that the bushes were cut in response to a request from one of the Village officials. However, the screening and landscaping problem can be remedied without any difficulties. Mr. Skora stated Mr. Sherman clearly knows his personal reasons for objecting to the proposed operation of the daycare. In 2005 he was a vehement objector and raised many points. At that time I made a comment and observation that he believed essentially the Plan Commission was being served an entree of a red herring and tonight we are being presented with a very generous second serving of that same entree. There is no question that Lord's Love Community Church has been a responsible member of the community, is providing important service and that the music program clearly is beneficial and not in any way impacting in an unfavorable manner on surrounding property or the community. The proposed operation of the daycare, which was clearly specified in their application, was approved as an ancillary purpose and should be approved at this point. We are completely in accord with the proposed modification to the amendment to further clarify the nature of the operation and the legitimacy of it. The amendment proposed by the Plan Commission is appropriate and will address the concerns of the community, the neighbors and is reasonable and fair. Mr. Skora stated as a final comment with respect to the daycare program, it is his understanding the Village has approved and granted a number of permits with respect to that daycare operation and there is no reason where their would be any detriment to the community or neighbors. There being no further testimony, comments or questions from anyone else present, Chairman Ottenheimer closed the public hearing at 9:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 11/07/2007 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION November 7, 2007 Congregation B'nai Shalom, 701 Aptakisic Road— Consideration of amendment to the special use to allow a child day care facility Lord's Love Community Church, 1250 Radcliffe Road—Review of special use ordinance and consideration of amendments concerning uses at the property Chairman Ottenheimer called the meeting to order at 8:06 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 Mr. Cohn Ms. Myer Mr. Weinstein Commissioners absent: None Also present: Mr. Lev Treybas Mr. Rob Cheifetz Rev. Jeom Ok Kim, Lord's Love Community Church Mr. Rob Sherman Mr. Betty Haag, Betty Haag Academy of Music Ms. Mindy Seo Mr. Jonathan Sherman Mr. David Dordek, Attorney at Law Mr. Warren Skora, Attorney at Law Ms. DeAnn Glover, Village Trustee Mr. William Brimm, Village Manager Mr. William Raysa, Village Attorney Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Bocek to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 17, 2007. Chairman Ottenheimer noted a typographical error on page 4, paragraph 6 and a typographical error on page 5, paragraph 5. All Commissioners were in favor of the amended motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Teplinsky abstaining. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Stark attended the Village Board meeting on November 5, 2007 and stated the following items were discussed: 1. Berenesa Plaza will have a Hyatt Place Suites coming in. 1. Two new Plan Commissioners were appointed, namely, Mitch Weinstein and Michelle Meyer. CONGREGATION B'NAIL SHALOM, 701 APTAKISIC ROAD — CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENT TO THE SPECIAL USE TO ALLOW A CHILD DAY CARE FACILITY Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Smith to recommend approval to the Village Board of the petition for consideration of an amendment of the special use approved by Ordinance No. 86-55 to allow a child day care facility to be opened at the property of Congregation B'nai Shalom, 701 Aptakisic Road. Commissioner Teplinsky noted that since this is an amendment to the ordinance that was passed in 1986 which was specific to the congregation, he asked if the special use would be negated for the day care facility to remain if for any reason the congregation ceased to exist. Mr. Raysa noted that it would be a subject to the motion as to whether the lease would cease upon the congregation ceasing. Commissioner Teplinsky stated that would be his intent. He amended the motion to include the condition that Congregation B'nai Shalom occupies the premises. Commissioner Smith seconded the amended motion. Mr. Cheifetz asked if there is a legal distinction with regard to occupancy versus ownership and stated he would prefer ownership. Commissioner Teplinsky asked why he would prefer ownership. Mr. Cheifetz stated the entity that owns the space is Congregation B'nai Shalom. In 2003 or 2004 they formed an operating entity called Congregation B'nai Shalom of Buffalo Grove. The people who are members of the synagogue are members of that entity and therefore from an occupancy standpoint he would not want to get into hair splitting about when CBS, which is the owner of the property is in the space and when CBSBG, the occupier of the space is in the space. He noted CBS does not intend to give up ownership and CBSBG intends to occupy the space. Commissioner Teplinsky stated he will defer to the Village Board on that and continue with the amendment as to occupancy. He stated the reason is because he would like to make sure that some entity known as Congregation B'nai Shalom uses the facility as a place of worship. Mr. Cheifetz stated he can do that. Chairman Ottenheimer noted the Commission is aware of the intent and when the Village Board is made aware of the issue they will make it abundantly clear as to exact wording and will work that out. Chairman Ottenheimer called for a vote on the motion and the vote was as follows: AYES: Smith, Bocek, Khan, Teplinsky, Stark, Cohn, Meyer, Weinstein, Ottenheimer NAYS:None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None The motion passed 9 to 0. Chairman Ottenheimer suspended the meeting at 8:14 p.m. Chairman Ottenheimer re-opened the meeting at 9:55 p.m. LORD'S LOVE COMMUNITY CHURCH, 1250 RADCLIFFE ROAD — REVIEW OF SPECIAL USE ORDINANCE AND CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENTS CONCERNING USES AT THE PROPERTY Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Stark to recommend approval to the Village Board of the Lord's Love Community Church's request for an amendment to Ordinance No. 2005-28 concerning the uses that are allowed at the property, which is occupied by Lord" Love Community Church and would incorporate by reference the proposed language set forth in Mr. Pfeil's November 2, 2007 memorandum with no further modifications. Commissioner Teplinsky stated he agrees there are no surprises here. Having sat through the workshop and hearings in 2005 it was made perfectly clear that the church intended to lease space for things like daycare, music lessons and enrichment classes. The question is whether or not the intent at that time was to expand the offering beyond the members of the church. Mr. Sherman correctly pointed that that may not have been entirely clear at the time. But the focus is and needs to be is whether or not this proposed use has a detrimental impact on the community and whether it truly is inconsistent with what we had envisioned at the time we made the recommendation to the Village Board and he can say based on the testimony heard this evening from a number of the residents in the area that the impact does not seem to have a detrimental effect on the community and he will support the amendment. Commissioner Cohn stated it seems to him that the current use of the music academy and the proposed use of a daycare is completely consistent with the ordinance. The second question then is if it is allowed to be extended beyond the membership of the church. He stated in going back to the notes of the meeting in 2005 the idea that the services of the church were to be provided for the church first and then the rest of the community accessory is the totality of the circumstances. It is not the specific use and just because we do not have more than fifty percent of church members enrolled in the music class does not mean the music class cannot go on. He stated he therefore does not see a problem with the existing ordinance. He is somewhat concerned about amending the ordinance and asked if we would somehow be delegitimizing what is already legitimate if we amend the ordinance. He stated he feels what the music school is doing now is completely legitimate and the ordinance should not change. So why amend the ordinance if it is already working as is. If we amend the ordinance do we then give credence to someone arguing that you had to amend the ordinance because it was not legitimate in the first and he feels it is legitimate. Mr. Raysa stated it has been his position with staff and the Village Board that based upon the circumstances the ordinance needs to be clarified and that would be done by amendment. Commissioner Cohn asked if by clarifying the ordinance we are in no way saying that what they were doing under the existing ordinance was somehow illegal in the first place and is just to help clarify the future. Mr. Raysa stated it is just to clarify the future. Commissioner Cohn stated under that circumstance he will agree that the ordinance should be amended as proposed but I believe that the current uses and the proposed use of the daycare are completely legitimate and appropriate. He also added that Mr. Mraz's comments about the traffic and light issues are legitimate and that is an issue that can be resolved by neighbors talking to each other and people communicating and not dealing with those problems in this kind of format. He is certain that they can work it out and it will get done. Commissioner Khan noted that even back in 2005 there was a lot of discussion about traffic. He stated when this property was occupied by the JCC there were a lot more members than now. He has recently driven into the parking lot many times since the new owners took over and he has seen the access to Radcliffe changed to no entrance or exit. He stated he would not have put that condition upon the owners of the church because it is against the basic principals of traffic engineering to have one access coming into the parking lot and using the same one going out. It is better to have a traffic flow of the parking lot from both accesses. Therefore he would not have been the one to put the condition of closing off Radcliffe Road upon the church. He noted he was also against putting any conditions upon the hours of operation on the church because there had been such a request in 2005. Commissioner Khan stated that as for shining lights on some homes can be addressed easily if Mrs. Haag would issue a letter to the parents of the students to please be attentive to the neighborhood and park in the front rows along Arlington Heights. However, how any homeowner can stop him from driving on a public road when the road is for everyone's use and is built by tax dollars is somewhat justified. But in order to be a good neighbor to all perhaps the problem can be taken care by a simple letter from Mrs. Haag to her staff who come in the early morning to park along the Arlington Heights Road area. If the ordinance is necessary to clarify certain things he is all for it. But he is also all for keeping this use in this church because that was the intent of the ordinance even in 2005. Chairman Ottenheimer called for a vote on the motion and the vote was as follows: AYES: Smith, Bocek, Khan, Teplinsky, Stark, Cohn, Meyer, Weinstein, Ottenheimer NAYS:None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None The motion passed 9 to 0. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Chairman Ottenheimer welcomed new Commission members Michelle Meyer and Mitch Weinstein. FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil stated the next meeting would be on December 5, 2005. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS None STAFF REPORT—None NEW BUSINESS—None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Bocek, seconded by Commissioner Teplinsky and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 10:11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair