2007-02-07 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission
Document Type: 0 A e
g nda 0 Minutes
Meeting ate: 02/07/2007
Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting
REGULAR MEETING
BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION
February 7, 2007
Bridge Development Partners —Proposed Aptakisic Creek Corporate Park
(development of the Peerless property, 15823 W Aptakisic Road)
Annexation of 18.9 acres and review of a Preliminary Plan
for the overall development site of 29 acres—Workshop #1
Discussion of Village Comprehensive Plan
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. Kenski-Sroka
Mr. Khan
Mr. Stark
Mr. Cohn
Mr. Podber
Commissioners absent: Ms. Bocek
Mr. Teplinsky
Also present: Ms. Danielle Meltzer Cassel, DLA Piper US LLP
Mr. Michael Baumstark, Cornerstone Architects Ltd
Mr. Steven Poulos, Bridge Development Partners
Mr. Jerremy Foss, Manhard Consulting Ltd
Mr. Alan Zocher, Premier Design & Build Group
Mr. Scott Miller, Allen Kracower& Associates
Mr. Mark de la Vergne, Land Strategies Inc
Mr. Jeffrey Braiman, Village Trustee
Mr. Richard Kuenkler, Village Engineer
Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka, seconded by Commissioner Smith to approve the
minutes of the public hearing of January 17, 2007 for Banner Plumbing. All Commissioners
were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka to approve the
minutes of the public hearing of January 17, 2007 for The Sports Academy Northwest. All
Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
Moved by Commissioners Smith, seconded by Commission Kenski-Sroka to approve the
minutes of the regular meeting of January 17, 2007. All Commissioners were in favor of the
motion and the motion passed unanimously.
COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS
Mr. Pfeil reported on the Village Board meeting of January 15, 2007. He said the special uses
for Banner Plumbing and the Sports Academy were approved. There was a referral of the Ward
property on Prairie Road. A rezoning to R-3 is being requested because the property was
annexed in Residential Estate zoning which is very difficult to meet yard setback requirements
for the addition that the owners want to construct. A second referral was for the Soul to Sole
Dance Studio currently at the Highland Oaks shopping center. The owner wants to relocate to
1350 Abbott Court in an Industrial District, so a special use for a recreational facility is required.
BRIDGE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS — PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF THE
PEERLESS PROPERTY, 15823 W. APTAKISIC ROAD — ANNEXATION OF 18.9 ACRES
AND REVIEW OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN FOR OVERALL DEVELOPMENT SITE OF 29
ACRES —WORKSHOP 91
Ms. Cassel stated they are here for the site going south of Aptakisic Road. It is a little less than
30 acres about 10 of which are immediately north of the Leider horticultural facility. Their
corporate limits are currently zoned Industrial and they are in the Village. The balance of the
site is unincorporated Lake County. The Comprehensive Plan for Buffalo Grove as well as the
boundary agreement with Lincolnshire contemplates this site will be annexed and zoned and
developed for Industrial use in the Village of Buffalo Grove.
Ms. Cassel noted the Peerless of America building lies in the southwesterly portion of the site. It
has been vacant approximately five years now. She stated they looked at several different site
plans and layouts and approaches to the property, including several that involved demolishing
the building. However, at this point they think that it can be refurbished and re-tenanted and
preserved. Then they are proposing to construct two additional light industrial warehouse
buildings. She stated they are here to start discussing the site plan.
Mr. Jerremy Foss stated existing drainage of lot 2 goes to the southeast corner and eventually
gets into Aptakisic Creek. Lot 1, of which part goes to Aptakisic Road, will have its other
drainage directed to the pond and eventually released in the same direction. There is a
stormsewer that will drain the pond down to the creek. There are two existing mater main
connections along Aptakisic Road. They will be looping all three buildings so the existing
building which is on water and septic will have water service as well as a sanitary service. There
is an existing sanitary line between the existing Leider property and Rogers Center. There is an
existing easement there which they will tie into an existing sanitary manhole and extend it up to
the north and service all three buildings.
Mr. Mark de la Vergne stated they conducted the traffic study for this project and it was
conducted according to the standards set forth in the Lake County Highway access regulation
ordinance because Aptakisic Road is under the jurisdiction of Lake County. He stated they
conducted their counts on November 14, 2006 and the greenhouse was not open during that time.
Lake County requirements do not allow them to project traffic from other developments in the
area which is why they did not project traffic from the greenhouse.
Mr. de la Vergne stated they way they went about generating their traffic was according to Lake
County standards which are using Institute of Transportation Engineer manual trip generation
which are national rates compiled from early 1960's to about the early 2000's of similar
warehouse type developments all across the U.S. and Canada. This is a Lake County
requirement. Typically for other developments of this type in Cook County, DuPage County or
Kane County they use a different survey which is conducted of Chicagoland distribution centers
in the late 1990's and 2000 which are much more representative of the trips that this project will
generate. If you compare the trips used in the report which are approximately 265 in the
morning and 235 in the afternoon, that is approximately 50 percent more than what the
Chicagoland survey is. Therefore, they feel they have a strong conservative analysis here
because they are somewhat over estimating the trips of this site.
Mr. de la Vergne noted there is a great deal of traffic on Aptakisic Road right now and this
intersection will operate similar to other unsignalized intersections in the area. Vehicles will
have to wait for gaps in traffic. Fortunately there are signals in close proximity at Bond Street to
the west and Barclay to the east which allow for gaps in traffic for cars to make a left turn out.
He further noted they will not warrant the numbers for a traffic signal at this intersection. This is
more of an evening generator when people are leaving which is when they would get the
numbers but they will not get the numbers for eight hours per day.
Mr. de la Vergne noted Asbury Drive is a two way roadway. There is a left turn lane on
Aptakisic Road with approximately 100 feet of storage. They will be extending that left turn
lane to 130 feet to meet Lake County requirements. They are widening Asbury Drive to provide
one inbound lane and two outbound lanes so that vehicles do not have to wait for left turns to
make the right turn out. Additionally they will be adding an eastbound right turn lane on
Aptakisic Road. These plans will all have to be approved by Lake County.
Ms. Cassel noted Industrial Drive is a private road. The parties who created the easement were
not land owners on the east side. Therefore, while they have designed this basically in the
expectation that the fire department would want dual access, they planned this with two
emergency vehicle only entrances on Industrial Road. She noted they do not have the easement
rights at this time to accomplish this. They are currently trying to map out exactly who the
benefited and burdened property owners of Industrial Drive are so they can approach them. It is
their understanding, just from being in the market place, that it is the Lenzini's and the bus
facility to the south. So far Mr. Lenzini has said he is amenable to this. He has also spoken to
what he believes the other two relevant property owners who would be in favor. It is unofficial
so far.
Ms. Cassel stated it was the Leider family who created Asbury Drive originally and they actually
have title to all portions of it southward. They are amenable to the Village Engineer's comment
to rename the drive but they want to talk with the Leiders first to come up with an appropriate
name. They will be widening the drive at the throat for turn movements and it will achieve the
minimum width requirements for lots like this that do not have ingress and egress to a public
street. This will be done for their stretch of Asbury Drive although they cannot speak for the
Leider part. They will want to be in dialogue with them about improvements to Asbury and how
to do it so it will not be disruptive to their business and ongoing maintenance. From research so
far it appears that Terraco, Inc. also relies on Asbury Drive to get to Aptakisic. So whatever
dialogue they have about Asbury Drive will reach out to them also.
Ms. Cassel further noted there are two existing signs on the property right now. One denotes
Leider and one denotes Peerless. She noted they do want to work with the Leiders and as they
sit down to work out the various easements and construction disruption, it is their intention to
seek a variance if necessary to keep the Leider sign going forward even after they take title to the
property. If there is a way to make it more architecturally consistent with what they are trying to
achieve it would be great.
Commissioner Stark for another review of the ownership of Asbury Drive.
Ms. Cassel stated from Industrial to the eastern boundary of their property and all the way down
to the creek all property owners got together and everyone on the west side of Asbury Drive
were the owners of the right of way and they granted access easements to two parcels, one being
a portion of where the Peerless building now is. The other beneficiary of the easement is the
Terraco Inc. parcel. Leider subsequently sold this piece to Peerless.
Commissioner Stark asked if they are thinking of just keeping the existing Peerless building as a
warehouse.
Mr. Steve Poulos stated what they will do to the building is to add 6-10 loading docks. Currently
there are six interior docks. They will strip out the sprinkler system, put in ESFR which is a
state of the art sprinkler. They will change the heating and lighting and completely clean out the
warehouse and then re-tenant it.
Commissioner Stark asked what kind of tenants they are looking at.
Mr. Poulos stated generally what they see in buildings like this is anything from light distributors
to lab space to hi-tech manufacturing to half office space. They generally are more light
industrial buildings and a higher percentage of office. In this building because of the clear
heights they have had some tenants approach them anywhere from a distribution company to a
medical company. It can go anywhere from distribution to light assembly. He noted the odds of
them getting just one tenant are pretty slim and probably 3 to 4 and up to 6 tenants per building
is what they foresee.
Commissioner Khan asked what the Village position is regarding Asbury Drive becoming a
public right of way if they would want that.
Mr. Kuenkler stated he does not think there is any particular need for it to be a public roadway.
The area now functions as a private roadway, and it could continue in this manner.
Commissioner Khan noted a letter received from Mr. Leider who is saying that west of Asbury
Aptakisic has a curve. He asked if there are any site distance problems with that.
Mr. de la Vergne stated Manhard is taking care of the site distance. Since Lake County did this
already he presumes it met the 45 mile per hour requirement for 660 feet. He noted there is a
curve out there but it does meet the requirements which they will double check that and submit
the site distance plan to the Village as well.
Commissioner Khan noted the proposed widening of Asbury is for 130 feet of storage. He asked
if that is for both the storage and taper.
Mr. de la Vergne stated the storage is 130 feet and the taper is 150 feet. These will all be
reviewed by the County as well. He noted they did do queue calculations in their study to make
sure this will accommodate their inbound traffic and it is more than enough storage.
Commissioner Khan asked if there was any concern that the driveway coming from the parking
lot for both of the proposed new buildings is too close to the intersection when semi's are
coming out.
Mr. de la Vergne noted the parking lot will all be passenger vehicles. There is approximately
110 feet of storage from Aptakisic to the northern edge of the driveway which meets their
storage requirements. They also have three lanes the entire way which also provides for some
queuing for a vehicle to come in. Fortunately, since this is not retail where you have a 50/50 in
and out, they have everyone arriving in the morning and everyone leaving in the afternoon so
there is not so much of a concern about this being blocked.
Commissioner Khan noted if there are two semis leaving at the same time and waiting to turn left
they will block the two driveways.
Mr. de la Vergne stated with the amount of traffic on Aptakisic Road he would project that the
majority of truck traffic will turn right just because turning left for a truck will be very difficult.
What they saw on Industrial Drive was the majority of passenger cars made a left and the
majority of trucks turned right. They will also sign it"Do Not Block Intersection>"
Commissioner Khan asked what the longest wait was during a.m. and p.m. peak hours to make a
left turn.
Mr. de la Vergne stated there would certainly be a wait that would be very similar to what goes
on at other unsignalized intersections. He noted that all of their delays will occur on site and will
not affect the operation of through traffic on Aptakisic Road.
Commissioner Khan asked if there had been any discussion with Lake County regarding a traffic
signal at Asbury Drive.
Mr. de la Vergne stated that unless they could show a benefit above the actual volume
requirements which they do not have, he does not see the County approving a signal at that
location.
Commissioner Kenski-Sroka noted the traffic study had been conducted between the hours of
7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. She asked if they are aware of what goes
on at 6:30 a.m. on Industrial Drive. She noted there is a Lincolnshire policeman there everyday
waving the buses out for left turns. And she stated she sees the same situation here for people
leaving between 4:00 —6:00 p.m.
Ms. Kenski-Sroka stated people will not go east to west and a potential for accidents at this
intersection will increase tremendously. She stated she is not so sure the additional traffic is a
good thing for this road.
Mr. de la Vergne noted that whatever development goes here brings traffic. A development such
this is much less traffic intensive as opposed to this as straight office or retail development. He
noted there are not many other land uses that could be built on this site that would generate less
traffic than the one shown in the report.
Commissioner Kenski-Sroka stated the Commission needs to be concerned about what will
happen and affect the residents of Buffalo Grove and she is very concerned about the amount of
traffic.
Commissioner Podber asked about the queuing analysis.
Mr. de la Vergne stated in order to calculate unsignalized queues LCDOT in their manual tell
you to analyze the intersection as a signalized intersection with split phasing so there are no left
turn movements or anything. Then you have to wait for the service for all four legs to get the
worst to be about the same. Then you take that analysis and put it into the red time formula
which is their way of calculating queues.
Commissioner Podber asked what"northbound left turn lane pm peak hours at 78 feet" means.
Mr. de la Vergne stated that means that the maximum queue will be 78 feet from the stop bar
which is approximately three cars. This, of course, means the traffic spread out between 60
minutes of the hour.
Commissioner Podber stated it seems that a three car wait is not intuitive to him and he does not
understand.
Mr. de la Vergne noted he saw a 3-4 car queue at Industrial making left turns. They were spread
out throughout the hour. The signal at Bond and Barclay allow for the gaps in traffic which help
the cars get out.
Commissioner Podber stated there will be greenhouse traffic and asked if that will impact the
queuing on the site.
Mr. de la Vergne stated yes, but he feel they are significantly overestimating the traffic that they
will be generating as they are using rates from the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's from all around the
country which are significantly higher than rates observed in the Chicagoland area.
Commissioner Podber stated that if there are two different standards and we do not have a report
that applies to what is actually going to happen on that road then he does not see the value of the
report.
Mr. de la Vergne stated they could append the report showing the Chicagoland area numbers for
this type of land use and work with the Leider property to get some rates from them as far as
what they have seen from traffic, the size of their building and compare those numbers to what is
in the report.
Commissioner Podber stated that is a good idea.
Mr. de la Vergne stated they will append the numbers to show the Chicagoland numbers as well
as work with Leider to determine some traffic numbers for theirs.
Commissioner Smith asked for a review for the setback variance request.
Ms. Cassel stated the dashed bold black line is the existing property line. If that remained the
property line they would not need a variance. She noted they are proposing a site plan layout
where both the building wall setback as well as the back of pavement will comply with all
setback rules. However, Lake County Department of Transportation would like a 20 foot
dedication which effectively for an entire frontage shifts our property line to the south by 20 feet.
Once they do that, if the Village still required them to go back another 50 feet to start pavement
this deal would be done. They are constrained by Leider's north boundary, the property
boundary and Asbury and Industrial and the northern line of Peerless. They really only have two
finite building blocks and starting from the tenant market needs for certain depths and widths of
buildings, the parking ratios needed and the necessary loading facilities and the detention
facilities, they are out of north/south width.
Ms. Cassel noted they have met with Lake County and they have indicated, informally, that it is
highly unlikely that they are actually going to use this additional 20 feet for roadway
improvements. If things proceed as discussed with them, this dedication area will remain green
space, and the 50 foot setback, per se, will end up remaining.
Commissioner Smith asked for an overview of landscaping.
Mr. Scott Miller stated they looked at the Ingram site, the Rogers Center to see what is currently
growing there. Also they were requested by the Village to look at the Corporate Grove and
Millbrook properties. Once they took that into account they came up with a design theme that
includes landscaping across the full frontage with a 3-4 foot bouncing berm which is consistent
with the properties to the east and west. In character it will be seamless. It will not be less dense
and in some cases it will be denser. This berm is planned to have shade trees, ornamental trees,
and evergreen trees so that it will fit completely within the context of what is there now. The
complete border has buffers all around and they are increasing the landscape on the west on
Industrial Drive. There is also green space all the way around the buildings which is a 10 foot
area that will have trees and shrubs to help soften the front elevation of the building. On Asbury
Drive they have created a tree lined street which will help the industrial tenants to enjoy that
view as well as the Leider property to the south and anyone else using that street for their ingress
and egress. It will be a lot denser than seen on a typical parkway. The detention areas will also
be landscaped and will be similar to the Millbrook development. There will be wetland type
plantings there to keep a more natural feel. Also they took a closer look at the entrance points to
each of the proposed buildings and they will be enhancing each entrance with perennials. The
entrance point on Aptakisic will have minimum 4 inch caliper trees and the rest of the frontage
along Aptakisic will be a minimum of 3 inch caliper trees.
Commissioner Smith asked how this relates to the boundary agreement with Lincolnshire.
Mr. Pfeil noted that it is consistent with the agreement in terms of permitted land uses. He will
have to check to see if the Village has formally notified the Village of Lincolnshire concerning
the proposed development plan.
Ms. Cassel stated she was advised about the agreement originally and she has looked at the legal
descriptions and this whole rectangular portion under the boundary agreement is set to be
annexed into Buffalo Grove and is designated for this type of industrial use.
Commissioner Khan noted the warrants are not met at this time for a signal at Asbury Drive.
However, five years down the road when there is more traffic and development north and south
of this perhaps the warrants can be met and perhaps the petitioner could work with Village staff
and have a portion of the traffic signal cash bond or letter of credit deposited with the Village so
that when the warrants are met it can be used for a portion of the intersection.
Ms. Cassel stated it is her understanding that the north side of Aptakisic is not Buffalo Grove and
there is an undeveloped parcel that could become developed.
Commissioner Khan stated that is correct and most likely the two Villages could work together
to try to bring a driveway or road that will line up with Asbury Drive rather than have an offset.
Ms. Cassel stated they will be paying 100 percent of the water main and sewer recapture that is
already associated with developing this site that is attributable to their site. She also noted that
although she has not seen Leider in operation in their high season but she has seen other
horticultural uses but she does not think it would be fair in the annexation agreement to do
something that is based on acreage as opposed to use and actual traffic. Therefore she would put
in a vote for something that is equitable for what traffic is being contributed.
Mr. Poulos stated they have met with Leider several times and spoke to him. Many of the issues
in the letter he wrote have already been addressed. It really just comes down to his comfort level
on the traffic issue. He stated they would contribute to the light at some future date when they
have the warrants. The issue is how to do that although they are open to that concept.
Commissioner Khan noted Mr. Pfeil's memo regarding a bikepath around the detention. He
noted that it would be nice for employees to have this for employees to walk around.
Ms. Cassel stated they are torn with this because none of them can visualize it from an aesthetic
and safety point of view. They do not really feel they want to invite tenants to walk around
given auto traffic and such.
Commissioner Khan asked what the safety concern was about.
Mr. Poulos stated they really do not want to invite people back by the trucks as it is a somewhat
active area. However, they will look into doing some kind of walking path.
Commissioner Stark asked if the percentage of warehouse to office would make a difference here
in traffic.
Mr. de la Vergne noted they take surveys of similar surveys and when they take the surveys they
do not split the surveys up. They are all grouped in the same land use code which is
warehousing which is similar to what is proposed here.
Mr. Poulos said the amount of available parking limits the area that can be used for office space.
Commissioner Cohn asked if there would be any impact on the train study from the adjacent
train crossing. He noted Metra has expanded service so there are more rush hour trains and there
may be more freight on the line since the double tracking. He wonders if during peak periods
there may be backup all the way up to Asbury Drive waiting for trains.
Mr. de la Vergne stated he did not observe that when he was out there. If anything that would
help them as it would block off Aptakisic Road and the only people turning are people on Bond
which will create a large gap on eastbound Aptakisic Road.
Commissioner Cohn asked about the status of the wetlands study. He asked if they did an actual
site walk and actually looked for wetland species and make an independent field determination
for the presence or absence of wetlands.
Ms. Cassel stated on species they do have their letter from ID&R indicating they had no
concerns as well as a letter from H-IPA.
Mr. Poulos stated they did do a full wetland study done by Christopher Burke and Associates.
The issue is a pond that was constructed when the building was expanded for fire suppression.
They had some questions as to whether the pond was man made or did it naturally exist.
Chairman Ottenheimer stated he appreciates that the developer is working and cooperating with
the Leiders. He noted some concern in the letter addressed to him regarding light pollution and
asked for a review about that.
Mr. Poulos stated they have told them that there would not be any light beyond their property
line. However, if dimmers are necessary they will be happy to do so.
Mr. Alan Zocher stated Leider is very concerned about the lighting levels as it extends from the
building. As part of their final engineering plan they will do a photometric study and they will
actually put a shield on those lights.
Chairman Ottenheimer asked about the actual proposed buildings.
Mr. Michael Baumstark stated what is proposed now are the two new buildings and a cleanup of
the existing Peerless building to match the theme. What is proposed now is a precast building
with high image glass. At the corners are potential entrances of the building which theme they
would wrap around the corners so as you are driving down Aptakisic and even turning down
Asbury Drive you would see this image and the back would be docked.
Commissioner Kenski-Sroka noted the Fire Marshall's concerns with the density of the
landscaping interfering with access for them to the roof of the building.
Mr. Kuenkler asked if there were development ordinance variations mentioned.
Mr. Jerremy Foss stated they are so far requesting three variations. One would have to do with
the detention basin which required 4:1 slopes in the ordinance. This basin has retaining walls to
make up the detention as opposed to a 4:1 slope. Part of the reason why is that it is basically the
space that was left over to accommodate this type of development and how we were able to
make the detention work. The second one was the dock elevations attached to the building is
about 4 feet lower than the finished floor. When that happens you will have drainage coming
back towards the building. To get that drainage to the detention basin and to not make the
building so much higher than anything else there will be some ponding in the docks which will
only basically affect the wheel well areas of the trailers. The last one is on the existing building
there is existing storm sewer which basically drains down to the creek eventually. They are
maintaining the same drainage conditions the building has currently. The ordinance wants 30
inches of difference between high water level of the pond and what the finished floor is of the
building. This building in the existing condition, when it fills up it eventually overtops and
comes to the parking area and the building does not have that difference. It only has 18 inches
and they do not want to change the existing condition of this building. They were not sure that
would be considered a variance or not.
Commissioner Podber asked if there is a regulation regarding the re-development of a facility
that does not have detention.
Mr. Kuenkler said there is no requirement for additional stormwater storage for the existing
Peerless building and site.
Chairman Ottenheimer stated he somewhat concerned about the ponding that will occur in the
loading docks. He asked if that is something that is considered normal.
Mr. Foss stated it is something that is considered normal in these types of developments and the
majority of the developments they do that are designed like this usually have about 1-2 feet of
ponding. It does not happen with ever single rainfall, only during some of the larger rainfall
occurrences.
Commissioner Cohn asked if the net effect of this development will be more runoff water
leaving the site and going to the creek than there was before the property was built.
Mr. Foss stated the way it works is there is a required release rate in the ordinance that they have
to abide by for water leaving the site.
Mr. Zocher stated the actual release rate from the ponds will be less than what it is right now but
it will be over a longer period of time. These ponds will actually hold the water for a longer
period of time and release a smaller amount over a longer period of time. The actual effect on
the creek will be a longer duration of less volume.
Commissioner Khan asked the height of the retaining wall.
Mr. Foss noted it is 7 feet.
Commissioner Khan asked if the wall is tiered or one straight wall.
Mr. Foss stated it is one straight wall right now.
Commissioner Khan stated the petitioner should consider tiering the wall or asking for fencing
around the pond.
Commissioner Khan asked how deep the ponding would be in the docks.
Mr. Zocher stated the worst case is 2 feet.
Commissioner Khan asked what the development ordinance allows for storage in a parking lot.
Mr. Foss stated he thinks it is 1 foot above the high water level. That will be the case here.
The Commission agreed this matter was ready for public hearing, assuming that the engineering
plan will be revised and the traffic impact report will be expanded and provided to the Village's
traffic consultant for review.
DISCUSSION OF VILLAGE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Mr. Pfeil stated in the Aptakisic Road/Milwaukee Avenue area the draft future land use map
shows commercial use for the Land and Lakes property and the property directly south in the
Corporate Grove known as the Gateway Center site. The portion of the Land and Lakes property
adjacent to Milwaukee Avenue can be developed for a retail center, and the balance is the
landfill. That obviously could be more of an industrial use, but the future land use map
designates it as commercial. This would allow flexibility for uses other than just industrial. He
noted that the boundary agreement with Lincolnshire designates the Land and Lakes property for
commercial or recreation/open space uses. The future land use map designates commercial use
for the Gateway property (12 acres) at the northwest corner of Busch Parkway and Milwaukee
Avenue. The property is currently zoned Industrial. He noted that an important planning goal for
development of the Land and Lakes and Gateway Center properties is linkage to provide access
between the properties and coordinated site plans.
Mr Pfeil noted that on the east side of Milwaukee Avenue, the boundary agreements with
Lincolnshire boundary agreement designates commercial and open spaces are permitted by the
two Villages. Lincolnshire would annex most of the area in the Cubby Bear restaurant area and
north of that, and Buffalo Grove would be able to annex the parcels south of the Cubby Bear
extending to the Cotey property at Estonian Lane.
Mr. Pfeil reviewed the area at Deerfield Parkway and Milwaukee Avenue where the large
undeveloped property known as Santucci/Ventrella property is located. This property is
designated for commercial use on the future land use plan. The area on Milwaukee south of the
Ventrella property has existing commercial, but on the cul-de-sac road on the west side is
currently residential. The proposal to expand the commercial designation into a portion of he
existing residential area is to provide for the possibility of a more substantial re-development,
and possible linkage to the Ventrella property for shared access. The area south of the Ventrella
property is unincorporated, so the Village would have no ability to approve development unless
annexation petitions by property owners are filed with the Village.
Mr. Pfeil stated at Lake Cook and Milwaukee Avenue the property south of Linden Avenue is
zoned and planned for office use. There have been a number of ideas for residential development
for this property. Some of the concept plans have proposed residential densities greater than the
residents north Linden Avenue find acceptable. The future land use map maintains the office
designation for this property.
Mr. Pfeil said the Schwaben property on the west side of Weiland Road is an athletic field. The
Fairview Estates single-family subdivision is a recent development across the street. The future
land use map recommendation for the Schwaben field is residential planned development at six
units per acres. The zoning to the north allows duplex residential units, and the Woodstone
townhomes and two unincorporated single-family homes are directly to the south.
Commissioner Stark noted it appears that the past five years has seen the Village moving toward
the higher density land use, and he would not mind seeing something a bit less dense for the
Schwaben field area.
Commissioner Cohn stated it might be best to designate the Schwaben field for single family
detached development because otherwise we may get something we do not want and lead people
the wrong way.
Mr. Pfeil noted at the corner of Church Road and Buffalo Grove Road across the street from the
Turnberry condominiums there are three single family homes directly south of the Buffalo Grove
Bank and Trust building. The future land use plan suggests maintaining the single family
designation. There have been many inquiries for these properties concerning townhomes, office
and commercial uses. It may be better to be conservative in terms of the land use designation. If
a high-quality townhome or rowhome plan is proposed that works well and has a feasible access
plan, it might be an appropriate land use. The Village could allow rezoning for a plan of this
type.
Commissioner Cohn asked why we would not want to articulate in the plan our vision of a mixed
use area here if all the issues could be resolved.
Mr. Pfeil stated it might be better to state in words that the Village envisions that this is a
potential development, but not change the map designation to a density greater than single
family. This approach would encourage the landowners and developers to present high-quality
land plans to justify rezoning for mixed use or higher density residential use.
Commissioner Cohn asked if we are bound by a mixed use plan if this area is zoned as a mixed
use.
Mr. Pfeil noted that the Comprehensive Plan would not rezone property. The Plan is a policy
declaration concerning land uses that the Village has determined are appropriate for particular
properties.
Commissioner Cohn asked if that would make us more wedded to the bad mixed use plan than if
we keep the single family designation.
Mr. Pfeil said it would be difficult, and noted that the Village receives a lot of plans that are too
dense, with traffic access that is not workable.
Mr. Pfeil reviewed the last area at Dundee Road and Buffalo Grove Road consisting of the Dunlo
area and the Buffalo Highlands across on the east side of Buffalo Grove Road. Over the years
there has been an idea that perhaps commercial should be expanded south from Dundee into the
Dunlo area, but residents in the Dunlo area have generally indicated that the area should remain
single-family in character. The draft Plan maintains the status quo for these unincorporated
residential areas. In the Buffalo Highlands area on the east side of Buffalo Grove Road it is
probable that residential tear downs may occur. It is difficult to serve these areas with Village
utilities. It might be feasible on for the Buffalo Highlands area on the east side of Buffalo Grove
Road, but it is more difficult for the Dunlo area in terms of costs. The investment is so great that
the area may stay unincorporated for a long time, except for a few parcels that can annex into
Arlington Heights and maybe a few that can be served by Buffalo Grove utilities. Therefore
there is no dramatic expansion of commercial land use into the Dunlo area on the draft Plan. The
only new designation proposed by the Plan is the area bounded by Buffalo Grove Road and Old
Buffalo Grove Road. The Plan designates this area for mixed use. This is not a precisely defined
concept, but the intent is to encourage a blend of uses that are not heavy retail but more service
and office, combined with perhaps residential. Generally, commercial uses would be on the
ground level, with residential on the second floor.
Commissioner Cohn stated he thinks the plan should be a strong articulation of our vision for
development in the Village. In some respects the suggestion around the Buffalo Grove/Checker
Road area where we have single family housing and some of the decisions that have been made
about the TOD around the train stations seem so cautious. If this is our long term vision or hope
it should be articulated and he does not think that is being done. From what he has seen so far,
this is not the plan that he would envision and one that he really cannot support. He stated he is
concerned about not articulating a real vision of what we want to see happen over the next five
years. It seems we are trying to be very cautious instead of making a bold statement about what
we really want to see.
Commissioner Podber asked what the outcome of the Didier Farm meetings was and if it is
reflected in the map here.
Mr. Pfeil said the sub-area plan for the Didier area includes a central green area for active
recreation use. One quadrant of this green area is in place as part of the Prairie Grove
subdivision. The sub-area plan includes a collector street crossing Aptakisic Road from Margate
Road in the Old Farm Subdivision. Single-family detached is the primary land use designation
for this sub area. The Com Ed property on the south side of Aptakisic Road is designated for
some expansion of the electrical facility, with the remaining land designated as open space.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT—None
FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE
Mr. Pfeil said the next meeting is scheduled for February 21, 2007.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None
STAFF REPORT—None
NEW BUSINESS—None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Khan and carried unanimously to
adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 9:32 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary
APPROVED BY:
LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair