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2004-12-15 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission Document Type: 0 A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 12/15/2004 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting REGULAR MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION December 15, 2004 Gateway Center, 1500 Busch Parkway—Rezoning to B-3 Planned Business Center District and approval of a Preliminary Plan—Workshop #2 Prestige Automobile Leasing, 88 Dundee Road—Rezoning to the B-4 District and approval of a Preliminary Plan —Workshop #1 Chairman Ottenheimer called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers, Buffalo Grove Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Commissioners present: Chairman Ottenheimer Mr. Samuels Mr. Smith Ms. Bocek Ms. Kenski-Sroka Mr. Khan Mr. Teplinsky Mr. Stark Mr. Cohn Commissioners absent: None Also present: Mr. Harold Francke, Piper Rudnick Mr. Mark Hopkins, HKM Architects Mr. Mark Kurensky, HKM Architects Mr. Donald O'Hara, Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona Mr. John Schiess, Architect Mr. Jamil Bou-Saab, Terra Engineering Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner Mr. Greg Summers, Associate Village Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Smith to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 3, 2004. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Kenski-Sroka abstaining. Moved by Commissioner Samuels, seconded by Commissioner Smith to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 17, 2004. Chairman Ottenheimer noted that his statement under Chairman's Report on page 8 should read as follows: "Chairman Ottenheimer noted that he does not want to get engaged in an adversarial dialogue with the public during workshop sessions. There should also be a grammatical correction to the third line of that paragraph. All Commissioners were in favor of the amended motion and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Teplinsky abstaining. COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Samuels noted he attended the Village Board meeting on December 6, 2004 which was a budget meeting and there were no referrals to the Plan Commission. GATEWAY CENTER, 1500 BUSCH PARKWAY — REZONING TO B-3 PLANNED BUSINESS CENTER DISTRICT AND APPROVAL OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN — WORKSHOP 92 Mr. Harold Francke stated their intent is to walk through the changes that have been made to the plan to address the issues that were raised at the first workshop. The Plan Commission had asked for some greater refinement to the site plan, issues on parking and ingress and egress, additional information on landscaping and lighting and input from the Fire Department as well as handicapped accessibility. He stated they have submitted some additional materials prior to this evening's workshop which is included in the packet, although they have only recently some comments from the Fire Department and building commissioner. Mr. Mark Hopkins stated they have begun to refine the office building design and conceptualize it in such a way that it begins to integrate with the rest of the architecture on the site. The retail concept for the retail and bank architecture is a modulation of urban facades on a pedestrian scale which is something the Plan Commission had noted the office building did not do. Mr. Hopkins reviewed the newest update of the office building noting that it takes the building and modulates it in the same way as the other architecture. The Staples building is to the right and to the left is the hotel building. They have disintegrated the mass into smaller components, each with an individual visual identity. This is in order to market the building and be able to lease it to various tenants both retail on the first and second floor and major office users. This is part and parcel of the whole signage request issue which is basic to the idea of being able to lease this site. The echelon and staggered visibility issue and design has to do with being able to see these various tenants from Milwaukee Avenue and as you approach the site from the east and the southeast. The office building then is broken up into a series of architectural facades like the retail building and the outlot retail building. In lieu of having one overall image it is small enough to start to address the pedestrian user and start to relate to the other buildings on the site. There is a variety of building materials on the building and a variety of window patterns. The various masses project away from the main body of the building and this occurs on all four facades. Mr. Hopkins reviewed the building elevation sketches which have different masses, materials and heights. He noted they tried to add interest to the north side of the building so they have the three different components on the north side broken by the glass. They have tried to add some architectural excitement to every side of the building. It is a unique building for a unique case. It is designed for the streetscape they are trying to create. Mr. Mark Kurensky reviewed the landscape concept noting there had been a comment about Busch Parkway. He stated the landscape concept is to basically take the concept of the whole street. There is a narrow window along Milwaukee Avenue and they are trying to create a very strong street wall. A variety of architecture drawing the visual and physical aspects into the far west edge of the site. Busch Parkway is the main street which is accented with all of the variety of architecture going on and all the site amenities. There are banners on the building, bollards, pots that can be moved around and a bench. They are all picking up on either the stone character or silver and natural metal looks picking up the strength of the architecture. The landscape starts at the pylon sign next to the plaza and water flowing underneath the plaza. There is a people space with benches there and that is instead of just having a pylon sign just sitting out on a lawn. This is relating to the water, there is a weir and it is the real main visual draw along Milwaukee Avenue. That is the main play in terms of access A. Access B is the curve which is the first access off of Busch Parkway. It gets you and leads you right into the east side of the parking structure. All the islands have not only deciduous shrubs but perennials as well for seasonal interest. They have honey locusts in the parking lot as well. Mr. Kurensky noted the Plan Commission had commented that they usually have bank drive throughs facing away from the street. They are actually facing them toward the street because they are trying to have the bank entrance relating to the rest of the retail. He reviewed the screening package for the drive throughs and noted they are not trying to make a complete wall as there is always a safety issue with drive throughs. They are trying to have low screening to screen the main bulk of the car and have a gap with all ornamentals and screening above while still providing a gap to get the signage for the bank itself. Mr. Kurensky stated one of the cornerstones of the sight is that there is identification of the wall at the corner of Milwaukee and Busch Parkway. There would be a low sign identifying the project at the whole corner and then water activity and noise happening off of that. He noted they also extended the landscape further to the west. Commissioner Cohn stated he liked the way the B shops were connected to the medical office building with a pedestrian walkway and he would like to see if it is possible to do the same thing with the bank. It seems as if you could connect a sidewalk of some sort of pedestrian walkway on the far eastern side of the parking lot and have a pedestrian connection all the way to the bank. Mr. Kurensky stated they can look into that. If people are going to use it, it would be a benefit. If people are not going to use it he would prefer to have more lawn along Milwaukee Avenue. Commissioner Cohn stated it seems as if there are more sidewalk features in front of the medical office building than there are in front of the A shops area and he wonders if more sidewalk features can put where people will sit. Mr. Kurensky stated they have actually dashed in potential outdoor dining all along there. Mr. Kurensky stated the first couple of comments in the staff memo regarding handicapped ramps and such will certainly be taken care of as part of final engineering. The drive through areas do bring up a request for a variance in terms of the amount of stacking space. The property to the north with EPA involvement and the landfill will have a long term solution in terms of distance to their property. He stated they have 20 feet to the north property line and they do not believe that there will be a building there. If and when future development occurs to the north, this plan will not have a negative impact at all on that area. Therefore they feel the parking deck is in a very appropriate location not only for this project but for any potential future development to the north. Mr. Kurensky stated the hardest comment is on the redesign of the hotel building. He stated they agree that they must work with staff and Plan Commission in terms of redesigning that building in terms of providing safety and access on the appropriate sides. They will work with the Fire Department to redesign to come up with a more accurate plan. Mr. Greenberg reviewed more information regarding the site to the north with the landfill and the industrial building to the west of this site. He reviewed the site plan along the front 500 feet of the Land & Lakes area. He noted behind that is an area that was permitted that goes all the way back to City Park which is the boundary that was set by the EPA when this was established about 30 years ago. The landfill slopes at one point and the EPA never wants that area developed in any way because it is a sloping feature of the landfill. He stated the reason he reviewed this site is to show that there will always be a wide setback. Mr. Greenberg stated the industrial building is oriented now toward Busch Parkway and the entrance is actually along the west side of the property. The rear of the property is set back about 107 feet from the property line already and the proposed plan faces their truck docks. He stated he has spoken to the owners of this property several times as well as sent the proposed plan and they are very excited about the development. They full understand that it is their intention to build a five story hotel and they have not noted any problems. Commissioner Teplinsky stated his question concerns the adequacy of the amount of parking. Village code apparently requires there to be 749 parking spaces for the project and there either 653 spaces being proposed or 634 spaces. Mr. Donald O'Hara stated each and every land use within the code has a specific demand. He stated where they are looking for the shared opportunity is the offset of the demand by hour of use. When does that peak hour occur? You will find that peak demand for parking for the hotel happens between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. During the other hours of the day the volume of parking required is less. Each and every land use reviews the required code but they are looking at the offset based on the actual need of the particular use because it is mixed use and all sitting together on one parcel. However, the code requires them to look at 100 percent occupancy for example on the hotel. That is the demand and on top of that demand they have an additional requirement of approximately 5 percent that is required for people searching for the last space or a car that parks on an angle. What is shown in the table is exactly that and looking at the differentiation between each hour of the day for each of the land uses. He stated that makes a lot of sense relative to coming up with adequate parking but also addressing the issue relative to the code. When you have multiple uses on one parcel with a large parking area, it certainly makes sense to take advantage of the offset of the differential time. Commissioner Stark asked if there would be sufficient parking if the office building becomes more medical offices than expected. Mr. Green stated they did build a safety factor in and it is considerable. The site is providing 634 spaces in total and they actually only peak at 575 spaces so they have a built in cushion of 50 spaces should he end up doing more medical office. Commissioner Khan asked if the parking would require a variance since it is different from what is required in the ordinance. Mr. Pfeil noted that the petitioner would submit a parking demand study, which would become an exhibit to the P.U.D. ordinance for the development. The study would include an analysis of parking demand and provide documentation that the peak demand for uses could be accommodated by the amount of proposed parking. Commissioner Samuels asked if the developer is considering any kind of overhang at the medical offices building so that someone could be dropped off. Mr. Hopkins showed a street level perspective of the side of that building between the Staples and the medical office building where a canopy is being considered. Ms. Bocek asked if any thought had been given to integrating parking into some of the building, for example the medical office or possibly the hotel. Mr. Hopkins stated they consider the first floor space in both the hotel and the medical office building to be the most valuable space and there is the benefit when they have a one story parking structure because it works nicely for them because 50 percent of the cars in that deck are completely protected and they are conceptualizing a covered connection between the medical office building and the deck. Commissioner Bocek stated her concern is that she is not convinced that the additional cars are not needed. Mr. Hopkins stated they do not think they need it but the next approach would be to add cars to the structure and go up or do that in partial fashion until they get the number they determined was needed. Chairman Ottenheimer stated he agrees with Commissioner Bocek and that he is not convinced there will be enough parking here. He stated he understands the concept of shared parking with mixed use but there seems to be such a huge difference between what the code requires and what is proposed. He stated he would like the developer to bridge the gap somewhat. Mr. Greenberg stated he feels there is actually a cushion here because of timing. He further noted the experts in his industry tell him that this is appropriate. Perhaps the Village would like to hire a third party expert to confirm the numbers. Commissioner Smith stated he understands the concept of shared parking and in this instance he will agree with Mr. Greenberg because if the tenants have a problem, the developer will have a problem leasing their spaces. Commissioner Cohn stated he feels the parking is adequate and if not, they can always build another story onto the deck. Mr. Khan stated he would encourage the use of a third party consultant. Mr. Kurensky stated the standard code is for a 63 foot bay for parking and he is proposing a 61 foot bay for parking in order to put more open space onto the plan. He stated it has been their experience for these types of uses and for parking that 61 feet works well. Mr. Gordon White stated he is very familiar with the subdivision because he designed it 20 years ago. As part of the drainage they provided stormwater detention basins throughout the subdivision at intervals and used the stormsewer system to either drain it towards the creek or a portion of the site is affected directly by the Des Plaines River flood plain. He noted a recent change in elevation due to a new study performed on the Des Plaines River about eight years ago. They have taken those conditions and the little revisions that occur to the flood plain and have provided the storage that was necessary to accommodate those and have prepared the calculations and they have been presented to Mr. Kuenkler for review who is satisfied they have provided enough additional stormwater detention to accommodate the revisions and changes that have been made to the plan regarding the changes over the last 20 years. Mr. White stated they are showing along the hotel building, where the distance from the high water level is less than the Village ordinance requires, a change was made in the annexation agreement. However, Mr. Kuenkler noted that had expired and so there is a variance required for the distance from the hotel building to the high water level of the detention basin. Mr. White stated they also prepared a preliminary utility plan providing sewer and water to the sight proposing an extension in the water main along Milwaukee Avenue providing sanitary sewer through the middle of the site servicing all the facilities and buildings within the park. Commissioner Samuels noted it looks like the detention pond is butting right up against the pedestrian walk at the far southwest corner at Busch Parkway. He asked what will happen there. Mr. White stated the high water level at the detention basin in terms of the walkway in Busch Parkway is about 8 feet away which is similar to the existing conditions with the detention facilities that have been provided and constructed within the corporate grove. Commissioner Samuels asked if the opportunity to do a substantial amount of stormwater detention under the parking lot would be available if they have to provide additional circulation around the west side of the hotel. Mr. White stated at this point they have avoided doing any stormwater detention in the parking lot. The preference is always not to detain in the parking lot which is how the original park was set up. If they needed additional room along the backside of the hotel building that might be an alternative they would have to discuss or pursue. Mr. Greenberg stated they will work with the fire department to find out what they need to do. However, one of the things they might be able to do is put the public use building that is in front of the building might be put on the first floor of the hotel and put the room up above it which would allow them to potentially move the hotel further forward giving them some room along the back. Commissioner Khan asked how they are permitted to store the water beyond the property line as he noted the west pond is outside the limits of their property. Mr. White stated the detention basins were designed based on an impervious surface ratio of .95 and a pervious ratio of .5 for a combination of .8. If roughly 70 percent of this site was made impervious the detention basins were sized to accommodate that and intentionally sized to allow for a lot of building and parking. The detention basins were part of a subdivision improvement for the entire corporate grove. The Village engineer still has the records on file and they have checked where the boundaries were established relative to what areas can drain to these individual detention basins. He stated they also checked the actual volumes relative to the design volumes of 20 years ago and found that the actual volumes were constructed in accordance with the proposed volumes of 20 years ago. Commissioner Stark asked how many retail spaces and stores will be in the retail/medical office building. Mr. Greenberg stated this is a two part development and the first immediate development will be the Staples building and shops A. Those are what they are locking down on tightly. They are willing to be bound in basic principle to the architecture for the bank as well as shops B. The design for the office building is being done so that the commission can understand what the signage package is all about. The office building will not be built until he gets 30-35 percent pre-leased or pre-sold. What is being shown for the office building is still preliminary and they are reserving the right to somewhat modify in the future with the understanding that this is a concept that is tied into the bulk of the building and a basic signage which is why they took the step to develop the architecture as much as they have. As far as the exact mix, they have just presented what they think is an estimated mix of this building. Mr. Greenberg noted there is a possibility of a change of plans in the future. He stated they thought long and hard about how this will actually be feasible. He stated he feels he is introducing a unique product to the market with the ability to attract certain tenants that are not being served in the market that need identity and want to be here. However, he needs to go out with this concept to the market. He stated that he believes that if an office building will be built, this represents his best guess as to what it could be. Commissioner Stark asked what the plans would be if a bank could not be brought in. Mr. Greenberg stated it would be a retail area with a low parking usage. Commissioner Kenski-Sroka asked about a 10 foot wide bikepath on the west side of Milwaukee Avenue. Mr. Greenberg stated it is their intention to add the bikepath on the next draft. Mr. Kurensky stated there is room on the plan to add that. He noted they had discussed if it would be like the path to the bank and they can add it if desired. Commissioner Kenski-Sroka asked if it is conceptually possible they would come back with a single level strip mall there if the medical office building does not materialize. Mr. Greenberg stated it is possible that it could be single story or two stories. He stated this is his best guess as to what he would like to see happen. It is his intention to go out into the market for a substantial period of time and put the right tenants together. Commissioner Cohn stated he is very interested in the developability of the Land and Lakes property to the north and he would like to get an understanding of the big picture of Milwaukee Avenue here. He noted there are two areas labeled future possible link to adjacent property to the northeast and northwest of the junior anchor. He noted that north of the parking deck is the landfill which is the area where the EPA has designated this area as waste material. To the east of the parking deck is the area owned by Land-o-Lakes but is not landfill. Mr. Greenberg stated that was correct. He noted the area in front is covered under their permit but it was not part of the landfill. Commissioner Cohn stated when landfills are closed they are usually turned into things like golf courses. However, this site is not that big. It seems the landfill area would be a nice recreational type use and the frontage property would be a nice commercial use. He asked if that was their vision. Mr. Greenberg stated yes. Commissioner Cohn asked where Land and Lakes is in this picture. He asked if there is any probability that that would actually occur. Mr. Greenberg stated he believes that if all the governmental authorities, including Buffalo Grove, Riverwoods, Lincolnshire, and the corporate entities were to press Lake County noting they were tired of having the smell and the trucks in and out and the waste and noise associated with the site, not to renew their permit then Land and Lakes would be very interested in having the site developed. Commissioner Cohn asked if the land is valuable enough more so for development than its current use. Mr. Greenberg stated Land and Lakes perspective in his view is based upon their comfort with their current business operation. Commissioner Khan noted that IDOT may eventually be taking Milwaukee Avenue from two lanes to three lanes in each direction and he does not think they have the right of way available to them at this time. Staff recommendation is that the developer dedicate 20 feet of right of way at this time to avoid any business disruption in the future. He stated it would be wise to consider dedicating that right of way at this time. Mr. Greenberg stated it is his general understanding of this site and the setbacks is that while it is not dedicated it is already taken into account in terms of their planning. The way they planned it is to eventually take that into account. Mr. Kurensky stated there is an easement directly along that area as well. It is their intention to plan all of their landscape and amenities in that area to stay out of there so that any potential future taking would not disrupt their ponds and landscaping and everything else. They would plan for any potential future taking. Mr. Greenberg stated the most efficient way to take up the offer of a third party consultation would be to take the work done by his consultant and review it and evaluate its merit. The Plan Commission agreed the project was ready for a public hearing. PRESTIGE AUTOMOBILE LEASING, 88 DUNDEE ROAD — REZONING TO THE B-4 DISTRICT AND APPROVAL OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN—WORKSHOP 91 Mr. John Schiess stated they are looking to convert an existing medical office building into the Prestige leasing facility. He stated the east and north of the building is presently zoned B-2. The west is zoned B-3 and the south side of Dundee Road is zoned B-2. He noted they have modified the site plan from the original and the modifications mainly include aisle and stall width dimensions to conform to Village code. He noted they have additional conversations with George Michehl, Village Deputy Fire Marshal, regarding emergency vehicle access and their engineer will incorporate the required turning radii. Mr. Michehl commented that it is important that emergency vehicles be able to get to the southeast and north sides of the building; he is less concerned about access to the west side of the building. Mr. Schiess stated they are taking the front third of the upper level and replacing it with a steel frame structure that has some masonry that matches the existing masonry that is mainly glass and frame structure with a curving roof and a sign pylon that is integral to the building. It would be something to create a look for the building that says it is, in fact, a showroom. He noted they are not looking to expand the boundaries of the building but are looking at this as a renovation of an existing building that only takes a portion of the walls and roof of the building and replaces it. Mr. Schiess stated another feature in order to retrofit this medical building into the leasing facility requires six service bays in the rear of the building. This would service cars that are leased by Prestige and are prepped. In addition there are some support and two offices on the lower level. He stated they are basically redistributing some of the spaces that are currently there. There are quite a few rooms down there that now fit the medical office building that would be redistributed. Mr. Schiess stated they are proposing a concrete pad for display of an automobile with a showroom, a set of doors to go through to a reception area, waiting room, restrooms, children's play area and various offices for the agents that work for Prestige. Mr. Schiess stated they are not changing any of the exits of the building. Mr. Schiess stated the hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. He stated deliveries would occur between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on weekdays only. 90 percent of those deliveries would be on two car flat bed trucks. The other 10 percent are single car drive-ins. He further noted they would look to upgrade the standards of the exterior lighting to be compliant with the code. Further the lights would be kept on until about 12:00 at a dim level to provide security. Mr. Schiess stated there will not be any PA system to generate noise to adjacent neighbors. All of the attendants are on a cell phone or walkie-talkie type of phones. Mr. Schiess stated Prestige does the majority of their business via repeat customers who purchase cars that are predetermined. The customers that do come in are generally referrals. Any test drives are done with a Prestige employee in the car that guides them along a route. Generally the routes are on major thoroughfares and not through neighborhoods. Mr. Schiess noted that currently Prestige sells between 70-100 vehicles per month and with this new facility they would look to double that volume. Mr. Schiess stated the only maintenance done on site are fluid top offs, oil changes for Prestige customers only. There is no body work, no electrical systems work and such as that is usually referred to dealers. Mr. Schiess stated they are requesting a rezoning from a B-3 to B-4 and approval of a preliminary plan. Commissioner Stark asked what happens if this facility is outgrown in a few years. Mr. Schiess stated at that point it may make sense for separate facilities because of the regional nature of the service. Commissioner Teplinsky stated he needs to focus on how the use will blend in the area and is something to be discussed. Mr. Schiess stated some of the blending issues may relate to impact and they will address those. Commissioner Khan asked how important it is for the business to have the oil change at this location. Mr. Schiess noted it is not important at all as it is a matter of the customer's choice. It is clearly something they offer as a service to their customers but they can clearly go to anyone they want. Mr. Arthur Friedman stated it is more a matter of convenience for the customers. The service bays will give them the opportunity to do detailing on cars and that kind of thing which is something they are lacking now. Commissioner Khan asked if any other mechanical service is provided. Mr. Friedman noted tire rotation and flat tires and things like that would be a part of the service but they would not be doing anything like engine overhauls which they are not equipped for is not part of their business. Commissioner Khan asked where the detention is located. Mr. Jamil Bou-Saab stated they have been in communication with the Village Engineer and he has heard there is no drainage problem on the site. They are pretty much leaving the existing conditions and any impervious area changing to pervious area will use grasscrete or impervious surface to park some of the cars and there is no requirement so far for detention. However, if some detention was required just to compensate for some of the impervious area they put in, they will provide underground detention. Commissioner Bocek noted the plan looks much better than the prior property. Preliminary review of the building looks great. She asked if any fencing was planned on the property to separate this property from the adjacent property. Mr. Schiess stated there is currently a fence along the south property line and it is the only one they have considered so far. Mr. Robert Luchene stated he represents the Board of Directors of the Arlington Club Condo Association who noted they are concerned with the traffic on Buffalo Grove Road. He noted that any time between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. it is literally impossible coming out of Huntington Drive to get through especially left turns. He stated the other concern is about test driving cars. He stated they have about a one mile loop on the Arlington Club with access via Cobbler Lane off of Buffalo Grove Road and access from Huntington onto Dundee Road. Mr. Schiess stated they will look at the traffic route as it relates to the test driving and they will obviously be conducting a traffic study so that if it turns out that making left turns out of here is problematic, they would bring that forward along with a potential solution to that. He stated they will work with the operators to work out a designated route for test drives. Commissioner Kenski-Sroka asked how many customers do take test drives. Mr. Friedman stated the impact will be very minimal as there are perhaps 15-20 percent at most that test drive cars. The Plan Commission agreed another workshop is required. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT—None FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil said the next meeting is scheduled for January 5, 2005. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None STAFF REPORT—None NEW BUSINESS—None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Samuels and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 9:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY: LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair