2004-05-05 - Plan Commission - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Plan Commission
Document Type: ❑A e
g nda 0 Minutes
Meeting ate: 05/05/2004
Type of Meeting:
PUBLIC HEARING
BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION
May 5, 2004
Buffalo Grove Bank & Trust,Annexation with zoning in the B-1
District, rezoning of one parcel from R-4A to the B-1 District
And approval of a Preliminary Plan, southwest corner of
Buffalo Grove Road/Old Checker Road
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
Ms. Kenski-Sroka
Mr. Teplinsky
Mr. Stark
Mr. Cohn
Commissioners absent: Mr. Samuels
Mr. Khan
Also present: Ms. Amy Kurson, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Diana Melichar, Geudtner& Melichar Architects
Robert Abell, Geudtner& Melichar Architects
Mr. Mike Abruzzini, Buffalo Grove Bank
Mr. Tim Doron, Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona
Mr. Mark Henderson, Seton Engineering
Mr. Tom McCabe, Seton Engineering
Mr. Greg Raymond, Panoramic Landscapes Inc.
Mr. John Reagan, Lake Forest Bank& Trust
Mr. Rich Rushkewicz, Northbrook Bank& Trust
Mr. Lem Tate, North Shore Community Bank
Mr. William Raysa, Village Attorney
Mr. Steve Trilling, Village Trustee
Mr. Jeffrey Berman, Village Trustee
Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner
Mr. Greg Summers, Associate Village Planner
The following exhibits were presented by the petitioner at the public hearing:
Exhibit A: Existing Site Plan dated February 18, 2004
Exhibit B: New Preliminary Site Plan dated April 7, 2004
Exhibit C: Site Appurtenances; garden wall, monument sign & dumpster enclosure dated
March 17, 2004
Exhibit D: Photos of Existing Site & Neighboring Context, undated
Exhibit E: Site Model dated April 7, 2004
Exhibit F: Building Drawings; East & North Elevations, Basement Plan dated March 17,
2004 and May 5, 2004
Exhibit G: Building Drawings; West & South Elevations, First Floor Plan dated March 17,
2004
Exhibit H: Building Drawings (Basement, First & Second Floor Plans dated February 18,
2004
Exhibit I: Building Model, undated
Exhibit J: Building Material Sample Board, undated
Exhibit K: Perspective Rendering of Building, undated
Exhibit L: Photometric Drawing dated April 27, 2004
Exhibit M: Memo from Mr. Pfeil to the Plan Commission dated April 30, 2004
Ms. Amy Kurson of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, presented an overview of the testimony
and stated their approach to building the bank is based on their customer service.
Mr. Rich Rushkewicz of Northbrook Bank& Trust stated service is what will differentiate them
from the other banks in the Village. He noted this has made them number one and number two
in market share in each of the communities they operate in. He stated they have obtained their
growth and their stability in growth through a variety of programs that cares for all age groups in
the community and all needs in the community. They also recognize and take care of their
employees which helps them given better service.
Mr. Mike Abruzzini stated this organization is like none other when it comes to community
banking. He noted Buffalo Grove would benefit from the type of service, products and programs
they can offer to the residents and the business community. They have already hired a staff of
people and have become active with the Buffalo Grove Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Diana Melichar of Geudtner & Melichar noted there are five buildings scattered over the
site. There are two residential buildings and there were three commercial properties. Structures
were going over property lines and over setbacks.
Ms. Melichar stated the buildings on the site before had much more coverage than there is now
with the proposed one building. The proposed building has an overall square footage of 9,617
square feet. This is a very narrow site and the building is located at the southern portion of the
property to take advantage of trying to hide the drive through. Some of the variances they are
requesting for setbacks are regarding the fact that they have to add the through lanes according to
the Lake County Department of Transportation and then the required fire lane also ate into their
landscape plans. They went from a 12-foot driveway to an 18-foot driveway. They now have
anywhere between 8.5 and 9.5 landscaping but overall they have between 22 feet and 35 feet of
landscape between the street and parking area. The site is much more organized than it was
before and it has quite a bit more landscaping than before.
Ms. Melichar stated they are also requesting a parking variance. They are required to have 38
spaces on the lot. However, they feel the square footage in the basement is all support spaces
and they do not expect any people to be down in that location. They are therefore requesting that
the parking be based on the first and second floor areas only. The basement is comprised of the
vault, lunchroom, toilets and mechanical spaces.
Ms. Melichar reviewed the building elevations stating the first floor would hold the personal
banking spaces, president's office and tellers. The second floor would have the commercial area,
investment area and a few conference rooms.
Ms. Melichar reviewed the photometric drawing that indicates there is less than two tenths of a
foot-candle just as you leave the site.
Mr. Greg Raymond of Panoramic Landscapes stated they have proposed substantial landscaping
throughout the site using deciduous trees and evergreens as well as evergreen shrubs and
deciduous shrubs. The count is over 30 shade ornamental and evergreen trees. The quantity of
shrubs exceeds 200 and perennials exceed 250. Although the landscape buffers have been
reduced they have definitely provided a substantial screen along Buffalo Grove Road as well as
along the southwest corner of the property. Along the southwestern corner they have 20-foot tall
evergreens that will provide a large and substantial visual screen for the neighbors to the west.
Along Buffalo Grove Road they have a combination of shade ornamental trees and shrubs to
provide a substantial visual screen against the parking lot. He stated they are proposing to
salvage some trees, however, if construction prohibits that they would definitely replace the trees
on a 1-inch per 1-inch ratio.
Mr. Tim Doron of Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona stated this land use is a very benign traffic
generator. He stated the bank is situated in a transitional zone. Where it sits and abuts
multi-family and single family and commercial. It is therefore a good land use here because it
acts as a transition
Mr. Doron stated they studied six different sites for stacking, for parking and for trip generation.
The entrance from the north going south or from the south going northbound can be made at the
full access drive. The drive on Old Checker will not allow left turns in. There was a comment
from the Village Traffic Engineer to reconfigure the access into a half pork chop which will
allow anyone on the site who wishes to turn left or right out to do so but it will not allow anyone
to turn in from the street.
Mr. Doron stated the site circulation internally is essentially a one way operation and it works
counter clockwise. All of the term radii have all been tested and conform to standards that are
given. He noted he uses a 24-foot radius, which is bigger than the norm.
Mr. Doron stated they are asking for a stacking variance. He stated they surveyed six banks and
the most they found for stacking in all the banks were three cars totally. The average was under
two. Some of these banks were regional banks which generate much more traffic than local
banks so they are very confident that the stacking here which is good for five cars without
intruding on the bypass aisle is more than sufficient.
Mr. Doron stated they surveyed the banks for parking as well and did so only in peak hours and
the average they found was 13 spaces. They are providing 26 parking places for this site and he
feels very comfortable with that number.
Mr. Doron stated they have also considered at staff suggestion that there is opportunity for
connections to future sites to the south anywhere along the southern border. It is up to the
development of the parcels to the south as to where the connections come in. However, nothing
in the site plan would preclude that type of connection in the future.
Mr. Doron stated they have additionally put in a 2 percent growth rate in the background traffic
along Buffalo Grove Road and the generation by Turnberry will not even come close to meeting
that. However, they thought it was better to do an ambient traffic growth rate because it is not
just Turnberry that will add traffic to Buffalo Grove Road.
Mr. Doron further noted the Village Traffic Engineer has suggested putting two outbound lanes
at the drives. He noted he would suggest not doing that because it is his opinion that it is better
to have green space. The stacking is not going to be significant and the signal cycle is only a
minute and a half. Only one or two cars might stack up but they will be on their property and
there is plenty of room for that. However, he suggested it is up to the Village as to the two lanes
but he would like to talk to the Village Traffic Engineer first and see if he could convince him of
his views.
Mr. Mark Henderson of Seton Engineering stated stormwater management will follow the Lake
County ordinance and abide by the legal requirements. Detention will be held in underground
storage tank in a concrete vault.
Ms. Kurson stated they are assembling three properties. Two of the properties are
unincorporated and one of the properties is already in Buffalo Grove. She stated they are
requesting to annex the two unincorporated properties and rezone all three of the properties to
B-1 Business District. She noted they meet the minimum standards for the size of the property.
The existing uses and the zoning of the surrounding properties should be examined and there has
been testimony that this is a transitional use and there are surrounding commercial and
residential uses. It is also a low traffic generator and banks are fairly quiet uses. This is an
appropriate use given that across the street there is a funeral home, post office, bakery, and
church. In addition the commission must consider the suitability of the land for the purposes to
which it would be rezoned. It is a difficult site because three properties must be assembled. The
site has been expanded to include one more parcel so that they could put the bank further south
and have a little more room to operate the drive through. Initially the property line was going to
be 107 feet wide. Now they are giving some of the right of way to Lake County in order to have
a right turn lane into the facility and because Lake County is giving them certain
accommodations in terms of their access on Buffalo Grove Road. That has restricted the size of
the size. In addition one must consider the length of time the properties have remained vacant.
This is an appropriate use given that this little piece of property has lain fallow and undeveloped
and will be made into something beautiful and worthy of Buffalo Grove Road. In addition one
must consider community needs for the project. There is a need for their style of banking
services and community participation. Also they are asking consideration for the care with
which the community has planned this land use. The Comprehensive Plan calls for this site to be
office uses. Bank uses can be considered compatible with office uses.
Mr. Kurson noted the list of requested variations for parking, stacking, and landscape areas are
due to the fact that this land is affected by special circumstances and those circumstances are not
of their creation. They believe this is a prominent site in Buffalo Grove that is worthy of their
bank and it attract customers. It is a difficult site and they have done their best with it. Finally
she noted they would not adversely affect the neighborhood. Since this is a transitional use, a
community oriented business and a low traffic generator, they believe they are meeting all of the
standards for a variance.
Commissioner Teplinsky asked how emergency vehicles would enter off of Buffalo Grove Road.
Mr. Doron described the route fire trucks will take and he noted they have designed access in
accordance with the Fire Department's standards.
Commissioner Bocek asked why they did not consider parking on the first level, perhaps just for
employees. This would eliminate the variation and perhaps make some of the landscaped areas
larger.
Ms. Melichar stated the biggest problem was with the drive through. She noted they have
stacking on the one side and then there is the issue with emergency vehicle access on the other
side. In addition the site is too tight to have underground parking.
Commissioner Stark asked what would be a standard growth rate in traffic.
Mr. Doron stated they generally look at the projections made by the Northeastern Illinois
Planning Commission (NIPC) and the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS). For the
analysis of the bank's traffic impact, a 4 percent growth rate in local traffic for the first two years
was used, and a 2 percent growth rate for subsequent years. The growth rates used in the study
are greater than what is typically used for traffic projections.
Commissioner Stark asked if 26 parking spaces would be sufficient if there are to be about 15
employees. This would leave only 11 spaces for customers.
Ms. Melichar stated if every single seat in the building were taken up you would have a total of
15 employees. However, Northbrook Bank has right now purchased an offsite, which is used for
their employees if needed.
Mr. Rushkewicz noted the last thing they would want is to have their customers inconvenienced
so in Northbrook with only 23 spots, they have their employees park off site. To start with they
will only have about 5 employees here. Ultimately they will grow and they might have 10-11
employees at one time.
Commissioner Smith asked if this site is too small for what is wanted here.
Ms. Kurson stated this site is appropriate for this use. What they have done is placed the bank at
the lowest and widest of the assembled properties in order to meet the requirements of the code.
They tried their best not to have any variances and when they initially did the site design they
had no variances. It was through hardships created by Lake County for right of way and the
need for a larger driveway that these variations became necessary.
Mr. Robert Abell of Geudtner & Melichar stated the problem with this site is that the buildable
area here is not really useful for any building.
Commissioner Smith stated the problem he is having is that there seem to be excuses made for
every variance.
Ms. Melichar stated the vault space is basically used for storage space and there is no employee
down there. They will actually have someone upstairs who serves the vault area.
Mr. Rushkewicz noted one of the reasons they positioned the vault on the lower level is because
the use of that safety deposit area is infrequent. There might be one customer per hour if even
that. They have it positioned so that the entrance to the vault area will be either at the elevator or
at the stairway and will be clearly visible to the personal banking staff. On Saturday mornings
they do have someone down there for about 3-4 hours.
Commissioner Smith asked what the highest use bank was in those studied by the traffic
engineer.
Mr. Doron stated the highest of all banks for trips generated was Bank of Highwood with 64
trips in and out.
Commissioner Smith noted that testimony has been given stating they are not going to have a lot
of traffic but they will be very busy. He asked for an explanation of that.
Mr. Rushkewicz stated the difference is that they are a local bank and not a regional bank with
hundreds of branches so there will not be that much drive through traffic and trip generation will
not be high either.
Commissioner Smith noted that one of the turns had an F level of service and he asked if it is
therefore normal for projects to be approved with that kind of level of service.
Mr. Doron stated any commercial drive that accesses any unsignalized major arterial would be a
level E or F service. The nice thing about this drive is that there will be gaps because the signal
is right next door. He stated people would sit on the driveway for less than a minute and move.
The right turns will move but the left turns will sit and wait. The queue will be a car or two until
the signal cycle provides a gap.
Mr. Hunter Logan, 108 Circle Drive, stated his concern is with all the new projects that are being
built along Buffalo Grove Road which are not supposed to have any impact on traffic which
already happens to be very congested during rush hours. He does not feel it is a good idea to
have so much development without increasing the infrastructures so that people can get around.
Ms. Marjorie Berz, 420 Checker Drive, stated the exit onto Checker Drive will be a mess and
with the new condos there is no way to project what the traffic will be like.
Mr. Thomas Caruso, 111 Circle Drive, asked how long would construction take and how soon
after approval will it begin. He asked if the proposed wall would be put up first or last in the
construction process. He also asked where the snow would be placed during winter.
Mr. Rushkewicz stated snow is plowed and if there were not enough parking they would get a
large truck to haul snow away. He stated they would like to begin construction this summer
assuming approval by the trustees and the project will be roughly 12 months. The wall will
probably be the last part of the construction.
Mr. Les Klein, 117 Manchester Drive, stated he deals with this bank now and they are wonderful
people to deal with.
Mr. Richard Roman, 140 Manchester Drive, stated he finds the bank to have the most pleasant
people imaginable. However, he is still concerned with the exit and entrance on Old Checker.
He stated he hopes the police department will follow through on their promise to address any
problems that might occur at this intersection. If such problems do occur hopefully some
modifications can be made at a later date.
Commissioner Stark asked what the hours of operation would be.
Mr. Abruzzini stated the hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Friday and 8:30
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and the drive through 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
Mr. Doron noted that in the anticipation of trip generation they are very conservative. They did
not take anything called passby traffic, which occurs all the time. When they talk about trips in
and out of the site, those are trips where someone stands at the driveway and counts. That is not
all-new trips to Buffalo Grove Road. Some are already on the road and might see the cash
station or automatic teller or come down and happen to be a member of that banking network
and decide to go in and cash a check. He also noted that they actually calculated a 4 percent
growth in background traffic for two years instead of the 2 percent he formerly mentioned.
Ms. Melichar reiterated the building is not really a large building and they are definitely
reorganizing the site in a much more pleasant way than it was. Also the townhomes next door
are 27 feet in height and this building is only 30 feet in height and the square footage above
grade is only about 6,500 square feet.
Ms. Marjorie Berz suggested not having a drive onto Old Checker Drive.
There being no further comments or questions from anyone else present, Chairman Ottenheimer
closed the public hearing at 9:14 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: 05/05/2004
Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting
REGULAR MEETING
BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION
May 5, 2004
Buffalo Grove Bank & Trust,Annexation with zoning in the B-1
District, rezoning of one parcel from R-4A to the B-1 District
And approval of a Preliminary Plan, southwest corner of
Buffalo Grove Road/Old Checker Road
Chairman Ottenheimer called the meeting to order at 9:15 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
Ms. Kenski-Sroka
Mr. Teplinsky
Mr. Stark
Mr. Cohn
Commissioners absent: Mr. Samuels
Mr. Khan
Also present: Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner
Mr. Greg Summers, Associate Village Planner
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka, seconded by Commissioner Teplinsky to approve the
minutes of the public hearing of April 7, 2004. All Commissioners were in favor of the motion
and the motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Smith abstaining.
Moved by Commissioner Teplinsky, seconded by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka to approve the
minutes of the regular meeting of April 7, 2004. Commissioner Cohn noted a change in
wordage required on page 3. All Commissioners were in favor of the amended motion and the
motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Smith abstaining.
COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS
Commissioner Smith attended the Village Board meeting on May 3, 2004 where he noted they
had a Comprehensive Plan update by Ghida Newkirch and noted it would not be completed for
1-1 '/z years.
Commissioner Cohn attended the Village Board meeting on April 19, 2004 where there was
some discussion regarding water hookup for the Buffalo Grove Bank & Trust for a temporary
facility. It was the board's discussion was centered on the premature nature of an approval for
water hookup on a temporary facility given that the Plan Commission had not reviewed the
final facility and might consider that presumptive of the board. The board ultimately decided
to approve the water hookup but to make sure that there was some communication from the
board the make sure the Plan Commission understood that that should in no way be considered
presumptive.
BUFFALO GROVE BANK & TRUST, ANNEXATION WITH ZONING IN THE B-1
DISTRICT, REZONING OF ONE PARCEL FROM R-4A TO THE B-1 DISTRICT AND
APPROVAL OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN, SOUTHWEST CORNER OF BUFFALO
GROVE ROAD/OLD CHECKER ROAD
Moved by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka and seconded by Commissioner Teplinsky to
recommend approval to the Village Board of a petition for annexation of Parcel 1 and Parcel 2
described in the B-1 Limited Retail Business District, rezoning of Parcel 3 described below
from the R-4A Dwelling District to the B-1 District and approval of a Preliminary Plan with
the following variations: ZONING ORDINANCE — Section 17.36.040.G.2 (to allow fewer
than six (6) stacking spaces per customer service area for the bank drive-through facility and to
allow the parking requirement for the building to exclude the basement area); Section
17.44.020.G.L(to allow a landscaped yard along Old Checker Road of less than 12 feet in
width); Section 17.44.020.G.2 (to allow a landscaped buffer strip along the west property line
of 9 feet instead of 12 feet); DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE — Section 16.50.120.I.1.e (to
allow alternate landscaping instead of standard parkway trees along the Buffalo Grove Road
right-of-way).
Commissioner Kenski-Sroka stated the site has inherent problems and any building that would
go on this site would encounter similar problems. The plan presented makes effective use of
the site. The architect has taken great care to make a building that blends with the surrounding
buildings. The variances relative to the front and rear yard landscape buffer would be
encountered by any development of this site. The stacking and parking variances are probably
necessary, as our notions of modern banking have changed considerably. Therefore she will
vote positively for this project.
Commissioner Stark stated he would not like to see another retail bank in the community.
However, one must distinguish between a retail bank and a community bank and this is a
community bank. He also noted he has heard nothing but good things about this bank from
their direct competitors and will support this plan.
Commissioner Teplinsky stated the building is beautiful but the question is should it be built
here. Obviously it is a very challenging site and he is somewhat concerned with the internal
traffic flow. However, he will be supporting the plan.
Commissioner Cohn stated he likes everything about the bank except the traffic. When
looking at traffic issues we need to look at several factors. We need to ask if the new and
additional traffic will cause a significant or unacceptable risk to public safety. If it will, we
cannot do it. We also need to see if the new traffic will promote commerce or will it hinder
commerce. Also we need to see if the new traffic will unreasonably interfere in the quality of
life. All these questions support the construction of this bank. The traffic does not pose an
unacceptable risk. We want to have some traffic here as this is where the commerce goes on.
There is no unreasonable interference with the quality of life by this construction and he will
therefore support the project.
Commissioner Smith noted his concern is still with the traffic issues. He stated the length of
time the property has been vacant is because this property will be a problem. He also stated he
feels this development will have a negative effect on the neighborhood. He definitely stated
there is no need for this use and the need for all the requested variations is due to the fact that
this site is not big enough for this use.
Chairman Ottenheimer stated given the configuration of the site anything that is put here
would be problematic. Buffalo Grove Road with the development of the condos seems to be
the beginning of a central business district for Buffalo Grove and he could not think of a better
use for a business district than a bank. He also noted the good things he has heard about this
bank and he will take them at face value on what they have said as well as what the experts
say.
Chairman Ottenheimer called for a vote on the motion and the vote was as follows:
AYES: Bocek, Kenski-Sroka, Teplinsky, Stark, Cohn, Ottenheimer
NAPES: Smith
ABSENT: Samuels, Khan
ABSTAIN: None
The motion passed 6 to 1.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT—None
FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE
Mr. Pfeil stated the next meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2004.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS—None
STAFF REPORT—None
NEW BUSINESS—None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Commissioner Smith, seconded by Commissioner Kenski-Sroka and carried
unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Ottenheimer adjourned the meeting at 9:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Fay Rubin, Recording Secretary
APPROVED BY:
LESTER OTTENHEIMER, Chair