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1975-10-29 - Plan Commission - Minutes WORKSHOP MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION Village Center October 29, 1975 Chairman Genrich called the meeting to order at 8: 15 p.m. , October 29, 1975, in the Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard. Commissioners Present : Chairman Genrich Mr. Mendenhall Mr. Harris Mr. Keister Mr. Shields Mr. Goldspiel Mr. Jacobs Mr. Kandel Also Present : Mr. Edward Fabish, Village President Mr. William Haralson, ERA Mr. John Marienthal, Trustee Mr. Rick Brubaker Ms. Dorothy Carroll, Trustee Mr. George Adams Mr. Dan Larson, Village Manager Mr. William Whited, Administrative Assistant Mr. Richard Glauner, Appearance Commission Mr. Philip Lembo, Appearance Commission Mr. Ron Helms, Appearance Commission Mr. Scott Butler, Appearance Commission Mr. Dennis Gramm, Appearance Commission Mr. Ralph Swanson, Appearance Commission Ms. Gail Braband, Prospective Plan Commission Member Dr. W. Fabian Mr. Tom Dressler Mr. Albert R. Knuth Mrs. Lucy Dressler Mr. George Zimmermann Mr. Edward Gerschefske Mr. Matthew Doetsch Mr. Frank Meramonti Mr. John Hoffman Chairman Genrich opened the meeting by stating that the purpose of the meeting was to get some input from some public officials on the conceptual appearance aspect of the Village Center. He then asked Mr. Haralson from Economics Research Associates to begin the presentation of their conceptual plan. Mr. Haralson stated that they were not at the meeting to present Phase III. The plan being shown was more for the purpose of generating discussion then for offering something final. The emphasis throughout the study has been on coming up with something realistic. They are Plan Commission Page 2 October 2.9, 1975 not proposing something that they have not already convinced them- selves is realistic in terms of scale , land use and mix. Mr. Haralson asked Mr. Rick Brubaker to present the plan. Mr. Brubaker displayed and described the following exhibits: 1. An aerial view showing the various classifications and also a close-up of the area showing ownership. 2. Site analysis 3. Exhibit showing existing and proposed sanitary sewer, water, utilities, etc. 4&5. Exhibits showing traffic arteries around subject property. 6. Concept Plan A 7. Concept Plan B 8. Concept Plan C 9. Exhibit showing tax revenues generated on the various plans Mr. Brubaker stated that with the input received from the Village so far they have come up with a compromise plan with the emphasis on concept plan B. In drawing up this plan they attempted to control vehicular traffic , identify and control pedestrian circulation and attempted to identify the backbone system as to how this property can develop with the various landowners. Mr. Brubaker showed the conceptual plan he had designed. The residential area was shown at the intersection of buffalo Grove Road and Route 83. below that was the parking area with the majority of the buildings clustered in the center around a green area. He stated they were suggesting low-profile, one-story construction with the exception of the library facility and one of the office buildings which would be two or three stories. A question was raised about the amount of asphalt parking area. Mr. Haralson stated that in order to be functional you have to have parking. In lieu of the parking, you could reduce the total land area consumed by parking and either stack parking or use less desirable land area and have remote parking. ne added that both of these alternatives have serious drawbacks. If you stack parking, there are high construction costs and customer resistance. Mr. naralson stated that perhaps the alternative was to make the parking lot more then an asphalt jungle by the addition of landscaping. mr. Lembo asked what the identifying feature was that made the village Center different from the Ranch mart or Plaza Verde. Plan Commission Page 3 October 29, 1975 mr. Haralson stated that this center is functional while the others are commercial centers. In the Village Center plan there are significant space uses that are not commercial. There is 60,000 square feet for library and meeting space, plans for a postoffice , office space , theater, youth center and recreation facility. Commissioner Goldspiel questioned the placement of the green area. He stated that it appeared to be more of a circulation area rather than a public unifying area. Mr. Haralson stated that people in the f shopping area would want open space. In. the actual design they could spread the area out a. little more. Mr. Haralson introduced Mr. George Adams the architect working on the plan. Mr. Adams showed slides of several different centers and the type of architecture they used. He then showed a sketch of the commercial area only of the proposed Village Center plan. Using the village survey he arrived at a contemporary solution with a colonial influence achieved through materials used, details, etc. Commissioner Harris stated that one of the things about the idea of a. Village Center that appealed to him was the concept of a village green but he does not consider an acre of grass in the center of a shopping center a village green. He added that he realized there are economic restraints but feels the planners should be aware of the dollars necessary to make something like this feasible. He suggested they at least open up the shopping center. Mr. Haralson replied that spreading out the complex would not work to make it a viable area.. Trustee Carroll stated that at all the meetings in the past the main thought has been that the Village Center should provide unification of the Village. The landowners have said they would be willing to go along if we can come up with a theme. She added that she felt the planners have ignored the input they have received. The plan presented tonight was a. conception of what they think should go into Buffalo Grove and is exactly what the Village has opposed and fought against. Mr. Haralson stated that the purpose of the meeting tonight was for input on the architectural theme. He added that he was sorry if his responses to the comments were argumentative but he was not going to stand there and give no response. Mr. Swanson suggested having the type of shops found in Plaza del Lago in Wilmette and on North Michigan Avenue. Trustee xech stated she agreed that the village green area was too small. She added that she would like to see different ethnic back- grounds expressed. Mr. Lembo suggested that the architecture be of the prairie square style which is typical of the Midwest Plan Commission Page 4 October 29, 1975 Mr. Knuth stated that he has been wanting to develop his property for two years and has been led to believe his piece of property could be developed commercially as zoned. However, if the plan remains as is, he would have to have it rezoned. tie realized that the plan shown was only a conceptual plan but felt because his property is shown as residential on it he would have trouble getting commercial approved. President . 'abish stated that there would have to be a central theme. it will probably have to be developed in stages but if there is a central theme there should be no problem. he asked that the property owners write their input down in specifics and give it to the planners. He added that he wanted to stress again that what was shown tonight was only a plan. Mr. uramm stated that along with many others at the meeting tonight he expected something different then what was presented. he feels that they were mislead because it has been called a village Center when in actuality it is a coordinated village commercial development. Mr. uramm suggested that we let the people in the Village know that this is what it is and not let them go on believing it is a "Village Center" . Mr. Knuth suggested that they use his 72 acres and bring the public use units up to it with a park and open area. ny doing this there would be less of a problem in accumulating land from several owners. instead of getting land from others, the Village could get a donation and use it to help buy his land. rir. Marienthal stated that to obtain land for a youth center right now is not practical because we are not sure it can be viable. There is a school vacant now that could be used if the need exists. II rir. Brubaker stated that perhaps the plan shown tonight was too detailed for the stage we are in. Trustee Carroll asked if it would be possible for the planners to present an overlay of the roadway configuration on the existing zoning map. She also asked Mr. Adams to present a rendering or rough idea of the different types of architecture. Both Mr. Brubaker and Mr. Adams agreed to do as she asked. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, i da Isonhart APPROVPPD: Recording Secretary r Carl Gen ' oh, Chairman