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1995-09-13 - Plan Commission - Minutes SPECIAL MEETING BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION • September 13, 1995 Aptakisic Sand and Gravel Company property, Southwest corner of Aptakisic Road/Milwaukee Avenue, ECD Company, Inc., -Annexation with Industrial, B-2 General Retail and R-9 P.U.D.Zoning and approval of a Preliminary Plan--Workshop#1 Chairman Goldspiel 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 Goldspiel Mr. Krug Ms. Howard Mr. Samuels Mr. Berman Mr. Lundine Mr. Ottenheimer Mr. Trilling Commissioners absent: Mr. Rosenston Also present: Mr. Lawrence Freedman, Ash, Anos, Freedman& Logan Mr. Scott Greenberg, ECD Company, Inc. Mr. Mark Humphreys,Humphreys& Partners Architects Ms. DeAnn Glover, Village Trustee Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES -None COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS Commissioner Krug attended the Village Board Meeting on September 11, 1995 stating the following items were discussed: 1. Twin Rinks Ice Center was deferred to October 2, 1995 2. Special Use Ordinance for retail use in the Industrial Zone was approved for a period of one year 3. Speed limit was lowered to 25 mph on all collector streets Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 1 APTAKISIC SAND AND GRAVEL COMPANY PROPERTY. SOUTHWEST CORNER OF APTAKISIC ROAD/MILWAUKEE AVENUE. ECD COMPANY. INC. - ANNEXATION WITH INDUSTRIAL.B-2 GENERAL RETAIL AND R-9 P.U.D. ZONING AND APPROVAL OF A PRELIMINARY PLAN--WORKSHOP#1 Mr. Lawrence Freedman of Ash, Anos, Freedman&Logan stated the site is the subject of mixed use zoning and annexation. He stated some modifications have been made to the plan in response to some of the issues raised by the Village Board. Mr. Scott Greenberg of ECD Company, Inc., developer of the 47.7 acre tract zoned SU by Lake County stated ECD Company has been in the real estate business for over 30 years. He stated they operate real estate located in the Chicago land area, central Florida, and Colorado. They have been responsible for the development and management of over 5,000 apartment units and 1,000,000 square feet of office warehouse space. In Chicago, ECD Company is responsible for over 250,000 square feet of office warehouse space. Mr. Greenberg stated the site is on the southwest corner of Aptakisic and Milwaukee. He stated this is an important site for Buffalo Grove as it is on a major intersection with a great deal of exposure. He stated this could be an important physical component in the future of Buffalo Grove. He stated they have tried to consider uses that will compliment Buffalo Grove which will be balanced by site limitations and market restrictions which are faced at the site. Mr. Greenberg reviewed the three parcels composing the site plan, stating parcel 1 is along Milwaukee Avenue, about 1,000 feet in length with a depth of 300 feet. He stated this site was selected to optimize the commercial and retail potential of the parcel. After discussions with retail and commercial experts, the feeling is that while this maximizes the commercial potential, ultimately this site may be subdivided into smaller parcels to include components of 20,000 to 25,000 square feet. These components might be strip commercial, with middle end restaurants, medical uses and a corner bank use. He stated this development has been designed to maximize the potential and to possibly gain an entrance to the site. Mr. Greenberg stated they are contemplating one main access point along Milwaukee which would include both parcel 1 and the apartment parcel for one full access point with both a left and right hand turn. This would be located at the most southern sections of the site. In addition, they are hoping to get another curb cut at the most northwestern corner of the site. These two access points, together with another potential right-in, right-out access point along Milwaukee Avenue would be the access points for the entire parcel. Mr. Greenberg stated the 9.3-acre parcel 3 is planned for development as office and warehouse. He noted there is a flood plain determination in this area and there is a small piece of land within parcel 3 which is in the flood way. He stated they are still trying to determine the exact nature of this small piece of land and hope to be able to refine this area over the next 30 to 60 days to allow fI them to shape the configuration of the proper land uses for this parcel. He stated they foresee Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 2 either a single-story office/warehouse or potentially a build to suit for this parcel. Mr. Greenberg stated the office and office/warehouse users on parcel 3 tend to be time sensitive. When there is a need, they enter the market and talk with prospective landowners for their needs. This parcel is difficult to pre-market this parcel until there is actual zoning on the parcel. Mr. Greenberg stated the largest section of parcel 1 and parcel 3 were only minimally excavated and only a minimal amount of fill was put into those regions. Parcel 2 is the most challenging part of the site to develop. He noted the existing separation line between parcel 3 and parcel 2 is based upon a prior easement which was granted to Lincolnshire as a sewer easement. Because of the restrictions in connection with that easement, it is difficult to develop above or around that easement and it become a natural breakpoint between the two land parcels. Mr. Greenberg stated development of parcel 2 is proposed as a rental multi-family project. The advantages of this type of development versus Industrial have to do with the land. Single-story Industrial use or office/warehouse use would get about 35-40 percent land coverage. In the proposed development, the building only covers 12-13 percent of the site area. The proposed private street system does not have to be developed to industrial standards as the roadway would not have to accommodate semi-tractor/trailers. In addition, office/warehouse users like the flexibility to change their under floor systems and in this case that would be impossible because it is too costly to change often. Mr. Greenberg reviewed the proposed multi-family rental units. He stated the project will all be two story in nature with every unit having direct access to the outside. 70 percent of the units will have attached garages. He stated they are proposing a lake,walking paths, tennis courts, basketball courts, club house with health club, business center, and pool. He stated there will be some unusual onsite services for these apartment buildings such as a full time concierge, door to door valet service, and door to door trash pickup. Mr. Mark Humphreys of Humphreys&Partners Architects stated this is a new and innovative concept. He stated there is a large national trend going towards a town home type product for rental. Most of the units will have individual garages with direct access into the unit. This serves peoples' desires to protect their valuable possessions, security and a conscious decision to rent instead of buying. Mr. Humphreys stated the club house would be visible at the main entrance. Most of the residences will view into the pond area and there will be a green space which connects them all together. The site has existing trees all around the perimeter of the site and some of the buildings will be facing those trees. Mr. Humphreys stated comments from the Board suggested the following revisions: 1. Reduce the road house look Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 3 2. Provide more garages in case the site ever becomes condo 3. Reduce the monotony of the elevation 4. Wider separation between the residences 5. Eliminate the straight drive Mr. Humphreys stated they have tried to reduce the road house look by jogging the residences around somewhat. In addition, they have created extensive tree islands in the drives separating buildings. This will visually break up the drive throughout the development. This also reduces `./ the monotony of the elevations. Additionally, they have created some in loaded garages on as many buildings as possible. This also relieves some of the concern with the straight drives as this creates more of an undulation in the drives. Mr. Humphreys stated the current setback requirements are 50 feet between the front walls or front and rear walls of adjoining buildings, 40 feet between rear walls of adjoining buildings and side and front or rear walls of adjoining buildings and 24 feet between the side walls of adjoining buildings or 15 feet if there are no windows. He stated they are 340 feet apart at the short side of the pond and 580 feet apart at the long side. He stated they are approximately 120 feet at the narrowest courtyard by the tennis courts. He stated there are some cases where the buildings are very close to each other and this will be corrected as required. He also stated they are currently at 13 percent of allowable building coverage. Commissioner Howard asked for clarification of trace contamination mentioned in the development plan report. Mr. Greenberg stated that there is some environmental data on the lake and water showing the site is clean of contaminants. However, because the site was used for gravel for approximately 30 years and then filled with concrete, clay and soil, any industrial user would suspect there must be something on the site after a 30 year period besides clean dirt, clay and concrete. While the site was not used as a landfill, it has the stigma that there is something-else on the site. An industrial user would be hyper-sensitive to issues of environmental contamination whether real or stigma. For that reason, it would be difficult to develop the center of the site as an Industrial use. He further stated an institutional pension fund who may be a partner on this type of development will look at the environmentals, taking the look view, and after careful analysis of the site will overcome any potential stigma issue allowing for available financing. An industrial user would pass over this development with just the knowledge of its prior use. Mr. Greenberg reiterated that this is more of a stigma issue than any evidentiary findings on the site. He stated there have been water samples taken and there is an additional environmental study being done on the site now. He stated they believe nothing detrimental will be found on the site. However, after hundreds of thousands of loads of dirt that have been brought to this site to replace the gravel, something will be present other than what was placed there by Mother Nature. Commissioner Howard asked for clarification of access to the Industrial use. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 4 Mr. Greenberg stated they plan to have one access point located immediately to the west of the residential site off of Aptakisic Road with both a left in and right hand turn out. He stated there might be some emergency access across the bermed area or across the easement provided. Commissioner Howard noted it may be necessary to provide left turn and right turn lanes off of Milwaukee Avenue if the project goes forward. Mr. Greenberg stated they expect IDOT to allow only one major opening into the site for both the apartment development as well as the retail. Therefore,they may initially develop a small entry/exit area along Milwaukee and when the retail parcel is developed, they would try to make arrangements for an enlarged opening that would be access for both the apartments and the retail site. They hope IDOT may also allow for a right-in,right-out access in the middle on Milwaukee Avenue. Commissioner Samuels asked if the pond would be all of the detention. Mr. Greenberg stated the engineering firm feels a 4-acre sized detention area would be necessary. This detention would cover all the area for the apartment site as well as a large portion of the industrial and retail parcel. There would be a drain tile which would extend from the industrial parcel into the 4-acre pond as well as from the retail parcel. Depending on how these sites are developed, there may be some additional detention on both the industrial and retail parcel. These would be funneled into the pond and then funneled out of the site. Commissioner Samuels noted some of the building setbacks from the pond are very short and he asked if these had been checked to see if they meet the ordinance. Mr. Humphreys stated he believes there is enough distance there and if not, there is some extra room available so that the buildings can be set back further. Commissioner Samuels asked if there has been any kind of traffic study for comparative uses, especially with regard to the commercial and industrial parcels. Mr. Greenberg stated they have not yet done a traffic study but do plan to do one. Commissioner Samuels asked if all units now have some sort of garage. Mr. Humphreys stated they have over planned for garages. He suggested landbanking detached garages. He stated they may then decide to go ahead and build the garages if economically if the attached garages prove out well. But if they do not,they will have landbanked and can be used as regular parking or green space. Commissioner Samuels stated if landbanking is done, he would like to see the data on site lines and such as if the garages were being built. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 5 Mr. Humphreys stated they will treat the area as if garages were being built. Commissioner Samuels asked what kind of lighting there would be inside the project. Mr. Humphreys stated they have not yet planned the lighting and stated his personal preference would be for decorative pole lighting and ornamental lamp lighting. Commissioner Samuels askedfor the parking data. Mr. Humphreys stated the plan calls for 252 attached garages, 102 detached garages, 252 tandem and 213 visitor spaces for a total of 819 spaces. Commissioner Samuels noted the tennis court and basketball court areas need more visitor parking. Mr. Humphreys reviewed the position of the visitor parking areas. He further noted there is a jogging path which goes all around the lake. He stated they would like to encourage a community feeling where people may walk to the facility. Commissioner Samuels asked where the sewer and water access is located. Mr. Greenberg stated the engineering plans are still being discussed. He stated they hope to bring the water and sewer down Aptakisic Road. He stated there has been some discussion on bringing some other water service up Milwaukee Avenue. Chairman Goldspiel asked where the Village's nearest water service is located. Mr. Pfeil stated a water main extends from the Rogers Center to the west along Aptakisic. The Village's planning includes extension of the water main east on Aptakisic and north up Milwaukee Avenue. Sanitary sewer would probably connect to the sewer in Arbor Creek southwest of the site. Commissioner Berman asked if the unit mix of some of the buildings had been changed. Mr. Humphreys stated they changed some of the mix but the overall space is the same. Commissioner Berman stated the computation of density for this plan is an illusion. He stated while the density on the site is low, this is going to have a look and feel that is extremely dense, particularly from the streetscape. He stated it will be a sea of automobiles, pavement and very large building masses. He stated he would like to see some work done to get away from the sea of automobiles and pavement. He stated it might be better to have the detention to stand on its own for each of the three parcels so that more room can be created to work with in planning the streetscape and the separation of the buildings. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 6 Mr. Humphreys stated on the parking side they are at 2.6 spaces per unit which is extremely over parked. He suggested that as they are so over parked, they could back this down to allow them to pick up a lot of landscaped area where they could put trees, bushes and plantings in front of the buildings and islands. He further stated they could look at making some of the buildings smaller. Commissioner Berman stated he would like to see some of the parking inside. He suggested more garage space within the units instead of parking 50-60 cars outside of the units which creates a very dense urban feel. Mr. Humphreys stated they may look at trading out some of those spaces and doing some islands every four or five spaces to break up the street. Commissioner Berman stated he is concerned with the contamination issue and would like to know exactly what is out there. Mr. Freedman stated they are not suggesting there is something there. He stated there is a perception by industrial users. He stated no lender would take the risk without extensive environmental examinations and provide evidence that this is a clean site. Mr. Greenberg stated they already do have a water test that indicates that the site is free of contaminants. He stated the water from this site has been tested regularly by the Lake County Health Department. This water is very important to them because it flows from this site into the Aptakisic stream which flows into the larger river. Commissioner Berman noted it is difficult to plan when the perimeter uses are not known. He stated he would like to see a conceptual plan of what is going in the commercial section as well as what is going in on the industrial side. He further stated it is imperative to have a full traffic study that involves all three sections of the site. Commissioner Trilling noted there is a small parcel for sale adjacent to the industrial site and the Rogers Center for Commerce. He inquired if any efforts had been made to acquire same. Mr. Greenberg stated they would like to own the site as it would help in the planning process to the industrial portion and they will try to acquire same if the price is at all reasonable. Commissioner Trilling stated he likes the revised plan with the islands in the center which adds more green space and breaks up the roadway. However, he stated if one is entering off of Aptakisic Road and makes a right hand turn and goes west, the street layout within the residential area would be confusing for anyone not familiar with the development. The circulation road must be made easier to follow. Commissioner Lundine asked if it was the intent to have ECD Company manage the whole enterprise. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 7 Mr. Greenberg stated they would like to develop and own as much of the rental sections as possible. The restaurants or build to suit enterprise in the industrial section would probably be sold off to the user. However, it is the intention of ECD to be involved with the apartment community long term and on the commercial section they foresee a 20,000-25,000 square foot strip owned and managed by ECD Company. Other pads would be sold off to an end user. Commissioner Lundine asked if ECD would maintain the property and streets. Mr. Greenberg stated yes. Commissioner Lundine stated he does not like the five buildings all in a row on the west side of the plan. He further noted agreement with Commissioner Berman for the need to see a conceptual plan for the perimeter of the plan. Mr. Greenberg stated one of the issues which has blocked them up to now has been the floodway issue and determining where the floodway is as it relates to the industrial portion. That will determine how the buildings are located. Commissioner Lundine asked if the streets would be dedicated to the Village. Mr. Greenberg stated the streets will be private. Commissioner Ottenheimer asked if any studies had been done to determine the need for apartment rentals. Mr. Greenberg stated a study was done and the results of the study show that there is an enormous demand in Lake County for rental apartments. The stated the study concludes a large portion of the demand will not be met in the Lake County area. Commissioner Ottenheimer asked what kind of families or individuals would be renting these apartments. Mr. Greenberg stated the current mix of users of apartments in Buffalo Grove is 60 or 70 percent within the ages of 30 to 40. There are now more singles renting one or two bedroom apartments, couples, and small numbers of families. He further stated there are about 10-15 percent transferees and there is a segment that is a corporate user. Mr. Greenberg stated this apartment complex will veer to older individuals because all the unit types are available on the first floor. Additionally, the units are larger and older people moving out of homes would appreciate this type of unit. Commissioner Ottenheimer asked if there will be short term leases. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 8 Mr. Greenberg stated the leases are currently one year minimum. However, since the residents would be older, there would tend to be a longer duration of tenancy. Commissioner Ottenheimer asked about the impact on schools which is a major concern. Mr. Greenberg stated the report looked at the standards by which all apartment complexes are considered for student generation. Apartments generate fewer children than townhomes or single-family homes. He stated they asked the schools districts to tell them how many students �./ come into their system from the other apartment communities already in Buffalo Grove. The results showed the elementary district received approximately one student per ten apartments, or about 30 students from this project. The high school district felt about 12 students would be generated from this project. He stated 30 students is a relatively minimal impact if you consider the fact that you are also getting the retail and industrial components into the Village. Commissioner Krug asked why the Milwaukee Avenue access would not be built immediately. Mr. Greenberg stated they would have a single access point for the residential area until such time as they began to develop the commercial section. Commissioner Krug stated he would like to see the access built concurrently with the rental units. He stated that consideration should be given for B-3 zoning instead of B-2 on the commercial area. He further asked that the buildings on the west edge overlooking the industrial area be given some further consideration. Mr. Humphreys stated they will have total landscaping along that line. Commissioner Krug asked what kind of property was south of the proposed site. Mr. Greenberg stated the Land and Lakes compost facility was located there. He stated there is currently a very wide berm which goes from the property line of the proposed site for approximately 75 yards to the composting facility. Commissioner Krug asked if there were any handicapped provisions in the rental units. Mr. Humphreys stated there are federal requirements that all first floor units must be handicapped accessible. There will also be some full handicapped units. Commissioner Krug noted some concern with the marketability of very high end rental units. Commissioner Krug further stated he would like the Fire Department to check the plans carefully for accessibility. Commissioner Krug asked if anything could be built on the easement for Lincolnshire. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 9 Mr. Greenberg stated possibly only a roadway could be built as Lincolnshire needs access. Commissioner Krug noted that if repairs are needed it will play havoc with the buildings on the west side. Commissioner Berman noted that nearly 70 percent of this project is capable of housing multiple tenants. He stated he is therefore concerned that this project cannot be used for a valid comparison to other rental housing projects as to how many children will be produced from this development. He stated he would like some data on the mix in other rental developments in the area so that the Commission can make a valid comparison. Commissioner Samuels urged the developer to pursue the acquisition of easement rights on the bikepath adjacent to the Rogers Center for Commerce in order to tie same in with the proposed bikepath to create a sense of community. Chairman Goldspiel stated he is primarily interested in how this neighborhood will relate to the larger community of Buffalo Grove. He stated it appears that three major rental apartment projects are being developed on Milwaukee Avenue which may be too overpowering for the area. He stated he does not want to create a community that is so predominantly rental that it is a different type of community than the rest of the Village. This project needs to fit in with the overall Comprehensive Plan which calls for diversity and variety of housing types within the Village so that people at different times have many alternatives available to them. Chairman Goldspiel stated it would be desirable to have bikepaths ties to Aptakisic Road as well as to the path coming through the industrial area. Mr. Pfeil stated the bikepath through the industrial area is on the other side of the creek so it would be necessary to cross the creek and other property in order to get to it, and there are wetlands in this area. Chairman Goldspiel stated he would like to see recreational uses on the lake if the water quality is good enough for same. Mr. Freedman stated the streets are to be private and the developer may not want to risk that kind of liability. Chairman Goldspiel stated he has difficulty with any kind of cash donations in lieu of park donation. He stated this area is basically cut off from any other parks and some degree of public use would tend to bring the rest of the community into this project which will lend some sense of community to the project. Chairman Goldspiel stated the Village generally discourages private streets. He stated it works better for the people in the project to have the advantage of public streets and services. He stated Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 10 much of the problems the Commission is having with the streetscape would be solved if there was a public streetscape. Mr. Freedman stated that dedicating streets usually means giving up density which is always a problem. Chairman Goldspiel asked how refuse disposal would be handled. Mr. Greenberg stated there will be several locations on the site that will have trash receptacles. In addition the plan is to have door to door trash pickup which would be placed in the general trash location. The advantage of having private streets is that they can offer services to the residents which are not offered in other developments. He stated there are no dumpsters allocated at this time. Chairman Goldspiel asked where the possible wetlands are located. Mr. Greenberg stated the floodway on the property is in the northwest corner of the industrial site. There is also a wetlands determination which states that while there are areas which are wet on this site, they are not classified as true wetlands. Chairman Goldspiel asked if any building would require compensatory storage. Mr. Greenberg stated that compensatory storage was required at one time. However, at this time with the redesignation, no compensatory storage is required on the site. Chairman Goldspiel stated he concurs with the other Commissions and would like to see more conceptual plans on the retail and industrial areas. He also would like to see plans for traffic integration for the area. Chairman Goldspiel noted the compost area adjacent to this site and asked if this would be a nuisance or suitable neighbor for the residences and what impact would this use have on any future use. Mr. Greenberg stated they have bought the composting facility on the southern border of the site. He stated he could not speak to the future of that site. He stated he examined the history of the site and stated there are now thousands of people who are close to this facility. He noted the complaints were frequent and loud at one time. During the course of years that the facility has operated, they have successfully reduced the amount of odor that has come from the site. However, there may still be some bad days. In general, the impact is small and over time and with scientific advances, the impact will be further reduced. This site will be a continuing concern to all the other land uses adjacent to the facility whether they are immediately next door or several blocks away. Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 11 Chairman Goldspiel stated this goes to the basic question of whether or not the Comprehensive Plan should be changed. Putting residential next to a noxious smell is worse than industrial. Industrial property is typically sealed and fully air conditioned and filtered. Therefore, there is probably a better quality of air inside the building. In a residence, people like to have windows open and air quality will be a problem. Mr. Humphreys noted the tree line is between the site and a hill which is 200-300 feet away and had an almost park like feeling. Chairman Goldspiel stated he would like to have some kind of field trip to the site. He asked if the Village Health Department had any information on the odor conditions. Mr. Pfeil stated the Health Office has a record of complaints which noted that on some days there are problems, although there are not voluminous complaints on file. Commissioner Samuels asked what plans there are for Shades. Mr. Greenberg stated the establishment would be torn down and new commercial structures erected on the corner. Commissioner Trillingasked about snow removal and the location for storage of snow. 8 Mr. Humphreys stated that the plan will provide adequate areas for snow storage. Chairman Goldspiel noted that the following items need to be addressed for the next workshop: 1. Consideration of the vehicular access and dual access to the industrial area 2. Concerns with setbacks and site line issues regarding free standing garages 3. Concerned with the real density of the project 4. Reduction of some of the parking to create better streetscapes 5. Need for conceptual plans for commercial and industrial areas 6. Concern for the outparcel on Aptakisic Road 7. Need to emphasize which way drivers are to drive through the development and the possible need for dedicated streets 8. Population projection concerning school-aged children 9. Full access to Milwaukee from the start of the project for the residential area 10. Consideration of B-3 planned business approach rather than B-2 11. Bikepaths along Aptakisic to tie into the southwest corner of this project 12. Fire Department to check their access to the site 13. Issue of park requirements instead of cash donations 14. Water quality with regard to contamination and possible recreation uses 15. Floodway issues 16. Reducing streetscape monotony Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 12 17. Concerns regarding adjacent yard waste facility CHAIRMAN'S REPORT -None FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE Mr. Pfeil stated there will be no meeting on October 4, 1995 and there will be a special meeting on October 11, 1995. STAFF REPORT -None NEW BUSINESS -None ADJOURNMENT Moved by Commissioner Samuels, seconded by Commissioner Howard and carried unanimously to adjourn. Chairman Goldspiel closed the meeting at 10:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, F y Rub" , ecording Secretary AP ROVED BY: TE HEN DSPIE , Chairman LI Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-September 13, 1995-Page 13