1991-08-28 - Plan Commission - Minutes SPECIAL MEETING
BUFFALO GROVE PLAN COMMISSION
August 28, 1991
Update of Village Comprehensive Plan -- Workshop #1
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel called the meeting to order at 7 : 30
p.m. in the Municipal Building, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo
Grove, Illinois.
Commissioner present: Mr. Goldspiel
Mr. Krug
Mr. Rhodes
Ms. Howard
Mr. Rosenston
Mr. Charlette
Ms. Genell
Mr. Samuels
Mr. Silbernik
Commissioners absent: None
Also present: Mr. Robert Pfeil, Village Planner
Mr. John Dempsey, Associate Planner
Mr. John Green, Buffalo Grove resident
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None
COMMITTEE AND LIAISON REPORTS - None
UPDATE OF VILLAGE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - WORKSHOP Al
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel noted that were several videos avail-
able for the Commission to view, and he asked if there was
any interest in doing this at the begining of the meeting.
Mr. Pfeil recommended that the Commission spend time viewing
only one video; the other two videos would be available for
viewing at the convenience of each Commissioner. He suggested
that the Commission watch the video entitled "Why Plan ?
A Primer for the Concerned Citizen, " before starting the dis-
cussion part of the agenda.
The Commission concurred and moved the meeting to the lower
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 1
level conference room of Village Hall to view the video.
The Plan Commission then reconvened in the Village Board
room. Vice-Chairman said there several comments he wished to
make concerning the Comprehensive Plan and the Plan Commis-
sion's approach toward the update process. First, he noted
that the master plan is the legal basis of a community's
zoning regulations. Second, the master plan is a guide for
administrative and legal decisions concerning land use pol-
icy. Third, the master plan is used to coordinate capital
expenditures by various agencies and departments. Fourth,
a master plan covers a defined time period. Many master plans
use a period of 25 years, but a plan needs to be updated on
regular basis to ensure that is adequately addressing impor-
tant issues. He commented that Buffalo Grove's current updat-
ing process is approximately a five-year review of the pre-
vious update, and this is the outside time period that is
needed for the review of a master plan for a growing suburban
community.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel said the Commission faces a threshold
question of determining the appropriate time period that the
master plan should address. Also, the public participation
component of a master plan update is critical because the
Plan Commission needs to understand the community's needs and
values. If a plan is developed without community input it
will be of little value.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel said the Plan Commission has two
basic options in how the update of the master plan is appro-
ached. One approach would be to "dust off" the current com-
prehensive plan and make revisions as needed. The other ap-
proach would be to step back and explore alternatives for
different types of development patterns and examine the con-
sequences of each development scenario. Examples of develop-
ment alternatives would be residential densities ranging from
large-lot single family to higher density housing. Examin-
ation of residential alternatives would include a look at
cluster patterns, low-maintenance housing types, and afford-
able housing for various types of housing consumers. He com-
mented that the tax impact and public service impact of land
use alternatives have to be examined.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel noted that the Commission will need
to examine trends that may be very important in shaping the
needs of the community. For example, commuting patterns may
be afffected by changes in telecommunications, and housing
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 2
demand will be influenced by the aging of the Village's pop-
ulation but this demand could be for different types of hous-
ing such as high-rise structures or detached, one-level sin-
gle family structures. He commented that the of housing dens-
ity will have an impact on the location and number of schools
that may be needed.
Commissioner Rhodes commented that he was on the Plan Commis-
sion when the 1986 Comprehensive Plan was developed, and the
important issues at that time were an expected population ex-
plosion and the appropriate ratio of single-family to multi-
family housing units in the Village. He said the approach to
the 1986 update was "dusting off" the previous master plan
done in 1981. He noted that the Plan Commission tried to get
public participation, but only four people attended a public
hearing that was held at Buffalo Grove High School.
Commissioner Krug commented that people tend to be interested
in development issues only when a project directly affects
them, such as a land use near their homes that they do not
support.
Commissioner Samuels said that both the Plan Commission mem-
bers and Buffalo Grove citizens have a mental image of what
the community is, and in general people are happy with the
way the Village has developed. He said the residents under-
stand that Buffalo Grove is not a regional shopping destina-
tion, and they accept the Village's development pattern of
residential areas with limited shopping areas. He commented
that he does not think the Plan Commission has to debate
land use alternatives that are not acceptable to the commun-
ity, and he suggested that the Commission focus on issues
that are consistent with the type of development that most
residents consider to be consistent with their image of how
Buffalo Grove should continue to develop.
Commissioner Rosenston said he agrees with Commissioner Sam-
uels. He noted that the Village does not have much land left
to annex and develop, and there is probably no need to look
at drastic new approaches to land use regulation. He sug-
gested that the Commission focus on the available land par-
cels that are left to develop, and assess the best land use
for each parcel. He noted, though, that there are issues such
as affordable housing need to be examined. He commented that
he does not prefer large-lot single family development, and
he would like to examine alternatives such as zero-lot line
for future residential developments.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Sp
ecial Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 3
Commissioner Samuels commented that some residents who have
lived in the Village for 25 years are have finished raising
their families, and now they are looking for down-sized hous-
ing to stay in the Village. Some of these residents may want
a smaller single-family residence, not necessarily a town-
house or condominium.
Commissioner Silbernik said the Commission needs to look at
the current Comprehensive Plan and determine what are the
likely trends in development that the updated plan needs to
address. He noted that in 1975 the Village had only 13 , 000
residents, and the Village's growth has been very rapid.
Commissioner Samuels commented that he thinks the plan should
be conceptual and should address broad land use allocations.
He said he does not think it should focus on specific par-
cels.
Commissioner Goldspiel .said the plan does need to address
specific parcels because plans for cluster housing, open
space, trails, and even streets have to be designed for ap-
propriate locations.
Commissioner Samuels said he meant "conceptual" in the sense
that the plan talks about cluster housing as an alternative,
but doesn't necessarily cite specific locations for this type
of housing.
Commissioner Charlette commented that he is concerned about
the recent zoning petitions that the Plan Commission has had
to review recently. He said these petitions request zoning
for small areas and the zoning is not consistent with the
current Comprehensive Plan. He said that in his opinion the
Schwennesen property should be residential, and it should be
developed with affordable housing. He said that the Village
does not need more banks and office buildings, and this type
of development should not be approved on the Schwennesen
property. He suggested that future commercial development
should occur farther north in the Village.
Commissioner Krug said the Commission should concentrate on
"small area" plans that address specific areas at the perim-
eter of the Village. He said this process of small area plan-
ning is really a continual update of the Comprehensive Plan.
Commissioner Howard said she is open to studying alternatives
for both large-lot and cluster housing developments in the
northern part of the Village. She commented that the impact
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 4
of residential development on the respective school districts
needs to be carefully assessed by the Plan Commission.
Commissioner Rosenston said that although some recent zoning
petitions have not been consistent with the current Compre-
hensive Plan, conditions have changed, and the plan needs to
reflect this. He suggested that the Commission will need to
look at specific parcels and areas in updating the plan.
Commissioner Genell said the Commission needs to ask two
basic questions: first, where are we now ? and second, where
do we want to go ?
Commissioner Samuels said the Village has a choice of either
encouraging more residents in a larger geographic area or
deciding that Buffalo Grove is already large enough, and will
not try to expand its area beyond the current boundaries.
Mr. John Green commented that development in the Chicago
region has been strongly influenced by Daniel Burnham's
dictum of "make no little plans" that Burnham used as the
basis for Chicago's planning 100 years ago. Mr. Green said
the implications of this philosophy are that planners should
look a possibilities, not limitations. He encouraged the Plan
Commission to examine trends and new technologies and use
this information as a basis for developing a plan that will
encourage creativity by developers and citizens of the Vill-
age.
Commissioner Krug said that he would like staff to develop
maps depicting current land use, vacant parcels, and current
zoning and land use planning designations for specific par-
cels by adjacent communities. He commented that in general
Buffalo Grove is not old enough for redevelopment, so he
thinks the emphasis of the plan update focus on undeveloped
areas adjacent to the Village.
Commissioner Samuels commented that when Buffalo Grove is
built out, the process of redevelopment will begin, and this
will probably involve the re-use of older residential areas
for larger, more expensive homes to replace the existing
smaller homes.
Commissioner Rhodes noted that the remaining undeveloped land
in the Buffalo Grove area is very expensive, so it will dic-
tate that it is used for fairly expensive housing. He said
the term "affordable" is relative, and what is considered to
be affordable housing in Buffalo Grove is not the same as
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 5
what would be affordable in other communities.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel suggested that the Plan Commission
move ahead on the planned agenda by discussing the draft
goals and policies for future development for the updated
Comprehensive Plan. He noted that the draft goals and pol-
cies were developed in a two-evening session on June 18 and
19, 1991 when the Village Board and Plan Commission had
joint meetings facilitated by Camiros.
Commissioner Rosenston stated that he is concerned that the
June sessions didn't result in a consensus between the Vill-
age Board and Plan Commission on the goal concerning housing
density.
Commissioner Silbernik indicated that there is nothing wrong
with the housing density goal (Goal No. 2, Goals for Develop-
ment) as it is stated in the draft. The goal merely states
that a range of housing densities will be allowed, but the
predominantly single-family character of the community shall
be maintained.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel stated that since the Plan Commission
concurs that Goal No. 2 concerning housing density is accept-
able as drafted, the italics in the draft can be deleted, in-
dicating that a consensus has been reached.
Vice-Chairman requested discussion on the Housing Policy sec-
tion on page three of the draft.
Commissioner Silbernik said he does not agree with policy
No. 8 which encourages single-family lot sizes of one acre or
more.
Commissioner Howard noted that in the June sessions with the
Village Board, Trustee Marienthal was very clear in his opin-
ion that larger. sinle-family lots should be encouraged.
Commissioner Samuels said that encouraging one-acre lots
doesn't necessarily discourage other densities.
Commissioner Goldspiel commented that he disagrees with say-
ing that no lots shall be less than 10, 000 square feet in
size. He said that smaller lots have a valid purpose in pro-
viding housing diversity in the community, and may have a
role in development of more moderately priced housing.
Commissioner Rosenston concurred that lots smaller than one-
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 6
acre are needed in the Village.
Commissioner Silbernik noted that the June sessions with the
Village Board involved only two evenings, and more time than
that is needed to thoroughly discuss the issues involved in
establishing goals and policies for development of the Vill-
age. He suggested that the Plan Commission eliminate policy
No. 8 concerning one-acre lots from the Commission's thought
process as the review of housing density and land use pro-
gresses in the Plan update.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel asked for comment concerning policy
No. 1 in the Housing Policy section. He noted that this policy
addresses diversity in owner and renter occupied housing
units including a range of housing types and prices.
The consensus of the Commission was that this policy would
need more evaluation, so a detailed discussion was deferred.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel requested that the Commission comment
on the Commercial Policies section on page three of the draft
Goals and Policies.
Commissioner Rosenston commented that the Buffalo Grove Road
side of Town Center, particularly the area south of Checker
Road that is not yet developed for commercial use, needs to
be addressed because it will affect the existing Town Center
development and it is an important central part of the Vill-
age.
Commissioner Goldspiel said that the existing Town Center
retail center needs to be evaluated to determine if it has
the potential for being a regional center, or if it will pri-
marily function as a neighborhood center with a limited geo-
graphic market.
The Commission then proceeded to the Community Facilities and
Service Policies on page six of the draft Goals and Policies.
Commissioners Rhodes and Rosenston said that they do not
think the Village needs to try to secure a full service li-
brary as suggested by policy No. 6 on page seven of the
draft.
Commissioner Samuels said that it may be an acceptable policy
for the Village to try to secure a library facility more cen-
tral to the community, but he commented that technological
changes will probably greatly influence access to informa-
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 7
tion, so the traditional type of library operation may be
less important in the future.
Commissioner Genell suggested that a library branch facility
should be located in Town Center.
Commissioner Rhodes commented that other types of cultural
facilities, not just libraries, should be considered for the
Village as it matures.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel said that policy No. 6 concerning
library facilties should be kept in italics because the Com-
mission had not reached a consensus on this issue.
Concerning Urban Design policies on page seven of the draft,
Commissioner Samuels questioned the policy No. 5 which en-
courages the establishment of Prairie View as an historic
rural village.
Mr. Pfeil commented that there are a number of structures in
Prairie View that appear to have historically significant
architecture, and if some of these structures can be pre-
served, Prairie View will provide Buffalo Grove with an at-
tractive older area with a distinctive design appearance.
He noted that two architects have acquired the former VFW
Hall and rehabilitated the structure for offices while main-
taining its historical design features. He suggested that the
preservation and upgrading of certain structures that can be
feasilbly rehabilitated, will set a design image for the
entire Prairie View community. He commented that although it
is unlikely that Prairie View could support commercial devel-
opment on the scale of Long Grove's village center, some
retail activity may be feasible in Prairie View.
Commissioner Goldspiel commented that the structural sound-
ness of buildings in Prairie View would need to be evaluated,
and he suggested that small scale commercial development in a
small town such as Prairie View may not be successful.
Mr. Green said the Village needs to think about ways to en-
courage the redevelopment of Prairie View, and he noted that
the current Comprehensive Plan does not have policies regard-
ing Prairie View.
Commissioner Rhodes commented that Woodland Commons is being
developed as the main shopping center in the northern part of
the Village, and he suggested that this center may well be-
come the Village's largest and most successful retail and
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 8
service area.
Commissioner Goldspiel said the Village needs to develop an
on-going preservation process, but a determination has to be
made concerning whether or not certain structures are worth
saving.
Mr. Green said the Village's Commercial Policies should en-
courage mixed use in commercial areas.
Commissioner Samuels said it would be difficult to reverse
the pattern of commercial development that has occurred over
the past 25 years in the Village, and he questioned the va-
lidity of mixed-use commercial areas for Buffalo Grove.
Commissioner Goldspiel said that the traditional mixed-use
commercial pattern where residential apartments are allowed
over ground floor stores is an undesirable type of develop-
ment that leads to poorly maintained properties and substand-
ard neighborhoods. He noted that Town Center is a mixed-use
development, but residential, retail, and office uses are
spatially separated.
Commissioner Samuels suggested that perhaps offices would be
acceptable over stores, or second floor stores could be lo-
cated over ground floor stores.
Commissioner Charlette noted that Spoerlein Commons uses this
design of offices over stores, and the office space has gen-
erally not been marketable.
Commissioner Genell commented that the Village needs to move
toward a performance zoning concept similar to Lake County's
new ordinance which separates different land uses through the
use of site design elements such as bufferyardB.
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel noted that the Commission had covered
the basic draft Goals for Development, at least on a prelim-
inary basis, and he asked for comments concerning how the
Commission wanted to proceed at the next Plan update work-
shop.
The Plan Commission directed Village staff to prepare maps
and related information concerning land use and zoning in the
Village and adjacent areas, including information about the
planning and zoning of adjoining communities.
The Commission deferred scheduling a set date for the next
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 9
workshop until the September 4, 1991 meeting so that respec-
tive schedules could be discussed and a date when all Commis-
sioners would be available could be determined.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Vice-Chairman Goldspiel stated that he did not have a report,
but he requested that all future Commission agendas include a
new item designated as "New Business. " This item would be
placed before the Adjournment item on each agenda.
FUTURE AGENDA SCHEDULE
Mr. Pfeil reviewed his memo dated August 28, 1991 concerning
agendas for September and October. He noted that a workshop
has been scheduled for September 4th at the request of Abbott
Contractors concerning the proposed children's daycare center
and office building at Busch Road/Route 83 .
He said no meetings have been scheduled for September 11th or
18th. He asked that the Commission consider a special meeting
on Thursday, September 19th for the second workshop on the
Comprehensive Plan update. The Commission deferred a decision
concerning this date until the September 4th meeting, so that
everyone could verify dates when they would be available for
a workshop on the Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Pfeil said that the Rohrman auto dealership project at
Dundee Road and Weidner Road is scheduled for a public hear-
ing on September 25th, and a workshop concerning the annex-
ation of the Concrete Doctor's parcel adjacent to the Abbott
Business Center on Weiland Road is also scheduled for this
date. He noted that the attorney for the Rohrman project has
indicated that an alternate plan for only one auto dealership
on the eastern portion of the Happ property will be presented
to the Commission at the September 25th hearing. He said the
developer is preparing revised plans for the auto dealership
project in response to the Commission's comments at the Aug-
ust 21st workshop, and the developer's attorney has assured
Village staff that all issues raised by the Commission will
be addressed for the public hearing.
Commissioner Silbernik stated that he does not see how the
Commission can hold a public hearing and review alternate
plans, one of which the Commission has not yet seen. He said
a public hearing should be held on a specific plan.
Commissioner Samuels said that even if the Plan Commission
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 10
ultimately does not recommend approval of the Rohrman plan,
it is still the Commission's responsibility to ensure that
the best possible site plan is designed for consideration by
the Village Board.
The Commission concurred that it would give a thorough review
to all alternate plans submitted by Mr. Rohrman, but it would
be necessary to review these alternates at a workshop to en-
sure that the plans are properly evaluated prior to a public
hearing.
Mr. Pfeil said that the October 2nd meeting is scheduled to
be a public hearing concerning proposed improvements to Route
83 and Busch Road/Deerfield Parkway. These improvements are
part of the Village's Transportation Plan, which is an ele-
ment of the Comprehensive Plan. The Village Board referred
this matter to the Plan Commission on August 26th.
Mr. Pfeil noted that the October 9th meeting is scheduled for
workshops concerning the expansion of Village Reservoir No. 2
and the proposed Winchester Estates Townhomes north of Bank
Lane at Route 83.
Mr. Pfeil said the October 16th meeting is reserved for a
workshop concerning the Comprehensive Plan update.
Mr. Pfeil said that a special meeting should probably be
scheduled for October 23rd because projects such as the
Abbott Contractors daycare center and office building need
to proceed in the review process.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS - None
STAFF REPORT
Mr. Pfeil noted that he had written a memo dated August 22,
1991 to the Commission listing several books and videos that
the Village has acquired for the Commission. These materials
are available for the Commission members to borrow.
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Commissioner Rosenston, seconded by Commissioner
Charlette, and unanimously carried to adjourn. Vice-Chairman
Goldspiel adjourned the meeting at 10:30 p.m.
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 11
Respectfully submitted,
lam.
Robert E. Pfeil, Village Planner
APPROVED BY:
4tep en Go dspiel, Vice-Chairman
I
Buffalo Grove Plan Comm-Special Meeting-August 28, 1991-Page 12
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