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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIV. COW Agenda Item Memo for Proposed Code Updates 04/14/2009 MEMORANDUM Village of Mount Prospect Community Development Department TO: VILLAGE MANAGER FOR: COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FROM: DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DATE: APRIL 6, 2008 SUBJECT: PROPOSED PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, BUILDING, LIFE SAFETY, SIGN, AND ZONING CODE UPDATES The Community Development Department has been focused on reviewing the Village of Mount Prospect's current rules and regulations related to the development and maintenance of property within the community. Staff has performed an in-depth analysis of the Property Maintenance, Building, Sign, and Zoning sections of the Village Code. Staffs goals throughout this process have been to make each " code as user friendly as possible, to limit the need for any local amendments to adopted international codes, and to maintain the Village's policies in relation to the development and maintenance of property within Mount Prospect. The following memorandum is intended to provide an overview of the proposed changes to the Property Maintenance, Building, Sign, and Zoning sections of the Village Code. Property Maintenance Code Staff recommends the Village adopt the 2006 edition of the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), with limited local amendments. The Village is currently operating under the 2000 edition of this same code. Although local amendments are proposed, the majority are consistent with existing amendments the Village has to the code and are intended to provide either greater strength in enforcement or make the code more applicable to Mount Prospect. Examples of minor changes include incorporating references to the Illinois Plumbing Code, elimination of the fee section as it conflicts with Village fees, and other modifications. Six primary amendments proposed which are different compared to previous versions of the IPMC are detailed below: . Section 104.7 - IPMC requires retaining records for the life of a building. Staff is proposing amending this section to be consistent with Village Policies and record keeping practices to retain records for a period of five years. . Section 106.3 - The 2006 IPMC states all violations shall be a lien on a property. To limit this burdensome requirement of placing a lien on all properties that are cited with a violation "shall" was replaced with "may" to eliminate requirement, but still allow for the use of liens if necessary. . Section 110.1 - Proposed to eliminate requirement that construction project has to be inactive for two years before condemnation is considered. . Section 111.8 - The stay of enforcement section as written in the IPMC would halt compliance procedures upon the application of any appeal by a property owner. The section has been modified to permit persons to apply to a court for a stay of enforcement ruling. Proposed Property Maintenance, Building, Sign, and Zoning Code Updates Committee of the Whole Meeting April 6, 2009 Page 2 . Section 302.71 - Added text to regulate the placement of portable on-demand storage structures (PODS) consistent with existing policies that a POD is an unlawful structure and shall be removed within 14 days of delivery. . Section 404 - Occupancy requirements for the 2006 edition of the IPMC are no longer based on room sizes and overcrowding is a subjective decision of the code official. Staff recommends maintaining the existing occupancy and overcrowding language from the 2000 edition as it is more restrictive and eliminates interpretation discrepancies. Building and Fire Prevention Code Updates to the Building and Fire Prevention Codes were coordinated between the Village's Fire Prevention Bureau and Building Division. Similar to the Property Maintenance Code, staff recommends adopting the 2006 edition of the International Building and Residential Codes (I-Codes) and the International Fire Prevention Code. Although staff is recommending some local amendments to the 1- Codes, the number of amendments is approximately 45% less than the amendments adopted from the 2000 version. Several existing local amendments have been incorporated into the 2006 I-Codes. The following provides an overview ofthe proposed changes to the Village's Building Code: . Deleted all local amendments related to concrete because 2006 I-Codes reference the American Concrete Institutes Concrete Building Code for production specifications and installation. . The 2006 I-Codes incorporate several green building components to provide a regulatory framework to oversee some of these practices. Green components include direction on the use of alternative materials, solar energy systems, and other green construction techniques. . Proposed a local amendment to include a requirement for additional site construction standards for residential projects that are larger than 500 square feet including requiring portable washroom facilities, silt fencing, construction site fencing, a construction mailbox, a construction drawing container for site drawings, and placement of site construction signage listing the permit number, contractors name, and 24/7 contact number. . The 2006 I-Codes incorporate the Fuel Gas Code which clarifies gas piping requirements. This change eliminates the need for existing local amendments related to gas piping. . The number of local amendments to the Mechanical Code were reduced as several existing amendments were incorporated into the 2006 I-Codes. . Provided more consistency across the Fire Prevention and Building Codes for performing building egress analysis calculations. Sign Code Proposed changes to the Sign Code were intended to make the code more user friendly. The crux of the changes to Chapter 7 can be traced to the proposed elimination of Table 2 (Table of Sign Requirements). This table currently lists the maximum size for any sign proposed in the Village according to land use and street classification. Through the enforcement of the sign ordinance staff has found that property owners and contractors have had difficulty in interpreting this table to determine what type and size of signs they are permitted to install. To correct this staff is proposing to eliminate the table and incorporate the requirements into the text of the chapter. To do so, a standard size for each land use was established for freestanding ground signs. The changes to the Sign Code can be highlighted as follows: . Eliminated Table 2 (Table of Sign Requirements) resulting in the following changes: o Elimination of Table 3 (Land Use Classification) o Established maximum of 75 sq. ft. for commercial ground signs regardless of street frontage. o Established maximum of 50 sq. ft. for all other ground signs regardless of street frontage. Proposed Property Maintenance, Building, Sign, and Zoning Code Updates Committee of the Whole Meeting April 6, 2009 Page 3 o Maximum ground sign sizes decrease by 20% if located within 100 ft of a residential property. o Modified sign area calculation from 50% of signable wall area, to 10% and 20% of building fayade area. Maximum size of 150 sq. ft. was maintained. . Established ability for Director of Community Development to approve signs up to 300 sq. ft. in size if located at least 250 ft from property line. This is consistent with variations approved by the Village for larger big box retail stores. . Prohibited Signs: Added pennants, streamers, inflatable signs, and signs on parked vehicles to code for additional clarification. Village hasn't historically permitted these signs. . Eliminated Bonus Section of Code: Modifications discussed above increased the sizes for certain free standing signs. Removal of bonuses also provides uniformity for all signs within the Village. . Established Illumination Standards for Signs: o Electronic Message Centers/LED Signs - Established acceptable daytime illumination of 5,000 nits (464 foot candles) and nighttime illumination of 500 nits (46 foot candles). o Wall and Ground Signs - Maximum lighting levels for signs established at 75 ft candles. Zoning Code Changes The Zoning Code incorporates several changes which can be narrowed down to five primary areas. The bulk of modifications to the Zoning Code are related to townhome developments, senior housing developments, green technologies, site design elements, and creation of a land use table. Each of these major changes is detailed in the bullet list below: . Townhome Design Standards - The code incorporates changes to townhome development projects based on recent Village requirements of these projects. Changes include requirements of providing at least a 100 sq. ft. patio/deck, two garage parking spaces and two driveway parking spaces per unit, and one guest space per 2.5 units. The PUD ordinance was also amended to regulate the size and design of required open space as part of a residential development. . Senior Housing - The proposed code eliminates the R-5 Senior Housing Zoning District. At present only one property in the Village has this zoning designation. With the elimination of the district, Senior Housing and Assisted Living Facilities were added to the use table as conditional uses when developed as part of a PUD in the R-3 and R-4 zoning districts. Provisions for density of these developments were then incorporated into the PUD section. . Green Technologies - Staff reviewed the ability to incorporate green technologies into the code. A new code section was created with provisions on regulating the placement of Wind and Solar Energy Conversion Systems. Rain barrels were also added to the accessory structure section of the ordinance. In addition to these changes staff explored the potential to incorporate building standards into the code based on the LEED rating system as discussed later in this report. . Design Elements - Staff also incorporated changes into the code to regulate certain property design elements. Requirements were included for large buildings (over 200 ft in length), screening of mechanical and utility equipment, and placement of wireless telecommunication equipment on buildings. . Use Table - Two land use tables were created to regulate the placement of permitted and conditional land uses within the Village. Currently each zoning district has text to highlight what uses are permitted. The creation of the tables eliminates the need for this text, and provides greater access to the information in the code while also providing greater flexibility in the placement of land uses if future amendments are required. The result of adding these tables in Section 14.604 removed the permitted and conditional use lists from the C-R, R-X, R-l, R-A, R- 2, R-3, R-4, B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4, B-5, O/R, and 1-1 sections accordingly. New land uses not Proposed Property Maintenance, Building, Sign, and Zoning Code Updates Committee of the Whole Meeting April 6, 2009 Page 4 addressed in the current code were added to the table to reflect recent land use trends (i.e. Animal Daycares). In addition to the above changes, staff also reviewed other areas of Chapter 14 that needed updating or language clarification. These minor changes range from cleaning up of text to reflect current Village practices to establishing consistent standards for bulk regulations pertaining to building height and parking setbacks. Additional changes to the code include the following: . Section 14.203 Public Hearing Requirements - Modified to reflect current notification practices. . Section 14.206 Accessory Structures - Added gazebos, greenhouses, and other similar structures to regulate the maximum size of these structures. . Section 14.311 Outdoor Sales and Storage - Modified language to reflect current practices for outdoor dining. . Section 14.312 Second Housekeeping Units - Removed language related to aromatization period. . Section 14.314 Outdoor Lighting - Added regulations for max property illumination levels and architectural lighting. . Section 14.402 Nonconforming Buildings - Modified language to clarify code requirements. . RX, Rl, RA, R2, R3, R4 - Established maximum height of non residential buildings of 35 feet and 75 feet for church steeples. . B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 - Established 10 foot parking setback and increased height to 35 feet in all districts plus B-5 based on industry trends. . 1-1 - Increased building height to 40 feet based on industry trends. . 14.2226 Loading Berths - Eliminated section as industry sets criteria for berths in developments. . 14.2309 Landscaping - Established minimum number of plant materials based on area to be landscaped, provided recommended plant list, and screening of ground based utilities. Green Technology As part of all of the code updates, staff reviewed ways in which to increase the use of green technologies or practices into the Village's Codes. The current leader in regulating green technology is the United States Green Building Council. This organization developed a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to rate the energy efficiency of new developments. While some municipalities have adopted the LEED rating system into their codes, this system originally was not intended as a regulatory mechanism but one more for guidance. As a result, municipalities which have used this system for regulatory purposes have had difficulty in obtaining compliance. Recently in March 2009, the International Code Council (ICC) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) developed a new code which provides more regulatory control of green building practices. The new code (ICC 700-2008) will compensate in areas where the LEED rating system is currently lacking. Due to its relative infancy, staff is not recommending the Village adopt the new code as part of the current updates, but instead intends to review the code over the next year to determine the validity and potential issues of adopting it. If the code is deserving of adoption, staff will present future amendments to the Village's code to adopt these green standards. Review Schedule The proposed modifications to the Zoning and Sign Codes require scheduling for review at a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission prior to their adoption. As part of the public hearing process, staff intends to send a copy of the proposed zoning changes to both the Park District (for review of the C-R District requirements) and local shopping center owners (for review of the proposed use table). The proposed review will allow these entities to comment on any additional uses they would like to see Proposed Property Maintenance, Building, Sign, and Zoning Code Updates Committee of the Whole Meeting April 6, 2009 Page 5 added to the table based on their experiences. Staff will reVIew their proposals and make any recommendations as part of the report to the Commission. The Property Maintenance and Building Codes do not require a public hearing and can be scheduled for review directly by the Village Board. Please forward this memorandum and attachments to the Committee of the Whole for their review and consideration at their April 14, 2009 meeting. Staff will be present to answer any questions related to this matter. W~l-4 William J. Cooney, Jr., AICP