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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/07/2002 EDC minutes MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Thursday, February 7, 2002 8:00 a.m. The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Thursday, February 7, 2002 in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Norm Kurtz called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Commissioners John Amdt, Bruce Gillilan, Ben Trapani and Tom Zander were present. Commissioners Pat Biedar and David Lindgren were absent. Also present were Bill Cooney, Director of Community Development, Michael Blue, Deputy Director of Community Development, Bill George, BuilcY~ng comrmssioner, JeffWulbecker, Village Engineer, and Chuck Lindelof, Project Engineer APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the December 6, 2001 meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Status Update Mr. Cooney dispersed copies of his most recent Economic Development Update memorandum to the Commissioners for their review. He briefly reviewed several of the projects on the list. Mr. Cooney reported that Costco is moving along well and they anticipate a November 11, 2002 grand opening. He stated the project would be moving forward through the zoning process later this month. He said that the AutoBam showroom renovation was completed and that final site improvements were the only unresolved items. He reported that, for the Mount Prospect Plaza, the Sears facility was open and the PetCo facility will soon follow. Dominick's is close to making a final decision on a complete rebuild of their existing store. He informed the group that once the Dominick's decision was fmalized the shopping center owner intended to fully renovate the fagade of the center to upgrade its appearance. Mr. Cooney also provided an update on the Brunswick Zone, Fiesta Market, Andrews Products, and the major downtown redevelopment projects. Mr. Kurtz inquired about several traffic related issues. He said he thought that the left turn lanes on Central Road between Wiile and Rte. 83 created a traffic problem. He said eastbound traffic on Central stacks at Rte. 83, that individuals wanting to turn northbound on the left mm lane swerve around the cars and create conflict with individuals attempting to make a southbound left mm onto Wille. Mr. Wulbecker responded that staff was reviewing several traffic movements along Central Road as part of a possible repavement project and that this would be reviewed as well. He noted that the safest remedy would be to eliminate the southbound left turn onto Wille Street so additional stacking could be provided for the northbound movement on Rte. 83. Mr. Kurtz also said that he has witnessed several pedestrian movements in the downtown that he felt were unsafe. He specifically requested that staff review the area just north of the commuter parking lot on Northwest Highway that appears to be a sidewalk but is not designed as such. He noticed that some commuters cross Northwest Highway at Wille Street and are stuck in a 'no man's land' as there is no access from that sidewalk area to the parking lot area. Staff said they would investigate that situation to see if some signage was needed to dissuade individuals from crossing at that area. Economic Development Commission February 7, 2002 Minutes Page 2 NEW BUSINESS Mr. Cooney said that appropriate personnel from the Building and Engineering Divisions were present to provide an overview of the proposed modifications to the Building and Development Codes. He reported that the primary goal of both modifications was to make the Village Code current with industry standards and to improve the readability of the Code for individuals going through the development process. He then introduced Mr. Bill George, Building Commissioner, to present the Building Code changes. !, Proposed Building Code Modifications Mr. George said the Village strives to maintain current industry code standards so that contractors and homeowners can take advantage of the most recent innovations in the building trades. He stated that currently the Village utilizes the 1996 BOCA Building Code and that he was proposing the Village adopt the 2000 International Code Series and the 2002 National Electric Code. He noted there were several reasons for the proposed changes. He informed them that the model codes go through a three-year cycle for updates that involves architects, engineers, manufacturers, construction associations and building officials providing input into those changes. He said that the 2000 International Code and 2002 Electric Code are the most recent additions and incorporate current industry standards into those codes. By adopting the most recent code, we would provide individuals doing business in Mount Prospect the opportunity to utilize the most current standards. He said another reason to modify the Code is it gives Village Staff an opportunity to review our local amendments and modify them accordingly. He stated that his staffhas gone through that exercise and suggested several minor modifications to the Code. Finally, he noted that the Insurance Service Organization, ISO, rotes building departments on a three-year cycle. He said the ISO reviews several aspects of the building departments including which codes they are utilizing. He noted that by not maintaining the most current code, ISO reduces the ovemtl rating for the building department by as much as 40%. He said this impacted property insurance rates for residential and commercial businesses in town. Mr. George stated that concluded his presentation and he would entertain any questions related to the proposal. Mr. Gillilan reported he recently read an article about Naperville requiring that homes be ADA accessible and that some municipalities were requiring fire sprinlder systems. He asked Mr. George if he felt those were items that would benefit the Village. Mr. George said that while he is certainly a proponent of installing sprinkler systems in homes, that such a code change would only affect new construction in Mount Prospect and that there were very few new homes actually being constructed. He stated it would cost about 34 thousand dollars per home to install those systems. He also said that with all the new downtown construction that has taken place, 20% of the units must be ADA accessible. After further discussion, the Commission voted to recommend approval of the proposed modifications to the Building Code. Mr. Cooney introduced Chuck Lindelof, Project Engineer for the Village, and said he would provide an overview of the proposed modifications to the Development Code. Mr. Lindelof said that staff is proposing modifications to the Development Code to make the regulations more current and to reflect changing technologies. He also said that staff is proposing modifying the location of certain text to consolidate all pertinent information into a new Chapter 15 and Chapter 16 of the Village Code. He stated the proposed modifications were intended to clarify the requirements for development in town by locating them into distinct locations. The Commission generally discussed the proposed modifications and recommended approval of these changes to the Village Board. conomic Development Commission February 7, 2002 Minutes Page 3 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Mr. Kurtz had no comments. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m. The next meeting will be held on April 4, 2002. Respectfully submitted, William J. Cooney, Jr., AICP Director of Community Development WJC:bhs