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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/13/1993 SC MinutesMINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION I. CALL TO ORDER The Regular Meeting of the Mount Prospect Safety Commission was called to order at 7:32 P.M. on Monday, December 13,1993. I, ROLL CALL Upon Roll Call each Safety. Member indicated to the audience their number of years of service, how long they have been a resident of Mount Prospect, or what Village Department they work in. Present upon Roll Call Lee Beening Joan Bjork Andy Mitchell Art Coy Del Ulreich Tom Daley Arlene Juracek Chris Lenz Fred Tennyson Absent: Mel Both Public Works Others in Attendance: See Attached List Chairman Member Member Member Fire Dept Police Dept' Member Member Engineering 111, APPROVAL OF MINUTES Andy Mitchell, seconded by Chris Lenz, moved to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Safety Commission held on October 11, 1993. jV CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No citizens came forth at this time to discuss any topics that wee not on the V current agenda. A Parking on 200 block of North Louis Street Fred Tennyson passed out a letter from Mr. Louis Tenuta's lawyer (Mr. Nudo) which was received by the Engineering Department on Monday Morning, December 13, 1993. The letter indicated the ongoing discussions with the proper -IN owner of the adjacent land parcel to 705 Rand Road (See attached). Fred Tennyson Page 2 also handed out a map showing the dimensions of the existing roadway throughout the 200 block of N. Louis Street. Mr. Nudo (Mr. Tenuta's Lawyer) discussed the new letter and reiterated this concern about not allowing employee or customer parking along Louis Street. Louis Vadesco, homeowner at 202 N. Louis Street expressed the homeowner's concern about using Louis Street as a parking lot. He also advocated for permit parking for residents only. Fred Tennyson discussed the street width dimensions and indicated that based on Village and State criteria, parking should not be allowed on either side of the street within the narrow (15' back of curb to edge of pavement width) portion of Louis Street. The area of Louis Street along the beauty salon is wide enough to allow parking on one side of the street only (18' back of curb to back of curb). Several of the homeowners discussed their concerns about the safety of the current parking situation on Louis Street. Items such as fire trucks being able to access the area were discussed. Chairman Lee Beening, motioned to postpone a decision on the Louis Street parking problem for one month so as to allow the Tenuta's more time to seek alternate parking. Arlene Juracek, Seconded the motion. Safety Commission Members who voted for this motion include: Lee Beening, Andy Mitchell, Art Coy, Del Ulreich, Tom Daley, and Arlene Juracek. Safety Commission members who voted against this motion included - Fred Tennyson. Chris Lenz abstained from voting. Mr. Robert Kron (17 S. Audrey Lane) discussed the history of the traffic flow problem on Audrey Lane. He described the concerns of the homeowners about the large amount of traffic that uses Audrey .Lane as a "cut -through" and about the excessive speed of the traffic. Several other homeowners who live on Audrey Lane expressed their concerns about the excessive traffic on Audrey Lane. Tom Dalev (Police Department) mentioned about the last time the police did selective enforcement on Audrey Lane, 50% of the speeding tickets that were issued to local residents. At the last Safety Commission Meeting, Mr. Kron requested that Connie Lane be closed at Meier Road. He indicated that the closing of Connie Lane would encourage traffic to use Lincoln Street to Busse Road. At this Safety Commission Meeting, Fred Tennyson discussed the problems with closing Connie Lane. !v1r. Tennyson concluded that the closing of Connie Lane would cause traffic to use alternate ways to get to Audrey Lane or Haden Lane. Such as Bonita Avenue, Beverly Lane, or Crestwood Lane. Page 3 Mr. Kron presented to the Safety Commission a proposed signing plan that he felt would discourage "cut through" traffic. This plan included signing. 1. Hatlen Avenue one way south from Central road to Grindle Drive. 2. Haden Avenue one way north from Connie Lane to Grindle Drive. 3. Audrey Lane one way north from Grindle Dr. to Central Road. 4. Audrey Lane one way south from Grindle Drive to Connie Lane, 5. Closing Connie Lane. The Safety Commission discussed the proposed solution. Fred Tennyson mentioned the possibility of extending Meier Road from Connie Lane north to Central Road. A homeowner who lives on the west side of Audrey Lane described the history of this proposal and expressed his continue dissatisfaction with this idea. Lee Beening suggested contracting all the residents within the Haden Heights are (Meier Road to the west and Busse Road to the East with a questionnaire about proposed new signage. The sign proposal shown above was rejected by the Safety Commission at this time. Arlene Juracek motioned, seconded by Chris Lenz, to send a questionnaire to the Haden Heights residents about installing: 1. Do No Enter signs on Meier Road at Lincoln Street. 2. No Left Turn signs on Lincoln Street at Bonita Avenue, Beverly Lane, Crestwood Lane, and Haden Avenue. 3. No Left Turn signs on Central road at Audrey Lane and Haden Avenue. The questionnaire would ask for the residents approval or disapproval of this proposal. The questionnaire would also ask the residents opinion as to whether these signs should be enforced at all times of the day (24 hours) or during morning and evening rush hours (7:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.) The Safety Commission voted 9 - 0 to approve this recommendation. The Engineering Department will send out these questionnaires before the next scheduled Safety Commission Meeting. At the previous Safety Commission Meeting Cheryl and Bill Axley (222 S. Emerson Street) discussed their concerns about the traffic speeding down Emerson Street. They requested that a stop sign be posted on Emerson Street at the intersection with Milburn Avenue. The Safety Commission explained the reasons why stop signs are posted and based on traffic counts taken by the Engineering Department, a stop sign was not warranted for Emerson Street at Milburn Avenue. The Safety Commission asked that the Police Department conduct a speed survey to determine if speeding was a problem at Emerson Street. Page 4 The results of the speed survey presented to the Safety Commission at this Meeting, indicated that speeding was not a problem. Therefore, the stop sign request was rejected by the Safety Commission. Chris Lenz, Seconded by Tom Daley, motioned to install a Caution, Children At Play sign on Emerson Street for southbound traffic. This sign would be posted just south of Prospect Avenue where the Emerson Street pavement width narrows. The motion was approved 9 - 0. Mr. and Mrs. Axley did not attend this meeting, therefore, the Safety Commission requested that a notice be sent to Mr. and Mrs. Axley indicating their decision. 0 !Z! , Parking Restriction on West Side of Main Street between Lincoln Street and Route 83 (Elmhurst Road) Chairman Lee Beening discussed the request from the homeowner at 317 S. Main Street for no parking to be installed along the west side of Main Street at the north 34' of the park dedicated to Mr. Klehm. Mr. Beening also indicated that even though there are 2 -hour parking signs along the west side of Main Street, the Village Ordinance does not allow for parking in this area. Mr. David Quinton (313 S. Main Street) requested that parking be allowed along the park except within the north 34' as proposed. Mr. Ben Todesco, 319 S. Main Street requested that the current ordinance be enforced and that no parking be allowed along the entire length of the park. He stated several concerns about vehicles not being able to turn from Lincoln Street north onto Main Street without going over the curb and into the parkway. This problem occurs whenever cars are parked along the west side of Main Street and a truck or School bus tries to make a right turn from Lincoln Street to Main Street. Arlene Juracek indicated that a sight problem exists for vehicles trying to exit onto Elmhurst Road from Main Street when cars are parked along Main Street. Art Coy, Seconded by Chris Lenz, motioned to have the current ordinance of no parking be enforced. The Safety Commission approved this motion by a vote of 9-0. Before the election of a Chairperson for 1994, Lee Beening responded to the two deferred items shown on the Agenda. He expressed his misgivings about installing a one way sign on Milburn Avenue at the St. Raymond's school Fred Tennyson indicated that a questionnaire will be sent to the neighbors in the area to obtain their opinions about a one-way sign on Milburn Avenue. Page 5 Mr. Beening also stated that the turning restrictions on Cathy Lane will be reviewed when the Kimball Hill Subdivision is completed. Art Coy, Seconded by Arlene Juracek nominated Lee Beening for Chairperson for 1994. Fred Tennyson, Seconded by Andy Mitchell nominated Chris Lenz for Chairperson for 1994. 'The Safety Commission voted 5 - 2 to elect Lee Beening Chairperson of the Safety Commission for 1994. The Safety Commission also voted 7 - 0 to elect Chris Lenz as. Vice -Chairperson of the Safety Commission for 1994. Lee Beening and Chris Lenz did not vote. Fred Tennyson extended the Village's appreciation to the Safety Commission and presented each member with a gift. A Christmas card signed by the mayor and Board of Trustees was also presented to the Safety Commission. Tom Daley reviewed the Louis Street parking problem once again with the Safety Commission. He agreed that Mr. Tenuto (705 Rand Road) should be given more time. to pursue alternate parking solutions. However, Deputy Chief Daley asked that the Safety Commission try to determine another possible solution to the parking problem on Louis Street before the next meeting. Deputy Chief Daley agreed with Fred Tennyson's initial statement (see earlier comments) that the 200 block of Louis Street is not wide enough to accommodate parking on either side of the street south of the beauty salon. People who do park along the east side of Louis Street do so on private property. Deputy Chief Daley felt that the Village can not and should not condone such parking. Chris Lenz (speaking as a resident of the area) stated that if parking is not allowed on the street then parking should not be allowed on the vacant lot. The Safe N Commission determined that the restriction of parking on the vacant lot is a zoning issue and should be enforced by the Building Department. Art Coy questioned how the property at 705 Rand Road was required to install the roadway improvements along their property. Fred Tennyson indicated that these improvements were installed by the developer as required by the Village Development Code. Art Coy requested that the Engineering Department research the history of the development at 705 Rand Road to determine if on street parking was granted to the developer when the street improvements were made. He also suggested that the Village Attorney be contacted about whether parking can be Page 6 restricted or disallowed along the development (705 Rand Road). Del Ulreich, discussed the fire safety issue with regards to the 200 block of Louis Street. He indicated that as long as a 9 or 10 foot driving lane was open, he would be able to get a fire truck through this area. He did comment about the fact that the requirements for a fire lane is that the pavement width should be a minimum of 20'. He reiterated that the 200 block of Louis Street does not meet this criteria. The Safety Commission requested again that the Engineering Department review the minutes of the Zoning Board Meeting which required the development at 705 Rand Road to install the road improvements. The Commission is interested in finding out if the development was granted any parking variances both on street and off street. With no further business to discuss Art Coy, Seconded by Tom Daley motioned to adjourn the Safety Commission at 10:35 P.M. - December 13, 1993. The Commission unanimously approved this motion. Respectfully Submitted, Fred Tennyson, Traffic Engineer 107 5 �-)V ORt y LAJ r z i PILLAGE OF M OF COUNSELENGIrIEE� ------ DANIEL O. HANDS l; POTERACKI & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Mr. Michael Janonis Village Manager Village of Mount Prospect 100 South Emerson Street Moltnt prospect, Illinois 60056 ATTORNEYS AT LAW 9575 West Higgins Road Suite 801 Post Office Box 694 Rosemont, Illinois 60018-0694 Re: My Client, Louis Tenuta d/b/a Louis Anthony Our File No. 10386.01 Dear Mr. Janonis: AREA (708) 825-0103 FAX NO. (708) 825-0020 December 9, 1993 As you know, I spoke with Mr. Paul Spiewak, Jr. of Century Tile Company on or about November 23, 1993. I capsulized the essence of my conversation with Mr. Spiewak- in piewakin my letter addressed to him, dated November 24, 1993 and sent a copy to your office. As you know, the purpose of that letter was to illicit a written response from him with respect to their intentions with regard to the property they own adjacent to Mr. Tenuta's propem. I also requested a written response to the proposals that I listed in that letter. As of the date of this letter, I have received no response. I can summarize Mr. Spiewak's position with respect to my inquiries, as he verbalized them to me in our telephone conversation. Mr. Spiewak indicated that the property was available for purchase at a price of $1,000,000.00. As I indicated in my previous letter to Mr. Spiewak, the property is essentially two parcels, the parcel which is contiguous to mv client's parcel is approximately 8,700 square feet. I asked Mr. Spiewak if he would be willing to sell that parcel to Mr. Tenuta and he indicated that he is not willing to divide the smaller parcel from the larger unless he had a purchaser for the entire parcel. It was Mr. Spiewal;'� belief that by selling the smaller parcel, he could in some way impair or limit the marketability of the larger parcel. Mr. Spiewak did indicate that if he had a purchaser for the larger parcel, he would sell to Mr. and Mrs. Tenuta the smaller parcel, on the same co,_t per square foot basis as he is asking for the entire parcel. The only lease agreement Mr. Spiewak was willing to enter into was a lease which would be terminable upon thirty (30) or sixty (60) days notice. This is obviously not an acceptable resolution inasmuch as it is at best, a temporary resolution. Furthermore, the cost of improving the land to accommodate parking could not be justified based upon the uncertainty which results from the landlord's ability to terminate on short notice. Michael Janonis//illage of Mt. Prospect Page 2 December 9, 1993 Lastly, Mr. Spiewak indicated that he was not willing to enter into any type of arrangements which could, in his judgment, limit the marketability of this property and, therefore, he was not interested in any type of lease with an option to purchase or a right of first refusal. In summary, it would appear that there is no economically viable solution currently available when considering the property owned by Century Tile. I want to reiterate at this time that Mr. Spiewak indicated to me that he was of the belief that his property was going to re -zoned to commercial within the very near future, indicating the spring of 1994. At the time of writing of this letter, I have placed another call to his office to clear up that misconception. Lastly, I would like to reiterate my position with respect to my client in this matter. The issue here is raised in the context of a safety issue. I believe that the resolution of this "safety" issue must be based upon the risk to be perceived. That is, if the Tenutas are. not presented with an economically viable alternative to using the public right-of-way for parking their employee's cars, because of a safety issue, then we must define what is unsafe about the condition and make accommodations which are consistent with bringing about a more safe environment. Obviously, the simplest resolution is to obtain alternate off-street parking facilities, but this is not easily done nor is it done inexpensively. I do not believe that there has been a demonstration of any dangerous condition which would give rise to a legitimate safety issue. I do think that it is a matter of aesthetics. If a permanent resolution was offered to Mr. and Mrs. Tenuta which would add real value to their property long term, they would be willing to incur expense which would be recoverable at some time in the future. Sincerely, DSN/sh \\ 200 Block of Louis Street THAYER ST — — Ln Ln 5 O J I