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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/22/2007 P&Z minutes 02-07 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CASE NO. PZ-02-07 Hearing Date: February 22, 2007 PROPERTY ADDRESS: Lake Center Plaza (1630-1791 Wall Street, 500 Algonquin Road, 300-301 LaSalle Street, 1698-1700 S. Elmhurst Road) PETITIONER: Michael Ricamato, The Alter Group PUBLICATION DATE: January 10,2007 PIN NUMBERS: 08-23-203-017/022/023/026/027 /028/029/030/031/032/033/034/035/ 036/037/038 REQUEST: 1) Amend Ord. 3831: buildings may be located in accordance with Sec. 14.2104 (current II District Bulk Regulations) 2) Amend Ord. 3831: allow more than 75% lot coverage for individual lots, but the entire Lake Center Plaza development shall not exceed 75% lot coverage overall MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Juracek, Chairperson Joseph Donnelly Leo Floros Marlys Haaland Ronald Roberts Richard Rogers Keith Youngquist ST AFF MEMBER PRESENT: Judith Connolly, Senior Planner Ellen Divita, Deputy Director of Community Development Jason Zawila, Long Range Planner INTERESTED PARTIES: Michael Ricamato, Richard Kost, Stephen Cross, Lawrence Freedman, Douglas Knoeppel, and Rolf Kilian Chairperson Arlene Juracek called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Richard Rogers moved to approve the minutes of the January 25, 2007 meeting and Joseph Donnelly seconded the motion. Chairperson Juracek stated she did not have any corrections to the minutes, but she wanted to make the Commissioners aware that the Village Board struck the Planning and Zoning Commission's condition of no over-night parking for Case Number PZ-Ol- 07 from the ordinance (approval) due to enforcement concerns. The minutes were approved 7-0. Richard Rogers made a motion to continue Cases PZ-30-06 to the March 22, 2007 Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting. Keith Youngquist seconded the motion. The motion was approved 7-0. After hearing two cases, Chairperson Juracek introduced Case PZ-02-07 at 7:53 p.m., a request to amend the original Special Use ordinance for the Lake Center Plaza industrial business park in order to locate the proposed buildings in accordance with the current II District Bulk Regulations, and to allow more than 75% lot coverage for an individual lot, with the entire Lake Center Plaza development not exceeding 75% lot coverage. Judy Connolly, Senior Planner, reviewed the Staff memo. She said that the Subject Property, commonly known as the Lake Center Plaza, is located on the north side of Algonquin Road, between Elmhurst Road and Malmo Drive, and contains multiple lots of record. She said the Subject Property received zoning approval in 1987 to construct a Planned Unit Development that allowed for industrial, office, and office research businesses. The site Arlene J uracek, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting February 22, 2007 PZ-02-07 Page 2 was only partially developed and a high rise office building and a two-story building exist today. She stated that the Village Attorney reviewed the Village Codes and Ordinances and determined the provisions of the Special Use permit, Ordinance 3831, are still applicable because the Village Code did not list a time limit or expiration on Special Use permits when the project was approved in 1987. Ms. Connolly said the Petitioner has presented plans to construct two warehouse buildings on the west side of Wall Street. The Petitioner's plans do not include developing the lots on the east side of Wall Street at this time. She stated that the proposed office/warehouse structures would cross multiple lot lines and the Subject Properties would need to be consolidated to comply with zoning requirements that prohibit structures from crossing lot lines. Six lots of record would be consolidated, creating a 2-lot subdivision, with the remainder of the industrial park still to be developed. She said the proposed Lot 2 calls for 81.01% lot coverage which exceeds the 75% lot coverage limitation. Therefore, the Petitioner is seeking to amend Ordinance 3831 to allow this lot to exceed the 75% lot coverage limitation. The overall Lake Center Plaza development would not exceed 75% lot coverage and the site would have a shared detention system. Ms. Connolly stated that in addition to the lot coverage modification, the Petitioner is seeking approval to delete provision D of Ordinance 3831 which states, "Building setbacks from interior roads shall not be less than the height of the building or 30 feet, whichever is greater." She said current zoning regulations only require a 30-foot setback in the II District, and the maximum building height is 30 feet. She stated that the Petitioner has submitted plans that indicate the buildings would be 37 feet at the highest point, which is permitted per Ordinance 3831, but Ordinance 3831 would require more than the 32-foot setback proposed for a portion of the building to be located on Lot 1. Ms. Connolly said the Petitioner's site plan shows two lots of record would be created from six lots. The Petitioner proposes a shared detention system for the entire Lake Center Plaza and the overall development would not exceed the 75% lot coverage limitation. She stated that a detention basin would be located on Lot 1 and it would serve multiple lots. The lots using this basin will be identified as part of the final engineering plans. Ms. Connolly stated that Lot 1 would contain a 147,932 square foot industrial office/warehouse and have 74.88% lot coverage. Building 1 would have varying setbacks from Wall Street because the street curves, but the smallest setback would be 32 feet from Wall Street, when Ordinance 3831 requires a setback equal to the building height. She said Lot 2 would contain a 108,732 square foot industrial office/warehouse and have 81.01% lot coverage, which exceeds the 75% limitation. Ms. Connolly said several parking fields are indicated on the plan on the proposed lots, but the Petitioner does not have specific tenants secured at this time. She stated that the number of parking spaces proposed complies with the Village's requirements for the amount of office space and warehouse area shown. Vehicles and trucks would access the site from Algonquin Road, LaSalle Street, or Montgomery Street. Trucks and vehicles could enter and exit from any of the access points, depending on their travel path and destination. She said the proposed loading docks would be located along the West elevation of both buildings, towards the abutting industrial businesses. Ms. Connolly stated that Engineering focused their review on the specific requests made by the applicants and will do a full engineering review when a building permit application is submitted to ensure code compliance. Staff found that too many times some design changes are made as a result of P&Z and/or Village Board reviews which requires Engineering to re-review the plans. In the case of Lake Center Plaza, Engineering reviewed the requests and has no objections to changing the setbacks or allowing less green space. She said that following a cursory review of the plans, Engineering provided additional comments as a courtesy, most of which can be addressed at time of building permit. Ms. Connolly stated that the Petitioner prepared a traffic study, which was reviewed by the Village's Traffic Engineer. The study includes existing and proposed information on turning movements, or going through an intersection, impacted by the proposed project. A Level of Service value was assigned to the applicable intersections. Level of Service, or "LOS," is the anticipated delay for each vehicle to make a certain movement. Arlene J uracek, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting February 22, 2007 PZ-02-07 Page 3 The LOS has a corresponding rating system, from A-F. She showed a table listing the letter and its corresponding time. She said the majority of Staff's comments from the initial Traffic Study have been addressed. However, the Village's Traffic Engineer found that the projected Level of Service for east-west left turns from LaSalle Street/Elmhurst Road remains undesirable. The movement was rated "F" because it will take 275.6 seconds and is expected to result in significant delays. Therefore, the Petitioner is asked to submit the plans and Traffic Impact Study to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to determine if traffic signals can be installed at this intersection. Once that is done, staff asks that the Petitioner forward a copy of moT's comments to the Village. She said the Traffic Engineer had further comments listed in the staff report that can be addressed by the Petitioner during the permit process. Ms. Connolly stated that the Petitioner's site plan indicates the site could accommodate 365 parking spaces; 197 on Lot 1 and 168 on Lot 2. Tenants for the buildings have not yet been finalized, but the Petitioner has agreed to provide parking in accordance with Village Code, as required for the use, based the use square footage and/or number of employees. Ms. Connolly said the Petitioner submitted a tree survey, which documents the condition and form of the existing trees. The report shows the existing trees to be removed and notes their condition. She said the area is marked by poor forestry practices, meaning too many trees located too close together, impeding healthy growth, and a significant number of the trees are less than desirable species and in poor condition. She stated that although the Petitioner has agreed to save as many trees as possible, the configuration of the site development dictates removing many trees. Therefore, the Petitioner prepared a landscape plan that indicates a variety of plant species and mature trees to be planted throughout the site. Ms. Connolly stated that the Petitioner proposes to install a 6-foot board-on-board fence along the northern lot line to provide screening for the adjacent multi-family development. A significant number of existing trees will remain and a cluster of 6-foot tall evergreen trees, various ornamental shrubs and trees will be planted in this area as well. She said the plan indicates the fence will be on the property line. However, the plan does not reflect the requirements listed in the Village Zoning Ordinance which requires the fence to be located not less than 8 feet from the property line. In addition to the fence, a continuous evergreen or dense deciduous hedge 3 feet in height needs to be planted 2.5 feet on center, and planted on the outside of the fence, facing the abutting residential zoning district, along the entire length of the fence. She said the code states that it is the Petitioner's responsibility to maintain this area and keep it free of weeds. The proposed landscape plan needs to be revised to comply with this code requirement. Ms. Connolly showed elevations indicating the general look of the proposed buildings. She said the buildings may be modified to accommodate a specific user, which could include relocating windows and/or adding windows. The buildings would be constructed from three different colored precast panels and include grey tinted glass windows. She stated that varying roof heights and recessing different areas of the building were incorporated into the building design to breakup the expansive faryade. The building materials and the building construction would comply with Village regulations. While Staff is not opposed to providing the Petitioner some flexibility with the final architectural design to meet tenants' needs, final administrative approval shall be required of the elevations prior to the issuance of building permits. Ms. Connolly stated that the shared detention design for the Lake Center Plaza development is intended to offset the additional lot coverage proposed for Lot 2 through future storm water detention improvements. The Petitioner attempted to create a development that was compatible with the existing uses and complied with Mount Prospect's Village Code regulations. However, Wall Street curves, which is why the Petitioner is seeking relief to allow the building to encroach 5 feet into the required setback for the area of the street that 'jogs' west. She showed a table that summarized the required setbacks for the II District and lised the Petitioner's proposed setbacks. Arlene Juracek, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting February 22, 2007 PZ-02-07 Page 4 Ms. Connolly said the Petitioner proposed to prepare a plat of resubdivision that creates 2-lots of record. Staff recommends the Plat of Resubdivision include a cross access easement for the proposed Lots I and 2. Also, Wall Street is a public street and the cul-de-sac will need to be vacated in order to construct the project as shown. Staff supports the Village vacating the cul-de-sac and dedicating it to the Petitioner. The plat of vacation and plat of resubdivision will be prepared subject to Village Board approval of this zoning request. She said the Certificate of Occupancy will be granted subject to completing the plats. Ms. Connolly summarized the standards for a Variation as listed in the Zoning Ordinance. She said specific findings must be made in order to approve a Variation that relate to a hardship due to the physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions of a specific property not generally applicable to other properties in the same zoning district and not created by any person presently having an interest in the property; a lack of desire to increase financial gain; and protection of the public welfare, other property, and neighborhood character. Ms. Connolly stated that the project requires relief to allow a 32-foot building setback when 37 feet is required per Ord. 3831, and to allow 81.01 % lot coverage when 75% is the code limitation. She said the Subject Property is a self-contained industrial park adjacent to industrial properties under Cook County jurisdiction. The shape of Lot 1 is irregular as Wall Street has a significant curve. The requested relief is based on a physical condition unique to the Subject Property. Ms. Connolly said the Petitioner's request for 81.01 % lot coverage is uncharacteristic of developments occurring in Mount Prospect. However, the Petitioner notes in their application that the lot coverage for the overall Lake Center Plaza development will not exceed 75% as lot coverage will be reduced on other lots within the Lake Center Plaza development. She stated that the request was reviewed by the Village's Engineering Division, which does not object to the applicant's specific requests for eliminating the building setback requirements and allowing greater than 75% lot coverage. She said the engineering review focused only on the issues involving the applicant's specific requests. They found the preliminary calculations provided support the proposed design for the stormwater detention pond. Based on a cursory review of these calculations, it appears that the methodology seems appropriate. However, a thorough review will be performed when the calculations are completed (the calculations note that the outfall from the proposed pond was not included in the hydraulic modeling), and plans are submitted for permit. Ms. Connolly stated that Staff found that the proposal would not be out of character for the industrial park and it would not adversely impact other properties. The requested Variations are generally not applicable to other properties and the development is unique due to its size and the diverse land uses adjacent to the Subject Property. Ms. Connolly said based on the above analysis, Staff recommends that the Planning & Zoning Commission recommend the Village Board approve the following motion: "To approve: Modifications to Ordinance 3831 to allow: 1. a 32 foot setback for Building 1 as shown on the site plan prepared by Atwell-Hicks revision date January 24, 2007; 2. 81.01% lot coverage for the proposed Lot 2 as shown on the site plan prepared by Atwell- Hicks revision date January 24,2007 subject to the overall Lake Center Plaza development not exceeding 75% lot coverage. for the properties located at 1630-1791 Wall Street, 500 Algonquin Road, 300-301 LaSalle Street, 1698-1700 S. Elmhurst Road, Case Number PZ-02-07, subject to the following: 1. The Petitioner shall develop the site in general conformance with the following plans: a. The site plan and elevations prepared by Harris Architects, revision date January 24, 2007 Arlene Juracek, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting February 22, 2007 PZ-02-07 Page 5 b. The landscape plan prepared by Signature Design Group revision date January 24, 2007 but revised to comply with Village Code Section 14.2104.E. 2. The Petitioner shall revise the photometric plan to comply with Village Code Section 14.314 & 14.2219. 3. The Petitioner shall prepare a Plat of Vacation (bulb of cul-de-sac) and a Plat of Resubdivision that consolidates the Subject Properties and creates a 2-lot subdivision, and 4. Prior to applying for building permits, the Petitioner shall provide final elevations for administrative review and approval. 5. The Petitioner shall develop the site in accordance with all applicable Village Codes and requirements, including, but not limited to: Fire Prevention Code regulations, lighting regulations, Sign Code regulations, Building Code, and Development Code regulations, which may require minor modifications to the site to comply with all development requirements and traffic concerns detailed in the Village Code and in the Engineering Division's review comments before approval of the site engineering plans can be given." She stated that the Village Board's decision is final for this case. Richard Rogers stated he wanted to make sure that when the lots are subdivided, that they remain part of the Lake Center Plaza development to prevent one of the lots being sold, and therefore being non-conforming due to lot coverage. Ms. Connolly said a Covenant linking the lots together through an association and tying them to the Lake Center Plaza development could address that concern. Chairperson Juracek stated that since a specific lot is not being flagged to offset the additional lot coverage needed, she asked what steps would be in place to ensure the entire Lake Center Plaza development would not exceed 75% lot coverage. Ms. Connolly stated that the Building Division software can flag each of the addresses and the overall lot coverage would be calculated as the site was developed. Chairperson Juracek stated the Covenant is going to have to be very clear so future Commissions understand what is to be done. There were no further questions for Staff. Chairperson Juracek swore in all interested parties. Attorney Lawrence Freedman, 77 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois, gave a brief history of the property. He said the Alter Group has owned this property for over 30 years and the Special Use is now more than 20 years old. He stated the intention for this site has always been office/commercial. He said there had been several discussions over the years to change the land use from everything from retail to residential uses, but the market has not been there. He stated that the group is more than agreeable to preparing a Covenant to record the modifications to the Special Use if they felt the ordinance did not address the Commissioners' concerns. Mr. Rogers asked if the Petitioner is agreeable to moving the fence and providing the additional landscaping to comply with Village Code. Mr. Freedman stated that the Petitioner is agreeable to the landscaping changes. Mr. Rogers also asked if the Petitioner has any objection to going to IDOT and requesting signalization of the LaSallelEmerson intersection. Mr. Freedman said the group is more than willing to submit the Traffic Impact Study to mOT. The project's Traffic Engineer Rolf Kilian, 3100 West Higgins Road, Hoffman Estates, Illinois stated that based on experience, the traffic volume may not be significant enough for mOT to approve the signalization. He said the traffic volume for LaSalle is 20 cars per hour. He stated that it is not that unusual for such a small driveway entering onto a major arterial street to have significant wait times. He said currently the LaSallelElmhurst left turn has a wait time over 160 seconds. He stated that computer analysis does not account for breaks in traffic; therefore the calculated left-turn wait time of 275 seconds is significantly higher than what the actual wait time will be. There was general discussion regarding traffic Arlene Juracek, Chairperson Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting February 22, 2007 PZ-02-07 Page 6 movement at other commercial centers in the area. Mr. Rogers said consideration may need to be given to making the LaSalle/Elmhurst intersection a right-turn-only. Chairperson Juracek stated that there is not enough data to make that determination at this time. There was general discussion regarding the Lake Center Plaza's employees generating the extra traffic volume. Mr. Rogers reiterated he would like the group to submit the study to IDOT for signalization consideration and provide IDOT's response to Village Staff. Leo Floros asked if there would be any improvements to Montgomery A venue. Mr. Kilian stated that less than 25% of the traffic to the site is generated from Montgomery. He said Lake Center Plaza has three points of access. Bill Johnston, Manager of Arlington Heights Tennis Center at 2831 Malmo, Arlington Heights, Illinois, stated that the Tennis Center supports the project and this is a great improvement to the neighborhood. He questioned the drainage of the site and asked if it will affect the drainage ditch that runs through the Tennis Center. Steve Cross of Atwell Hicks, 1245 East Diehl Road, Naperville, Illinois, stated the drainage channel is located outside the Alter property along the west property line, and within the Alter property on the north side. Mr. Cross stated there will be no changes made to the drainage channel that is not on The Alter Group's property and the proposed development will not increase the amount of drainage to that channel. There was general discussion regarding the existing drainage ditch. Mr. Johnston said the Tennis Center is looking forward to the project progressing and welcomed it to the neighborhood. Chairperson Juracek called for additional questions from the audience. Hearing none, the public hearing was closed at 8:37 p.m. Mr. Rogers stated that this building fits well into the lot and that he does not have a problem with the 32- foot setback. He said he is concerned that the development will create a traffic flow issue onto Elmhurst Road, but that overtime will work itself out. He said the project will be a real asset to Mount Prospect. Mr. Floros asked who The Alter Group foresees as potential tenants. Michael Ricamato representing the Alter Group said ideally they would like to see one to three tenants per building and predicts marketing to a freight-forwarding type business in light of the O'Hare expansion. Chairperson Juracek requested that the Alter Group clear and maintain the pedestrian sidewalks in the area. She said the sidewalks are frequently snow covered and icy, causing pedestrians to walk in the street on Route 83; Mr. Ricamato said he would work with the maintenance staff to ensure the sidewalks are properly maintained. Richard Rogers made a motion to approve Case Number PZ-02-07, amending Ordinance 3831 with the recommended conditions for the property at 1630-1791 Wall Street, 500 Algonquin Road, 300-301 LaSalle Street, and 1698-1700 S. Elmhurst Road. Leo Floros seconded the motion. UPON ROLL CALL: A YES: Donnelly, Floros, Haaland, Roberts, Rogers, Youngquist, Juracek NAYS: None Motion was approved 7-0. Following discussion of the Comprehensive Land Use Update, Richard Rogers made a motion to adjourn at 9:15 p.m., seconded by Joseph Donnelly. The motion was approved by a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned. Stacey Dunn, Community Development Administrative Assistant C,\Documcnts and Scttings\kdcwis\Local Scttings\Tcmpomry Internel Filcs\OLK6B\PZv02-07 Alter-Lake CentCT.doc