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Home My WebLink About03/11/2008 COW minutes /:' !/~~~~~s_~st;;~;:}' J)-~~"\~\\ 4;lJlllaW"'f,."'UUt'ro.orl_~ ~=~/ I!JJIUJl; COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES March 11, 2008 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Village Board Room of Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Irvana Wilks. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Arlene Juracek, John Korn, Richard Lohrstorfer, Michael ladel and Trustee Paul Hoefert arrived at 7:11p.m. Staff present included Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Community Development Director William Cooney, Finance Director David Erb and Village Attorney Everette Hill. II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES Approval of Minutes of September 25, 2007 motion made by Trustee Hoefert seconded by Trustee ladel. Minutes were approved. Trustee Lohrstorfer and Trustee Korn abstained. Approval of Minutes of January 22, 2008 motion made by Trustee Hoefert seconded by Trustee ladel. Minutes were approved. Mayor Wilks abstained. Approval of Minutes of February 12, 2008 motion made by Trustee Hoefert seconded by Trustee Juracek. Minutes were approved. Trustee Lohrstorfer and Trustee ladel abstained. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Richard Valentino, Attorney for Tod Curtis at 618 W. Busse spoke. He stated his client also has redevelopment plans and hopes to present those development plans to the Village Board within the next thirty days. John Maller - One North Emerson spoke. He stated he has concerns about the Village's use of the Eminent Domain process for taking property of an active business in order to give them to someone else to build a project for private gain. IV. DISCUSSION OF SUB AREA #1 REDEVELOPMENT Mayor Irvana Wilks provided an overview of the proposal and a summary of the ground rules for discussion. Coomunity Development Director William Cooney provided an overview of Sub Area #1 including the history of the redevelopment process within the downtown. He also highlighted the businesses that are part of the redevelopment process within this area. John Heimbaugh of Heimbaugh Capital Development Corporation spoke. He also introduced the architectural team of Mike Fitzgerald, Hal Noman and Mike Rose. He stated this area is the center of the community and provided a summary of the market place and the background of his redevelopment team and its ability to complete this project. Mike Fitzgerald of OKW Architectural spoke. He provided a detailed overview of the project highlighting the various amenities on the buildings and the site plan. Community Development Director William Cooney provided an overview of the financial contributions anticipated from the Village regarding the land, street and public improvements including acquisition of additional properties to complete the development. He stated the proposed plan includes using sales tax dollars generated above $5.4 million and a 1 % sales tax overlay within the district to generate the necessary funds to cover the Village cost. He stated the Village's total financial impact is limited to $9.5 million. He also stated the Village assumes no risk until a loan for Phase I of the project can be obtained and only money generated by the development is at risk. There is no financial contribution prior to these commitments. David Lindgren, Chairman of the Economic Development Commission and resident of Mount Prospect at 743 Whitegate spoke. He stated that he is active in the business community and stands as a resident this evening and would like to tell the Village Board he is very excited about the project and feels it is a good combination for this area of the community. He stated the Village Board has been very thoughtful about the entire community in the past and these changes that will be brought through this development will further enhance the downtown and the community in general. Joneen Ford - 5 West Central spoke. She stated she is concerned about the parking garage entrance impact on the condominium parking of Village Centre and the excessive traffic due to the garage and business deliveries. She is suggesting the garage entrance and exit be limited only from Willie Street and not allowed to exit on the parking lot area north of the project area. She also stated she has concerns about garbage pick service to these businesses. George Schober - 5 West Central spoke. He stated he has concerns about trucks blocking traffic and access to the Village Centre parking during delivery periods and condo owners accessing their garage entrance. Maureen Meersman - 1442 Semar Court spoke. Ms. Meersman is an attorney in the community. She stated she had heard about the redevelopment project previously without the condominiums and feels the market is currently oversaturated and it's unrealistic to build condos at this time. She stated the Village does not have to follow the lead of other communities and make it look like them because Mount Prospect is unique. She also stated she feels a downtown grocery store would be very helpful but nothing has been accomplished in obtaining such a business. 2 Rosemary Hendrickson - 20 South Main spoke. She stated the access to the condominiums that are currently empty in the same area as the garage entrance would cause conflict. She feels there is too much traffic already and as long as the delivery situation can be worked out she would be supportive of the project and feels it is an enhancement to the downtown. Tom Zander - 208 North Forest and Realtor in the community spoke. He stated downtown by definition has more density and traffic with different lifestyle expectations than single family homes in the community. He is supportive of the project. Wes Pichot - 714 Whitegate spoke. He stated he is a retired architect and has offered advice over the last forty years. He also stated he is complementary of the design but feels it's far too dense for the site and likes the fact that it is a different developer from the one the Village has used in the past. He has concerns about the lack of surface parking and ready access to any retail stores in the development. He stated the Village should bring in a planning consultant and put out proposals for redevelopment consideration by the Village so other developers can have the opportunity to provide designs for the Village Board to consider. Harry Tribune - 5 West Central spoke. He stated that his condominium faces the proposed parking lot and is concerned about the moving vans and trucks that apparently have trouble maneuvering in the lot would be complicated by additional traffic that would be generated by the parking garage on this site. He has some minor concerns about the look of the parking garage and felt that it could be designed so it would blend more with the buildings themselves. John Abbs - 11 South Wille spoke. He stated he has concerns about the garage access and how it lines up with the condominium parking access. Mike Fitzgerald provided an overview and detailed information regarding loading and drop off areas to service the businesses. He also provided an overview of why there is a need to have two points of access into the proposed parking garage. John Heimbaugh responded to the concerns regarding the current market price. He stated it is important to be positioned in the market place so once the economy starts to pick up they have units that are readily available for purchasing and occupancy. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items. It was mentioned that the plans remain somewhat flexible and can be modified to address various concerns and needs of impacted property owners. It was also noted there are a number of ideas that have been brought forward by the citizens which will need additional consideration. Trustee Hoefert stated he feels the development has significant shortcomings because of its different style and its density. He also has concerns regarding the retail sight lines and the readily accessible parking access to the retail establishments. He feels the appearance is too different from what already exists in the community and would like to see other proposals for consideration of this parcel. He stated he feels there is not enough parking and there are too many condos with too much height. He would suggest the Village Board consider a retail study or a professional leasing agent to confirm that the site is viable before moving forward with the consideration of this proposal. Village Manager Michael Janonis did state these plans will be provided to the Planning and loning Commission for discussion on March 27, 2008. VII. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT None VIII. ADJOURNMENT Meeting convened at 10:03 p.m. ~~~(JJ DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager 4