HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/11/1975 VB minutes MINUT~.s OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF TH~
MAYOR AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES
February 11t 19.75~
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Teichert called the meeting to order at 8:15 P.M.
INVOCATION
Trustee Caylor gave the invocation.
ROLL CALL
Present upon roll call: Anderson Caylor Gustus H~ndricks
Richardson Scholten Teichert
PURPOSE OF~EETING
Special meeting of the Mayor and Board of Trustees of the Village
of Mount Prospect called by Mayor Teichert on Friday, February T,
1975 pursuant to Chapter 2 "The Board of Trustees" Section 2,103
"Meetings" as specified in the Municipal Code of Mount Prospect.
This meeting was called fO~ the purpose of holding a public hear-
ing on the proposed Comprehensive Village Plan as presented by
the Mount Prospect Planning Commission.
Comprehensive Plan
PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE VILLAGE PLAN
Members of the Planning Commission and the Engineering Department
were present to'~ive a background of the formation of the proposed
plan since Mount Prospect ~ecame a home rule community in 1970.
-- Mr. James Grief, Chairman of the sub-committee on the Comprehensive
Plan, ta~ked on the objectives of the Plan, consideration of zoning
and subdivision regulations.
Mrs. Natalie Karney, Deputy Engineer, discussed the physical char-
acteristics and soil drainage within the Village.
Traffic Engineer Mike Pekala reviewed the existing transportation
of the ~illage and a list of proposed improvements.
Mr. J. C. Busenhart discussed the residential land, the neighborhood
structure, apartments, commercial and industrial property.
The community facilities such as Fire Department paramedics, the
~P~tice Department and public utilities and services were considered.
After the text was reviewed, the accompanying maps were studied.
Mayor Teichert read three letters: Senior Citizens Advisory
Council, in support of the proposal to utilize the old Library
for a Senior Citizens Center; anotherfrom-t~he S~nior Citizens
Advisory Council urging Senior Citizens Housing; and the third
from the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce from the Executive
Director, C. O. Schlaver relating to roadway improvements and
traffic flow. The Deputy Clerk was requested to have copies ~'
of the letter made available to the Board of Trustees, Planning
Commission and the Housing Commission.
Further, the sub-committee on the Comprehensive Village Plan, was
requested to supply the proposed Plan to the Village Clerk's
fice for public viewing, the Library, related Commissions and Boards~
Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Wheeling, Elk Grove, the School
Districts, the four Park Districts, Ei~ Grove and Wheeling
Township, Harper Col!ege, the county Board, NIPC, RTA and the
Northwest Municipai Conference. .
CITIZEN COMMENTS
The meeting was opened..for-di~cussion.'~-Mr.-Jack Keefer, as a
representative of the Chamber of Commerce, talked about~ the
routing of Route 83 and the pr0posal to ~ake it partly one-way, and
voiced opposition.
Mrs. Regina Borgstrom, 604 Dogwood, discussed proposed use of the
Northern Illinois Gas property south of Kensington, the ratio of
multiple housing to single family housing, the recommendation
for unincorporated areas, and the ultimate character design
for the Village.
Mr. Frank Merrick, 304 S. Emerson, also voiced opposition to the
proposal of making part of Emerson a one-way street.
Mr. ConstantineStamis talked about the proposed development of
the central business district and the Northwest Highway S~rip de-
velopment.
Mr. Keefer requested consideration of a pedestrian overpass to
Meadows Pool.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Teichert announced the meeting .would be continued to May 27,
1975 at 8=00 Pm. Trustee Anderson, seconded by Trustee Hendricks,
moved the meeting be adjourned. 'Time= Il=iS'P.M. Unanimous.
MARI~ T. HARD, Deputy Clerk
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February 11, 1975 Page 2
WilaNAL
STATE OF ILLINOIS )
COUNTY OF COOK ) SS:
BEFORE THE MAYOR AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES
VILLAGE OF MT. PROSPECT, ILLINOIS
IN THE MATTER OF:
PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE )
I VILLAGE PLAN
TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
The following is a transcript of proceedings
I had in the above entitled matter, before Mayor
1 Robert D. Teichert and the Village Board of Trustees,
1 in the Village Hall, 112 East Northwest Highway,
Mt. Prospect, Illinois, on the llth day of February,
A.D. 1975, at 8:00 o'clock P.M.
PRESENT:
ROBERT D. TEICHERT, MAYOR
JOHN J. ZIMMERMANN, VILLAGE ATTORNEY
TRUSTEE ANDERSON TRUSTEE HENDRICKS
TRUSTEE CAYLOR Trustee Richardson
TRUSTEE GUSTUS Trustee Scholten
MEMBERS OF THE PLAN COMMISSION
MARIE T. HARD, DEPUTY VILLAGE CLERK
1
2.
MAYOR TEICHERT: The Special Meeting of the
Village Board of Mt. Prospect of February 11, 1975
will please come to order. Invocation will be
given by Trustee Caylor.
(Invocation)
MAYOR TEICHERT: Will the Clerk please call the
roll?
MRS. HARD: Trustee Anderson?
MR. ANDERSON: Here.
MRS. HARD: Trustee Caylor?
MRS. CAYLOR: Here.
MRS. HARD: Trustee Gustus?
MR. GUSTUS: Here.
MRS. HARD: Trustee HENDRICKS?
MR. HENDRICKS: Here.
ii MRS. HARD: Trustee Richardson?
G:
MR. RICHARDSON: Here.
MRS. HARD: Trustee Scholten?
MR. SCHOLTEN: Here.
MRS. HARD: Mayor Teichert?
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MAYOR TEICHERT: Here.
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3.
MAYOR TEICHERT: This is a Special Meeting of
the Mayor and Board of Trustees of the Village of
Mt. Prospect, called pursuant to Chapter 2, entitled
"The Board of Trustees" Section 2.103 "Meetings"
as specified in the Municipal Code of Mount Prospect.
This meeting was called for the purpose of
' holding a public hearing on the proposed Comprehensive
Village Plan as presented by the Mount Prospect
'Planning Commission.
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Before we start into the presentation
proper, I have letters here that I will read into
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the record subsequent to the presentation. The
reason I am not doing it ahead of the presentation
Ibis not because they are not appropriate or pertinent
±but, rather I think that they somewhat go with the
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H understanding that perhaps our anxiety that some
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Ilaction would be taken which I can't see, and I am
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sure the Board does not envision any action taken
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llat what will be the first of a series of public hear-
1 ings .
This Comprehensive Plan differs greatly from
it
the 196E Comprehensive Plan. I mean no offense to
;'the previous Planning Commission who put together
dour first Comprehensive Plan but I believe a
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comparison from a reading of this will indicate
that this plan is far more comprehensive than the
original Village Plan, which itself was seven years
in the making. And counting by years, this would
have been six years in the making.
So if there is any belief that in just
reading it that in one evening the Village Board
would read this, digest it and act on it, would be
very presumptions, I believe, for everyone to think
that, because the impact -- I want to make this
kind of a statement, though: For all that I hear
about referendums and big items in the Village I'll
suggest to everybody in the community that there is
no project bigger than the one now in front of the
Village Board, that it envisions expenditures by
the Village of Mt. Prospect that would build twenty
or thirty libraries.
It envisions improvements, probably without
Federal or State funding, that could well be in the
area of fifty or eighty million dollars. These are
just my offhand estimates from what I see in the
Plan, that the kind of concepts involved in it would
affect everyone completely in the community.
5.
And I would hope, just for the record
again, if there is going to be agitation by people
who somehow believe that all the committees and
boards and everyone are incompetent, and this type
of thing should be a referendum, I can't think of
anything bigger. I think it should be done ahead of
time, rather than the people going through all the
work and having the expertise that went into this.
I am very serious in the comment that I
'envision what is being done now is coming out
of the subcommittee of the Planning Commission, and
I that this report will have to be digested by
virtually every commission and board of the Village,
because it touches on policy and concept that
embraces everything done in the Village.
I can't, myself, see this Comprehensive
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Plan being passed in anything short of four or five
for six months steady work, frankly, and it may even
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'have to be passed in segments, because of the number
11 of policy questions that have been presented in the
ii Comprehensive Plan.
I would hope that after the presentation by
,the Planning Commission, through the text and through
,;the maps, that the Village Board members, first, and
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after that members of the audience, can set forth
1 , 1 questions or observations that they have that the
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Planning Commission might make note of, not
necessarily trying to resolve i n reaction or
comment tonight but, rather, to indicate some areas
1 that perhaps need more exploration. At least that's
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my believe in going through it.
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So with that kind of comment and specifically
for members of the Chamber of Commerce, who I know
have not had the Comprehensive Plan in the draft
{ form in their hands, as has no one except the Village
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Board, who got the maps, the comprehensive maps,
this evening, but has had the text for perhaps a
week or better, a week to ten days.
1 This has all taken a long time to get
I into a posture where it is available. The mere
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cost in the reproduction of this is going to make
additions of this limited at this stage, obviously,
and I have no intention of going into any program
to try and distribute this type of material to every
I householder in Mt. Prospect.
It certainly will be available to the Village,
through all the commissions and boards, the library
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and perhaps even the schools. But I am not sure
what is going to be suggested by the Planning
Commission.
So with those sort of caveats to indicate
ii how we will be going, I think it would be appropriate
for Mr. Grier, the Chairman -- Is that right, is
this coming out of the subcommittee?
MR. GRIER: Yes.
MAYOR TEICHERT: It may be coming out of the
j Planning Commission, but it was handled, I think,
by a subcommittee initially, and Mr. Grier is the
Chairman of that subcommittee and I believe is the
one who is going to present it. Is that correct,
Mr. Grier?
MR. JAMES P. GRIER, JR.: Pardon my back; I
1, can't do anything about it.
I think a little background is necessary
to set the place where we are at here. This goes
j1 back to June of 1973, when we, in fact, split the
Planning and Zoning Commission into two separate
boards or commissions.
And at that time -- in fact, that was passed
1 on March 20th, 1973 and you created a Planning Com-
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j mission. At that point our Chairman, Mr. Malcolm
Young, who served on the committee with fervor --
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I he is vacationing in Florida and he has earned it.
We miss him here tonight.
We were assigned the job, I was put in
charge of a committee that consisted of Mrs. Caylor,
who is now a Trustee, Mr. J. C. Busenhart, who you
I will hear tonight, myself and Mr. Young agreed to
I serve on the committee.
We have met enough times so that I can
I make the flat statement that we have got hundreds
and hundreds of hours behind this thing, in text
work, and we even got into the map making business,
which we didn't know anything about and neither did
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anybody else in the Village, other than bow011 Fell,
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1 who did a fantastic job up until the last few months.
1 God rest him, he was a super guy.
O.K. Mechanically and legally we are here
because you sent us a resolution in December, saying
that you wanted us to give you a Comprehensive Plan.
1 What I have said before just tells you that we have
been working on this since June of 1973, and not
since December of 1974.
We replied to you on January 8th -- Pardon
9.
me, in January that we had the Plan ready, and
I here we are with the public hearing. So with that
background we will get into it.
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jj we started back in 1973 with little else
11 but this, and I am holding up the old Plan. I am
II making no comment on the old Plan, other than that's
where we started, and it went as far north as
i Euclid Avenue, which was the limit that this Plan
was put into being in 1968, and as far south as
Dempster.
So in summary it did not include any part
of what we refer to as New Town. It certainly
didn't bring in or take note of any other annexa-
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I tions, either voluntary or otherwise, that have
taken place from 1968 to 1973.
we started primarily with the text in try-
ing to familiarize ourselves with what is a village
plan? What do you do? We were kind of out there,
and we got to the point where we had what we thought
was a superdraft until we took a month off and came
back and looked at it and thought this was worse
than what we had in '68.
So this is the sort of thing that has been
going on. You can't possibly get into one of these
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;things and produce it without getting into the map
area. And, as I say, other than Lowell Fell for a
while we were high and dry.
And very fortunately -- and I an not in
the employment of the Leonard Publishing Company, but
Mr. Dean Leonard had stopped by the Building Depart-
ment offices. He showed us what he can do with
maps. You have got copies of them before you.
I want to emphasize one thing: that as
far as these maps are concerned the Village has
purchased from the Leonard Publishing Company the
base maps, which makes possible the reproduction or
the manufacture of any map of anything that you
want to have on it.
We have tried to cover an awful lot, what
we are talking about tonight, but you can do almost
anything with these maps, and we own the base
material, so from here on out the expense of getting
maps to suit your needs -- we even had a meeting
with the Engineering Department and Public Works.
They could envision in the future reducing
to this type of map an 8 -block square quadrant, if
1 you will, of the Village, and putting in all the
sewers, all the water lines, the whole works. The
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fact that we own the base maps makes this a very
economical and feasible thing.
Before we go any further I just have to
turn to the acknowledgment page, and I don't want to
leave anybody out here, because the hours that have
been put into this thing are just fantastic, and
we start right out by gratefully appreciating the
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work given to all the Village employees, who worked
• so hard to prepare this Plan. Two of them you are
going to meet from the Engineering Department to-
▪ night in this presentation, but that doesn't mean
that there weren't others.
H In every department we have gotten the full
and deducated cooperation, and it is our feeling
and it was the feeling of Mr. Leonard -- again I
don't work for him -- he couldn't get over the
absolute sincerity and dedication of the employees
j of this Village.
He would ask a question and get a straight
answer, or he would get 'I don't have the information,
Mr. Leonard, but I'll get it for you."
These people worked overtime, they worked
ii on their own. We are fortunate, we got super people.
I think they ought to get a raise. How about that?
12.
Make you choke, Mr. Eppley?
Another thing. On the covers we didn't
realize that we were preparing a program that would
enter into the millions of dollars of expenditure.
We counted it differently, we tried to be austere,
conservative. And when you get to a plan we didn't
want to present it to you in an envelope.
On the other hand, we didn't want this kind
of a binder or cover. We envision this as an on-
going committee of the Planning Commission, now
that we are strictly a Planning Commission.
And we went to the cover that you have now.
I am sorry that the people in the audience don't have
covers, but even these are expensive, they allow us
to insert a page in place of another page without
undoing all this plastic stuff, and we put an order
in for the cover right at the time when there was a
gasoline shortage, people were cuing up at the gas
stations, plastics were unavailable.
We figure we are very lucky to get the
covers we have got, the fact that it took four or
five months to get them, it worked out it took us
that long to find something to put in them, but this
type of cover we feel can be used well into the
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future, so we don't feel we have been extravagant
there.
Now, with that introduction I guess maybe
you want to hear what we have written, so let's have
at it. If you at all -- oh, excuse me, back to
acknowledgments.
Barton - Aschman was retained to review this
Plan, and they have done so. Mr. Robert Tesco, one
of their Vice Presidents, has reviewed it. They
are working with the downtown commission, so they
are more than just idly familiar with Mt. Prospect.
They have given the Plan their blessing.
They have also said that they are willing to defend
it up to their eyeballs at any time, they think it
is that good.
And again, before we lose sight of it,
J.C., Marie and Malcolm Young in Florida, thanks
for just one heck of a lot of work.
O.K., into it. We give you all credit
here, despite the fact that some of you have left
us, like Mr. Bennett and Mr. McBride, for greater
horizons, but they did do a lot of work on it.
These drafts would come back to them. The whole
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Commission has done an awful lot of reading, an
awful lot of editing. We feel that that page is
definitely in order.
Our table of contents pretty well breaks
1 this thing down into what we tried to hit upon, and
these are, in the jargon of the planners, the
professionals, the highlights.
So they are outlined for you in the table
of contents. The maps, which you will have an
explanation of, are next in order.
And 7 -M refers to a map that immediately
follows Page 7. I don't know if I ever made that
statement but I made it, et cetera. The same for
15. O.K., to Page 1. Planning responsibility
starts out with the authority under which you, as a
Board of Trustees, created a Planning Commission and
gave to it the responsibility for coming up with a
Plan. And in effect that is what that paragraph
says. We nave added to it the fact that we are a
home rule community, which was made effective in
1970 under the change in the Constitution.
This is an important consideration, in that
every community in the State of Illinois is not a
home rule community. We are, and it is important.
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The purpose of this Plan, - and I will read
this first couple of lines:
"The Comprehensive Village Plan for Mount
Prospect is a general guide for the future develop-
ment of the Village and its contiguous unincorporated
environs. The recommendations contained in the Plan
are a guide to the day -to -day decisions that must
be made by Village officials and local citizens.
The Plan establishes a general framework within
which decisions may be reached and outlines more
detailed studies and programs needed to achieve
the objectives of the planning program, and to
establish a concept for community development."
Now, that in essence says what this thing
is all about. It is not a blueprint for a house
that is going to be erected, it is a proposed plan,
and only that. It is for you guys to take apart
and digest; as the Mayor has suggested, a lot of this
has to go back to various other committees, com-
missions, boards, for review and discussion, and then
filter back up to you.
These things are not going to be inactive,
we don't anticipate them to be inactive. We have
16.
thrown out a lot of things that we know are im-
possible, but in good planning you do that. You
don't cut down to the bone and then say, "Here it
is and its a Plan."
That isn't the idea. Planning is everything
thrown at you, for your digestion.
O.K. We picked the year 1980 as our target
date. Admittedly that is short range for the
Comprehensive Village Plan. We chose it, though,
because (A) We were coming off a Plan that was,
when we started working on this one, was five years
old. It is now seven years old. And
(B) There have been so many changes in the
geography of the Village that we thought 1980 was
a good Point, with the idea in mind that this is
going to be an ongoing operation. This isn't it
for another five years, we are going to keep work-
ing on it.
All right, turning to Page 2, the need
for a planning paragraph,I think, speaks for itself.
We have enjoyed excellent growth. It hasn't just
come, it has come through planning. And we have
deviated from the '68 Plan, just as we deviated from
Plans that were in existence before that, but at
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least we had something to deviate from, which is a
lot better than deviating from nothing, just say,
"Well, we are going to do this." They had a guide-
line, at least, to look back on.
Again, the '68 Plan served its purpose.
The achievements section is pretty much what you
would expect it to say. I think the Mayor has
touched on it. I have; it deals primarily with
vacant land.
Everybody says that Mt. Prospect has grown.
Yes, we are and we are growing by design and not
just helter - skelter. But you have got to bear in
mind that we are surrounded by other communities,
and they are also growing.
And so part of our isolationism is if we
want to damn growth, let's damn them for growing
faster than we are growing, when we get to these
boundaries and borders that meet and conflict.
The objectives for Mt. Prospect. I want to
dwell on this, especially on Page 3. Mr. Tesca,
from Barton - Aschman, met with us, and he feels so
strongly about this, and I think this filters down
to the boards and commissions that this is going to,
that items 1 through 7 should be on a permanent
18.
piece of sticky paper, if you will, affixed in
1 1 front on the rostrum here in front of everybody of
you on the dais,at every meeting it should be staring
you in the face.
It is your responsibility, it is what this
1 Village is all about. That was his recommendation,
just one way so that you would never get away from
it. When you come to a meeting, there it is looking
at you, it reminds you of what your job is.
And it is the job of this Plan also to put
I, us in order. I won't read them, I would certainly
expect everybody to read them, though, with vigor:
"ANNEXATION OBJECTIVES:
"Village boundaries encompassing a community
1 or land must be such that it can be efficiently
it and economically served by Village facilities."
Some parts of this Plan mentions the
Forest Preserve, it mentions Palwaukee. We have not
held back on anything, we have let loose with every
planning concept or idea that you can think of, with
h the idea that take what you want out of it and run
1 with it. The rest, somebody else is going to gobble
11 it up. Good luck to them. If we don't want it
it is probably not very good, because we figure we
19.
are away ahead of them on zoning.
"Zoning of land in Mount Prospect should be
based upon the recommendation of the adopted
Comprehensive Village Plan. It is becoming
it
increasingly important that the provisions of the
'I Zoning Ordinance be based upon a plan designed
to promote the public health, safety, morals,
aesthetics and general welfare. As a rule, areas
designated for commercial, industrial and residential
uses should be zoned as shown on the Plan."
We are going to get into that more as we
Igo through this, so I will leave it.
I "SUBIDIVISION REGULATIONS:"
Again this is the responsibility of the
Planning Commission as you have given it to us.
"Every new subdivision in Mount Prospect
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becomes a physical feature of the community and
has a lasting effect on the Village. The physical
design of our Village is simply a composite plan of
i individual subdivisions."
It is like putting together a picture puzzle.
"Subdivision Regulations," skipping down to the
second paragraph, "should be implemented by ordinances
establishing reasonable standards of design for
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subdivisions and for resubdivisions of unimproved
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I land and of areas subject to redevelopment in respect
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l to public improvements."
"COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS:"
I think the best example of that is Route
1 83. After four or five, maybe longer, years we
! finally reached an agreement with the City of
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Des Plaines as to what our mutual boundaries were
going to be. This took a lot of hard negotiation.
I think the result is that both the City
of Des Plaines and the Village of Mt. Prospect are
in a position to go ahead with certainty as to
future planning.
It is necessary that we reach these agree-
,
1 ments. I know just as sure as I am standing here --
1 it isn't my map so I won't belabor it -- we are
going to get talking about an extension of a road
in town and it runs into Arlington Heights, and
Arlington Heights has a viewpoint that is entirely
1 different from ours.
But the whole thing is literally muddy .'water
1 because we are talking about this road running over a
( retention basin. This is a very interesting concept,
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when you have one village that doesn't want the road
and we would like to see the road and you have got a
1 1 1 retention basin in between. This isn't one problem,
it is several. But again, we are giving you the
whole thing.
With that I will turn it over to Natalie
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Karney, from the Engineering Department.
MISS NATALIE KARNEY: The next section of
the Plan deals with the physical characteristics of
the soil, drainage and waterways in the Village of
! Mt. Prospect.
f 1 The soil conditions, because of where the
Village lies, its location with a glacial till,
is basically clay and silt.
The drainage within the Village of Mt.-
Prospect is generally in a southerly direction,
following parallel to Lake Michigan.
We have four waterways in the Village which
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are noted here, McDonald Creek, Feehanville Ditch,
Higgins Creek and Weller Creek. McDonald Creek
serves the northeastern section of the Village and
flows through, before it gets to Mt. Prospect,
Prospect Heights, Arlington Heights, Wheeling and
22.
1 j through the Village of Mt. Prospect and into the
1
Des Plaines River.
Feehanville Ditch serves basically just
the Village of Mt. Prospect and some unincorporated
areas to the west, begins on the unincorporated
area on the Gas Company property and eventually
flows east to the Des Plaines River.
1 Higgins Creek serves a portion of the
southern part of the Village, originates in Lake
1 Briarwood and flows south to Algonquin Road and
1 1 ' eventually through the Village of Rosemont into the
I Des Plaines River.
1
; And the main creek, which goes through the
1 southern part of the Village, is Weller Creek, and
1 it flows -- it used to be an open creek in Arlington
Heights and now it has been enclosed, and it starts
at Central Road and flows south in an easterly
direction to the Des Plaines River.
I would say the major portion of the Village
lies within this drainage district, whereas the other
part of the Village lies in the Feehanville drainage
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1 district.
11 There has been some work done on Weller
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1 Creek, to increase its flow characteristics and
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decrease --
Some of these things are mentioned in the
report. The Illinois Division of Waterways has
improved the creek from the Des Plaines River to
• ii School Street in Mt. Prospect, the most recent
section being improved in 1972, extending from
1 1 Mt. Prospect Road to School Street. Of course we
know the improvement that is going on right now
along Weller Creek.
The next section is going to be covered
by the Traffic Engineer for the Village, Mike
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Pekala.
MR. MIKE PEKALA: Good evening. The trans-
portation section of the report starts on Page 6
1 and basically and generally consists of a review of
the existing transportation system of the Village,
and then a list of some proposed improvements that
we feel are probable, possible, should be part of
1 this Plan.
Page 6 starts out with a review of what we
call our community and regional elements that make
I I up our transportation system of the Village.
These community and regional elements are
closely tied in with the major highways that run
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through the Village and the rail systems that we
have throughout the Village, also.
One of the first major community generators
that we talk about is the downtown area, which also
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includes the Village Hall, Fire and Police Depart-
ments, postoffice and banks. And within the downtown
i area we also have at least three major routes:
Main Street, Route 83, Central Road running east and
west, and Northwest Highway running northwest and
southeast.
Another community generator that we have
1 listed in this report are the shopping areas
s throughout the Village, Randhurst, Mt. Prospect
I
Plaza Shopping Area, Golf Road and Elmhurst, and
some new commercial areas to the south of the Village.
The remainder of the community elements
are listed as industrial, office, residential,
commercial, recreational and educational facilities,
11 which generate many of our daily local trips during
1 the average day.
1
The Village is also affected by some
major regional elements, such as O'Hare Field,
j Chicago central area and some of the major shopping
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areas like Woodfield and Golf -Mil.
Page 7 deals with the functional classi-
fication of the streets. The Village is made up
of major highways, minor arterial highways, collector
it streets and local streets.
And what we tried to do in this report is
I ! 1 list what makes up some of these major arterial,
I what makes up the minor arterial, and also giving
you a list of the different routes and how they
id serve the Village.
This all takes place through Pages 7, 8,
1 9 and into the beginning of Page 10.
We have also listed the railroads that
serve the Village. We all know the Chicago North
Western Railroad is the major commuter line, but
also services the Village with freight service, as
does the Soo Line Railroad.
We have also listed airports, O'Hare Airport
and many factors that go into how O'Hare affects
our Village.
And we talk about Palwaukee Airport on the
next page, Page 11.
The final section of the transportation
part of this report deals with the roadway improve-
!!
26.
ments, and we have listed eight improvements
under "Roadway Improvements ", and I could briefly
go over those.
Busse Road from Golf Road to Central
Road proposed for widening and also proposed for
extension beyond Central Road, possibly to North-
west Highway.
Main Street within the downtown area is
proposed for a one -way traffic flow and also in
conjunction with that opposite traffic flow on
Emerson Street.
Mt. Prospect Road, at the intersection
of Rand and Central, proposed for improvement.
Some additions to our collector street system:
Willow Lane between Linneman and Church Road and
the Village limits on the west.
Meier Road from County Line to Central
ii
Road to the north; Wheeling Road from Gregory
Street to Kensington Road; Westgate Road from
Gregory Street to Kensington Road.
Page 12: The addition of Owen Street to
13 the collector system between Northwest Highway and
h Gregory Street.
f
27.
In addition to the traffic improvements
1 we have listed some rail improvements and miscel-
laneous improvements. The rail improvements are
said to be of more advantage to reducing congestion
and improving safety on our existing road map.
Some of these improvements would be an
additional crossing at the Chicago & North Western
Railroad tracks, lowering of the Chicago, North
Western rail tracks through the center of the Village
and underpassing improvements at Euclid Road,
Kensington Road, Wolf Road at the Soo Line Railroad.
Some of the miscellaneous improvements that
are included in this Plan are additional parking and
improved parking areas for the downtown area,
establishment of a bike route, establishment of a
! 1 bus system and street lighting for some of our
streets.
That basically is the transportation plan,
and I will turn it over to Mr. Busenhart for the
P +
i
next subject.
MR. BUSENHART: I would like to call your
attention to Page 13, "Residential Land, in the
second paragraph there where we emphasize neighbor -
i hood structure. Down in the middle there we say:
28.
"These residential sections are referred to as
'neighborhoods' and are the minimum area that will
1
Cr ordinarily support the average requirements of
everyday living such as elementary schools, recrea-
tional facilities, churches, and adjacent shopping
I; areas."
Then on down, "Residential Recommendations ",
If
about the middle of the paragraph we say, "New
1
residential growth should be encouraged that will
provide taxable valuation to help support required
municipal service and facilities. This type of
' residential growth is reflected in high value, low
I f
density, single family areas and apartment areas
i
with a limited number of bedrooms."
Now, we have a letter from Barton - Aschman
Associates and they talk about the revised plan,
which you have here, the improved plan. They say,
I "The improved organization is immediately apparent ",
but they also suggest that this certain sentence I
read, "This type of residential growth is reflected
in high value, low density, single family areas
and apartment areas with a limited number of bed-
,
rooms."
29.
You might want to consider deleting
this sentence, because the overtones might increase
the vulnerability of your basic recommendations for
physical stability. So actually then before you
�I
ii adopt this you may want to consider whether you
1
want to delete that particular part.
We feel that one of the compelling reasons
for people wanting to leave Mt. Prospect is because
of the residential area. However, we do feel that
;', it can't be a single- family home area entirely.
Over on Page 14 in the first paragraph
there starting: "One or two bedroom rental apart-
ments, condominiums and townhouses will complement
the largely single - family character of Mount Prospect."
We feel that is needed. We list the reasons
below:
1. "Newly marrieds who want to remain in the
Village but cannot because of the high cost of
housing.
2. School districts which need a consistent
flow of children through all grade levels. Small
apartment units will attract new families who will
move into single - family residences as their families
grow.
30.
I am even blushing to read that one that
talks about school districts. That isn't the reason
n
it is in there, because I am with the school
district. We really felt that.
Item 3: "Senior citizens (singles and
i couples) who do not desire responsibility of home
ii
II ownership and /or physically cannot maintain single
' family homes."
I think if you people will talk with some
of the senior citizens, some of them will express
this, where the others will still say, "No, we
still want our single- family homes." But we feel
1 that is something that should be considered.
t
And the Commercial Land Principles. I
1
just want to call your attention to the five units
there, where it says: "In locating commercial areas,
the following principles were used:
"1. Commercial areas physically separated
from residential areas, but convenient
and accessible via major thoroughfares.
1 "2. Adequate facilities for off - street parking
and off - street loading.
"3. Controlled access from major thoroughfares
1�
31.
with properly designed deceleration and
acceleration lanes.
"4. Pedestrian circulation with minimum vehicular
interference.
"5. Integrated groups of stores rather than
string developments along major thorough-
,
fares."
Then we go into commercial land and we list
i4
h the existing commercial areas.
it
And the central business district, we don't
want to emphasize that too much because we know
1 there are many at work tonight downstairs on the
central business district. We do mention some
L perimeters, which you may wish to consider for such.
Again, in this area we refer to neighbor -
I
F hood shopping centers, which can go right back to
the same part, the same type development under
residential.
On Page 17 we go into industrial land. We
make some industrial recommendations which I would
11 like to refer to. Four general areas for industrial
office building development are proposed.
1. The west side of Mount Prospect between
the Chicago and Northwestern Railway and
32.
,
Central Road;
2. Northeast of Mount Prospect on the
Northern Illinois Gas Company property;
I I
3. South of Mount Prospect in the unincorporated
jl area of Cook County, north of the Northwest
Tollway, south of Algonquin Road, and west
of Elmhurst Road; and 4 on Page 18:
The open area northeast of the Village to
the Tri -State Tollway and Forest Preserve.
Some of these things g you might say are kind
i t
` of far out but we would like for you to consider that
i if the Village is going to grow and we are continually
annexing land, either because the developer wants to
build in Mount Prospect or they can see some reason
f for wanting to annex, that perhaps we should consider
going out to the Tri -State Tollway and Forest
1 1 Preserve. There could be some reasons for doing that.
Considering the Illinois Gas Company
!
property, the Plan Commission feels that basically
should be developed as industrial property.
Jim, we will let you continue.
33.
MR. GRIER: O.K. Thanks to all of you.
Our community facilities. These are the
things that we take so much for granted. I don't
think we should.
The municipal officials of Mt. Prospect are
actively concerned with the land planning aspects
of all community facilities although the actual
provisions and operation of two of the major
community facilities, schools and parks, are vested
in public bodies other than the Village Board.
J. C. mentioned he is with one of the School
Districts that serve Mt. Prospect. The Mt. Prospect
Park District is completely disassociated from this
group, this government. It serves as its own taxing
d body and stands alone.
It serves as its own taxing body and stands
alone, but what this section refers to are the things
11 our Village makes available, and we did not put
it in the back to slight it, if anything we put it
1 at the back to emphasize it. A good book always ends
with a real fast finish, and we think we got it here.
Our Fire Department has done just a myriad
d of things since 1968, and we took the time to point
34.
out that the paramedic program has been introduced.
In a typical year the Fire Department makes 2400
calls, of which 1400 are for the Paramedics. One
1 of those was me. And believe me, when you are not
j� feeling too good and you are wondering where your next
! i� breath is and they walk in the door you don't be-
grudge anything, they are the welcomest guys you
ever saw.
We are fortunate in that we have hospital
facilities around us. We mention the Northwest
Community Hospital, Alexian Brothers Medical Center
and Holy Family Hospital.
The Fire Department that is mentioned here
is tied in with direct radio communications to the
Northwest Community Hospital. They were reading my
electrocardiogram in the emergency room within two
minutes of those guys hitting the door.
The doctor said, "Give him a shot of this.
What is his blood pressure? What is his pulse rate ?'
And they were in constant communication with a doctor.
That is mighty reassuring.
O.K. Skipping over to Page 19, and not to
I slight them in the least, is our Police Department.
We have come a long way since 1968 in this area too.
35.
The police Department serviced 15,066 police -
i; related complaints in 1973 and anticipates an
ii
increase to 16,000 by the end of 1974. With the
growing increase in population, services will be
increased proportionately. They have been innovated
ii with Police Cadets; Ride Along; Operation Identifi-
cation; Tactical Enforcement; Operation Crime Watch;
ii
Officer Friendly.
1i These are not just hackneyed things. That
1 1 last one means one heck of a lot to the kids. The
I Officer Friendly goes out to that school and he
1 talks to those littile first graders, second graders.
They listen; they look at him and they pay atten-
f
E tion. He is a man of stature. And that's the way
we want to train our children. We are very proud
1 ; of our Police Department.
Under public utilities - "Public utilities
} and services (sanitary sewer, storm drainage, water
distribution systems, new streets, sidewalks, et
cetera) are normally provided in response to urban
development trends."
I think here is another area we take for
i d granted, we just assume when you buy a house it is
going to have sidewalks, it has got proper water,
36.
it has got proper drainage, it has got proper sanitary
sewer.
Not necessarily so. It takes one hell of
a lot of planning to get to that point, and for the
most part Mt. Prospect is there in real good shape,
1 I might add: through appropriate planning.
O.K. Going to Page 20, "Civic and Cultural
Center." You have got to remember, fellows, and I
won't repeat this one again: I am aware of what time
of year it is, as well as you are.
This was written well before January of
1975, and believe it and believe it very strongly,
that we should have a civic and cultural center.
"Public buildings that serve citizens of
Mount Prospect include municipal administration
6 buildings, central fire station, police station,
library and post office. These buildings and /or
functions are all located near each other in the
northeast quadrant of the Central Business District.
While located in the same general vicinity, they
have not been integrated as a designed Civic and
Cultural Center."
We have grown too fast, we have sprawled.
37.
We are fortunate that we are as concentrated as we
are. But planning can change that. I think we have
started in that direction, and correctly so.
"Parks and Schools" we designated on
maps. These are the two areas that are outside
of the purview of the Village. In its authority
they stand alone, but we do point out that again
this mutuality of purpose and cooperation have
helped.
Paragraph 2 of Parks and Schools: "Joint
park - school sites, a concept increasingly recognized
in recent years, should continue to be developed in
Mount Prospect. The park - school combines park,
school, and recreation facilities on one site as a
neighborhood educational - cultural - social center."
I think we make good use of that most of the
time, urging that it could be updated.
The Summary of Community Facilities is:
"Community facilities that are properly placed and
developed are adjuncts to a better community.
Although the various facilities needed by Mount
;Prospect will require a sizable outlay of public
funds, the outlay will add to the attractiveness
6j
i
61
38.
and livability of the Village, while encouraging
;I, private investments in the community."
Think on that one. It is a cut down state-
d ment but it is strong, it says it as it is.
O.K. We have intentionally gone through the
j text of this without going to the maps. We are going
ii
to go through the appendix quickly and then come back
11 and take each map individually, discuss it. Then
we are going to open it up for questions.
I thank you for bearing with us.so far.
Into the appendix section. We point out
here the growth of the Village. If_ you really look
at the percentages I think you realize how staggering
our growth has been, decade by decade. Just from
the fifties to the sixties the growth was immense.
When we moved out here in 1961 where we
lived was -- we could see Dempster Street from north
of Golf Road; we could see the traffic on Dempster
1 Street without anything in between, see the cars
going up and down. Now you try and look from just
,! I this side of Golf Road, see Dempster Street, you
better be away up in an airplane or you ain't going
1 to see it.
39.
how we have grown.
es show ho e a
The ercenta o g
it percentages
j Growth is not bad but it has to be planned for, and
I that is, again, what this report is all about. We
forecast a population in Mt. Prospect by 1980 of,
roughly, 52 to 66,000.
There was a growth rate of about 4.8
per cent between 1965 and 1973. The growth rate
to 1980 may be slightly over 5 per cent, but if we
project it to 5 per cent we would come out with
somewhere around 66,000 people.
"Schools Serving Mount Prospect:
"The residents of the Village are served
1 by fourteen elementary schools, four junior high
schools and four senior high schools. Nine of the
fourteen elementary schools have 100 per cent of
enrollments consisting of Village pupils. The
remaining elementary and other schools have only
partial enrollments from the Village." And mutual
cooperation with our neighbors.
"While the Plan does not recommend location
of a community college in the Village, it does
acknowledge the importance of public two -year
a I community colleges. Harper College in Palatine
�
40.
draws many students from Mount Prospect high schools
each year. A second campus is under consideration.'
There certainly is no question about that.
And IV, "Mount Prospect Public Libarary."
I will duck that one. It says what it has to say,
I think it is very clear -cut.
Our "Inventory of Public Schools Serving
Mount Prospect 1974", excluding senior high schools.
Now, we know there are some errors in this, because
the school districts have made changes.
That is a nice thing about this type of a
Plan, with this kind of a cover. A sheet like this
you can correct, insert the corrected sheet in there,
and your Plan is all up to date again.
We know there are errors in here. We are
not too excited about them, we hope you are not. Kids
come and go, it seems. I think it is interesting
to point out that there are four School Districts
that service Mt. Prospect.
We tend to think of just District 57 -- I
know J.C. does, but there are three others, and they
do a good job, Districts 21, 26 and 59. Again,
1 mutual cooperation.
41.
The public parks serving the Village of
'! Mount Prospect., We have a map that takes care of
that, we will get to it, but I think these acreage
things are important for you to look at and whether
!' or not they are school shared.
l a Again, we tend to overlook it. Anybody
II who has had anything to do with Little League base -
ball knows that an awful lot of baseball is played
i II, throughout the summer on school sites that are shared
!!by the Park District.
ii
The kids don't care whether they are play-
ing on school property or Park District property,
they are out there to play ball, and that's the name
H of the game.
i1
O.K. Building Construction 1968 - 1973 -
ii again an indication of our growth. I don't think
;that the number of permits issued is really the thing
to zero in on, it is the dollar value.
During the period of the sixties -- and
we point this out in the text -- an awful lot of
3and 4 bedroom homes were built in Mt. Prospect, and
!these were expensive homes. They have added a
H
!fantastic tax base to our community, but they have
42.
also added a lot of bedrooms.
it
Nice big homes are pretty to look at, but
1,1 they bring with the problems. And this is all
it
part of the general area of planning. We don't
M want just a ll one type of person, we don't want all
one type of family, we don't want just one type of
anything. We want a well- rounded stable community.
ff� Going on to VIII, "Re -Sale Value of
1
Residential Property, 1969 to 1973." Now, Boy,
I when you start dealing with this you are open for
all sorts of pot shots.
No. 1. If you have been looking on a map
or for a map that has the map locations, you are
not going to find them. That map location, column
1 A through L, should be deleted and behind it should
be put a description of the areas that we are talking
1 about.
This comes from a source, Armen and Busse
1 Realtors, Mt. Prospect. We don't work for them,
either, but they do do an annual updating of their
report, and it is interesting to note that the
values have been going up. This is indicative of
a good community, in every area.
43.
And, finally, in our appendix are ten
largest taxpayers in Mt. Prospect. Of course our
No. 1 is Randhurst, Multigraphics. Then we get,
ii interestingly enough. to some land trusts or apart-
!!
ment complexes.
But out of these ten largest, four are
apartment areas. And to us on the Planning Com-
i
1 mission this was a startling fact. These figures
came out of the budding bond issue that was passed
1 five years ago. Spear and Associates collected the
data, so we rely on its reliability.
But your home owners are not the only ones
who pay taxes in Mt. Prospect, industry pays it,
! the retail and commercial element pays it, the
apartments pay it. You are not carrying the apart-
1 ments; if anything it is the other way around.
1
So be it for the text of the Plan. Now
1
we will start with Page 7 -M, and that is our first
map, "The Functional Highway Classification System."
I am going to turn that back to our traffic
1 expert, Mike Pekala.
7 + f .i
i
1
44.
MR. PEKALA: You are all looking at our map
7 -M now. The first thing we try to do with this map
1' is lay out the existing road map for the Village.
ii We start with our expressway systems. We don't
{
( really have any within the Village boundaries but
1 we do list Northwest Tollway to the south of the
1 Village, the Tri -State Toliway to the east of the
Village, and Palatine Road, which is what we call a
} baby expressway at this point.
Our major arterials, shown in heavy dotted
lines; also looking at the report briefly, east
S and west routes, Golf Road, Central Road, Euclid
Avenue.
North -south routes: Des Plaines River Road,
1 Elmhurst Road and Main Street.
Then we have the Northwest Highway and Rand
1 Road in a northwest - southeast direction.
1 Our secondary arterials are shown in thinner
I, I dotted lines, and we have several of those now:
Busse Road in a north -south route, Wolf Road in
1 north - south, Mt. Prospect Road.
And in an east -west direction Camp McDonald
Road, Kensington Road and Dempster Street.
45.
Then we show our collector street system
in a solid thin line. Those are all over the Village.
We show railroads, a typical crosshatched
line, and get into the proposed additions and
proposed one -way street system for the Village.
And the proposed roadway improvements. We
1 1 don't show all of them that are listed on Page
11 and Page 12, but we do show No. 1, which is the
! extension of Busse Road from Central Road to North-
1 west Highway. That is a dotted line.
We show, No. 2, which is the one -way fare
for downtown.
Main Street and Emmerson between Lincoln
and Central Road.
We show the addition of our collector
streets, Willow Lane south of the Village, Owen
Street in the central area of the town, Westgate
Road and Wheeling Road, and the remainder of the
proposed improvements are not shown on the map but
can be readily located from the description in the
text.
MR. BUSENHART: I would like for you to turn
to Page 13 M -1. That is the map on neighborhood
46.
structure. As you look at this you can see that we
have delineated certain areas of the Village which
kind of fall into natural neighborhoods.
Within each one of these neighborhoods
we would anticipate that there could be some sort of
a store with small day by day essentials, a loaf of
bread, a half gallon of milk, things like that,
without having to go to the super market.
By the same token we also hope there would
' be some sort of recreation facility within that area.
Now, that does not mean it has to be a swimming pool
but some sort of neighborhood park.
d If we go to Page 13 M -2 we see the
,
1
II residential structure of the entire Village. We
indicated before that Mt. Prospect is basically a
h single- family residential area, and that is indicated
ji
ii by the yellow coloring here.
r
We have some multifamily, which is the
li
I 1 orange or the tan or brown, whichever color you look
i
I at, I guess. And where the green dots appear on
1
I that, that happens to be what we would normally
it refer to as a PUD development. That is multi use,
j the specifics being spelled out by the Village
1 4
1
47.
ordinance. Some of this, there could be some
residential mixed with, that is, residential apart-
ments or it could be town homes mixed with some
small business areas.
MR. CRIER: O.K. If you will kindly turn to
15 -M -- I just got to say, aren't these maps
beautiful? Boy, when you can isolate with such
clarity and accuracy just what you want to look
at, here it is, staring you in the face.
Mr. Leonard is here. Dean, would you stand
ii up? I think we all owe him a round of applause.
it
it (Applause)
You are paying him but he has been awful
ii
I II good to us.
si I think one point that we want to stress on
this map, up in the north and in the center we have
our biggie, our big baby Randhurst. And then a
little bit to the right we have Mt. Prospect Plaza.
And then as we come down you can't help
1 but see Northwest Highway. And Northwest Highway
'! hits you as a string.
We have recommended in the Plan, and we
realize what we are doing, we see this as very bad
zoning. We see the phasing out, I don't mean
48.
tomorrow or next day or through attrition, or the
commercial areas that are there, with the idea in
mind that they would be much better served, the
community would be much better served if they were
consolidated into an area along with other stores.
!I Strung out as they are along Northwest Highway, they
present a traffic problem, they generally present a
parking problem, they don't make shopping a con -
I'
venient thing, they make it a one shot deal, which
furthers our transportation and our traffic problem.
ii We would like to see that area gradually
I
1 turned into office building or even multifamily,
_ with adequate parking.
Down in the south I think we have got some
well planned areas that serve the community. We
I have ducked on the map pretty much the central
Fj business district. Again there is a separate
I committee that is working on that, they are charged
with the responsibility, we did not dwell on it.
We are not going to dwell on it tonight, it has
literally been taken away from us, and that is fine.
+ .P We consider it important enough that it should be
served by a commission of its own.
If you would turn to 17 -M, the industrial
49.
facilities, and if you look up at the top, again
we have our biggie. That is the Northern Illinois
Gas property.
Now, that has zoning in the County for
l i
heavy industry; it is our hope when we mention
that it be an industrial use that it be in a well
planned industrial park with a very low profile,
primarily in the scientific testing area, the
4 research oriented business, the nonodiferous heavy
1 industry we don't want any part of.
to I think we have to face realistically,
though, if you talk with the people from Illinois
Gas they will tell you that is the largest storage
1 grounds for ingredients -- I don't know the exact
name of it but it is used in the manufacture of
propane gas. And realistically I don't see that they
are going to unload that certainly by 1980. And
I again, we may have bought this by then.
Who knows, they may come to us tomorrow
1 and say, "What do you want to do about it ?"
We would say, "We want to make an industrial
park out of it."
With,again, those who attended Mr. Murphy's
public hearing -- he was a consultant. This started
50.
it
with a low profile and as it got into the core of
the industrial park you got into your heavier, if
I
1 we are going to have heavy, but that is where it
I would be, well hidden from the outside.
We have got our golden triangle here along
the tracks and Central Road. That is pretty well
developed. There is still some that could go in
there.
Which then brings us to the southern
portion. We just as a Planning Commission can't
I see putting single - family homes with swimming pools,
11 et cetera, along an expressway, with people throwing
their garbage out think what they are going to do to
fE
I a guy's house. They are going to take pot shots
at it every day.
The noise factor alone deters that, the land
cost is a factor. Everybody seems to forget that
if
sU land costs money, and when it has got an industrial
qq i aroma to it the price skyrockets.
31
+! This is natural industrial land, and it
11 should be that. Why try and make something out which
you can't. And this Plan deals with land, primarily.
SI
I will now pass it on to Natalie.
1
51.
MISS NATALIE KARNEY: O.K. The next map you
11 have in your book is 18 -M, and this is called
E; "Public Facilities ", and it is a little hard to
1
read, but the major facilities, the Village Hall,
1 1 post office, library and the Public Works buildings,
they are shown in a pink area and we have letters
' by those buildings.
The fire stations are indicated. We have
l one on the north side of town, one in the central
part of town, and the one at Golf and Busse Road,
1
Fire Station 2.
The little pink triangles indicate the
P
Village owned wells, 1 through 17.
1 The next map in your book is 19. Go to
1 19 -1 first, and this shows the water system of the
9 Village. Now, this map, 19 -1, 2 and 3, do not
show all the lines or all the utilities within the
I Village, they just show the major lines in the
1 Village.
I The water lines are shown from 10 inch up
to the largest size that we have. I think you can
p d
see where the lines terminate it is just a distribu-
tion system that can either be 6 inch or an 8 inch
I line.
52.
Water lines. There are a few that are
i
owned by others and they are indicated on the map.
One is in the northeast section of town, and there
1 is one along Dempster Street, in the south part of
j..
III town.
Map N -2 deals with the main sanitary system
! distribution system of the Village. And again,
1 1 these are the main lines and do not include the
d lateral lines along the streets.
j The MSD interceptors are indicated in
1
1
larger dashed red lines. You have got quite a few
going through town. We have one coming from the
11 west, which serves areas from as far west, I believe,
1 , as Schaumburg and eventually those areas will be
1
cut off by a treatment plant out there, so that line
will not be in use, it is now.
Combined relief sewers are shown in a solid
thick line. Again, these sewers are a sewer that
serves both as drainage for street water and also
1
for your sanitary sewage.
ii Your separate sanitary lines are shown in
1 a thinner solid line. Your lift stations are shown
h with a circle, and most of those are located along
C4
53.
the MSD interceptor, along by the creek.
And again we show the sanitary lines that
,a are owned by others with a dashed line. Again,
they are in the northeast section of town.
The third map on utilities shows the main
Ii
i1 storm sewer system. The blue area doesn't indicate
i the width of the streams but indicates what we
1 1 1 would consider open space or land, if it is not
developed right now it should be kept open for flood
management purposes.
The retention basins or detention basins
in the Village are numbered, we have 12 of them, 1
through 12. I think you can locate those on the map.
Again the rivers and creeks, with the
recommended green belt areas. These are along
1 i
; Weller Creek, McDonald Creek, Higgins Creek,
Feehanville Ditch and the Des Plaines River.
The main storm sewer system is also shown
on this map, we show from 10 inch to a 72 inch
1 storm sewer. We also show the combined sewers on
11 map, some of them that are related to the storm
j sewer system.
Jj And the overflows from the interceptor
into the creek, as shown with the red circles. And
54.
these are along Weller Creek, we don't have any
along the other creeks at this time.
MR. BUSENHART: Let us turn to Page 20. That
is the map showing the school and recreational
facilities. On this map we have attempted to show
!and I think we have everything listed here that
belongs to either the Park District or one of the
School Districts.
And we indicate those that are owned
jointly, and I can refer to one area here that has
a I and 9 on it.
The K -- look under the parks, Mt. Prospect
Park District. The K reads "Fairview." I also
p, know that is where the Fairview School is. A lot
11; of people drive by there and they think the School
District owns the entire area, but actually the
IN
I
Park District owns part of it.
1111
I think this is one of the maps that kind
1 of stands out in my mind, because I feel that we
H
M need more open space. Whether the School District
has or not really doesn't make that much difference
1 1 1 1 to me, but I feel that we do need park play areas
111 throughout the Village.
Ij
I ,
I
�i 9
55.
I would like to take this moment here
i
i t before I turn it back over to Jim to compliment Jim
11 on the amount of time and effort and work that he
II has done. If Jim had a full -time job working for
his livelihood this book wouldn't be ready for
another six months, I would say. I know that in the
last two weeks it seems like he has been working
eight and ten hours a day, trying to get it all
together for this presentation tonight.
1 Jim, we do appreciate it. (Applause)
! MAYOR TEICHERT: It is not that Jim is un-
1 employed by design. He makes it sound like you are
out of work, Jim.
MR. BUSENHART: I didn't mean that.
i
1
MR. GRIER: I think the Plan is more important
11 than my health, so we will go ahead.
Now we come to one more within the book,
1 and then the biggie. Is it relevant, is it
important to have a church and cemetery map separate
1 in the Comprehensive Plan?
We thought so. Our reasoning, I think, is
self- evident, it's apparent. Again, I think it
points out what we own now are the base maps that
1
�1
56.
make this sort of thing just a cinch. We can knock
i i one of these off in no time at all.
Again, we paid Mr. Leonard a good dollar
for them but it is an investment that will go on and
f i on into the future. No more of these hand -drawn
or Zippatone jobs -- that look like Zippatone jobs
when you get done with them. You can't reproduce
them very well, because the Zippatone is either
peeling off or fallen off. This is printed material
and we think it is good.
With that we go to what this thing is
really all about, and that is the Comprehensive Plan.
Now, believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, through
1 the magic of Mr. Leonard's press we have taken ever
map in the internal section here and you notice it
just drops right in its place, right next to each
1
other beautifully in their proper position, with the
j exception of four maps that we didn't feel necessarily
should go in the Comprehensive Plan, they should be
p in the report but not in this comprehensive map,
and those were maps 19M -1, 2 and 3 and churches and
cemeteries, although I think -- yes, most of them
do show up.
57.
So other than the sewer flood control
maps, which really have to be treated separately --
if we started to put those on top of this we would
have one mell of a hess, you couldn't read it. This
gives you the total picture, it summarizes everything
, that is in the report.
We know there are a few minor mistakes on
it. Again, the beauty is we have 900 of these,
out of 1000 we ordered, waiting in the press room
for the additions and corrections. They have not
been folded, they can be put back on the press and
the corrections made.
Is 1 refer specifically to certain street
extensions that weren't picked up on this map. Here
is where the Engineering Department, the Public
1 Works Department and Mr. Leonard have worked in
triangle and just done -- I'll say it: you can go
to any suburb in the Chicago area and you won't find
a map this good. And we are that proud of it to
say it.
And with that we are going to sit down.
We have got a portable answering device here. I
think, Mr, Mayor and Board of Trustees, if it doesn't
j 9
�3
58.
!', whistle or hum too much it will alleviate us from
is
having to get up to the rostrum for every question,
we can handle it from being seated.
Again, for you folks back there, excuse our
1
I backs.
1 MAYOR TEICHERT: It really isn't a portable
answering device, it is a portable microphone.
MR. GRIEG: Your point is will taken. We have
i
1
"1 -a man bringinq'you'some maps.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Just start speaking. Again,
I hope everyone understands this, it is a matter of
inquiry and investigation and exploration, rather
1 than trying to debate a point, whether that is
going to be the final thing. I think everyone
appreciates that.
Mr. Anderson?
t 9 MR. ANDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I wish
to compliment the Committee super job on presenting
the program tonight, as well as the comprehensive
report.
Within the State statutes of the State of
Illinois municipalities have the authority to
control the zoning within one and one -half mile of
59.
the community.
I just looked at this tonight and perhaps
the question can be responded to quickly. Just
judging from, as I see certain major streets, and
generally they are set roughly a mile apart, have
you taken or given consideration to recommendations
I
I of all unincorporated properties lying within a
one and one -half mile perimeter around the present
corporate limits?
MR. GRIER: Can you hear this?
1 O.K. We have tried to, George, certainly
on the left side of the Comprehensive Plan we have,
I because there Arlington closes in on us.
The same is true down in the lower right
and at the southern end.
When you get up to the north, north of New
1 Town, Wheeling is just doing so many things there
1 is no way we could keep on top of it, but we tried
in the text material to make our wishes known. But
to try and keep up with it on a map for a presenta-
tion, we just couldn't keep up with those guys.
1
MR. ANDERSON: I have a question. The first
1
Page 9, Mr. Pekala made some comments.
1
60.
The collector streets have the function
of bringing traffic from residential and other local
I streets to arterials. Characteristics of these
roadways are right -of -ways a minimum of 66 feet.
Now the important question: Roadway
widths of 36 to 40 feet, with parking allowed. Now,
d this seems to be somewhat of a problem, that many
11 of our collector streets, so designated and approved
4ti
f
by this Board are existing. Some are probably 30
s'
or 32 feet in width.
What is actually being said here, are we
to consider at some point that these streets will
be taken apart, widened out to give us a cross-
section
of 36 to 40 feet and allow parking on these
streets? There seems to be some question there.
MR. CRIER: I think what we tried to do here
i s is lay out some standards for our streets and
try to be consistent within the Village with the
1 way we went ahead, wanting to have, probably, future
I
streets in the Village laid out.
Answering the part of the question as to
1 how we would handle our existing streets, I would be
hard pressed to say whether or not we could go in
61.
1 on some of ours and increase them to that width
and also allow parking. I imagine what you are
asking is if we would allow it at night somewhere.
I guess on a lot of our streets we allow
1 parking now. At the moment we don't have that
kind of demand, but it is always there.
MR. ANDERSON: It seems we are building roadway
parking lots, when we are allowing parking on the
roadway itself. I wouldn't think we would want to
be in that particular type of business, to provide
parking on the street itself. I think we want to be
addressing ourselves to off- street parking, more than
on- street, particularly in the collector street
system, where the local streets feed into the
collectors, which feed into the majors.
I think we would want to discourage parking
++ on these streets, rather than permit it. I would
i�
request some consideration to that, over the period
of time that the Plan will be studied.
Following that to Page 10, we address our-
s
selves to the local streets, and I agree with the
reasonable pavement width of between 26 and 32.
But here we take the reverse attitude on no parking
62.
I permitted on any of the local streets. Does this
I
I I! mean this would be a restriction on a 24 hour basis
that you are recommending that no parking be allowed
I
11 on any of the residential streets that are local in
II The first paragraph.
I�
1 MR. GRIER: In the paragraph and the sentence
11
i
S that you are referring to, in effect we are stating
II
p we would not prohibit parking, which means that we
would allow parking on our local streets.
VOICE: That is a double negative there.
MR. ANDERSON: O.K. I agree on those two
I additional streets to be added to the collector
I system.
x Turning to Page 12, rail improvements, I
think the points are extremely desirable. Again,
i
it you know, I question where the millions of dollars
I would come from, as the Mayor indicated earlier,
1
:
for the depressing of the tracks. I know that
nearby communities have tried and the railroads say,
"If you want to do it, you pick up the tab."
I think it is great to have these things
1 in there, they are objective. I don't look at them
01 as being reasonably obtainable within our economic
II
1
63.
jl
structure, as I see it.
Dropping down the same Page 12 into
miscellaneous improvements, the parking facilities,
are you suggesting that lands be acquired and
perhaps a parking type garage be erected where
certain revenues can be obtained to offset that
1
cost and to acquire the land for that purpose?
MR. GRIER: I think this is one of the things we
I would want to consider on this item. It would,
naturally, have to be considered with the downtown
{
commission also, which will work closely with us.
MR. ANDERSON: O.K. Item No. 4, "Street
lighting for our arterial, dollector, and local
street systems to decrease accidents and crime and
improve safety through the Village."
iR
As I recall and understand, we do have
street lighting now, we have an on- corner basis for
all our streets. Is this something over and above
what we have now, presently?
MR. GRIER: The idea here would be to provide
street lighting at mid -block locations.
MR. ANDERSON: This one is mid -block type
I lighting. Do you envision, for example, you address
8
64.
1 yourself to arterial streets, which are basically
1 the highways. Do you think this can be accomplished
1 within our budget, or are you suggesting perhaps
special assessments or other types of funding be
made available for this purpose?
MR. GRIER: That is something I don't think I
can answer, at this point.
MR. ANDERSON: Mr. Grier, you indicated the
I undesirability of some of the commercial string
{ type businesses along Northwest Highway.
Is there a particular method that you would
suggest be employed to remove the present usages?
•
Are you suggesting perhaps a nonconforming type use
be set in to obsolete, so to speak, the present
commercial stripping?
MR. GRIER: Yes, certainly through zoning would
I be one way to do it and then just let attrition take
care of it. It would gradually fade itself out.
We are not advocating putting any business
j out of business, nor are we advocating that we have
the authority to pick up a business and move it
somewhere else against his wishes.
We just don't think that it belongs strung
65.
out along a State highway. And it is better served,
ii
either jointly, if they can get together, if the
I Chamber of Commerce can do this, if the shop owners
If themselves could get together and see themselves
standing in a grouping, they would all be better off
it
1 for it, the economists tell us, and that is our
thinking.
li MR. ANDERSON: I think that is an extremely
good point, to have that commercial under control.
Mr. Mayor, that concludes my questions right
' 11 now.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Mr. Gustus?
MR. GUSTUS: A good many of my questions have
been asked by Mr. Anderson already. On Page 12 I
have a couple he didn't get at.
I think I should emphasize right now my
wholehearted agreement on this improvement of the
parking situation. We should get on that as soon as
we can, and the bike path.
As far as 3 is concerned, it intimates
4 that perhaps we would establish some kind of a
bus system of our own, perhaps, and I am suggesting
that since the RTA became a fact that we would
66.
it
probably from time to time try to cooperate with
them a little more and not try to establish our own
bus system right away.
I am guessing that that is what is in
the back of the minds of the planners.
Well, now, we have no street lighting that
1 we own. Am I correct in that, Mr. Manager? Do
1
i we own any of our own street lighting?
MR. EPPLEY: Yes. I am trying to think. No,
11 i don't believe we do.
11 MR. GUSTUS: It is all owned by - -?
I
MR. EPPLEY: Commonwealth Edison, it is rented
h from Commonwealth Edison.
�
! MR. GUSTUS: Rented from them. So Item 4, near
the bottom of Page 12, struck me right away, as to
1 how we would implement or improve the lighting.
1 I assume Commonwealth Edison would give us
1 as much as we want, as long as we are willing to
pay the rent and the light bill.
1 MAYOR TEICHERT: I don't mean to press it but
the Trustees --
MR. GUSTUS: Mr. Anderson asked most of my
questions. Those were some I had in addition to
S that. I think that is really all I have.
67.
MAYOR TEICHERT: All right, Mr. Scholten?
MR. SCHOLTEN: Looking at Page 12, "Rail
Improvements: An additional crossing over the
Chicago and Northwestern Railroad tracks in the
vicinity of Owen Street."
Has any consideration been given to which
particular street, in regard to the elevation of the
grade crossing?
MR. GRIER: I am not sure I understand what you
mean.
MR. SCHOLTEN: You are saying in the vicinity
of Owen Street. Do you mean at Owen Street?
MR. GRIER: I think what we are trying to get
with this item is an additional crossing at -- I
ij mentioned Owen Street, based on a review of the
area that I had made, which seemed to be a feasible
place, and also gave us the added crossing area
that is not only away from the downtown area but
away from the train station, and would give us
additional benefits of fire and police protection
to that area south of the tracks.
The other consideration for Owen Street was
linked with this addition of Owen Street to the
68.
1
I collector system and a possible jog along Prospect
to link up with William Street, which is an exist-
ing collector street south of the tracks.
MR. SCHOLTEN: Does Owen have the best grade
crossing?
MR. GRIER: I think the answer to that is I
don't think there are any of the streets in that
area that have a good grade crossing possibility at
this point. The tracks are very high in that area
! and it would take a lot of good design, a lot of
j planning, before we could really get into which
street would be better in that area.
MR. SCHOLTEN: Would your recommendation be go
1
over or under?
MR. GRIER: I think probably off the top of my
%! head I would probably say over, from some of the
{ problems that we might have with an underpass. The
it
I! tracks are right in the middle, and one way or
another the underpass, I think, would give us more
problems.
MR. SCHOLTEN: The other question is Page 18,
right at the top of the page, "The open area north-
east of the Village to the Tri -State Tollway and
69.
ii
li
Ij
Forest Preserve."
How far is the feeling of the Committee
that the annexation should be placed?
MR. GRIER: O.K., a few things here, Ken. You
have to go to the Comprehensive Plan. It gives you
better perspective.
At the intersection of the Tri -State and
Palatine Road south we have -- there has been built,
and north of that intersection, on the west side of
1 the Tri -State Tollway there have been built some
it
rather large industrial plants. Culligan is one;
the other names escape me, but if you look at the
corner of our village limit and you jump across the
Forest Preserve, and then you relate that distance
down to your scale on the map, we are easily within
a mile and a half. We were thinking towards picking
them up as an industrial base, tax base, et cetera.
They certainly would have something to say
about that.
Again, this is a plan, this is something
for people to hink on. It is not a blueprint of
{ what we are recommending be done in the year 1975.
It goes to 1980, and by 1980 you will have a whole
new set of things to think about. I am not ducking
70.
1 the question.
MR. SCHOLTEN: I agree with your proposal. I
feel if we could annex those, the industry in there
i now would add tremendously to the tax base, but the
possibility of annexing the Forest Preserve itself --
MR. GRIER: According to Mr. Murphy, who
addressed us before and he is now the planner of
Will County, he does not see this as a problem,
really, legally or realistically. It would be a
first, but we are in an innovative community.
MR. SCHOLTEN: O.K. On Page 20 you mention
a civic and cultural center. Was any thought given
to the possibility of the use of the library, while
being used for senior citizens, as has been proposed
1! by members of this Board? To also be expanded for
use of the community itself, as a civic and
a � cultural center?
MR. GRIER: To zero in on that one again, much
of this text was written well in advance of what
1 has come to pass since it was written. We have not
11 tried to be a newspaper and keep up with all the
suggestions and the changes. We had to put a
stopping point somewhere. We stopped it.
71.
it
4
i
1 1 When you have had 99 drafts you don't
I want the 100th, so we just stopped. Much of the
information you are talking about has come out since
then.
MR. SCHOLTEN: In the appendix on No. III I
believe the number of elementary schools should be
1
i! fifteen. And on V 6 to 8 should be kindegarten
h through 5th.
11 Also a question for the Mayor, I suppose:
9 On Clearwater Park 26 acres, does that include the
portion
that the Village owns?
I MAYOR TEICHERT: Yes, that would include the
5 acres. It would probably be 7 acres, owned by
the Village.
MR. SCHOLTEN: That would be joint ownership.
MAYOR TEICHERT: I am hard pressed to remember
the precise numbers but I think the Park District
I bought 17 acres and we owned 2 already and we bought
5. It totaled up to about 24 acres there. I am
I not sure, I don't think we want to be held to the
precise acres, but it is joint ownership, joint
in divided parcels, however.
There is specifically 5 acres on Golf Road
and a specific 2 acres underneath all that water,
I
72.
iI
dead center, and the rest would belong to the Park.
MR. SCHOLTEN: O.K. I have one more question
I saved for the last.
On Page 11, the second proposal regarding
Route 83 between Central Road and Lincoln Street
is proposed to be converted to one -way operation
1 southbound while Emerson Street, one block to the
1 east, is proposed for upgrading to a major arterial
i
1 status and converted to one -way operation north -
i bound.
I would like to know your feelings on this.
MR. GRIER: Basically this was a far- fetched
plan. It was planned -- it is a little different
from what we have out there today.
The idea here is as the downtown area
develops and as the traffic in the downtown area
1 increases there ray be a time when we will require
additional capacity on our roadways.
#, Since our roadways are operating now without
parking they would be, in a sense, to their point
11 of full capacity as they stand now.
The addition of a one -way pair would, I
won't say double our capacity but might have the
73.
general idea of doubling our capacity. We do think
from the turning movements through the downtown area
it would have the overall effect of reducing con-
gestion in the area.
MR. SCHOLTEN: So it is your opinion it is not
needed at this date but by 1980 it could be?
MR. GRIER: I haven't studied it enough to
know that it would even be needed at that point.
It is an idea now that would have to be studied
somewhat over the years, to see just how the Village
is developing and how traffic volumes are increasing.
I would want to think that would be one of our
options, to help reduce congestion in the area.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Mr. Custus?
MR. GUSTUS: I might say one more thing on that
subject.
At one time the Safety Commission looked
1 into the possibility of this and they did not get
an opportunity to make a complete study, but we were
very aware at that time that there was a potential
safety hazard around the depot, and changing to one -
way streets like this could conceivably be a
solution to that problem, as well as uncorking the
74.
l
bottleneck at Main Street and Northwest Highway,
1 because we were producing dense traffic there during
certain rush periods.
So while we are talking about street
capacity as one measure of that, we are certainly
it going to have to look at the safety aspect and the
volume aspect around that intersection, and study
1 11, the accident reports around the depot. And I assume
h that you will be doing that.
i1 MR. GRIER: Yes.
jl MR. GUSTUS: Thank you.
R
11 MAYOR TEICHERT: Do you want to discuss anything
further, Mr. Anderson?
1
MR. ANDERSON: If I may.
' As long as we are right on this point, Item
1 No. 1 indicates that there is a strong possibility
that Busse Road could be improved between Golf and
Central. It has been spoken before by others and
11 I think I have also made the statement that it
would be a natural to improve Busse Road and to just
reroute 83 so it extends northerly, rather than it
jockeys over to Main Street.
This would take some improverent on Busse,
1 we recognize that, but over a period of years with
75.
ii
1 a new identification as a routing I could see along
j5 or 10 years from now a lot of that traffic that
is not from Mt. Prospect taking the main route,
rather than the shortcut through.
I think if this were implemented or the
State and County were encouraged to improve Busse
1 Road, we could well accomplish relief in this central
area, to some degree. And I would like to see that
pursued further with the County, on Busse Road.
Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Mrs. Caylor?
MRS. CAYLOR: Well, I am a little hard pressed
{
11 to make many comments, because I had the privilege
of working on the Comprehensive Plan with all of
these people, and I think it is a very good one.
I think some of the points that are being
made here this evening probably refer to a long range
plan that is longer than 1980. Certainly I would
{ agree with George on the basis of the possibility
of rerouting 83 along Busse, which would, of course,
take State and County funds and would present these
usually lengthy problems that we have to cope with,
11 in order to get these issues resolved.
76.
II w
Your comment earlier, George, about our
concern about unincorporated areas, and I believe
that the Plan does mention something about the Forest
Preserve over to the Toliway, and also Palwaukee
Airport, I think, is referred to in the Plan.
This, again, would be something that would
be, I am sure, beyond 1980, but I think that it is
E i not outside the realm of possibilities and something
I that we ought to shoot for.
It is my understanding, referring to your
comments, that Wheeling has already annexed a
portion of the Forest Preserve, so it is possible
that this can be done.
I would like to point out, too, that the
area of unincorporated property that is available
1 to us becomes smaller and smaller as we go on. We
I have Prospect Heights and Wheeling to the north of
us, and we have Des Plaines to the south of us,
I and Arlington Heights on the west and north.
It might be interesting to comment, and it
is something that is not in the Plan, but in my
work with the Chamber of Commerce it is my under- -
I standing that the area between the boundary, the
northern boundary of Mt. Prospect, which is Willow
77.
Road and Palwaukee Airport, contains a number of
1 apartment dwellings and also quite a large shopping
center, I suppose you would call it, just to the
north, that is just between the apartments and Pal-
waukee.
I am advised that the Chamber of Commerce
has already contacted many of these people, and they
are pleading --- they not only have joined the Mt.-
Prospect Chamber of Commerce but are pleading with
us to try to make some efforts toward annexation up
in that area, which I thought was rather interesting
to know. Of course we can't take the apartments
1 before we get to the Palwaukee Airport, which I
think would be a boon to us, if it were possible.
I thought that the Committee had covered
the area quite well, and certainly a great many of
these could at least be put into motion toward being
resolved.
As far as the downtown area is concerned,
I know that the Chamber and business men in the area
are concerned about what we are going to do in the
downtown area. .tnd while we have referred to it
II to some degree in the Comprehensive Plan, certainly
1 we must wait until the downtown Redevelopment
78.
I Commission reports. Then I think there is going to
i
have to be some concern and some input given to us
from the business people within the area before we
finally decide that we are going to make one -way
streets and that we are going to make changes which
I will adequately revitalize the area. I an quite
sure that with such input we can accomplish great
1 things down here. But without their ideas I don't
think that we can move as rapidly as we might like
I to.
1 I like the Plan, but of course I am biased.
a
1 MAYOR TEICHERT: Mr. Hendricks?
MR. HENDRICKS: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
First of all, I concur with the earlier
1 11 comments, Mr. Grier's Committee is to be complimented
on their work and also complimented on their pre-
sentation this evening. It was very interesting.
i/ If you will please turn to Page 17,
referring to the industrial land. At the bottom of
the paragraph you refer to the industrial recom-
I mendations, and alluding to No. 2: "Northeast of
k
Mount Prospect on the Northern Illinois Gas Company
t
,� property."
S
i
79.
11
Also turn to Page 18, the second paragraph
i begins: "The Plan proposes the annexation of the
Northern Illinois Gas Company p roperty and the
industrial land south to the Toliway."
I would just like to address myself to
E the Northern Illinois Gas Company property. If you
will also be so kind as to turn to the map 17-M,
which shows the industrial facilities, of course
the large area at the top center of the map,
"Northern Illinois Gas Company property ", you will
notice that you have on the eastern side and on the
western side a heavier bluish color. That would
be the present zoning in the Village of Mt. Prospect,
which would be I -1, Light Industrial.
The lighter portion of course is the
remainder of the Gas Company property. And Mr.
Grier, correct me if I am wrong, but did you state
this evening that the Gas Company property under
County zoning is for heavy industrial zone?
MR. GRIER: Dick, I may have been wrong on the
heavy part of it, but it is zoned very definitely
industrial. How heavy it gets under the new zoning
yl
of Cook County, I am not prepared to answer.
80.
Y
to MR. FiENDRICr:S : I beg t differ with that state-
d
ment. To the best of my knowledge, and it hasn't
changed for five years, that is that the Gas Company
I property, majority of the 300 acres, which is shown
here in light blue, would be zoned R -4, single-
.!
family, in the County.
Now, unless you -- I dorit mean to debate
the issue but I think, just for the record, I have
requested all sorts of let's say letters from the
County regarding, of course, the area which I am
very close to, the Gas Company property, for the
last five years.
I have never received a letter from the
1 County zoning Board, let us say for a petition to
rezone any property in that area. So I would assume
correctly that the property is still zoned R-4,
1 single-family in the County.
There is, of course, a pre - annexation agree-
ment with the Village of Mt. Prospect, should the
Gas Company decide to vacate the property, and this
agreement was signed in 1970 by the previous Board
of this Village, but it would guarantee the Gas
1 Company light industrial zoning, which of course is
81.
on the outer perimeter as it exists today.
MR. GRIER: Then I stand on it is a moot ques-
tion .
MR. HENDRICKS: Well, the point is I do not
believe it is zoned as you have stated, heavy
industrial in the County.
I have no further comments, Mr. Mayor.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Mr. Richardson?
MR. RICHARDSON: I, too, would like to add
j, my compliments to this group, a very fine package
you put together. It represents a lot of work.
Just a couple of questions on Page 12. You
made no mention of relocating the depot. I am sure
ii you must have given that some consideration in the
realm of your recommendations, Mr. Grier.
it
MR. GRIER: No, it certainly wouldn't, Bud,
R
until you created the business development and re-
development Committee, and then it did leave our
purview, we felt.
MR. RICHARDSON: On Page 16.
i
f MR. GRIER: Bud on that, Mr. Ross wants me to
get this in there. To the extent that we were in
1111,1 on it before we were disassociated -- we are not
82.
resentful of that, in the least -- they pointed out
to us that if you took our peak hours in the morning
and our peak hours in the afternoon and moved the
station that we might -- might, I emphasize -- pick
up a total of 9 minutes per day in less down time,
as far as the gates are concerned, with all the
gates.
It takes approximately -- the State law
requires a quarter of a mile lead on a train for
the gate to go down. The way they are whistling
through here at the rush hour there is an overlap
there of them going up and down. Nine minutes
was their traffic study of what we would gain.
Then we have to move the building and then
we have to do a lot of traffic work, and we really
couldn't see -- I don't know what they are deciding
downstairs but we couldn't see the merit of it.
MR. RICHARDSON: That should be one of their
recommendations.
MR. GRIER: I am sure they will mention it.
MR. RICHARDSON: I imagine your plan is to go
along with the recommendations.
i�
MR. GRIER: Oh, certainly.
ii
MR. RICHARDSON: On Page 16, Item No. 6,
iE
83.
"Development of office buildings," on Northwest
Highway. The Plan proposes and designates the area
along Northwest Highway be developed with well
designated and properly controlled office develop-
ments. I believe the recommendation from the study
group on the financial feasibility recommended not
more than one new office building.
Isn't that correct?
MR. GRIER: I think their data on this --
again, things are always changing. If you don't
know, IBM is moving out of their office building on
Northwest Highway. And how much square footage
that frees up I am not aware of. Joan Walker said
the capability of absorbing 10,000 square feet
per year was a feasible thing for downtown, and the
bank is already building really two years allocation.
And the IBM Building was in there, but that
was fully occupied. What the abandonment of that
1 building, the leaving of IBM does, I don't know,
whether it is vacant or empty or half leased.
1
MR. RICHARDSON: If what you are saying, Jim,
is we should go lightly on office buildings, they
11 come under the heading of controlled office develop-
ments.
84.
MR. GRIER: No, I think there, Bud, we meant
1
'! that -- again, we have got a parking situation, we
I
,l have got a traffic situation. The IBM Building is
11 a beautiful example of a nice building that went
in under the ordinances that supposedly had enough
1
1 parking. As it turned out it didn't.
I think our remarks here are to be fully
assured that the traffic movements, the parking,
1
1 the rush hour involvement, should all be studied
1
I thoroughly before office buildings are allowed to
1
1
spring up.
11 MR. RICHARDSON: I am talking about the need for
I , office buildings.
1,
{' MR. GRIER: Well, I have to go back to Joan
1
1 Walker's report as being pretty accurate. They are
the authority.
1
1 MR. RICHARDSON: 10,000 per year?
1 MR. GRIER: In the downtown area. She addressed
I herself to the downtown area.
I
1 MR. RICHARDSON: Which is what we are talking
1 about.
1 MR. GRIER: Part of that comes in the downtown
1
11 11 area, yes. Most of it is out.
1
1
1.
85.
MR. RICHARDSON: O.K. On Page 17 under
"Industrial Assets" you mention "Adequate labor
11 supply." I don't know if that can be documented,
1; i f that is a true statement.
MR. GRIER: Yes, Bud, we are not talking just
ii
i1 about Mt. Prospect residents, we are talking about
,; from the whole northwest community area.
I 1
How is that for a cop out? All planners
cop out.
MR. RICHARDSON: Page 18, the third paragraph,
" The Plan proposes the annexation of the Northern
Illinois Gas Company property and the industrial
i and south of the Tollway."
MR. GRIER: That should be east.
1
MR. RICHARDSON: Should it? You are talking
11 about the property south of Oakton Street?
!{ MR. GRIER: Yes.
MR. RICHARDSON: South of Oakton Street, down
to the Toliway?
MR. GRIER: Yes.
MR. RICHARDSON: We kind of indicated to
Des Plaines that we weren't interested in that
I
property, if they were.
86.
MR. GRIER: O.K. Again, at the time this was
written the agreement wasn't settled.
MR. RICHARDSON: O.K. There is a question on
your map at the southeast corner unincorporated
recommended for industrial -- or southwest corner
of Oakton and Elmhurst Road. That is in Des Plaines,
on the big map.
MR. GRIER: On the Comprehensive?
MR. RICHARDSON: Yes.
MR. GRIER: Yes. Where, again, Bud?
MR. RICHARDSON: The southwest corner of Oakton
and Elmhurst.
MR. GRIER: Yes, we show a line jutting into
ti the blue there as not being ours. You have got to
1 1 follow the blue line of the boundary of Des Plaines.
MR. RICHARDSON: The very corner is where I am
/1 talking about.
MAYOR TEICHERT: He is saying since you made
that map this part, which is that section which you
meant to touch, was annexed into Des Plaines.
MR. GRIER: O.K.
MAYOR TEICF.ERT: Those are errors we recognize.
I The map was put together prior to some of the
87.
annexations. I would guess, offhand, this map is
' probably roughly a year old.
1
MR. RICHARDSON: That whole corner is Des -
i Plaines.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Yes.
1111 MR. GRIER: We have made note of it.
MR. RICHARDSON: A question on that one on the
1 cemeteries. You included Memory Gardens, you did
I not include the All Saints.
LADY: Yes, it isn't in the Village.
MR. RICHARDSON: I know it is not in the Village.
I Memory Gardens is not in the Village, either.
MR. GRIER: Seeing as I own a lot in All Saints,
when I checked it it was there. (Laughter)
MR. RICHARDSON: It is listed on the map but
1 it is not colored.
11 MR. GRIER: I think you are right.
MR. RICHARDSON: I don't see that in color.
MAYOR TEICHERT: What is that, St. Paul's? Is
that St. Paul's over there?
VOICE: Yes, it is.
MR. RICHARDSON: Those are my only comments.
MR. GRIER: Thank you. We have noted them.
91
88.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Mr. Scholten wanted to say
something.
MR. SCHOLTEN: I just want to set the record
straight. There is no annexation agreement between
the Northern Illinois Gas property and the Village,
it is not signed by the Northern Illinois Gas Company.
MAYOR TEICHERT: That is true that the Northern
Illinois Gas Company never did sign the agreement.
We signed the agreement, which was the condition
abstaining from protesting or objecting to the
annexation that circled around them and went up to
River Trails Park District and started the northern
thrust. It wasn't signed by us.
i It was a 5 year agreement, in any event,
would expire in '75, as I recall the date, but they
never did get around to signing it.
Mr. Anderson?
MR. ANDERSON: I would like to have the Commission
! refer to the Comprehensive Plan. On the far left side
IM there is a letter "P ". Am I to assume that all
that property belongs to the Park District?
,� MR. DRIER: There is a mistake there. It
{
should be pointed out that there are 10 or 12
single - family residential lots in that general area
89.
that will also be reflected on 13 M -2.
MR. GRIER: Right.
MR. ANDERSON: Referring to Page 19, the top
paragraph:
"Existing plans call for the phasing out
1 of the existing Station No. 3 ", referring to the
fire station, and we should keep in mind when we
address ourselves to this particular matter that
we are faced with a natural barrier. That is the
railroad. And to take and relocate that station we
would really alienate three large areas of residen-
tial for immediate emergency needs.
( And I would hope that the administration
11 would evaluate that prior to a firm recommendation
on the relocation of the fire house. I know the
reasons, you want to try to balance the area, but
I this is a unique area, represents eight or ten
ii
I li thousand people.
MR. GRIER: We are very aware of that.
MR. ANDERSON: Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Before we get to the citizens
who may want to be heard, at this time I want to
read to the Board and make part of the record, with
e
11
90.
copies to the Board, from the Mt. Prospect Chamber
of Commerce:
"Because a copy of the Comprehensive Plan for the
Village of Mount Prospect was not furnished to the
Chamber of Commerce until a few hours ago no detailed
study of the material, or official action by the
Chamber board is possible.
The comments herewith are thus mainly those of
'I myself as executive director of the Chamber and
a long -time resident of the Village who served
! both as trustee and Village President.
My compliments to Committee Chairman, James P.
Grier, Jr., J.C. Busenhart, Marie L. Caylor and
! Malcom G. Young first for their work and to Burton
Aschman Associates for bringing into substance what
I is necessary if Mount Prospect is to proceed in an
u!
orderly fashion.
11 Chamber members without opportunity for study and
1 discussion will be most concerned, and probably
1
P object, I believe, to paragraph 2 on page 11 relating
I to Roadway Improvements stating:
91.
'Illinois Route 83 (Main Street) between
' Central Road and Lincoln Street is
ii proposed to be converted to one -way
operation southbound while Emerson Street,
it
' one block to the east, is proposed for
upgrading to a major arterial status and
converted to one -way operation northbound.'
Certainly, establishment of this one -way operation
in restriction of traffic and the probable abolition
of any on- street parking would work to the detriment
of existing business on both Route 83 and Emerson and
to planned new facilities such as the new Mount Prospect
State Bank. There would be also reduced egress to the
business district from the now existing residential
areas along Route 83 and Emerson.
Because changes in traffic flow can only be made
by separate ordinances and by discussion with state
highway authorities I am confident that the honorable
board of trustees will give the matter of one -way
streets through the center of town long and careful
1 discussion and with hearings at which affected
businessmen can attend. Therefore I hope that no
definite commitment to the one -way plan will be made
92.
tonight."
I think it is clear to everyone that no
n will be made tonight ht on any portions of 9
the Plan, other than a draft has been submitted,
and I am not going to get into any questions with
H you, Mr. Grier, but just from the things that have
been noted already it is obvious, I would say, that
probably six or seven, for example, of the traffic
plans that are laid out -- each one of them would
probably constitute a year's hearing, independently
of anything the Board did.
And the same holds true for zoning in the
a
1 downtown area, which is one of the reasons I am sure
this should go to the Commission and feed back and
redraft it into a form so that nobody believes the
full hearing process, debate, what not, of these
11 individual things is bypassed.
My concern is with a plan like this, - I
watched it with the '68 Plan - every time there was
a zoning case or anything proposed people came up
r with it in their hand, said "You said this was the
policy."
i f If we adopt a Comprehensive Plan we need
93.
some of that detail, sure, but it has to be in a
1 fashion so that by adoption does not mean that is
H in fact the goal and that that is going to occur.
li In any event, even those I don't believe should be
I d adopted until the independent commissions have sent
II back to the Plan Commission all of the input of
i their hearings.
I know the Plan Commission agrees because
they have been working on this on-going task, which
probably is a monthly affair.
MR. GRIER: Not only that, Mr. Mayor, but the
{
two years this took to prepare we were fully aware
' that we are nothing more than a recommending body,
' and anything we put down on paper is pure recommenda-
tion, plan conjecture. It is not an ironclad
recommendation. We don't have that power.
MAYOR TEICKERT: All right.
MR. GRIER: Just to remind you that we know
where we are at.
MAYOR TEICEIERT: I have two more letters I am
going to read into the record and also distribute
copies to the Plan Commission and the Village Board.
1
94.
This is one from the Senior Citizens
Advisory Council of the Village of Mount Prospect:
iI "Dear Mayor Teichert:
"The Village of Mount Prospect Senior Citizens
1 Advisory Council would like to again offer their
support to the Village Administration in their
1
efforts to obtain Senior Citizens Housing. The
need for this housing was demonstrated in the
Senior Citizens Housing Survey completed last year.
This survey indicated 367 persons would move into
1 ` housing if it was available, with 51.1 per cent of
I these respondents being below the income of $5,000
f a year.
The Council supports the development of a housing
1
1 assistance plan which we feel will show a priority
need for low and moderate income housing for the
d Senior Citizens in the community.
We are available to provide whatever assistance we
can in this area. Thank you for your consideration."
That particular phase is in the Community
i� 11 Services and Mental Health Commission. Just so the
Both the Downtown
1 Board doesn't lose sight of it.
P Commission as well as the Community Services
;
Y6
95.
fi Commission, the first doing downtown, the second
;' doing the housing assistance plan, were both
instructed or directed that the fruits of their
labors would be passed through the Plan Commission,
'I I
because all of this stuff must be assembled at one
I point, which is the Plan Commission, and dovetails
and becomes part of the Comprehensive Plan, plus
the yearly upgrading which will occur in the Plan
Commission.
The other letter is also from the Village
of Mount Prospect Senior Citizens Advisory Council:
"Dear Mayor Teichert:
"The Village of Mount Prospect Senior Citizens
I Advisory Council, at its January 21, 1975 meeting,
voted to send this letter of support to the Village
Administration for their proposal to use the old
f i Library for a Senior Citizens Center.
The Senior Citizens Advisory Council is most anxious
I to be of assistance in this project. The Advisory
Council has established a committee to work on plans
1 for a Senior Citizens Center. This committee feels
1 that they can play a role in raising some funds for
this project as well as encouraging the involvement
yl
96.
and support of the community. The committee feels
that a definite commitment is needed from the
Village that the old Library will be used for a
Senior Citizens Center. They are asking that a
h meeting be held with the Village Board, to determine
I II what role that they can play in developing a Senior
Citizens Center.
I We are looking forward to hearing from you regarding
a meeting on this subject."
This will be reproduced for the Village
Board and the Planning Commission. The one should
I
be reproduced, certainly, for the Community Services.
I want, before we get into any more general
j questions, while we were talking I was trying to
i make a little listing. Can you tell me, Jim, how
.f
11 many of these plans you have made out, I mean how
1 many do you have available right now for us to
, utilize in distribution to specific agencies?
MR. GRIER: I am glad you brought that out.
This is all on tape, which you have seen tonight
in the attorney's office. This was printed inhouse
through the Finance Department, John Moriarty. He
f i
97.
did a hundred for this meeting. They were assembled.
How many we have left back on the table I don't know.
But we have the facility, if you free John's time
j up to just say "Go". We have held back, we have
1 1,000 maps, so we have reproduction.
MAYOR TEICHERT: All right. Would you just
make notes? These are the people. This is how I
think, at least while you are talking distribution
ought to go to feedback, first between the Village
and the library. There ought to be multiple copies
other than to order 5 or 10.
MR. GRIER: They have three copies at the
I reference desk now.
MAYOR TEICHERT: The point is that citizens
can always have them available. Then I believe
about half of our commissions and boards -- some of
them, the Electrical Commission, they don't need
i these, but there are about five or six of our
commissions and boards that would definitely need
these to study your recommendations so far and
1 comment on them. I have four municipalities listed,
1 Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Wheeling and Elk
Grove.
Of course the five school districts, 57,
98.
59, 26, 21 and 214; four park districts, Mt. Prospect,
Des Plaines, Arlington Heights and River Trails,
H
the Elk Grove Township and Wheeling Township, probably
ii Harper, and ultimately, although I don't think at
this stage it would be pertinent but I think
ultimately the County Board, NIPSI and PTA.
I don't know if you feel it should be more
= comprehensive, but all of those have definite
I responsibilities, it seems to me, in the areas we
are dealing with. The Chamber of Commerce is the
only quasi - official group that coordinates their
business with the Village.
MR. GRIER: While we are on it, does the North-
west Municipal Conference have a committee to deal
with this?
MAYOR TEICHERT: They don't, but that is an
excellent suggestion. We are urging hard, we have
a staff and a distribution through all our com-
munities. I don't know if there is more in the
listing.
Mr. Anderson?
MR. ANDERSON: One question. Recognizing the
map itself is colorful, the only question 1 have it
is so small in scale that if you compare it to the
99.
h present Zoning Board, where we delineate each and
h every parcel of land, each and every lot, will there
be a complement to this when the final plan comes
out, not necessarily color but on the same Sidwell
sheets that will indicate where those boundary lines
are anticipated to go as far as the zoning, it
might be residential or commercial or industrial,
so we can clearly see, so there is no question at
I the final.
PI
MR. ZIMMERMANN: I think that what you should
realize is that the County has a plan, which is the
first step in adopting zoning ordinances and some -
thing that we really don't have much of, and that
is an official map, and the layout, I believe what
you are alluding to, not only the existing zoning,
not only the existing public parks, schools, and so
forth, but what is expected of land that is as yet
1 undeveloped, and would show those things in there.
Now, I haven't really had a chance to see
the maps and go through them, but 1 would think in
the Comprehensive Plan, as far as areas that are as
yet undeveloped you might look to see what would be
available for a developer to, in effect, donate or,
rather, keep aside for public uses such as parks,
100.
pools, playgrounds and what not.
it
But that would come, in answer to your
j
j question, in the official map that would be adopted
iI
by ordinance, pursuant to the Plan.
1
f MR. ANDERSON: Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Does anyone think of any
1 other specific entities, governmental agencies?
If not that covers, it seems to me, pretty
much all those that have responsibility, other than
1
the general interest of the citizens to give back
1 and feed back information.
y I am reminded under the ordinance as we set
{I it up you have responded, you have been working a
I 1 long time, you responded as the ordinance requires,
I 1
1 within 90 days of our charge to you. It indicates
1 y 90 days after the conclusion of our hearings. It
is that period, I think, within 90 days after the
I
conclusion of our hearings the Board of Trustees
f shall adopt or reject the Comprehensive Plan.
1
So everyone knows this is a public hearing
and as we adjourn we will adjourn to a date certain,
a
� and I would like to get that in before we adjourn,
I would like to know your best guess.
1
101.
I am thinking in terms of sending these
reports in before our Plan Commission and the
, Village, to all these bodies, for their reading and
discussion and what not, and comments back to the
Plan Commission.
They may want to meet with you. I don't
know what they may want to do but you are covering
a lot of area that is of interest to a lot of people.
For that purpose I would like to pick a
date on which you gentlemen can talk, right now.
' know what working don't kno g time is necessary for
these different groups but I would imagine that
something of this complexity getting into the hands,
the frequency with which they meet, you are talking
three or four months in order to get meaningful
comments back from them.
You can ask for a month and all you are
going to do is get no answer or just a cursory
statement. I think, therefore, if you could tell
us what you think would be the best time in that
area, May, June or July. These Boards are meeting
now, of course.
Mr. Ross?
102.
I
MR. ROSS: I think if you give them a definite
time, say three months, - make it a reasonable time,
yet not too long, you are going to get a response
from them.
If you say six months they will wait until
the last week and then they will do it. If you
give them three months from today, set that as a
deadline, they will get the information back to you.
I MR. GRIER: May I ask a question? How we are
I
11 going to get around the 90 day thing without having
1 1 1 another public hearing?
1 MAYOR TEICHERT: I'll say this now: Regardless
1 of what is happening in the continued hearing, you
I i know if John in his research tells us a hearing
I can't be continued, or anything like that, we are
I
going to go through the steps again, that's all,
1
` which means notice to the Plan Commission.
1 It seems sort of meaningless to me to get
1 right back where we are at, but if that is what it
1
II requires in the statute we will do it. But right now,
for our purposes, since this is a public hearing, this
f specific thing, I am going to continue it to a date
I certain. If it is required we will go through the
1
103.
1 ii
ministerial steps after that.
MR. ROSS: We meet every first and third
Wednesday of the month. Now, we have only got six
months. The information will come back to them, but
1 if we get it all at one time we are going to be
I swamped. Maybe we can set a certain deadline for
Id different organizations.
MAYOR TEICHERT: If we do that I would rather
have them free to contact any one as fast as they
can work, rather than put them into a category. If
1 they miss that they are out.
But for our purposes at the Board level
we would have to take either the second or third
Tuesday, then, of May. This warrants a special
meeting and no other subject matter except the Plan.
j j How does that dovetail with your calendars?
I I
I Is one preferable to the other?
MR. ROSS: Well, the third Tuesday would give
us one meeting in that month.
MAYOR TEICHERT: We would have to make it the
h fourth.
MR. ROSS: The fourth would be better for us.
MAYOR TEICHERT: I don't know how these Memorial
11 Day things work out.
111
104.
MR. ROSS: In Illinois it is on the 31st.
MAYOR TEICHERT: It doesn't matter, one is
on Monday and one is on Friday, so I imagine we
cj will all be around.
ii All right. For our purposes this special
Village Board meeting will be continued -- this
l hearing, I should say, on the Comprehensive Plan,
!I would be continued to May 27th, and then I will
get with Jim or whoever you want to designate a
I
1 joint letter to these various groups with that
1
{ listing and comments.
Are there any citizens that want input at
I this particular time on what amounts to a first
draft, as everyone recognizes now? Mr. Keefer.
MR. KEEFER: I was asked to represent the
II Chamber of Commerce here this evening, and I know
ii we have discussed this routing of 83 but I would like
E
11 to reemphasize again that the Chamber of Commerce
{ � is violently opposed to any rerouting of 83.
I think all we have to do is go up here to
11 Des Plaines and see how they botched up the town over
there by rerouting their traffic. On one side of
town you have got a deadend town, is what it amounts
I!
105.
to. And businesses have been forced out just because
of the change in traffic pattern.
I think too many times we are concerned
with the through traffic in town and we are more
concerned about rushing them through town than
giving consideration to the home owners and business
owners' investment in the community. And these are
the people who are paying the way here and I think
it
they should be thought about when we think of a
drastic change like rerouting of 83.
ii
Imagine what would happen if all this traffic
;,was coming north on Emerson Street here. There would
ibe no parking over around Krause, Evans restaurant.
And where is the traffic
going to end up
;;when it gets over to Lincoln Avenue? You would have
to cut the street back to the sidewalk.
And I am thinking of all of these children
going over to Lion's Park and St. Raymond's School.
These people would be walking along the sidewalk
there with the roadway, the curb probably up against
'the sidewalk and it would be very hazardous.
This is the point that I tried to stress
,this evening. This is the only thing they are
concerned about at this very moment.
ii
106.
And also I wish that the Chamber of
!;Commerce would be informed as to a major plan like
this a little ahead of time, so we would have an
opportunity to discuss it and study it. I had a
copy of this Plan that was borrowed this afternoon,
!1I think, from Lilly, and this was all new to me, I
didn't even have time to read it. I had to go home
in the evening and read it while I was eating my
ii
lunch tonight.
I think a thing of this magnitude certainly
it should have distribution and I think there should be
1� some type of publicity in the papers to notify the
I citizens of this Village that we are having a meeting
of this type. I didn't see anything in the paper,
I j myself.
11
MAYOR TEICHERT: It has been in the paper about
I three weeks.
MR. KEEFER: I looked at every first section of
the paper that comes out and I didn't see anything on
it.
MAYOR TEICHERT: It has been in there.
MR. KEEFER: Last week I looked through all the
papers when I came home and didn't see anything about
1
it.
107.
MAYOR TEICHERT: I didn't put it on the fourth
and fifth page.
MR. KEEFER: Well, I read the whole section and
I didn't see it. Let's get it on the first page,
where people can see it.
MAYOR TEICHERT: We don't print the newspapers.
MR. KEEFER: I know that but I think it can be
worked out.
MAYOR TEICHERT: I would agree with you.
MR. KEEFER: Things you want them to see are
not there, so let's print this up.
MAYOR TEICHERT: They print the campaign issues
on the front page.
MR. KEEFER: Yes, they have got all the murders
and campaign issues and everything else on the front
page. And I think things as important -- Are the
newspaper people here?
VOICE: It was on the front page February 3rd.
MR. KEEFER: Do you hear what I am saying? I
would like to see something on the front page of the
paper. All these business men here in town are
supporting these papers and I think that you should
give them a fair shake.
108.
VOICE: It was on the front page of The Times,
last issue.
MR. KEEFER: Thank you. That is about all I
have to say.
Now, as a private citizen, Jack Keefer, I
would like to state my views here. I have been here
in town as a businessman for 25 years.
In the 25 years I have yet to have any
planning organization or village planner come to me
or any other businessmen that I know around town and
ask for our opinions and viewpoints.
I am thinking particularly of the traffic
pattern here in town. I am sitting there looking at
this railroad crossing all day long, and I probably
have a better view than any outsider who comes into
town, as to what is going on here in the Village, as
! far as traffic goes.
But nobody ever asks me or asked for my
wj point of view on the matter. And I think that when
you authorize these people to come in and make a
survey you should sit down with them and tell them,
Now listen. There are some people here, there is
If
Frank Berman who has been in town here all his life -
E,
109.
time, and there are a lot of other oldtimers around
here. They should be asked to express their thoughts
on any big survey that is being made in the com-
munity.
Over here in front of my place, as an
example, we have got a bottleneck at train time
for a half hour, and all it would take is one police -
man for a half hour to keep these people from
parking in front of the yellow line. If we are not
going to honor the yellow lines on the curbs I think
H
they should get them off of there, because we are
just allowing these people to park there, and if we
could clear up one lane of traffic there it certainly
would help the congestion on that corner.
'I I can see the writing on the wall. The first
thing they are going to come along and say'There is
too much congestion on Prospect Avenue, we are going
I; to have no parking on this side of the street."
Next year they are going to take off the
parking on the other side of the street. Then I'll
be right back where I was when I was on Northwest
H Highway. We had the same situation over there. The
i first thing you know you have cars going by at 30
or 40 miles an hour, nobody can stop, there is no
110.
place to do business.
That's all I have to say. Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Jack, I haven't talked to anybody
that is in favor of splitting the streets into one-
ways, but the planners keep coming up with it. As
I understood the presentation it was the planners
'! that suggested that and it is in there for considera-
tion. But I haven't talked to anyone who thinks it
is a hot idea, myself. They may be laughing, but
i that is the way.
MR. KEEFER: I realize these people are being
I paid a good sum of money and they have to come up
,I with something fantastic to get the attention of
1 people in town, to make it look like they are earning
their fee, you know.
MR. GRIER: Not this group.
MR. KEEFER: You guys. (Laughter)
We appreciate all you are doing here. I
p think you have done a wonderful job, fellows.
MAYOR TEICHERT: All right, Jack. Is there
someone else wants to speak? Yes, Ma'am.
MISS BORGSTROM: Mr. Mayor, you may not know
my name is Virginia Borgstrom, 604 Dogwood, Mt.-
Prospect.
Pf
111.
In speaking I would like to give you some
questions from the Riverhurst Civic Association, who
,; has also not had very much time to look at this Plan.
We did have a couple of questions that
1 occurred to us almost immediately. One of them has
1111 partially been answered. It was about the agreement
I that existed between the Village and the Northern
Illinois Gas Company, which evidently there is not an
11 agreement that is binding.
However, I would add now, does the Village
intend to attempt getting that agreement signed dur-
i
ing this year?
MAYOR TEICHERT: No, we would honor the agree -
ment. The objective of the agreement was met. They
didn't object to the annexation, the annexation
occurred. Our part of it was and it was part of
the Plan to zone it industrial if they annexed.
At the end of five years, in 1975, our
obligation under that would cease. That is, it only
was meaningful if they annexed and in any event
11 expired in five years. All that means after that
if
1 is if they want to annex to reopen negotiations, for
example.
0
112.
MISS BORGSTROM: We would like to confer with
Mr. Hendricks. The zoning we have now is either
R -3 or R -4.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Well, actually it doesn't
matter what the zoning is, they are using it for
a g Y g
ii commercial purposes. But in any event they will go
to the County.
MISS BORGSTROM: County zoning?
MAYOR TEICHERT: Sure.
ii
MISS BORGSTROM: All right. Then possibly this
ii question could be considered. The Plan refers to a
well balanced community as a specific objective.
I, Later on it states that multifamily should be
I I limited, so as to provide for a balanced community.
We would like to know what would be con-
sidered a balanced ratio between singlefamily and
multifamily.
If indeed you used the Comprehensive Plan
for a guideline in making decisions, it would seem
f imperative that everybody have a clear idea or under-
1 standing of what is meant by the balance between
I singlefamily and multifamily, and would this
proportion be 30 per cent or 40 per cent, or what -
113.
ever. I think it should be put down.
And another point. Mr. Anderson brought
this up, that we found no recommendations for zoning
immediately adjacent to the northeast section of the
Village.
Again, if you are going to use the Plan
for recommendations, what would you suggest for
these unincorporated areas? If it is residential,
what type of residential; if it is supposed to be
commercial, what type? And so forth and so on for
industrial.
Also we have noted in the new Comprehensive
11 Plan there seems to be a systematic weeding out of
the term single- family, in describing the residential
characteristic of the Village of Mt. Prospect. Do
1
the Village officials feel that there should be a
change in the residential characteristis of the
f Village now?
$j Those were the questions.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Thank you.
Yes, sir. Do you want to come forward, sir?
MR. FRANK MERRICK My name is Frank Merrick and
1 I live on Emerson, 304 South Emerson.
I
114.
This evening is the first time I heard about
Emerson being a one -way street for about three blocks.
I concur with Mr. Keefer, who states that businessman
should be advised of this beforehand. I resent the
H fact that a resident, as I am, on Emerson Street,
''hasn't been talked to about turning this into a high-
MAYOR TEICHERT: I think we ought to stop.
MR. MERRICK: What?
MAYOR TEICHERT I think we ought to stop. What
everybody is saying is "Here is a group."
MR. MEFtRICK: I understand. 1 appreciate your
statement that it is only a plan. But a plan, when
is put on paper, is a little bit more than in the
talking stage.
{ MAYOR TETCH.ERT: I agree.
MR. MERRICK: I think they should be talked to
before it is put on a plan.
MAYOR TEICHERT: I agree. That is exactly why
you are here, sir. The idea is a series of hearings
on a plan. Everyone talks about the Plan. The
e
1Village Board didn't have the Plan until Friday
night, they have been reading it over the weekend.
115.
The comprehensive map was not available until tonight.
We have to start sometime with these series
of hearings, and even in their plan 1 have already
!' indicated I have got questionmarks all over it, of
items in there.
f
Each one of those items, on traffic, for
1 example, in my judgment would engender a. whole series
i i of meetings just on that subject probably a year long.
1si I'm sure the Safety Commission, who does have these
i
hearings on the streets, will have the same thing you
are talking about. That is, they are not going to
want to commit to that type of thing, necessarily.
But they have done their job of putting
together a draft of a Comprehensive Plan for the
i
� community. Now everyone that looks at it through
�
the next four or five or six months or year, whatever
it takes, will be able to comment on it.
MR. MERRICK: Yes. I am understanding the Plan
I and I appreciate it. I think they have done a job;
it has been a hard job.
Anyway, I am a resident on that street.
Outside of that I think some good points have been
made by Mr. Keefer from a safety standpoint, Lions
116.
Park, and I sure hope that it gets off the map
real quick.
Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: All right. Yes, sir.
MR. STAMOS: My name is Stamos. I axn one of
the residents of this town and I do want to
congratulate the Committee for the time and the
effort and the work they have put in this report.
There is one only point that I think the
report is somewhat weak, and that is the development
of the central business district. As I understand
there is a committee downstairs handling this particu-
lar problem, but I think this is one of the biggest
1 that we have.
Year after year for the past twenty-five
years we have heard that something should be done,
and to this date nothing really has been done, other
than talk about it. So there in that part I think
the report needs more work.
Now, in reference to the Northwest Highway
street development, we have to understand that that
development was part of the Village. When people
put stores in that particular area, and they did it
117.
it
according to the Zoning Code, according to the
Ordinances, I think that is somewhat cruel to say
that we will create a nonconformity area out of a
business development on Northwest Highway, because
h in effect we are confiscating the property of those
j J people without no compensation.
The minute you pass a nonconformity
1 f
11 ordinance for that particular area the values of the
I property go way down. I don't quite know if it is
legal without compensating them but I suppose it is.
I don't think that is correct, because many
people will go out of business. All the small
businesses that are on Northwest Highway, you are
condemning them to go out of business.
1
i i Another thing is this: Those lots are only
100 to 110 feet deep, and this has to be taken into
consideration. Now there is a multiplicity of
Fj ownership and it is not as easy to say, "Well, we
are oin to develop them."
g g P
You are going to get people with different
interests to get together to develop. In other words,
this is a real problem. I think the Committee, be-
fore deciding to change the zoning of that particular
1
d 1
118.
1 area has to consider. And once this is done, how
long will it take before this area is developed?
Then if we feel that area is an eyesore,
because in Mt. Prospect how long will it take before
you are going to clear it up? In other words, once
you condemn a piece of property, well, no one is
interested in it, even the owners abandon it.
And unless you compensate it, or unless you
develop some kind of a program that the Village
1 or some kind of body will be the referee or the
promoter to put them together to develop it, this
thing will become a big eyesore in our town, and
! Northwest Highway is one of the main streets in
Mt. Prospect.
( So I think this particular area needs more
study, and I am sure once the property owners, they
realize what is planning for their property, there
are going to be a lot of complaints and fireworks.
Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Mr. Ross, you wanted to speak?
119.
MR. ROSS: 1 just wanted to indicate that our
plan of 1968 showed a lot of things at that time
1; that we thought would be coming to pass in this
i i area, and they have. Other developments have taken
1 place in those areas. We saw Huntington Commons,
11 we show that as remaining single - family residential.
In 1968 that is the way the majority of the people
that worked on this thought that should be.
So when we say that this area will be, by
1980, in this particular zoning category, that can
{{ change tomorrow if somebody comes in with a plan
ii
that the Board decides is better than this .plan. So
the Plan can be changed at any time.
This is not the law, as the audience
apparently is taking it to be. This is strictly a
plan, a guideline, something to look forward to.
This can be changed tomorrow or next year or ten years
from now. It doesn't necessarily mean that what
1 we say right now is what is going to be. These are
only ideas.
I think Mr. Grier brought that out in the
beginning of his presentation, these are guidelines
1 and ideas. We don't know where we are going to go
120.
1 in the future. It is not the law of the land, as
soon as this is passed.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Any other comments? Mr.
Keefer.
MR. KEEFER: Mr. President, I have one more
1 suggestion I would like to make to the Planning Board
1
here.
Some years ago we talked about putting an
overpass over the railroad around Meadows Pool.
My children have all outgrown the pool now but I
think for all the children in Hatlen Heights
certainly the Village of Mt. Prospect could afford
to put a pedestrian overpass over the railroad track.
On many days I see these children over
l there carrying their bicycles across the tracks
there and it is a real hazard.
You have a real fine swimming pool at the
end of the Village, where Arlington Heights is all
around us, and the only way Mt. Prospect residents
can get to it is to come down Northwest Highway
I or if you live in the area where I live you have to
go all the way down Central to the North Western
I tracks and come back to Meadows School.
11i
121,
The kids don't do that, it is just too far,
it is about a two mile hike.
it I was over in Glenview the other day and
p1
i I see this overpass over Willow Road, I believe it
I is, and it certainly isn't a very expensive project.
If I remember correctly, some years ago
we allocated some money to be used for this project,
which never materialized.
I think we should give it some thought, as
far as future plans go. It would open up that whole
area west of the track to the Meadows Pool, which is
now surrounded by Arlington Heights.
Thank you.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Any other comments, gentlemen?
(No response)
If not, this public hearing on the Compre-
hensive Village Plan will be continued to Tuesday,
May 27, 1975.
? And again I will ask that the newspapers run
headlines. It is posted, of course. I don't know
1 1 what else we can do. Basically we have posted the
notice in the paper legally, and the paper runs it.
I would urge everyone that wants input
122.
into it to come to the meetings and discuss it.
Meanwhile we will, from the various public
agencies and boards charged with responsibilities,
arrange the input.
Mr. Ross?
MR. ROSS: We do meet every Wednesday and our
meetings are open to the public.
MAYOR TEICHERT: That is true, the Plan Com-
1 mission the first and third Wednesdays, is it, of
1 1 every month they meet? Of course all the other
Commissions and Boards are posted in the Village Hall.
1 I think most of the newspapers run calendars as to
the various public meetings and the subject matters.
If there is nothing else, then, this meeting
will stand continued. The Chair will entertain a
motion to adjourn.
MR. RICHARDSON: I make a motion to adjourn.
MR. HENDRICKS: Second.
MAYOR TEICHERT: Those in favor? Opposed?
The meeting is adjourned.
4
(Thereupon a continuance was had to
Tuesday, May 27, 1975, at 8 :00 P.M.)
123.
�j h STATE OF ILLINOIS )
) SS:
a COUNTY OF COOK
I, T. A. Copple, a Certified Shorthand
Reporter and Notary Public within and for the
County of Cook and State of Illinois, do hereby
certify that heretofore, to -wit, on the llth day
of February, A.D. 1975 I reported stenographically
the Special Meeting of the Mayor and Board of Trustees
of the Village of Mount Prospect on the proposed
1i Comprehensive Village Plan, and the foregoing is
a true and correct transcript of the proceedings
had at said meeting.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my notarial seal this 19th day
of February, A.D. 1975.
1