HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/1999 COW minutes MINUTES
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MARCH 9, 1999
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Farley called the meeting to order at 7 35 p m Present at the meeting were Trustees
George Clowes, T~mothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefe~, R~chard Lohrstorfer, Darnel Nocch~ and
Irvana W~lks Staff members present ~ncluded V~llage Manager M~chael Janon~s, Assistant
V~llage Manager Dawd Strahl, Community Development D~rector Will,am Cooney, F~re Chief
M~chael F~olah and F~re Marshal Paul Valentine
II APPROVAL OF .MINUTES
Acceptance of Minutes of February 9, 1999 Mr Janoms requested that these M~nutes be
deferred s~nce they were not ready for Board consideration M~nutes were deferred until the
next Committee of the Whole meeting
III CITIZENS TO BE HEARD
None
~ IV ABOVEGROUND TANK ORDINANCE
Fare Chaef Machael Figolah stated th~s request as being brought before the V~llage Board for
consideration based on numerous requests from vanous businesses to ubhze aboveground
storage tanks because of the expenses and complications related to having underground
storage tanks There are also numerous electrical generator sates that have found It
necessary to consider aboveground storage for fuel storage necessary to run the generators
He stated that the revased Ordinance that as presented addresses many of the business
requests to date
Village Manager Janonis stated that staff ~s requesting Village Board input to th~s request
s~nce the current Ordinance prohibits all aboveground storage The rewsed Ordinance would
conbnue to prohibit aboveground storage for commercial purposes but would allow
, aboveground storage for bus~ness operations only
General comments from the V~llage Board members included the following ~tems
Generally, the technology has ~mproved the type of aboveground storage tanks compared
to the old days when many people thought of aboveground storage tanks as the tanks that
are on many farms There was some concern regarding the possibility of vehicles running
into the tanks and what precautions would be undertaken to minimize th~s possibility There
was also d~scuss~on regarding the concrete poles that surround the tank and the height of
the concrete pad for which the tanks rest on
Fire Marshal Paul Valentine stated the concrete pad would be required to m~n~m~ze weeds,
which could create a possible fire hazard, and he would rewew the draft Ordinance to
determine whether the pad d~mens~ons are adequate based on th~s ~nput He also stated
that the concrete barriers are factory poured, not poured on s~te, to ensure proper integrity
Consensus of the Village Board was to consider the Ordinance as recommended by
staff at its next regular V~llage Board meeting
V. FRONT PORCH ENCROACHMENT REGULATIONS
Community Development Director B~ll Cooney stated there have been s~x specific cases
over the past year brought before the ZBA for Variances regarding encroachments of front
porches ~nto the front yard setback He stated that the ZBA is final on everything under a
25% ~ncrease ~n the structure In order for a Vanabon to be considered a hardship, ~t must
be defined and to date, such justification has not been adequately prewded in the cases,
which the ZBA has considered He stated one of the primary revisions requested ~s the
change to consider encroachments ~nto the front yard setbacks as a Conditional Use,
therefore, ehmlnabng the hardship reasoning for each Variation request
ZBA member Arlene Juracek spoke She stated that she felt that staff has set out the
options well for the Board to consider She stated that she is speaking on her own behalf
and not as a representabve of the entire ZBA membership She confirmed the fact that the
ZBA has had d~fficulty defining what constitutes a hardship She also stated there ~s a
concern about enforceability of the setback wh~le balancing the need for updates to maintain
the home investment She would consider additional definitions to help clanfy a hardship and
would be supportive of changing the defin~bon to include porches as a Conditional Use
ZBA member Richard Rogers spoke He would also support defining porches as a
Cond~bona[ Use In order to exhibit some control over the necessary standards
ZBA Chairman MIchaele Skowron spoke She felt the developers m the past had designed
d~fferent housing to stand out and be d~sbnct from the typical urban or c~ty design The trend
currently underway is a need to increase the porch enhancement for secunty and the
opportunity to ~nterchange the neighbors She would support a C.ond~tlonal Use for porch
consideration
General comments from Village Board members ~ncluded the following ~tems
Comments were made regarding the desirability of porches and the enhancement of curb
appeal of the home by hawng a front pomh The Zoning Code has set some I~m~ts on what
can be designed w~th~n a s~ngle lot and based on the lot hm~tahons, porches may not be
desirable in all instances There was some concem raised regarding the diminishing front
yard setback and the fact that every home cannot be made ~nto everything the homeowner
desires While every home cannot lend itself to a porch, there ~s also a concern regarding
possible teardowns and rebuilds and different set of encroachments regarding such activity
There is also a need to maintain some front yard setback so the commumty appearance ~s
not degraded
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Community Development Dmrector B~II Cooney stated staff has suggested four d~fferent
options for addressing th~s s~tuahon
1 Continue the process and require a Vanabon, which often requires the ZBA to be final
m such a request
2 Continue the current process but require V~llage Board approval for Variations ~nto
the front yard
3 Change the Zoning Ordinance text to permit unenclosed, uncovered porches to
encroach into setbacks
4 Change the Zoning Ordinance text to hst front porches that encroach ~nto front
setbacks as a Conditional Use ~n res~denbal areas
General consensus of the V, Ilage Board was to support option #4 allowing the change
mn the Zomng Ordinance text to hst front porches that encroach into front setbacks as
a Conditional Use mn resmdenflal neighborhoods
VI. DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR PHASE 'lB
Commumty Development D~rector Cooney stated the RFP draft ~s presented to the Village
Board for comment and pending the amount of comment, the RFP ~s expected to be sent out
by the end of the week
General comments from the V~llage Board members included the following ~tems
There was a concem raised about the Apn112 response date based on the projected t~me
for which the RFP would be sent out There was also a suggestion to ~nclude a statement
whereby the developer could move the General Store building to a Village-owned lot for extra
points for consideration ~n the RFP response There was also a concern that the RFP
assumes a five-story building as the maximum height and the preference stated as to the
type of dwelhng un~ts that are desirable Concern was raised about the building setback and
parkang location as suggested ~n the RFP. There was also a suggestion that office space be
~ncluded as a component of any response to the RFP
Commumty Development D~rector Cooney responded to the Village Board comments He
stated that the deadline for submittal to the RFP could be moved back a couple more weeks
to g~ve the developers a full s~x weeks to respond He also stated that the option of including
bonus points for inclusion of the General Store building movement could be incorporated into
the draft He stated the submittal w~ll be sent to ten developers ~n order to speed response
brae and the developers have been pre-quahfied in h~s mind through prewous d~scuss~ons
He also felt that the developer should suggest the type of dwelhng units that are preferred
in the plan depending on the market
VII. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT
Village Manager Janoms reminded the Village Board that Coffee vath Council is scheduled
for March 13, 1999, from 9 00 a m until 11 00 a m at Village Hall
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III ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Trustee Paul Hoefert mqu~red as to the status of the Quiet Commun~bes Resolution as
requested by Trustee Nocch~ at the last meebng
Mayor Farley stated that a new Sub-Committee has been formed at the O'Hare No~se
Compat~b~hty Commission to d~scuss the projected no[se ~mpact of the new terminals and
would prefer to rewew any report that may come from th~s Committee before cons~denng the
Quiet Commumbes Resolution as prewously proposed
Trustee Clowes requested that staff determine what the status of the cable modem option
that TCI ~s offering ~n other communities to determine when ~t w~ll be available m Mount
Prospect He also stated that he has not~ced there has been some remodehng work within
the basement of the Village Hall and he ~s requeshng staff keep the V~llage Board updated
as to what the plans are for the V~llage Hall
IX CLOSED SESSION
Mobon made by Trustee CIowes and Seconded by Trustee Hoefert to move ~nto Closed
Session to d~scuss Property Acquisition The meebng moved into Closed Session at
938pm
Meeting reconvened ~nto Open Session at 10 23 p m
Village Manager Janonis rem~nded the V~llage Board that the Aspen Dnve meeting has
been scheduled for March 24 and the VViscons~n Central meeting has been scheduled for
March 31
X ADJOURNMENT
No other bus~ness was transacted and the meehng was adjourned at 10 28 p m
Respectfully submitted, t
DAVID STRAHL
Assistant V~llage Manager
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