Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/27/2011 P&Z Minutes 18-10 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION CASE NO. PZ-18-10 Hearing Date: January 27, 2011 PROPERTY ADDRESS: 1400 Business Center Drive PETITIONER : The College of Chicago PUBLICATION DATE: January 12, 2011 PIN NUMBER: 03-35-201-013-0000 REQUEST: Conditional Use Approval for a Vocational School MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Rogers, Chair William Beattie Joseph Donnelly Leo Floros Theo Foggy Ronald Roberts Keith Youngquist MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Brian Simmons, AICP, Deputy Director of Community Development Consuelo Andrade, Development Review Planner Darren Nasatir INTERESTED PARTIES : Anna Kang, Gretchen Dee, Chairman Richard Rogers called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Chairman Rogers stated that the last case on the agenda, PZ-19-10, 1601 S. Busse Road would be continued to the February 24, 2011 Planning and Zoning Meeting. Mr. Donnelly made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 28, 2010 meeting; Mr. Beattie seconded the motion. The minutes were approved 7-0. After hearing two previous cases, Chairman Rogers introduced Case PZ-18-10, 1400 Business Center Drive at 8:37 p.m. Ms. Andrade said the Petitioner for PZ-18-10 was seeking Conditional Use approval to operate a vocational school at 1400 Business Center Road. Ms. Andrade stated the Subject Property is located on the north side of Business Center Drive, within the Kensington Business Center, and includes a multi-tenant building with related improvements. The Subject Property is zoned I1 Limited Industrial and is bordered to the north by the R1 Single-Family Residential District, and to the west, south, and east by the I1 District. Ms. Andrade said the Petitioner proposed to occupy 11,384 square feet of the 77,500 square foot building to operate a vocational school. Vocational schools require Conditional Use approval in the I1 Limited Industrial District. Ms. Andrade showed floor plans that illustrated the existing and proposed layout of the space. The existing floor plan showed the space currently with several rooms. The Petitioner’s proposed floor plan included four additional classrooms and an area designated as a lounge area for the students. Ms. Andrade said per the Petitioner’s application, the school would educate students to find better jobs, further their careers or transfer to a higher education facility after completing an intensive English Program (ESL). The Richard Rogers, Chair PZ-18-10 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting January 27, 2011 Page 1 of 4 intensive English program would be the primary program offered by the school. Class sizes would vary from 25- 49 students at one time. A maximum of 6 staff members at one time would be operating the school. The school would be in operation Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, the school would be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ms. Andrade referenced a table that summarized the required parking for the existing and proposed uses within the building. The current and proposed uses at the Subject Property would require a total of 227 parking spaces. The site currently provided 242 parking spaces, which exceeded the minimum required by 15 parking spaces. Ms. Andrade stated the standards for Conditional Uses are listed in the Zoning Ordinance and include specific findings that must be made in order to approve a Conditional Use. The following is a summary of these findings: The Conditional Use will not have a detrimental impact on the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare; The Conditional Use will not be injurious to the use, enjoyment, or value of other properties in the vicinity or impede the orderly development of those properties; And adequate provision for utilities, drainage, and design of access and egress to minimize congestion on Village streets are provided. Ms. Andrade said Staff reviewed the Petitioner’s proposal and did not object to the use or find that it would have adverse impact on the adjacent tenants or properties. Ms. Andrade stated the proposed vocational school met the Conditional Use standards contained in Section 14.203 of the Zoning Code, subject to the school being operated as noted in the Petitioner’s application. Staff recommended that the Planning & Zoning Commission approve the motion listed in the Staff Report. Chairman Rogers swore in Anna Kang of Winnetka, Illinois and Gretchen Dee, 2516 Kedzie, Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Dee stated she is the Program Director and Ms. Kang is the owner of the school. Ms. Dee said that the school is a small ESL post-secondary school. All students have high school degrees and are predominately from the Korean community. English instruction is provided at multiple levels. Ms. Dee stated that the school has been successful and recently opened a location in downtown Chicago with plans to eventually expand. The school has outgrown its Glenview facility and was looking for a more comfortable suburban location. Chairman Rogers confirmed that the school’s main purpose is to teach English and a higher level of education. Ms. Dee stated that most of the students have an F-1 Student Visa. The school has approvals from Sevis and the Illinois State Board and can sponsor F-1 Student Visas. Mr. Floros asked how long the school has been in operation. Ms. Kang said since 2003 where the school was established in Glenview, Illinois. Mr. Roberts confirmed with the Petitioners that they were moving their operation from Glenview to Mount Prospect. Mr. Roberts asked how long students are allowed to stay with an F-1 Visa. Ms. Kang stated that some students stay 1-2 years with an F-1 Visa, some stay as short as 6 months. Some students return to their home country as others continue on with their education in the United States. Mr. Roberts confirmed that the visa is valid as long as the student is enrolled in school. Ms. Kang discussed some students attend the school for the ESL classes and then work in their specialty related field of study. Mr. Roberts asked how many students were enrolled at the school. Ms. Kang said there were 79 active students. Mr. Floros questioned the age range for the students. Ms. Kang stated the current student body ranged in age from 18-45, but there were no age limitations for the school. Richard Rogers, Chair PZ-18-10 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting January 27, 2011 Page 2 of 4 Ms. Dee said the school’s program was intensive so students attend classes four days a week. There was general discussion on how long a student is in a typical program. It was stated that amount spent in the program varied for each individual. Chairman Rogers swore in Darren Nasatir, 435 Wood Street, Palatine, Illinois. Mr. Nasatir stated that he represented the College of Chicago with their real estate transactions as their commercial broker. He said he visited the Petitioners’ Glenview location and witnessed the small space and worked with them to obtain a larger space in Mount Prospect with bigger classrooms. Mr. Nasatir stated that Mount Prospect was a good central location for the variety of areas where students were traveling from. Chairman Rogers asked if there was anyone else in the audience to address this case. Hearing none, he closed the public portion of the case at 8:49 p.m. and brought the discussion back to the board. Mr. Floros asked Staff if they were comfortable with the parking situation at the subject property. He stated there were four other occupants located at the subject property and the Petitioner would be the fifth occupant. Ms. Andrade said Staff was comfortable with the parking at the subject property. She stated Staff considered the Petitioner’s desired enrollment and included this number with the parking analysis. Ms. Andrade said if the enrollment exceeded 65 students at the location at one time, Staff would have to review the parking situation with the Petitioner to ensure that there are spaces available for all the uses. The other tenants in the building are warehouse and office uses. The number of required parking is based on the type of land use and square footage for each tenant. Ms. Andrade stated the parking analysis showed that there is a sufficient amount of parking. Mr. Beattie asked if the parking numbers included the Petitioner’s plan to expand the facility to accommodate an additional 30 students. Ms. Andrade said the parking analysis included the maximum number of students desired by the school, which is 65, and that there is a parking surplus of 15 additional spaces. Mr. Roberts said most of the students would not be attending all day long; it would most likely be for a half a day. In addition, he believed that a majority of the students would not have their own vehicle and would carpool. Ms. Kang discussed parking numbers for staff and students. She said during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., there are 49 students which 35 students drive. The additional students carpool to the facility. Ms. Kang stated that current numbers are not even close to the maximum of 65 vehicles permitted. There are fewer students in the evening. Mr. Floros was concerned with the additional tenants and the amount of parking. He hoped that there would not be a problem at the site. Mr. Nasatir discussed the proposed location within the building for the College of Chicago. He said their entrance is on the North side of the building. Mr. Nasatir stated that the existing tenants currently do no park on the (east) side of the building where the College would be located. He said there are easily 40 spaces available on the east side with additional parking to the north and in front of the building. Mr. Beattie made a motion to approve a Conditional Use to operate a vocational school at 1400 Business Center Drive, Case No. PZ-18-10 subject to the conditions as listed in the staff report. Mr. Foggy seconded the motion. UPON ROLL CALL: AYES: Beattie, Donnelly, Floros, Foggy, Roberts, Rogers, Youngquist NAYS: None The Village Board’s decision is final for this case. Mr. Donnelly made a motion, seconded by Mr. Beattie to adjourn at 8:58 p.m. The motion was approved by a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned. Richard Rogers, Chair PZ-18-10 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting January 27, 2011 Page 3 of 4 ________________________________________ Ryan Kast, Community Development Administrative Assistant Richard Rogers, Chair PZ-18-10 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting January 27, 2011 Page 4 of 4