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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/14/2000 CWC MinutesMINUTES FLOATING COFFEE WITH COUNCIL Saturday, October 14, 2000 9:00 a.m. LOCATION 1— 2 " d Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Trustee Michaele Skowran convened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. Those present were Trustees Paul Hoefert and Irvana Wilks. Representing staff were Village Manager Michael Janonis and Chief of Police Ronald Pavlock. Village residents in attendance were: Mary Stout, 600 E. Lincoln, Arlington Heights David Schein, 512 NaWaTa Ramon Rubio, 412 N. Elmhurst Ave. Carol Tortorello, 223 S. Elmhurst Ave. 20 Residents from the Lincoln St. Town Homes Mary Stout, 600 E. Lincoln, Arlington Heights, stated she was at the meeting to follow up on a question she has had regarding the removal of trees from what she claims is her property. Mr. Janonis stated that staff had already reviewed this matter and it was found that the trees were removed by an adjacent property owner, a contractor, to make way for a development. The trees were on his property and not Mrs. Stout's. Trustee Hoefert explained to her that neighbors do not need permission to remove trees on their own property. Trustee Skowron asked the Village Manager to set up a meeting with Mrs. Stout as soon as possible to review the matter. A spokesperson was at the meeting representing approximately 20 neighbors from the Lincoln Street Town Homes. She explained that over the past two years they have been dealing with neighborhood concerns. In 1998 they joined Neighborhood Watch and have been following the procedures for notifying the police of different problems in their neighborhood. During the past summer, however, problems with a group of approximately 18 -20 teenagers escalated to where the police had to be called on many occasions. She explained that these teens have been gathering on the Lincoln Street condos property, creating disturbances with boom boxes, driving recklessly on Lincoln, harassing neighbors' children, and harassing neighbors walking their dogs. It appears that the kids for the most part were not even from the area. The residents are looking for help from the Village to solve this problem. During this discussion she presented evidence of an empty bottle that had contained an alcoholic beverage and several empty cigarette packages that were left in the area where the teenagers gather. The neighbors then gave several examples of the teens' behavior, and indicated by a show of hands that the majority of them would be willing to cooperate with the police and sign complaints. Page 1 of 6 Trustee Skowron advised the Lincoln Street residents that they should consider doing the following: 1) meet with Police Department staff and invite a representative of the Park District to discuss a cooperative effort on how the problems with these teenagers can be resolved; and 2) the neighborhood association should meet and review their bylaws and establish certain rules that everyone would have to abide by or face an assessment from the association for violating the rules. At 10:15 a.m. Trustee Wilks left to attend the second Coffee With Council meeting to be held at Euclid School. The residents then asked if radar could be set on Lincoln Street to catch the violators, and lights installed in certain areas to discourage loitering in the area. They indicated that they would certainly meet with the Police Department in an attempt to resolve these issues. The meeting at Location 1 was adjourned at 10:35. LOCATION 2 - Euclid School, 1211 N. Wheeling Road The Floating Coffee with Council was reconvened at 10:30 a.m. by Trustee Wilks. Representing staff was Public Works Deputy Director Sean Dorsey. Dick Balzer, 1904 Ivy Mike & Cindy Young, 1903 Ivy Lane Elaine Costello, 605 Greenwood Charles & Helen Reiter, 608 Hackberry Stephen Floder, 1207 Wheeling Road Ross & Donna Johnson, 1009 Westgate David Kwak, 1900 Ivy Shirley Smalley, Superintendent, School District 26 Rita Franks, 1902 Ivy Ramon Rubio, 412 N. Elmhurst Mary Pendergast, 801 Brentwood Ron Cassidy, 708 Cedar Lane David Schein, 512 NaWaTa David Kwak, 1900 Ivy, explained that he was attending the meeting to voice his objection to the large homes being built directly behind his property. Cindy Young, 1903 Ivy Lane, added that she, her husband, and several other residents were attending to discuss the same issue. She related that the lot at the southeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Burning Bush Lane was originally a very large lot (approximately 1200' x 300'). Recently, it was subdivided into three (3) smaller lots and a developer has constructed a large house on one of the lots. Ms. Young explained that the neighbors are Page 2 of 6 concerned about the effect that this large house will have on aesthetics and property values in the neighborhood. They are concerned that the large house doesn't "fit in" with the smaller homes that are predominant in the area. They are also concerned that the developer plans to build a similarly sized house on the remaining undeveloped lot. Ms. Young also commented that Village staff should have notified area residents about the intended development. She related that she called the Village when construction started and was told that the proposed home does not cover more than 45% of the lot. Originally she though that assessment was correct. However, as construction progressed, she realized that the lots were actually much smaller. She now has doubts that the coverage percentage is true. Trustee Wilks responded that there is no public notification requirement if all of the Village's zoning and permit requirements are satisfied. Dick Balzer, 1904 Ivy, stated that he personally visited the Community Development Department and met with Deputy Director Mike Blue. Mr. Balzer reported that Mr. Blue informed him that the lot had been legally subdivided and that the new single - family residence satisfied Village codes. Mr. Blue also reportedly advised Mr. Balzer that neighbors objecting to the development had no legal recourse to stop or reverse the project. Mr. Balzer commented that something should be done to clean up the debris and tall weeds covering the undeveloped lot. He suggested that Mr. Kwak has had his backyard vista disrupted by piles of construction debris and weeds. He noted that the vacant lot has been kept in this condition since last May. Village Manager Michael E. Janonis and Police Chief Ronald W. Pavlock joined the meeting at this juncture. Trustee Wilks reviewed the proceedings. Mr. Janonis agreed with Trustee Wilks' assessment that no public notification is required if Village codes are satisfied. He also commented that the issue of lot coverage is a matter that can easily be verified by staff. He also stated that staff will arrange to have the vacant lot cleaned up. Ms. Young stated that she understands that, in this instance, there may be little or nothing that can be done to change that fact that a large house has been built, and another large house probably will be built, amidst much smaller homes. However, she also suggested that the Village Board should visit the issue of single - family residential redevelopment and consider whether this type of redevelopment is beneficial to the Village. Elaine Costello, 605 Greenwood, wanted to compliment the Village on the fantastic job they have done over the past years with the Boxwood area. However, she was concerned about the garbage bins that are left open in the alley behind the 1070 Wheeling Road building. She stated they are rarely closed and she is concerned about rodents. Mr. Janonis stated he would have Lisa Angell, look into the matter and attempt to educate residents on the importance of keeping the garbage bins closed. He also stated that the Boxwood project was a Village -wide effort and, in fact, in the 2001 budget there are Page 3 of 6 funds allocated to put streetlights along Wheeling Road. These would be directed streetlights and should not affect the residents along Wheeling Road. Mr. Janonis also stated the Village is always looking for ways to improve the area, including the adoption of an ordinance that requires at least 20% of all apartments in the Village be inspected on an annual basis. Dr Shirley Smalley, Superintendent, School District 26, was very pleased with the construction permit system in the Village. Her summertime construction projects went very smoothly due to the efforts the Village made to coordinate inspections with her contractors. Charles & Helen Reiter, 608 Hackberry, complimented the Police Department on its approach to all types of enforcement, keeping it fair and impartial. They wanted all the officers to know that they and their neighbors totally support the Police Department. They also brought up the concerns about the signage at Euclid Road and Wheeling Road. A discussion then took place about future studies and perhaps changes. Mr. Janonis indicated that there are no immediate plans to make any changes at that location. Mary Pendergast, 801 Brentwood Court, expressed concerns she has about the construction of the 800 Berman Court building atd the Kensington Business Center. She contacted several staff persons regarding the contractors at this location starting as early as 5:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, as well as throughout the week. She asked that the ordinance that requires contractors to start at 8:00 a.m. be enforced without any exceptions, and recommended that no construction be allowed on Sundays. She stated that the previous Sunday there was a dust storm in her neighborhood and that the heavy equipment shook her house. She asked that the Village review the 200 foot rule relative to the heavy equipment, and would be willing to assist the Village on working on these ordinances. Mr. Janonis stated that last week Assistant Village Manager Dave Strahl had been working with the Police Department to deliver the contractor a notice to cease this activity and start construction only on the agreed upon times. He further stated that he had Sgt. John Dahlberg assign officers to monitor the project starting last Thursday and through this weekend. Stephen Floder, 1207 Wheeling Road, lives next to Euclid School and expressed concerns about the size of the stones that have been used to cover a school lot. He stated the children have taken the stones out of the area and thrown them in his yard and even on his roof. Dr. Smalley stated she has had at least one other call on the situation, and she and her staff are currently looking at alternatives. Mr. Dorsey explained that the Public Works Department does use a plastic material to cover these areas, generally around sewer projects, and if Dr. Smalley's staff will contact him he will be more than willing to give them the details about the material. Page 4 of 6 Ron Cassidy, 708 Cedar Lane, also was concerned about the noise in the Kensington Business area during the construction, but did not call the Village regarding the problem. He also expressed to Dr. Smalley a concern about the drainage area by Euclid School next to his house where SUV's will occasionally drive. He is concerned that by driving in this area the vehicles may damage the drain tiles behind his home. He has had problems in the past with flooding and would not like to see these problems return. Mr. Cassidy then gave his opinion on the real estate transfer tax and stated it should be on the seller. Trustee Wilks indicated that the discussion about this subject would be re- addressed at the November 8, 2000, 7:30 p.m. Village Board meeting. She invited Mr. Cassidy as well as anyone else in the audience to attend and express their opinion. Resident David Schein stated that he has no problem with the current ordinance. Ross & Donna Johnson, 1009 Westgate, wanted to compliment the Village on their efficient action on a concern they had relative to the condition of bushes on the OPUS property. They stated they had taken photographs of the bashes, and had given these photos and the name of the owner of the building to Mike Blue in the Planning Department. Within a short period of time the bushes were taken care of. They also wanted to thank the Village and Mr. Janonis. After an entrance marker to their Camelot Subdivision was damaged by private contractor construction crews the Village immediately repaired the damage. Mr. & Mrs. Johnson reported that at a recent meeting with the Village Manager and the Police Chief the attendees realized that Mount Prospect is light years ahead when dealing with problem landlords and diversity issues. A resident of another municipality commented to the Johnson's that the Village of Mount Prospect knows how to handle diversity issues, and they should be proud of Mount Prospect's leadership. They also wanted to pass on a compliment about how the Police Department deals with its citizens as customers of Village service. They gave an example of when their son had a question asked of him by a friend about whether a certain activity was legal, his son told his friend to contact Officer Roscop who would give him a straight answer. The friend did contact Officer Roscop and was given a comprehensive, but straight answer. The Johnson's brought up the ongoing problems with noise at O'Hare and Palwaukee Airports. They suggested that the hot line for the O'Hare Noise Compatability Commission be published in the Newsletter. Mr. Janonis stated it was in the last Newsletter (September- October, page 3). Trustee Wilks indicated that she serves on this Commission with Mayor Farley, and they have made it very clear that there are still noise problems, but asked the Johnson's to continue to call in their concerns with the time of the flight that is causing the problem. There then was a discussion about monitors that have been placed in various locations and that they are notifying the airlines and the pilots when there is a specific problem. Dr. Smalley brought up the fact that the schools in District 26 not only have a problem with O'Hare flights but also with Palwaukee Page 5 of 6 flights. Mr. Janonis indicated that Assistant Manger Strahl is working with Prospect Heights and Wheeling on the placement of monitors for Palwaukee Airport. Dr. Smalley, who is a resident of Prospect Heights, stated she would contact representatives from her community expressing the concern she has with the impact of aircraft noise on her schools in District 26. There was also a concern with the grass cutting on Euclid Avenue were new trees had been planted. Trustee Wilks and Mr. Janonis explained that this had been a county responsibility, but next year the Village is taking over the mowing of this area. Mr. & Mrs. Johnson also expressed their opinion about the future proposal for the new Village Hall that included a three -story parking ramp. Trustee Wilks and Mr. Janonis explained the tremendous problems that businesses and residents have with parking in downtown Mount Prospect, and the only solution will be to building parking decks that are aesthetically pleasing. They further explained that the condo complexes have their own underground parking, but the above ground parking is desired for the business area because people do not like underground parking facilities. Trustee Wilks closed the meeting at 12:20 p.m. Respectfully s , Ronald W. Pavlock Chief of Police RWP:jd Attachments Page 6 of 6