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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2003 EDC minutes MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Thursday, April 3, 2003 8:00 a.m. The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Thursday, April 3, 2003, in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Norm Kurtz called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Commissioners John Amdt, Bruce Gillilan, Ben Trapani and Tom Zander were present. Commissioners Pat Biedar and David Lindgren were absent. Also present were Mayor Gerald Farley, Jim Uszler, Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, Bill Cooney, Director of Community Development, Mike Jacobs, Deputy Director of Community Development, Fire Chief Mike Figolah, Fire Marshal Paul Valentine, Michael Heimbecker, Fire Protection Safety Engineer, Bill George, Building Commissioner, and Bob Roels, Environmental Health Manager. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the December 5, 2002 meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Status Update Mr. Cooney informed the EDC that a developer recently purchased the Central Plaza Shopping Center. At this point staff is unaware of who the developer is, but is working with a local broker, Brian Properties, to adequately address the property. It is hoped that the new owners of the property intend to demolish the structure and consider a new mixed-use development at that location. Mr. Cooney stated that Culver's Restaurant was looking at a variety of locations throughout town and it appeared they would be locating at the former Super Shops facility in front of Hobby Lobby. They are also looking at the north end of town along Rand Road. Mr. Cooney stated that the Costco project was still alive but that it appeared that construction would not begin until 2004. He provided a brief update of other items at the Randhurst Mall. He then informed the Commission that Oberweis Dairy would soon be opening its doors at the Lofts development and a TCF Bank and a beauty salon would be following soon thereafter. He closed by indicating that the vacant parcel at the southeast comer of Dempster and Busse was currently under contract and a variety of banking institutions and restaurants were considering this location. NEW BUSINESS International Building Code Mr. Cooney provided a brief overview of the proposed building, fire and property maintenance code updates to the 2000 International Building Codes. He stated that, with the recent unification of the building codes under the umbrella of the International Building Code, that staff felt it would be beneficial for the Village to adopt the most recent codes. He stated that the Village is currently operating under the 1996 BOCA Code and a variety o fo therc odes that h ave now been consolidated into the International Building Code. He then introduced Chief Mike Figolah to provide a brief overview of the changes that would be implemented with the proposed International Fire Code. ChiefFigolah stated that the greatest change in the proposed update would be the requirement for sprinklering of all new townhomes and single-family home construction. Currently, these two uses do not require sprinklering under the Village Codes. He indicated many local communities have adopted similar ordinances because the majority of fire related deaths do occur in homes. He explained that the cost of installing sprinklers in new construction was approximately $1.50 to $1.75 per square foot, similar to the cost of installing carpeting. He then introduced Fire Marshal Paul Valentine who provided a general overview of some of the other substantive changes to the proposed International Fire Code. There was conomic Development Commission April 3, 2002 Minutes Page 2 general discussion by the EDC members about the pros and cons of requiring sprinklering in single-family and townhomes. There was general consensus that this would be a worthwhile endeavor in new construction but concerns were raised that this might also evolve into requiring all additions and other improvements to require sprinklers. ChiefFigolah indicated that was not the intent of the Fire Department and that other communities who have applied that requirement have had a lot of resistance. At this time, they would not be pursuing a requirement to put sprinklers in large additions or alterations of existing homes. Commissioner Trapani then made a motion to recommend that the Village Board approve the amendment as proposed. Mr. Amdt seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. Cook County Property Tax Update Mr. Cooney stated that this item was placed on the agenda at the request of Mr. Gillilan. The County is pursuing state legislation that would prohibit commercial and industrial property owners from appealing their reassessments. The proposed legislation was generated at the request of local school districts due to the large amount of appeals that are successfully granted each year. Mr. Gillilan stated that, while the funding of schools is certainly an issue that needs to addressed, he felt that the proposed legislation would have a negative impact on businesses in the County and especially Mount Prospect. Mr. Uszler stated that he was in attendance yesterday in Springfield as the Senate approved the proposed legislation. He stated that the House is due to review the item later this afternoon and that it was likely that it would pass. It was agreed that the EDC should work with the Chamber to follow this issue and take appropriate action to benefit the business community. Downtown Redevelopment - The Next Steps Mr. Cooney displayed several boards that illustrated the 1998 Strategic Plan and current status of the downtown redevelopment. He provided a brief history of the redevelopment efforts over the past four years. He also informed the EDC that the Village Board had placed a joint discussion with EDC on their May 13th Committee of the Whole agenda to discuss this matter. Chairman Kurtz questioned whether the Board considered his suggestion to reconvene an ad hoc committee for the redevelopment efforts. Mayor Farley stated that he didn't feel a new ad hoc committee was necessary for this matter and that the EDC would be the proper commission to make recommendations on the next steps for redevelopment. Mr. Kurtz stated that, if the EDC is to be charged with this role, it was imperative that all members make an effort to attend the May 13t~ Committee of the Whole meeting. Mr. Cooney stated that staff would help prepare a Power Point presentation that the EDC could utilize to make a brief presentation to the Board at that meeting. CItAIRMAN'S REPORT There was no Chairman's report. ADJOURNMENT The Commissioners agreed the next meeting would be held on June 5, 2003. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted, WJC:bhs William J. Cooney, Jr., AICP Director of Community Development