Village of Long Grove

Plan Commission Meeting Minutes

July 9, 2001

 

Present: Chairman Young, Commissioners Lisa Phillips, Gould, Jenkins, Fred Phillips and Coffin, Village Manager Doughty and Mac Birch and Scott Brendel of Lane Kendig, Inc.

 

Absent: Commissioners Borawski, Walter and Di Iorio and Planner Kendig

 

Note: In the absence of a new Plan Commission Secretary having been appointed, Commissioner Gould was appointed Acting Secretary.

 

I.          MEETING GAVELED TO ORDER.

 

Meeting called to order by Chairman Young at 8:03 p.m.

 

II.          MINUTES OF JUNE 5, 2001.

 

Motion to accept the minutes of June 5,2001, as presented, made by Commissioner Fred Phillips, seconded by Commissioner Coffin. Ayes all. Motion carried.

 

IV.       OLD BUSINESS.
            A. Good Shepherd Church Annexation and Special Use.

 

Village Manager Doughty advised that the Village had received a letter from Kenneth Shepro, attorney representing Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, stating they were electing to stand on its application as presently submitted and requesting an up or down vote at this meeting.

 

Following a brief discussion about the late notice of the request, motion to table discussion of the Good Shepherd Church Annexation and Special Use application to the August 7, 2001 meeting made by Commissioner Coffin, seconded by Commissioner Fred Phillips. Ayes all. Motion carried.

 

                                    B. Valenti's Long Grove Woods Phase II Annexation and Planned Unit Development.

 

Messrs. Joseph E. Valenti, Jr. of Valenti Builders, Inc., Frank Salathe of JenLand Design, Inc., landscape architecture and Jim Manhard of Manhard Consulting were present with a revised plan, which included: 62 lots of various sizes using sanitary sewer, with 25 lots to the north of around 26,000 square feet and the southern 37 lots of around 40,000 square feet; a setback of at least 350 feet off N. Krueger Road; a centrally located community area that could include a gazebo or BBQ pit; more open space; and no lots backing directly to one another.

 

In response to questions from Commissioners, renderings of the alternate plans outlined in Planner Kendig's memo of July 3,2001 were displayed, including one using septic and well for each lot, but the petitioners stated that they believed their variable size lot plan was the best plan; stated they would not be in favor of charting to ensure that smaller homes would be built on the smaller lots; outlined two options for a pathway system; noted the possibility of an emergency access through Pamela Court in White Oak Estates; advised they could find no evidence of Village R.O.W. to the south of the property; and stated they believed a community well dug to the middle aquifer was appropriate.

 

Motion to hold a public hearing on August 7, 2001 for the purpose of considering the annexation, R-2 zoning and PUD petition by Joe Valenti, Jr. for Valenti Long Grove Woods Phase II made by Commissioner Fred Phillips, seconded by Commissioner Jenkins. Ayes all. Motion carried.

 

C.    Brookstone/Remington PUD.

 

Mr. Brian Forneck, attorney with Schain, Burney, Ross & Citron, and Jim Crane of Manhard Consulting were present on behalf of Remington Homes to request final approval of the Brookstone (aka Remington Homes) PUD consisting of 15 lots on approximately 30 acres southeast of Checker and S. Schaeffer Roads.

 

The Commissioners reviewed Planner Kendig's memo of June 4, 2001 and Engineer Bleck's letter dated July 3,2001. Questions from the Commissioners were answered satisfactorily by Messrs. Forneck and Crane.

 

Motion to recommend final approval to the Village Board for the Brookstone PUD, subject to the satisfactory resolution of the minor outstanding issues set forth in Engineer Bleck's letter dated July 3,2001 made by Commissioner Jenkins, seconded by Commissioner Gould. Chairman Young and Commissioners Gould, Jenkins, Fred Phillips and Coffin voted aye. Commissioner Lisa Phillips abstained. Motion carried.

 

IV. NEW BUSINESS.

 

                           A. Subdivision Landscape Regulations.

 

In response to the Commission's direction at the last meeting, Planner Kendig had prepared draft language revisions to Section 6-5-5 Improvements Required under Title 6 of the Village Code. The Commissioners reviewed the proposed language with Mac Birch, Senior Associate of Lane Kendig, Inc. who was present in Planner Kendig's absence, and suggested rewording paragraphs (E) 4 and 5 and other minor changes. The Commission requested that a revised draft incorporating their comments be resubmitted for further review.

 

            B. Housing Design Standards.

 

Also in response to the Commission's request at the last meeting, Planner Kendig had submitted a number of housing standards criteria for consideration. Mr. Birch noted that the intent behind these standards was to avoid monotony, upgrade the aesthetic treatment standards for developer housing and give the Village prior approval of floor plans and elevations for production builders and that similar standards were used around the country.

 

The Commission reviewed and discussed each of the items and indicated general agreement with the concepts presented. Commissioner Coffin expressed the opinion that use of these standards would result in much better developments. The Commission requested that the criteria be resubmitted in the appropriate legal language for further review.

 

There was also discussion of reviewing bulk standards and height allowances in light of the smaller lot sizes being proposed within the Village and the possibility of including Site Volume Ratio as a criteria.

 

************MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS***********

 

As part of a general discussion on the trend of development, it was the opinion of some Commissioners that the septic plan presented at the meeting for the Valenti petition was not what they considered a "best" plan in that it used only Wisconsin Mound systems and was driven by having wide scenic corridor. It was noted that at the previous meeting, the Commission was divided on whether a scenic corridor like the Fields or septic should drive the development planning. Following discussion, the Commission asked that Village Manager Doughty request from Mr. Valenti a "best" septic plan based solely on use of septic as the driving factor for comparison at the public hearing.

 

There was also discussion on the status of the legal opinion related to the Good Shepherd Church petition and the fact that it was unclear exactly what it meant that the Church's petition stood "...as presently submitted, incorporating the statements made on its behalf at the April 3rd meeting..." as stated in Mr. Shepro's July 6, 2001 letter. The Commission requested that Village Manager Doughty ask the petitioners to clarify their petition as it now stood in advance of the August meeting.

 

            C. Undeveloped Land Map.

 

The Commission reviewed the memo of May 8, 2001 and map indicating parcels of land in and around Long Grove that could come before the Village for development in the future. It was agreed that each parcel should be personally inspected by Commissioners to determine whether it was desirable that it be developed as currently zoned or if another use would be more appropriate. Staff was asked to divide the parcels among the Commissioners and create a list of considerations so that everyone would utilize the same criteria when making their recommendations.

 

V.    COMITTEE REPORTS - none.

 

VII. PLANNER'S REPORT - none.

 

VIII. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT.

 

IX.       ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING.

 

Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Coffin, seconded by Commissioner Fred Phillips. Ayes all. Meeting adjourned at 10:55 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Camy Gould

Acting Secretary