VILLAGE OF LONG GROVE
Long Grove Plan Commission & Zoning Board of Appeals (LGPCZBA) &
Architectural Board
February 19, 2008 Special
Meeting Minutes
Commissioners Present: Shelly Rubin , Mike Dvorak, Joe DiIorio, Jeff Kazmer, Wendy Parr, Robert Jenkins, Tobin Fraley, Charles Cohn
Architectural Review Board Members Present: Rod Beadle, Valerie Plunkett, Lori Lyman
Chairman present: Fred Phillips
Also present: Village Planner James Hogue; Planning Commission Secretary Terri Taylor; Village Attorney Jon Furr; Village Superintendent Bob Block and members of the public.
Chairman
Phillips summarized that this begins the start of the public hearing for the
Master Plan for the Village of Long Grove revitalization. There will be two
paths the Plan will take for review, one will go through the Planning
Commission for zoning and land use and the other will go through the
Architectural Review Board for review of the look and feel for design elements.
It was anticipated that this hearing and discussion would continue to the March
18, 2008 Special Meeting when public comment and discussion would happen.
Attorney
Furr explained that the Public Hearing is required for any changes to be made
to the Comprehensive Plan.
Chairman
Phillips swore in those planning to testify during the meeting.
Joe
Chiczewski, with ESI Consultants, Village Engineer explained the process of
gathering public opinions and involvement during the development of the
planning. Elements the Village asked Hitchcock to work on included: Master
Planning, Wayfinding, Landscaping standards and Architectural standards.
Rick
Hitchcock began the Hitchcock Design Group presentation. The presentation
included a detailed PowerPoint presentation, which was also provided in hard
copy format to the Commissioners. In summary, he provided an overview of the
task force and people working on the project. He described the study area
(downtown and Route 83 properties) as well as the goal and objectives of the
project.
Mr.
Hitchcock introduced Bridget Lane, BDI Consulting who spoke regarding the
Opportunity Analysis and current market conditions for the project area. The
primary focus is on the downtown area and data shown on the pie chart slides
refers only to downtown.
Mr.
Hitchcock began speaking again. He covered transportation issues and the large
volume of cars currently using Route 83. A parking review has been done and
shows a high amount of parking currently available for the amount of existing
community space. Their plan shows redistribution of parking but that no
additional new parking areas would be necessary.
There is
a 5-10 year timeframe expected for implementation of proposed changes within
the Master Plan.
Part of
the goal is to move away from tourists as the leading audience for the Village.
A shift of focus on to Village residents instead was explained. He showed a
slide that included the MidAmerica, Executive House and Bluebird properties and
pointed out the “Main Street” concept being used within these developments.
Hitchcock promotes the use of country or rural landscaping as well as the use
of walkways and consistent signage to connect downtown to new development areas
for access and cohesiveness.
Mr.
Hitchcock described specifics within the study area “quadrants”. There are four
quadrants; north, south, east and west which were labeled as such due to
location only within the area. Overall changes proposed for all quadrants
include improved street parking, increased connectivity by the additional of
new public streets. He began the review of improvements within each quadrant.
Village
Planner Hogue asked the Hitchcock Group about providing the design standards to
the Architectural Review Board.
Mr.
Hitchcock explained that those were currently in progress and would be ready
soon for presentation to that group for review.
This
concluded the presentation portion of the meeting and the Q & A period
began.
ARB
Member Lyman complimented the Hitchcock Group on their presentation and
specifically regarding the consideration of vehicle and pedestrian traffic as
well as their detailed market analysis.
Mr.
Chiczewski commented that a lot of good input was provided by residents and
business owners to help in the development of the plan.
Commissioner
Rubin asked if additional traffic studies had been done.
Mr.
Chiczewski said they had reviewed current studies regarding the Sunset project.
They concluded that key improvement features for connectivity that are planned
will benefit the traffic flow. He didn’t want to say that the Sunset Grove Plan
would “fix” all the traffic issues on Route 83, but that it would have some
impact towards improving traffic. He believes more significant improvements
between Aptakisic and Arlington Heights Road would still be necessary.
Discussion
continued between Commissioner Rubin, Mr. Chiczewski and Mr. Hitchcock
regarding traffic issues. Mr. Chiczewski believes the Route 83 improvements
will reduce the amount of traffic using downtown Long Grove as a short cut. Mr.
Hitchcock said the new street parking will psychologically produce a calming
effect to drivers and pedestrians.
Commissioner
Cohn asked whether a traffic light was a feasible alternative at the
intersection of Robert Parker Coffin Road and Old McHenry. Commissioner Frahley
explained that the light was not feasible because it would require widening of
the road.
Mr.
Chiczewski said they were seeking other alternatives and that Lake County had
jurisdiction over Old McHenry Road improvements. Lake County has plans to
improve Old McHenry Road conditions and drainage but they will follow
recommendations provided by the Village of Long Grove when they design the plan
and proceed.
Commissioner
Cohn also addressed pedestrian focused solutions including access across Route
83 with the possibility of an underpass. Mr. Chiczewski responded that an
overpass or underpass would be expensive.
Commissioner
Cohn expressed interest in being able to
travel to the downtown area without driving.
Village
Planner Hogue said that the Trails Committee was addressing this topic. They
are focusing on a path that runs parallel with Old McHenry Rd. from Robert
Parker Coffin Rd. to Rt. 22. This path would serve as a “spine” for other paths
to connect and make linkages.
More
discussion about the pathways occurred.
Commissioner
DiIorio asked about the possibility of having sidewalks on Robert Parker Coffin
Rd. to the west of the bridge?
Mr.
Chiczewski responded that although the issue is important, it fell outside the
“master plan” area and would not be addressed by the plans being set forth
here.
Architectural
Review Board member Marshall asked if there were plans to extend Aptakisic Road
west to meet up with Cuba Road.
Mr.
Chiczewski said it was not really possible and was also an area not included
within the master plan parameters. Bob Block said that at one time there was an
access road to Twin Orchards but the property is now private.
Commissioner
Parr commented that the project was on target with the goals. She asked
Hitchcock Design Group if they had addressed the varying architectural designs
between downtown, the existing promenade buildings and the proposed Sunset
Grove buildings.
Mr.
Hitchcock said they planned to propose a graduating design concept between Rt.
83 and the downtown area so prevent dramatic change from one area to another.
It was not completed at the time of the presentation.
Commissioner
Parr asked about where the fire station would be located. It was removed from
it current location on the Hitchcock plan and she noted that the current
Comprehensive Plan indicates Rt. 83 to be an area reserved for a possible fire
station.
Discussion
took place regarding the fire station and ultimately it was made clear that the
fire station would be consulted if the time comes that their building would be
relocated. At that time, the most appropriate location would be considered and
perhaps the Comprehensive Plan amended to address the change as dictated by
current conditions.
Commissioner
Parr asked if the materials and width of the paths proposed by the Sunset Grove
development had been established because it seemed that what they were
proposing is inconsistent with the Master Plan.
Mr.
Hitchcock said that MidAmerica had not refined their plan but was awaiting
details from the Hitchcock Design Group before making additional changes to
their plans.
Commissioner
Parr asked about any plans for Low-Income Housing and the possibility of a
Community Center. Discussion took place between Mr. Hitchcock and some
Commissioners. It appeared that all were in favor of some kind of Community
Center.
Commissioner
Cohn asked what the timeframe was for moving forward.
Mr.
Hitchcock said that the wayfinding project would move forward first, followed
by the streetscape and parking improvements next.
Mr.
Chiczewski indicated that the scope of the work also included a demo site for
starting some improvements. They selected a site with easy availability
(Village owned) so no county or state approvals would be necessary to begin
work.
Commissioner
Cohn wanted to know when the county was planning to begin road improvements on
Rt. 83.
Mr.
Chiczewski said that once Long Grove makes recommendations and standards, it
would be about three years until the project might get started. Two steps the
county needs to take before moving forward. The first is an environmental study
and the seond it the approval process.
Ms Lane
said that it would be important to note that the Village owns some of the
property where the demo and prototypes are planned, therefore giving the
revitalization a kickstart that does not require as many approvals to begin.
Mr.
Chiczewski claimed it could be possible to begin the demo site in late 2008 or
early 2009. Developers are already showing interest in the new plans.
Commissioner
Jenkins complimented the plan but pointed out that he felt the Village was
creating two separate towns that are connected by a road. He would like iconic
buildings and brick walkways to remain.
Commissioner
Kazmer stated that the plan had an excellent amount of green space and would
enjoy seeing even more. He asked if the proposed amount of parking would be
enough.
Discussion
took place and it was made clear that seven parking spots/1000 square feet of
community space was enough according to standards for this space. One of the
goals is to make parking easier to navigate within downtown. The new streets
will improve access for all including trucks for deliveries.
Commissioner
Jenkins made a motion to continue this Public Hearing until the March 18, 2008
Special Meeting. Commissioner Dvorak seconded the motion. On a voice vote, all
ayes.
Village
Planner Hogue let the Commissioners know what was on the agenda for the March 4th
meeting. Two Public Hearings would most likely take place.
Chairman
Phillips said he would not be in attendance at the next regular meeting,
therefore a motion would need to be made at the onset of the March 4th
meeting to have Commissioner Cohn serve as Chairman Pro-Tem.
The
Commissioners discussed the overall process that took place during the Sunset
Grove meeting. Commissioner Parr stated that the seating arrangement was not
conducive to a productive meeting. The other Commissioners agreed. Commissioner
Parr stated that a lot of the questions they had all posed went unanswered and
that the plan the Board went on to approve was different from the plan the
PCZBA had reviewed. It appeared that some of the conditions placed upon the
Sunset Grove plan were not included when the Board saw and approved the final proposed
plan. The Commissioners continued to discuss how the Board handles their
recommendations when the plans arrive
for review or approval.
Commissioner
Rubin made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Commissioner Kazmer. On a voice
vote, all ayes no nays. Meeting was adjourned at 11:25 p.m.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Terri
Taylor; Secretary, Long Grove PCZBA