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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLAN COMMISSION - Docket 22-1, Special Use, 1021-1041 Bonaventure Drive-Allah Shia IslamicElk Grove Village Plan Commission Minutes April 4, 2022 Present: J. Glass F. Geinosky K. Weiner P. Rettberg R. DeFrenza L. Bacigalupo J. Morrill Absent: G. Schumm S. Carlson Staff: B. Kozor, Deputy Director of Community Development R. Schroyer, Staff Engineer N. Radcliffe, Senior Management Analyst Petitioner(s): R. Naumann, Naumann, Agnello & Associates, LLC S. Shah, Ali Yun Wali Allah Shia Islamic Chairman Glass called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Item 1: November 29, 2021 Meeting Minutes Commissioner Geinosky moved to approve the meeting minutes of November 19, 2021. Commissioner Rettberg seconded the motion. Upon voting (Glass, Geinosky, Weiner, Rettberg, AYES, Bacigalupo, DeFrenza, Morrill ABSTAIN), the motion carried 4-0-3. Item 2: PC Docket # 22-1 Petition for Special Use to operate a religious institution located at 1021-1041 Bonaventure Drive (Syed Shah and the Ali Yun Wali Allah Shia Islamic) Chairman Glass read the legal notice into the record and asked the Petitioner to explain their purpose before the Plan Commission. R. Naumann stated that the Petition for a Special Use Permit is to operate a religious use located at 1021-1041 Bonaventure Drive. The property is currently zoned as B-3 and is a single building with three units. One unit is occupied by the owner of the building and the other two units are in the process of becoming unoccupied. The unit occupied by the owner is a music school for children 1 and will continue to operate as is, one unit is a customer service call center, and the last unit is a transportation company. The two units that the Petitioner would occupy equates to over 5,000 square feet. R. Naumann explained that the Petitioner would not make any alterations to the building and they plan to meet once a week on weekday evenings. The congregation has close to 70 members. R. Naumann stated that there is no floor plan as members of the congregation gather on blankets and pillows. R. Naumann stated that the Petitioner wants to stay in Elk Grove Village and has been meeting with their congregation at a hotel in the meantime. The Petitioner vacated their last space located at 1550 Higgins Road because the Village purchased it. R. Naumann stated that the Petitioner plans to comply with the Village's Fire Code by installing new panic hardware on all exits and installing fire alarms. R. Naumann stated that the installation of a fire suppression system would be a huge expense and that they are looking into ways to pay for it. R. Naumann stated there are 30 parking stalls available on the site, which means a total of 120 occupants allowed. R. Naumann stated that the total of 120 occupants exceeds the Petitioners needs and request. Commissioner Rettberg asked if there was a possibility that the Petitioner would ever exceed 120 occupants for special holidays or by adding more members to the congregation. R. Naumann stated that as of right now, the congregation has 70 members. If they were to grow as a congregation or have an overflow on special holidays, they would work with their neighbors on a shared parking agreement. R. Naumann stated that a shared parking agreement works well since the congregation meets on weekday evenings when most other business users close for the day. Commissioner Weiner asked what the square footage difference is for this building compared to their original building off of Higgins Road. S. Shah stated their old building was 2,000 square feet and this one is 5,700 square feet. Commissioner Weiner stated that membership for the congregation must have gone down since the move and asked if the Petitioner anticipates that membership will return back to normal. R. Naumann stated that they hope membership returns back to normal as they have plenty of parking stalls to handle an increase. Commissioner Geinosky asked if the Petitioner would install the fire suppression system or not. R. Naumann stated that they understand that the Village wants a fire suppression system installed and that they plan to install it, but they are not sure how or when it would happen. 2 Commissioner Geinosky stated that the installation of a fire suppression system prior to occupancy will be a condition. R. Naumann acknowledged. Commissioner Geinosky asked if the Petitioner will provide a revised seating plan. R. Naumann stated it is difficult to provide an accurate plan since members of the congregation sit on the ground. Chairman Glass asked Village Staff what kind of seating plan is acceptable. B. Kozor stated that there are a couple options. One option is to show standing which is 5 square feet, the other option is to show seating which is 7 square feet. If the Petitioner provides a plan that shows no more than 120 occupants, then they are in compliance. B. Kozor went on to explain that typically a Fire Districts come out and inspect these type of facilities once a year or if there are complaints, so if there are more occupants than proposed, then the Petitioner would have to provide a revised parking plan and/or a shared parking agreement. R. Naumann stated that the issue is not with the total occupant load, the parking is the limiting factor. Commissioner Weiner asked Village Staff if there was an ordinance or building code that specifies sitting on the floor as opposed to a seating plan. B. Kozor stated that the Petitioner can use standing space, but the total parking stalls they have is the limiting factor and defines their total occupancy. They have enough bathrooms and exit space, it's the parking space that limits them to 120. Chairman Glass asked what the Village needs in order to move forward. B. Kozor stated that the Village would need a seating plan that shows they can occupy 120 people. Commissioner Geinosky asked if the Petitioner plans to add the additional ADA parking stall requested by Village Staff. R. Naumann stated that they plan to add the additional ADA parking stall. Commissioner Geinosky asked if there have been any complaints from neighbors at the Petitioners old location in regards to parking. S. Shah stated there were no complaints or problems in the 5 years they were located off of Higgins Road. Commissioner Bacigalupo asked Village Staff what the requirement is to add fire suppression. B. Kozor stated that ordinance 3636 of the Fire Code was adopted by the Fire District back in 2017- 2018 and requires every business, change of use, or anyone without a tenant for over 30 days, to install a fire alarm system. B. Kozor stated that if there is a change of use to a more restrictive use, such as going to an R use, which would be housing, transient hotel, or assembly use that would require a fire suppression system. Commissioner Bacigalupo asked what the difference is between a business use and this use. B. Kozor stated that a business use would be like a doctor's office, where an assembly use is looked at as transient people that are coming to a place that they might not be familiar with, such as visitors and guests. The building code has an entire occupancy that this is a short list of high hazard, and this is one of the thresholds that hits with the Fire District. 3 Commissioner Bacigalupo stated that Village Staff explained the formality behind the regulation, but he is struggling with the practicality behind it. There was no fire suppression required for the 3 businesses located there now and just because it is changing to an assembly use, we are going to require them to make a substantial financial investment. In practicality, there is not a higher risk with 120 people in a 5,000 square foot building. Commissioner Bacigalupo stated he respectfully disagrees with the Village's position on this matter. Commissioner DeFrenza asked if the congregation only meets once a week. R. Naumann stated that they will meet once a week except during special holidays where they might meet on more daily basis for a week or two. S. Shah stated that the meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and go until 10:30 p.m. Commissioner DeFrenza asked if the building can fit 120 people with 30 parking stalls. Chairman Glass stated that for this use, it is 4 people per 1 vehicle, so yes. Commissioner DeFrenza asked if all 3 tenants will vacate the building. R. Naumann stated yes over the next month or so they will all be gone. Commissioner Morrill asked if there will be 1 ADA stall or 2 ADA stalls on the property. R. Naumann stated there is 1 ADA stall and an additional ADA stall will be installed. Illinois requires 1 ADA stall for every 25 parking stalls, so in this case, the Petitioner is required to install 2 ADA stalls. Commissioner Morrill asked if the 2 ADA stalls would be enough for the congregation. S. Shah stated that they never used the ADA stall they had at their last location, so yes. Chairman Glass stated that the Village adopted a code requiring fire suppression and the Petitioner is requesting to change the existing building use to a much less intense use in theory. Instead of 3 businesses operating there and a lot of people going in and out, we have a group wanting to meet once a week on week nights. The building has seven exits and adequate space to maneuver in and out safely. Chairman Glass stated that he sees a hardship and burden on the Petitioner. Chairman Glass suggested to the Plan Commission that they make a recommendation to approve this petition subject to the ADA parking stall, seating plan, and fire alarm system, and recommend the Village takes another look at the fire suppression ordinance and decide if this could be waived based on what we heard here today from the Petitioners presentation. Commissioner Rettberg stated that he disagrees with what Chairman Glass proposed and stated that there's a reason for codes and that we are discussing fire suppression and safety. Chairman Glass stated that he agrees, but this is such a small facility and a minor change in use. N. Radcliffe stated that Village Staff, the Village Attorney, and R. Naumann have already discussed this issue at hand, in which the Village Attorney fully supports Village Staffs recommendation. Chairman Glass reiterated he agrees with the code and Village Staff s recommendation, but the fact that this is such a small group and that they only meet once a week is something that we should reconsider as a group. R. Naumann stated that his client is planning to install crash hardware and an alarm system. Commissioner DeFrenza asked what happens during the 6 days that no one is meeting there. S. Shah stated that he goes there a couple times a week to check in on the facility and to clean. They would also setup cameras to monitor the property. Commissioner Rettberg stated that the Village adopted the code for a reason and Village Staff recommended the installation of a fire suppression system, even the Village Attorney agrees. There is a hardship here, but this is about life safety and he would not support any recommendation that waives the installation of a fire suppression system. Commissioner Weiner asked if the Petitioner anticipates having 120 members right away. R. Naumann stated that 70 members would be a generous start. S. Shah stated that while they were at the Hyatt Place, they has a total of 30 members. The membership has decreased significantly since they had left the Higgins location. Commissioner Weiner asked if the Petitioner was required to install a fire suppression system back in 2016 when they came before the Plan Commission. S. Shah stated no. N. Radcliffe stated that they received a Special Use Permit prior to the new Fire Code being adopted. Commissioner Geinosky stated that it is the responsibility of the Planning Commission to recommend approval or not to the Village Board and that he would not feel comfortable recommending to waive the installation of the fire suppression system and agrees with Commissioner Rettberg. Commissioner Bacigalupo stated that he believes it is the Planning Commission's responsibility to look at the practicality of what is being recommended to the Village and he thinks this is a complete overstretch. R. Naumann recommended that if the Planning Commission were to allow the Petitioner to install the fire suppression system over a period of 5 years. Commissioner Rettberg stated that is way too long. Chairman Glass stated that he believes that it is an excellent idea. Commissioner Rettberg stated that the Petitioner already agreed to install the fire suppression system. R. Naumann stated that this is true, but they don't know how they are going to do it yet. 5 Commissioner Weiner stated that the only alteration the Planning Commission could potentially make is to recommend having the fire suppression system installed over a period of time. R. Naumann stated they would certainly be okay with that. B. Kozor stated that if the Plan Commission were to recommend that the fire suppression system to be installed over a period of time, then the Petitioner would have to have a fire watch. A fire watch is a trained member of the congregation that would have to be at the facility anytime a group is meeting there. S. Shah stated that they would have a member trained if that was a requirement. Commissioner Rettberg reiterated that he does not support that recommendation. Commissioner Bacigalupo moved to recommend approval of the Special Use to operate a religious institution located at 1021-1041 Bonaventure Drive with the following conditions: • The Petitioner must install a fire suppression system no later than five (5) years after receiving a certificate of occupancy. • Until a fire suppression system is fully installed, the Petitioner must provide a Fire Watch. • The Petitioner must provide a revised seating plan to Community Development prior to approval of building permits to confirm adequate egress paths are maintained and total occupant loads of the facility. • The Petitioner must install an additional ADA parking stall with proper signage to bring the total to two (2). • The Petitioner must install panic hardware on egress doors prior to receiving a certificate of occupancy. Commissioner Weiner seconded the motion. Upon voting (Glass, Bacigalupo, Weiner, AYES, Rettberg, Geinosky, Morrill, DeFrenza, NAYS), the motion failed 4-3. RECOMMENDATION: Commissioner Rettberg moved to recommend approval of the Special Use to operate a religious institution located at 1021-1041 Bonaventure Drive with the following conditions: • The Petitioner must install a fire suppression system throughout the facility and panic hardware on egress doors prior to receiving a certificate of occupancy. • The Petitioner must provide a revised seating plan to Community Development prior to approval of building permits to confirm adequate egress paths are maintained and total occupant loads of the facility. • The Petitioner must install an additional ADA parking stall with proper signage to bring the total to two (2). 6 Commissioner Morrill seconded the motion. Upon voting (Rettberg, Geinosky, Morrill, DeFrenza, AYES, Glass, Bacigalupo, Weiner, NAYS), the motion passed 4-3. Item 3: Adjournment Commissioner Rettberg moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Weiner seconded the motion. Upon voting (Rettberg, Geinosky, Morrill, DeFrenza, Glass, Bacigalupo, Weiner, AYES), the motion passed unanimously. C: Chairman and Members of the Plan Commission, Mayor and Board of Trustees, Village Clerk Respectfully submitted, Nick Radcliffe, Senior Management Analyst