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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLAN COMMISSION - 07/01/1998 - SHINNYO EN ELK GROVE VILLAGE Plan Commission Minutes July 1, 1998 8:00 P.M. Present: J. Glass, Chairman F. Geinosky, Secretary P. Ayers C. Henrici J. Meyers D. Paliganoff D. Sokolowski T. Thompson K. Zizzo Absent: None Staff: S. Niehaus,Assistant to the Village Manager Petitioners: S. Elrod, Burke,Weaver& Prell M. Moen, Hancock Engineering J. Tappendorf,Burke, Weaver&Prell S. Corcoran, Metro Transportation Y. Koshiyama, Shinnyo-En J. Kotz, Landscape Architect Item A: Shinnyo-En Annexation, Rezoning and Special Use Chairman Glass called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m. and briefly summarized the petition being presented to the Plan Commission. Chairman Glass stated that Shinnyo-En had petitioned the Village for the annexation and residential zoning of 4.5 acres of property located at 120 E. Devon. In addition,the petitioners were seeking a special use permit to allow the construction and operation of a church and residential building on the property. Churches are not a permitted use in residential zoning districts,therefore,a special use permit is required. Secretary Geinosky swore in the petitioners. Steve Elrod introduced himself as the attorney for Shinnyo-En and provided a brief outline of the proposed development. Elrod stated that the 4.5 acre property at 120 E. Devon is currently occupied by one(1)single-family residence with the remainder of the property being vacant. The property is currently located in unincorporated Cook County and zoned R-5 residential. Shinnyo-En is seeking to annex the property to Elk Grove and rezone it to the R-3 single-family residential zoning district. Elrod stated that Shinnyo-En plans on demolishing the existing residential building and replacing it with a sanctuary building that is 10,450 s.f. in size which covers approximately 5%of the site. In addition,a residential building that is 1,500 s.f. in size which covers approximately 1%of the site is proposed. Elrod stated that the church was an ideal use for the subject parcel due to the residential nature of the surrounding properties. In addition, it would be an improvement over the existing use on the property by virtue of its annexation to the Village and the need for it to be built and maintained in compliance with Village Code. Elrod stated that Shinnyo-En is aware of concerns over the development of the subject property in regards to flooding and explained that Shinnyo-En would not be appearing before the Plan Commission if they thought that those concerns could not be addressed. In addition, Elrod stated that Shinnyo-En had met with neighboring property owners prior to submitting their plans in order to address their potential concerns regarding the proposed development and received no objections. Steve Somogye introduced himself to the Plan Commission as one of the ministers of the Shinnyo-En congregation. Somogye stated that Shinnyo-En is a Buddhist religion that was founded approximately 60 years ago outside of Tokyo,Japan. Shinnyo-En has congregations in San Francisco, Los Angeles,New York, Seattle and Hawaii. The world-wide ministry of Shinnyo-En is in excess of 2,000,000 people. Shinnyo-En currently has a congregation located in a temporary facility in Wood Dale. It is their intention to construct a permanent midwestern site in Elk Grove. Somogye explained that Elk Grove Village was selected as the permanent location for the church because it is the geographic center of their congregation and because key leaders in the church are also residents of the Village. Yoshi Koshiyama introduced himself as the architect for Shinnyo-En and stated that he would describe the site for the Plan Commission. Koshiyama stated that the proposed sanctuary and rectory were standard buildings which had been modified to comply with Elk Grove Village codes,_ Both buildings will have a brick exterior with metal roofing and will be under 35 feet high. The rectory building is located to the south of the church and will be inhabited by a full-time resident. Ingress and egress to the property is available from an extended entrance drive off of Devon Avenue. Parking for 35 cars is provided on the east side of the building in order to shield vehicular activity from the residential homes on the west side of the property. Additional parking is included in the site plan and can be constructed if necessary. Language to this effect will be included in the annexation agreement. Elrod stated that the site plan had been designed in compliance with all lot requirements of the R-3 Residential District including ground coverage, floor-to-area ratio, yard setbacks,building height, and parking. Mark Moen introduced himself as Shinnyo-En's civil engineer and stated that he would explain the topography of the site, including the planned drainage system. Moen explained that a small portion of the 4.55 acre parcel along the east property line was located in the floodplain. The topography gradually moves higher to the west. The highpoint is located near the center of the property. The primary water flow will move from west to east toward Salt Creek. The remainder of the water flow will be moved to a detention basin in the southwest comer of the property. The northern third of the property will remain untouched with its natural topography and landscaping. All buildings will be constructed in accordance with FEMA floodplain maps. Elrod also stated that the property to the east of the Shinnyo-En's proposed development was in the floodplain and that they had no intentions of purchasing it for future use. All water,gas and electric utilities will gain access to the site from Devon Avenue. Sanitary sewer will be connected to the existing Village sewer system at Carlisle and Devon. Fire hydrants will be installed on the Devon frontage as requested by the Fire Department. Steve Corcoran introduced himself as the traffic engineer for the proposed development. Corcoran stated that Metro Transportation Group had conducted an impact study and found that Shinnyo-En would not have any adverse impacts on the surrounding area and existing traffic flow. The existing 4 lane roadway on Devon Avenue has sufficient capacity on weekdays and weekends to handle the anticipated traffic from the Shinnyo-En congregation. Corcoran stated that the majority of Shinnyo- En's services take place in off-peak times and have no more than 75 people in attendance. Therefore,no traffic conflicts are anticipated. Corcoran stated that it was recommended that Shinnyo-En contact the Cook County Highway Department(CCHD)to request that the mountable median in front of the property be removed and replaced with a dedicated left-tum lane in the east bound direction. This modification would not require a deceleration lane nor is one justified. Elrod stated that the CCHD had been contacted regarding the removal of the median and had no objections. Jackie Kotz introduced herself as the landscape architect for the proposed development. Kotz explained that the existing site plan took advantage of the current landscaping on the property to screen the buildings and parking lot from neighboring properties. In addition,the proposed landscape plan includes ornamental trees and flowers to be planted along the entrance driveway with extra trees installed on the Devon Avenue frontage. The west side of the property behind the buildings will be heavily landscaped with a grove of Larch trees to provide screening for neighboring residences. The outside of both buildings will also have ornamental bushes and flowers. In addition, a natural lawn path will be created from the back of the sanctuary to the western portion of the property to provide a reflective garden for parishioners. Prior to completing the petitioners presentation, Elrod stated that Shinnyo-En had received copies of staff comments regarding the proposed site plan and were willing to comply with all requests included in the comments. Chairman Glass opened the meeting to comments from the Plan Commission at 8:55 p.m. Chairman Glass questioned if Shinnyo-En had plans to extend the public sidewalk along Devon Avenue to the proposed site. Elrod stated that Shinnyo-En was prepared to execute a statement of commitment to install sidewalk if the property to the east was ever developed. Commissioner Geinosky stated that he felt there would be some value to extending the sidewalk to the property for use by members of the congregation if necessary. Commissioner Henrici concurred with Commissioner Geinosky's opinion. Commissioner Zizzo expressed concerns over drainage and questioned if the proposed detention on site would be sufficient. Moen explained that the preliminary engineering drawings for the site were in compliance with Village Code. In addition,Moen stated that Elk Grove's requirements were based on very conservative release rates in order to limit the potential for flooding problems. Commissioner Zizzo questioned if the additional parking would impact the detention if constructed. Moen stated that the site was already engineered to address drainage in the event that the parking lot was expanded to handle extra cars. Commissioner Meyers questioned if any portion of the parking lot was included in the flood plain. Moen stated that the initial parking lot was designed to be above the 100 year flood plain elevation. However,a portion of the additional parking spaces was located in the flood plain. Commissioner Meyers questioned as to the frequency of activities on the site. Somogye stated that the church has approximately 8 days of services each month with 12 to 14 services being held during those days. Approximately 75%of the services take place on Saturdays and Sundays. The services are usually held between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Commissioner Meyers questioned if there were any special occasions during the year which would create potential conflicts for parking or traffic. Somogye stated that the church observes 4 major holidays a year with the largest congregation consisting of 100 people. The proposed sanctuary holds approximately 120 people. Commissioner Meyers questioned if there would ever be any outdoor services. Somogye stated that all services would be held indoors. s� Commissioner Henrici questioned as to the difference between the FEMA and DuPage County floodplain maps. Moen stated that the DuPage map was 2 feet higher than the FEMA map just south of Devon Avenue. Commissioner Henrici noted that the setback requirements referenced in the petitioners presentation were incorrect and asked that they be corrected for the record. The correct requirements were noted and are included in the public hearing transcript. Commissioner Henrici questioned if there would be any security on site. Elrod stated that a full- time caretaker would be residing on the site. Commissioner Henrici questioned as to the height of the monument sign on the property. Elrod stated that the proposed monument sign was approximately 6 feet tall. Commissioner Geinosky questioned if a basement was allowed due to the proximity of the buildings to the floodplain. Elrod stated that basements are not permitted in floodplain designated areas. However, since the buildings are not located in the floodplain,basements are permitted. Commissioner Paliganoff questioned if any security lighting would be installed on the property. Koshiyama stated that security lighting would be installed on the exterior of the buildings and that two lights would be included in the parking lot. Commissioner Paliganoff questioned if there would be any need for fencing around the property. Elrod stated that Shinnyo-En felt that a fence was not necessary due to the extensive landscaping nor was one required by Village Code. Commissioner Paliganoff questioned if there was a possibility that the church would have reason to relocate and leave a vacant building on the property. Somogye stated that Shinnyo-En had no history of vacancies within the church. In addition,they had spent 3 to 4 years researching potential locations and determined that Elk Grove was an ideal community which would benefit the congregation. Commissioner Ayers questioned if the area on the north end of the property would be in violation of the Village's weed ordinance if the grass was left uncut. Niehaus stated that he would work with the Health Department to determine if a violation of the weed ordinance would occur. Commissioner Ayers questioned if any screening would be installed on the east side of the property to limit the impact of headlights from vehicles in the parking lot. Elrod stated that no screening was planned for the east side of the property. Niehaus also stated that screening is not required by Village ordinance. Commissioner Sokolowski questioned if there would be a designated area for waste and recycling containers on the site. Elrod stated that no waste container area was indicated on the site plan. However, Shinnyo-En would install one if necessary. Chairman Glass called for a 10 minute recess of the public hearing. Following the recess,the public hearing was opened to comments from the audience at 9:50 p.m. G. Reese, 113 Kenilworth,expressed concerns over flooding and the impact of lighting from the proposed development. Chairman Glass explained that Village Code provides specific requirements which will cause the petitioner to provide sufficient storm water drainage on the site. In addition, Village Code has regulations restricting the amount of foot-candles that are permitted to flow onto adjacent properties. R. Gard, 131 Kenilworth, questioned what the difference was between the initial parking and the future parking planned for the property. Chairman Glass explained that the petitioners are proposing to construct 35 parking spaces at the time that the site is developed. If it is determined that additional parking spaces are necessary,sufficient space is available. In addition,plans for the extra spaces will be prepared in advance. J. Riegal, 1355 Carlisle,questioned as to the size of the trees to be planted on the west side of the property. Kotz stated that the trees would be 3 1/2 inches in diameter when planted. At maturity, the trees will reach heights of 60 to 70 feet. Gina Reese, 113 Kenilworth,questioned if the petitioners would be responsible for insect and mosquito control on the property. Chairman Glass explained mosquito control was the responsibility of the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District which is a separate governmental agency. Audience comments concluded at 10:20 p.m. Chairman Glass expressed a concern over the security and safety of the property and suggested that the petitioners consider some additional measures including:bollard lighting along the entrance drive, bollard lighting around the buildings and motion activated lights in back of the building. Upon further discussion, Commissioner Geinosky moved, and Commissioner Henrici seconded a motion,to recommend approval of Shinnyo-En's request for the annexation and residential zoning of 4.5 acres of property located at 120 E. Devon in conjunction with special use permit for the construction and operation of a church and residential building,subject to the following: • installation of sidewalk to the existing public sidewalk at Carlisle Avenue; • installation of bollard lighting along the access driveway; • installation of security lighting around both buildings; • construction of an enclosure around any refuse container area; • addition of one foot to the top of the detention area; • final staff review of the revised site plan,Plat of Annexation and Plat of Subdivision; • the installation of screening on the eastern boundary of the property at such time the adjacent parcel is developed; • Plan Commission review of the revised landscape plan; and • Plan Commission review of a revised site plan should any additional buildings be requested on the property. Upon voting(Glass,Geinosky,Ayers,Henrici,Paliganoff,Sokolowski,Thompson,Zizzo AYES, Meyers,ABSTAIN), the motion carried. In addition, it was the consensus of We Plan Commission to recommend to the Village Board that they consider the use of monument signage along Devon Avenue for identification of the property. Chairman Glass closed the public hearing at 10:30 p.m. Commissioner Paliganoff moved,and Commissioner Meyers seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. Upon voting, the motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:31 p.m. Resp tfully submitted, .i4C.,6r Scott R.Niehaus - Assistant to the Village Manager c: Chairman and Members, Plan Commission, President&Board of Trustees, Village Clerk, Village Manager, Assistant Village Manager,Assistant to the Village Manager,Administrative Intem, Dir. of Engineering&Community Development, Dir, of Public Works, Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief(2), Assistant Fire Chief, Village Attorney, Chairman and Members,ZBA