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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLAN COMMISSION - 06/21/2000 - MEAT PROCESSING FACILITY/ESTES ELK GROVE VILLAGE Plan Commission Minutes pane 21, 2000 Present: J. Glass, Chairman P. Ayers C. Henrici J. Meyers D. Sokolowski T. Thompson Absent: F. Geinosky D. Paliganoff K. Zizzo Staff: P. Vadopalas, Assistant to the Village Manager Petitioners: G. Maurides,Maurides&Foley, L.L.C. W. Mulica, Owner, Belmont Sausage Company A. Gorecki, Gorecki &Associates J. Gorecki, Gorecki & Associates S. Tomala, Versatile Systems, Inc. Chairman Glass called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m. Item 1: Approval of the Minutes Commissioner Ayers moved and Commissioner Thompson seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the June 7 Plan Commission public hearing. Upon voting(Glass, Ayers, Henrici, Meyers, Sokolowski, Thompson,AYES, Geinosky, Pahganoff, Zizzo, ABSENT)the motion carried unanimously. Item 2: Special Use Petition —Meat Processing Facility, 2201 Estes Avenue Chairman Glass read the petition into the record and announced the Plan Commission would consider the petition of Walter Mulica, owner of the Belmont Sausage Company, to operate a meat processing facility at 2201 Estes, an existing building at the southeast comer of the intersection of Nicholas and Estes. Commissioner Meyers swore in the petitioners. G. Maurides stated the petitioner is the current owner of the building at 2201 Estes. W. Mulica also owns three grocery stores and a meat processing faciltiy in the City of Chicago. The subject property includes an 80,000 square foot building with an existing dock on the east side of the building. The petitioner is proposing the addition of a second dock on the west side of the building. The two docks are needed to serve the two operations planned for the building; USDA approved meat processing on the west side of the building,and warehousing of spices and dry goods on the east side. G. Maurides noted the entire building would be refrigerated and a full-time USDA inspector will maintain an office within the building for daily inspections of the proposed operations. G. Maurides stated approximately 30 to 50 employees would work at this facility in one shift,generally between the hours of 6:00 a.m, and 4:00 p.m. Deliveries would occur to and from the building at the rate of 2 to 3 trucks per hour over the 10-hour work day. An estimated 20,000 pounds of meat and dry goods would be delivered to this facility each day. G.Maurides stated the cooking operation would consist of boiling and smoking. The smoking process utilizes a circulation system to re-use smoke,£hereby eliminating the need to produce a constant supply of smoke. The smoke is vented for several minutes each hour through scrubbers which would eliminate a majority of the smoke and odor. G.Maurides stated the existing building has been vacant for some time and the current owner is planning on several renovations, including replacing the windows with glass block, improving the landscaping and the exterior of the building, and repairing the parking lot. He noted the petitioner chose Elk Grove Village to locate this operation because of the availability of Lake Michigan water. Commissioner Thompson asked if the Health Department had reviewed this application. P.Vadopalas responded the Health Services Coordinator had reviewed the petition and had no objections to the proposed operation. Commissioner Sokolowski questioned if 24-hour operations were planned for this facility. Maurides stated only one shift is planned at this time,though a second shift might be added in the future if demand for the company's product increases. Commissioner Sokolowski asked if cleanup would occur after hours. W. Mulica responded the clean up occurs throughout the last 3 hours of a shift, and would not take place later in the evening. Commissioner Sokolowski asked if a back-up source of electricity is planned in case of a power outage. Mulica responded an outage of 12 or 14 hours would have a minimal impact on their product, though an outage over several days would require a back-up source for their refrigeration needs. Commissioner Sokolowski asked for more information about their products. Mulica stated they will produce sausages,hams,bacon,and lunch meats. Commissioner Ayers questioned what improvements are planned for the parking lot. Mulica stated the pavement will be repaired and the parking lot lights would be replaced. Commissioner Ayers questioned if the warehousing portion of the building would be refrigerated. Maurides stated the warehousing portion would be typical of warehousing buildings, and would be primarily used to store dry goods and spices to stock the owner's grocery stores, Wally's Markets. Commissioner Meyers asked what the brand name of the product is. Maurides responded "Belmont". Commissioner Meyers asked if the product would only be distributed through the owner's stores. Mulica stated his own stores would be the primary source of distribution, though other suppliers have expressed interest in his products. Commissioner Meyers asked if retail sales are planned for this location. Mulica responded his existing stores provide enough sales for his business, and no sales are planned to take place at this location. Commissioner Meyers questioned what impact this operation would have on traffic flow in the area. Mulica responded one full truck could transport 40,000 pounds of meat, and 4 or 5 such trucks would be needed each day to distribute his products. The combination of deliveries and receiving of goods would total approximately 20 trucks per day. Chairman Glass asked what odors would be generated by the processing activities. Maurides responded the steaming process only generates water vapor,which would have no odor. The smoking process is internal to the building, and venting occurs through scrubbers to minimize any odor. A. Gorecki stated that the smokehouse planned for this facility is a high-efficiency design which does not require constant smoking. The smoke that is generated is self-contained in the system and re-circulated. The system includes a brief venting of smoke from the top of the building several minutes each hour. The exhaust is at the center of the roof, is 24 feet off the ground,and disburses naturally. Gorecki stated the venting would not be visible most of the time. Commissioner Henrici asked if any mixing of operations would between the meat processing portion of the building and the warehousing portion of the building. Maurides responded the two activities would be completely isolated from one another except for an access between the two activities for employees. Commissioner Henrici noted he spoke with the Village's Health Coordinator about this petition, and he did not express any objections. There being no further questions and no comments from the audience, Chairman Glass asked for a motion on the petition. Commissioner Meyers moved to recommend to the Village Board approval of a Special Use permit to allow the operation of a meat processing facility at an existing building located at 2201 Estes Avenue. Commissioner Ayers seconded the motion. Upon voting (Glass,Ayers,Henrici, Meyers, Sokolowski, Thompson, AYES, Gemosky, Paliganoff, Zizzo,ABSENT)the motion carried unanimously. Adjournment: Commissioner Meyers moved and Thompson seconded the motion to adjourn. Chairman Glass adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Resp ul] submitted, eter ado�� Assistant to the Village Manager C: Chairman and Members of the Plan Commission,President and Board of Trustees, Village Clerk, Village Manager, Assistant Village Manager, Assistant to the Village Manager, Administrative Intern, Director of Engineering/Community Development,Director of Public Works, Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief(2), Assistant Fire Chief, Village Attorney.