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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLAN COMMISSION - 02/16/2005 - RICHS MARKET/PARKING MANOR CARE/PATHWAY Elk Grove Village Plan Commission Minutes February 16,2005 Present: F. Geinosky J.Meyers E. Hauser T. Thompson D. Sokolowski J.Glass P. Ayers D. Paliganoff Absent: C.Henrici Staff: M. Roan,Assistant to the Village Manager S. Trudan Petitioner: S. Tomala,Tomala&Associates P. Coules,Donatelli&Coules,Ltd. J.Nowobilski, President,Rich's Market B. Helle, Pathway Senior Living T. Pollowy, Landscape Resources,Inc. Chairman Glass called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m. Item 1: October 6 Meeting Minutes After Secretary Geinosky pointed out a typographical error,Commissioner Meyers motioned to approve the meeting minutes and Commissioner Thompson seconded the motion. Upon voting(Glass,Geinosky, Hauser,Meyers, Paliganoff,Ayers, Sokolowski,Thompson, AYES, Henrici, Absent)the motion carried. Item 2: PC Docket 05-01: Rich's Market—Special Use Chairman Glass read the petition into the record. P. Coules identified himself as the attorney representing the petitioner. Secretary Geinosky swore in P. Coules, S. Tomala and J.Nowobilski. P. Coules noted that the petitioner currently owns the vacant 5,000 square foot facility located at 2600 Delta Lane. In addition, it was noted that Rich's Market currently operates a facility in the 1200 block of W. Fulton in Chicago, and has been in business since 1981. P. Coules indicated to the Plan Commission that Rich's Market does not work with live or whole animals and no carcasses of animals. Rich's Market deals strictly with pork,producing ham, sausages, and lunchmeat. Furthermore, there is no retail business at the proposed facility, and all products produced are sold at their three stores located in the Chicago area. - 1 - P. Coules stated that the proposed facility is designed to meet the needs of the petitioner. In regard to the Department of Engineering&Community Development's comments regarding parking,P.Coules indicated that the parking concern has been addressed and will be presented to them for approval. In regard to Health&Community Services comments, it was noted that a USDA inspector would be on site at all times during operation. P. Coules noted that meat would be delivered to the facility's receiving dock and a total of three step vans would make deliveries per day. As for the concern raised by Public Works regarding water and sewer connections,P. Coules stated that they have contacted the Village of Bensenville to receive approval for connecting to their water and sanitary sewer to determine if any specific requirements are needed for sanitary sewer discharge. He also noted that their operation would be conditional on Bensenville signing off on the water and sanitary sewer service. In respect to their operations, the P. Coules noted that they operate one shift with approximately 12 to 15 employees. J.Nowobilski stated that the hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Furthermore,P. Coules indicated that since Rich's Market would be located in an industrial area, and surrounded by vacant facilities on both sides and a truck terminal across the street,the petitioner would not create any hardships to surrounding properties. As for the work required on site,the petitioner noted that they are not seeking any variances to the Village Code. It was also noted that a majority of work done would be the renovation of the inside of the facility, which was once a tool and die shop. After completing their presentation, Commission Thompson asked the petitioners if they had submitted the petition for water and sewer service to the Village of Bensenville. P.Coules indicated that they had submitted their petition. Commissioner Thompson noted that in a report from the Director of Health&Community Services, concerns were raised regarding the type of operations that previously took place in the facility and the necessary cleaning required before food operations could begin. The petitioner's engineer, S.Tomala,noted that as part of the renovation, all walls would have to be cleaned and that an insulated enclosure would be attached to the walls. He noted that approximately 70-80%of the facility would have to be rehabilitated prior to the commencement of operations. Commissioner Sokolowski questioned the petitioner that since they would be moving into a larger facility, would they be anticipating additional employees. S. Tomala noted that the same number of employees would be working there,but through the automation of their machinery they would be able to increase their productivity. If approved, Commissioner Sokolowski asked how long it would take the petitioner to have their operations up and running. S.Tomala indicated that it would likely take two to three months to complete the design and receive all the necessary permits. After that,it would take approximately six to eight months for the construction to be completed. As a result,it was anticipated that operations would begin in the Spring of 2006. Commissioner Ayers stated he had no questions. Commissioner Paliganoff questioned the petitioner regarding their deliveries. J.Nowobilski informed the Commission that Peoria Packing makes one delivery to their facility between the time of 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. It was noted that the products received today would be used on the following day. - 2 - Commissioner Paligano£f asked what would happen in the instance that the USDA inspector is not available to be on site. P. Coules stated that Rich's Market cannot operate without a USDA inspector on site. If he cannot be there,their facility is forced to shut down until a replacement is available. Commissioner Sokolowski asked if inspection reports are available for their current facility. P. Coules stated that anyone could receive a copy of their inspection report by filing a Freedom of Information request. Commissioner Sokolowski asked if they have received any complaints. J.Nowobilski stated that they haven't,and if they had they would have been forced to cease operations. Commissioner Sokolowski asked how long they have been in business. J. Nowobilski stated that they have been in business since 1981,or 24 years. Commissioner Hauser asked the petitioner where their retail is located. The petitioner stated that they have three locations that provide for retail: Lawrence and Harlem,Iowa and Western and 4300 S. Archer in Chicago. Commissioner Hauser referred to their letter of transmittal and asked if they plan on distributing their products by any other means. J.Nowobilski stated that they do have approval to distribute their products nationally,but do not have plans to do so. Commissioner Hauser asked for verification that the only vehicles making deliveries would be step vans. J. Nowobilski reiterated that only step vans would be making deliveries. Commissioner Hauser asked how often waste by-products would be removed from the facility. J. Nowobilski stated that the waste by-products would be removed daily. Commissioner Meyers stated that he had no questions for the petitioner. Secretary Geinosky informed the petitioners that they had a very good presentation. Secretary Geinosky asked the petitioner to explain the general storage area of the facility on their rendering. S.Tomala stated that the rendering shows increased cooling storage for the start of the processing. Chairman Glass noted Engineering's concern and asked the petitioner what was being done regarding the parking. S.Tomala noted that the parking has been reconfigured to include ADA parking, 14 spaces for employees and 6 for visitors and family. S.Trudan noted that Engineering had not yet seen the new parking reconfiguration and that Engineering's approval would be required before final approval is granted. Chairman Glass raised a concern regarding the petitioner's landscaping and questioned if they would be removing any of the mature trees on the site. S. Tomala indicated that they would not be removing any trees and that they would be adding additional landscaping to the site. Commissioner Meyers asked the petitioners if they had any plans to remove the fencing separating the parking. S.Tomala stated that it was their plan to remove that section of fencing. Commissioner Meyers also asked the petitioners whether there would be enough room for the deliveries. S.Tomala stated that there would be,since the deliveries would be made in the front. Chairman Glass noted that there was one other meat processing facility in the Village and asked S.Trudan if the Village has had any problems with this plant. S.Trudan stated that the Village has not had any problems with that facility. - 3 - With no further questions, Secretary Geinosky moved to recommend approval of the Special Use petition for Rich's Market to operate a USDA meat processing facility in an I-2 zoned district at 2600 Delta Lane, subject to the following conditions: • Final approval of a parking plan from Village staff, • Final approval from the Village of Bensenville's Department of Public Works; • That the petitioner maintain the landscaping surrounding the facility; and • That the Special Use to operate a USDA meat processing facility is no longer valid if Rich's Market ceases operations at that site. Commissioner Hauser seconded the motion. Upon voting(Glass, Geinosky,Hauser,Meyers,Paliganoff, Ayers, Sokolowski,Thompson,AYES, Henrici, Absent)the motion carried. Item 3: Meeting Start Time Chairman Glass stated that this topic came up as the result of a previous meeting between Plan Commissioners. Chairman Glass noted that start time for Plan Commission hearings was originally set at 8:00 p.m.to allow members of the Commission who worked downtown to make the meetings. Commissioner Sokolowski noted that if the start time was moved to 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., it might create a burden on residents who might want to attend, Commissioner Ayers stated that several communities in the area have a start time for their Plan Commission meetings of 7:00 p.m. hi addition,it was noted that the Village Board's Committee of the Whole also starts at 7:00 pm. Chairman Glass stated that he was willing to move the start time of the Plan Commission hearings to 7:00 p.m. It was the consensus of the Commission to change the start time of the Plan Commission hearings to 7:00 p.m. Item 4: Parking at Manor Care Commissioner Meyers asked to bring an item to the attention of the Plan Commission and Village staff. He noted that there is a parking problem at Manor Care and wanted to know if Engineering&Community Development could work with them to help alleviate the issue. Manor Care has run out of parking options, and as a result,they are renting spaces from a neighboring church and individuals are even parking on the other side of Nerge Road and walking across the street. It was noted that guests from the neighboring subdivision were parking their cars in the Manor Care parking lot. Commissioner Ayers stated that any homeowner having guests park there is supposed to call two weeks in advance to notify Manor Care. Commissioner Meyers noted that not all homeowners may be following that rule. Chairman Glass asked S.Trudan if the Department of Engineering&Community Development could work with the Director of Manor Care to see if they can assist in finding a solution to their parking problem. Item 5: Landscape Plan—Pathway Senior Living B.Helle introduced himself as the representative from Pathway Senior Living,the developer of Alexian Village. He noted that he was in front of the Plan Commission approximately three years ago to receive approval to construct the facility. As part of their approval,Pathway was required to come back before the Plan Commission for final approval of their landscape plan. - 4 - B. Helle noted that since the property is surrounded by numerous trees and homes in unincorporated Elk Grove,the basis of the proposed landscape plan was to create a prairie style landscape plan to conform to the surrounding neighborhood. B. Helle stated that the Department of Engineering&Community Development notified them that they were in violation of the Village Code since they had not received formal approval of their landscape plan. As a result,they are presenting the same plan that was originally presented to the Plan Commission. In addressing Engineering's comments regarding boundary landscaping,B.Helle stated that he felt they got as much landscaping in the area as they could without adversely affecting the prairie design theme they were trying to achieve. At that point,B. Helle introduced Pathway's landscape architect,T.Pollway of LRI. T.Pollway stated that in the periphery area they were proposing native landscaping with three(3)foot high wetland grasses. In addition,the site is ringed by red maples and Pathway has installed shrubs throughout the site. Although not in compliance with the Village Code's requirement for boundary landscaping, the site focuses heavily on plantings surrounding the building. T. Pollway noted that the total number of trees and shrubs required far exceed what is required of the entire site,just not in the same place. Chairman Glass asked S.Trudan if the Department of Engineering&Community Development had any objections to the use of prairie grass over seed or sod grass. S.Trudan stated that they had no objections. B. Helle noted that the reason they are light with the perimeter landscaping was that they wanted to maintain the prairie style landscaping. He noted that A.Boffrce,Director of Engineering&Community Development, stated that they had made a good faith effort. S.Trudan stated that A. Boffice did make that statement. Chairman Glass stated that one of the places in the Village that he has seen prairie grasses is along Rohlwing Road,just south of Biesterfield. M. Roan stated that the area in question is a Federal wetland that cannot be tampered with. Commissioner Meyers referred to Item#5 from A. Boffice's report and stated that he did not remember having a discussion regarding the prairie grass. T.Pollway stated that the grasses that would be planted would be approximately three(3) feet in height and would have the appearance of what is seen in a Forest Preserve. It is designed to look like wetlands and will help with flood mitigation. Commissioner Meyers asked if it would only be used in the retention areas. T. Pollway stated that yes,it would be located in retention areas and would assist with the storm water management. Commissioner Meyers noted that he never really sees much water in the retention ponds,and questioned what would happen if the retention areas do not maintain water. T.Pollway stated that they use 25 to 30 different species of prairie grass seeding. This mixture of seeding can survive different amplitudes of wetness. With the prairie grasses,they are trying to mimic a natural system and also trying to avoid mud flats. Commissioner Meyers asked what effect it would have on the neighboring properties. B. Helle stated that they intended to match the landscaping of the surrounding neighborhood. The major point of contention in the neighborhood is flooding. He stated that there is nothing they can do with the landscaping to help resolve that issue,but that what is proposed would not contribute and will actually assist with mitigation. - 5 - B.Helle also noted that the detention for their own site and for the future Alexian Brothers site would continue to stay relatively damp. B.Helle stated that he believes once the prairie grass is planted it will look better than if it was planted with sod,but that is open to debate. In addition,he noted that the maintenance of the prairie grasses would actually be more than if the site was planted with sod. Commissioner Meyers reiterated that the homes surrounding the property have well-kept and landscaped yards, and that it was important that Pathway not do anything to adversely affect the look of the neighborhood. In addition,he noted that he did not remember having a discussion about prairie grasses at the previous meeting. Chairman Glass read the portion of the meeting transcript that referred to the prairie grasses. Chairman Glass asked the petitioners for further explanation of what grass areas are mowed and what would be left in its natural state. Chairman Glass stated that he felt there was too much prairie grass in their landscape design and that it would limit the outside movement of residents in the facility. He noted that in the rear of the property and along the sidewalk area there should be turf grass. He also indicated that he had no problem with the prairie grass in the detention areas. Chairman Glass directed M.Roan to verify with the Department of Health&Community Services that there would not be any zoning violations in regard to the height of the grass. Commissioner Hauser asked if some of the prairie grasses grew on the slopes of the detention pond. T. Pollway stated that,yes, certain species of the prairie grass do grow on the slopes of the detention pond. Commissioner Meyer asked B.Helle about the emergency access at the site. B.Helle stated that there was emergency access at the site and that it can accommodate fire engines. He noted that when it was constructed,they were with the Fire Department to ensure that it met their needs. Commissioner Sokolowski stated that he felt Pathway should install a sign noting that people should not park in the space designated for emergency access. B. Helle stated that Pathway striped out the parking space to indicate parking is not allowed. Commissioner Sokolowski stated that there is nothing there that says it is an emergency access. B.Helle stated that parking is prohibited on their side of the property,but nothing exists on the Woodlands side to prevent people from parking in the access lane. Chairman Glass asked M.Roan to speak with the Fire Department to see if anything can be done to prevent parking in the fire lane at Woodlands. Commissioner Meyers noted that the residents at the facility cannot really get around very well,when family comes to visit, it would likely be nice to be able to go outside. Since the prairie grass is so overwhelming, the ability of residents and family to move freely on the grounds is greatly restricted. With no further questions,Chairman Glass asked for a motion. Secretary Geinosky moved to approve the landscape plan subject to final staff approval, after the petitioner modify the plan by limiting the prairie grass to the detention areas and slopes of detention areas, and installing sod along the sidewalks and at the rear of the property. Commissioner Meyers seconded the motion. Upon voting(Glass,Geinosky,Hauser,Meyers, Paliganoff,Ayers, Sokolowski,Thompson,AYES,Henrici,Absent)the motion carried. - 6 - Item 6: Adjournment Commissioner Paliganoff moved to adjourn and Commissioner Sokolowski seconded the motion. Upon voting(Glass, Geinosky,Hauser,Meyers,Paliganoff,Ayers, Sokolowski,Thompson,AYES,Henrici, Absent)the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully. submitted, Matthew I Roan Assistant to the Village Manager C: Chairman and Members of the Plan Commission,Mayor 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. - 7 -