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City Council Minutes 2004 09-15-04 (special cc) c17-`/ &oociL laIlgl&q t--'2Gvf_r�, 6Y PLhd C n�ntis�c��l t��a/c�5 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLAN COMMISSION MEETING YORKVILLE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2004 The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Aldermen present: Richard Sticka,Valerie Burd, Paul James, Larry Kot, Rose Spears and Joe Besco. Aldermen absent: Marry Munz and Wanda Ohare. Plan Commissioners present: Michael Crouch, Clarence Holdiman, Sandra Adams, Tom Lindblom, Anne Lucietto and Brian Schillinger. Commissioners absent: Jack Jones and Bill Davis. City staff present: Mayor Art Prochaska, City Administrator Tony Graff, City Planner Mike Schoppe and Kelly Kramer from the city attorney's office. A quorum was established. VISITORS See attached. Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update-- Southern Study Area City Planner Mike Schoppe said the updated comprehensive plan presented reflects the goals and objectives aldermen and plan commissioners identified at the previous meeting in June. The southern study area encompasses 33,000 acres from the Fox River south to one mile south of Caton Farm Road, east to Grove Road and west to Helmar Road. The purpose of the meeting, he said, is to exchange information and finalize the plan. The next step will be to hold a public hearing at the Plan Commission. Then the City Council will vote. There are three sections to review, Schoppe said. 1. Goals and objectives. 2. The land use plan. 3. Design guidelines. Mark Baker from SEC Planning Consultants said the goals and objectives are the foundation of the plan and outline the city's desire to maintain and preserve the rural or country feel of the city. The goals and objectives were organized into five categories: character and environment, residential, non-residential, transportation and open space. f The first goal outlined in the plan is to maintain view corridors, Baker said. The city can do so by encouraging certain practices such as clustering density to create larger areas of open space, he said. The second goal is to ensure buffer areas are located along the main corridors,he added. The main corridors have the most dramatic impact on the city and the treatment of those corridors is critical, Baker said. The third goal is to develop a set of design guidelines. The guidelines would encourage quality development throughout the city,he said. Those guidelines could include anti- monotony standards,masonry requirements and coordinated site planning efforts. The fourth goal is to encourage the most desirable and efficient use of land while enhancing the physical environment through functional and compatible land use configurations, Baker said. Meaning,that the development should be sensitive to the environment,he said. The fifth goal is to ensure that future development is sensitive to the natural topography, views, drainage patterns, existing vegetation and historic or agricultural structures, which serve as landmarks for the study area. Under this goal,the city would ensure all reasonable efforts have been made to preserve and incorporate existing trees into development plans. Also the city would encourage developments, which are sensitive to the natural forms of the land and try to maintain scenic vistas and natural drainage patterns, Baker said. Plan Commissioner Brian Schillinger said the plan stresses the preservation of landscapes and tree lines. He asked if the city could tell people whether they own one acre or 2,000 acres not to strip the soil off the land. Baker said the city could indeed make those stipulations. While this proposed update plan doesn't do it, it lays the groundwork for such regulations, he said. Mayor Art Prochaska said the city would take some of the suggestions in the updated plan and turn them into ordinances. Schillinger commented he doesn't like the word transitional used in the plan. He said it doesn't have to mean high density. Baker said the goals in the plan under residential are to encourage high quality residential development through a mix of larger estate homes and cluster development. That would establish a high level of aesthetic appeal while providing sufficient density for retail nodes. Also, he said one of the goals is to provide a variety of housing types throughout the city. However, he said he realizes these goals may bring about some debate. Clustering units is controversial, Baker added. But he added that from a planning perspective, it is good to have diverse products. Meanwhile, he said it also is important for new developments to be sensitive to existing developments. As for non-residential objective, the goals are to encourage the development of non- residential nodes, which would result in concentrated areas of retail and commercial uses. Basically,that means some retail developments could be located near residential areas rather than at the highways to create more of a walkable community, Baker said. That also would allow the city to get away from highway strip commercial areas. The second goal in the non-residential areas is to diversify land use so that future economic development opportunities can provide the city with a positive fiscal outlook. Under transportation objectives, Baker said one goal is to identify key future roadways and existing roadway expansions as candidates for an aesthetically enhanced parkway design which features center green medians,parkway trees and landscaping. Another goal states that the transportation plans should be coordinated with land use plans. Schoppe said he used the city's transportation plan,which was done a year ago in this study. Another goal under transportation is provide alternative methods of transportation such as hike and bike trails. Baker said linking greenways between neighborhoods makes for nicer areas. Under the objectives for open space, Baker said the goals in the plan seek to identify key scenic view corridors, which define the character of Yorkville; to promote respect, conservation, enhancement and protection of important natural features and landscapes; and to incorporate the city's park and open space system into natural areas of the city. The key point throughout the objectives is that there are some beautiful scenic vistas in the city that define the character of Yorkville, Baker said. Alderman Larry Kot stated that the possibility of a Beecher Road extension should be deleted from the plan because it is a dead issue as far as he's concerned. However, Mayor Prochaska said he doesn't want to take any roads out. He said the city has no control over where the state or county roads will be developed. He said he'd like the city to set up the road structure so that as the area grows the city makes sure there is an internal set of streets. He said he'd like options for people to get around town without congesting major roadways. Schillinger said he agrees. He said if the city doesn't designate possibilities for future road extensions, it wouldn't have any other recourse in the future. Under objective 3.2, Mayor Prochaska said he's like to add that the city will work with the county on the Eldamain Road project. Meanwhile, Spear suggested that the city could establish an ordinance stating that roads must be a certain distance from treelines. Plan Commissioner Anne Lucietto said that while the main focus of the discussion is on the south side of town, a lot of what the aldermen and plan commissioners are talking about is the whole community. Schoppe said that the city could amend the north plan if so desired to match something specific in the southern plan. In regards to aesthetics, Mayor Prochaska said the city is working on an appearance code, which would affect the entire city. Schoppe pointed out that it's very important that everything in the plan is related to the goals and objectives. Spears said she requested at the June meeting that 2-3 acre equestrian lots be established. Schoppe,however, said those would fall under the existing estate classification. As for 10-15 acre equestrian lots, Mayor Prochaska said they would likely fall under the county. Commenting on Goal 4, Lucietto said she thinks the language needs to be more definitive rather than using the terms encourage or explore. Plan Commission Chairman Tom Lindblom wondered if any of the goals or objectives should specify the Fox River. Schoppe said there are general references to it,but nothing specific. Alderwoman Valerie Burd said the Fox River is a very important asset to the community. One resident asked if the Beecher Road extension is a dead issue, could the extension be a bike trail. At this point, Mayor Prochaska said he doesn't know. However, he said if there is a river crossing, the roadway could have a bike trail along with it. As for designating roadways and extensions, Schillinger again said the roads need to be marked on the plan now. Schoppe, however, said the roadways are not in the scope of this assignment. But,he said he could revisit the transportation plan if necessary. Meanwhile, reverting back to discussions on residential development, Mayor Prochaska said that when preserving natural features and natural areas, the city also should look at adding infrastructure costs and future maintenance costs. Schoppe said that might fall under a landscape ordinance issue. Back to the transportation topic, Alderwoman Rose Spears suggested dual turn lanes and high medians on Routes 34 and 47. She also said the city could consider requiring frontage roads along Route 47. Mayor Prochaska said if not frontage roads then at least the city could require cross-access easements. Schoppe said if frontage roads were installed,then the homes along Route 47 could face the highway rather than have their backs to it. Burd suggested asking developers to put utilities underground rather than on poles to maintain the rural charm. Schoppe said that could be added under aesthetics. For the most part, Baker said the updated plan uses existing land classifications. However, he said a new classification was added called neighborhood retail. The new classification would allow for service-oriented businesses such as hair salons to be located near the neighborhoods. He said the businesses would still be located at interactions. However, residents wouldn't have to go to the major highways to get to them. In mapping the areas, Baker said they first did a driving tour of the southern zone. The light yellow areas on the map are best suited for estate lots and lower densities and are designated by a light yellow color. Closer to Route 47, Baker said the best uses would be suburban area designations with densities of 1.5 to 2.5 units per acre. The land there is flatter and more conducive to higher densities. Commercial nodes,meanwhile,have been marked for Highway 71 and the proposed Prairie Parkway area. That area would be ideal for office and commercial uses, Baker said. Other designations include transitional areas for densities of up to 3.5 units per acre and green belts, which mark natural corridors. While there are allowances in the plan for higher densities, Baker said to achieve those density levels developers would have to provide additional open space or meet other similar types of requirements. Requirements such as increased landscape buffers would be at the city's discretion. However, he said the city must base its requirements on certain criteria. Kot pointed out that other than certain designated retail areas, the plan is light on employment opportunities. He said he'd like to see a greater retail area near the proposed Prairie Parkway. Mayor Prochaska said it might also be prudent to look at additional retail or industrial areas near Caton Farm Road and Route 47 as well as Routes 71 and 126. As for the transitional areas, Kot said the higher densities don't need to surround the commercial and industrial uses. He said he's driven through other communities where single-family homes have been located near commercial areas and it seems to work. Schoppe said the plan doesn't say there needs to be multi-family housing near every commercial development. However, he said the plan does have to include some multi- family areas. Schillinger, however, said that for the past six months,the city has been approving higher densities on town homes and condominiums. Maybe that trend could be corrected in the south end,he said. He said with proper berming and tree lines, commercial areas could go right up to suburban areas. Mayor Prochaska, however, said that generally as commercial development happens, higher densities of housing units surround those developments. Alderman Richard Sticka said suburban and larger residential developments don't pay for themselves with property taxes, which is why higher density areas are needed. Plan Commissioner Michael Crouch said it's important to have a balance of uses and he wondered if multi-family housing units have to surround commercial areas. Spears wanted to know where senior housing would fit into the plan. Schoppe said it could theoretically go in any yellow area on the map or in the pink areas. He said that type of use doesn't fit in the estate areas. Mayor Prochaska said most senior housing developments are located near commercial areas. A few area residents voiced their comments on the plan. Barry Meyworn of Yorkville said he'd like to city to promote the creation of more local jobs. Mayor Prochaska said the city is encouraging businesses to come in both to provide places for employment and to help the tax base. Meanwhile resident Dana Jones said she'd like to see the city do something to make traveling through town easier. Resident David Stewart also said traffic is one of the city's greatest problems. On the topic of design guidelines, Baker said the guidelines were broken down into a series of 13 principles. The overall corridor planning principles begin with preserving the character of Yorkville. Baker said that relates directly to the original goals. Another principle is to promote connectivity between land uses and adjacent developments. That objective can be met by developing comprehensive master plans. The third principle is to provide transition between land uses. The site planning principles include goals to incorporate existing site conditions into development plans such as drainage patterns, vegetation and soils. Baker said that amount to basic good design practices. Also,the principles aim to provide a sense of architectural interest and unique identity throughout the city. Those principles focus on a variety of aspects including roof treatments, building materials and building heights. Baker said the sixth principle calls for creating and enhancing pedestrian walkways such as trails and parks. Other principles center on appropriate designs for parking lots and service areas; providing a unified landscape treatment throughout the city; enhancing the aesthetic appearance of developments; establishing unique gateway entry features; establishing a consistent family of lighting for all public and private spaces; and creating a cohesive signage program. Baker said the design standards aren't meant to take way the individual uniqueness of subdivisions. However,the styles need to be compatible,he said. Burd said she wants the city to stick with setbacks. She doesn't want the city to negotiate those away when working with developers. Alderman Sticka said he doesn't think putting specific numbers regarding the setbacks or any issue belongs in the comprehensive plan. However, it can be referred to in general terms,he said. Mayor Prochaska said the comprehensive plan is a guideline. The guideline can then be taken and the city can update ordinances based on the comprehensive plan to reflect what the city wants, he said. The next step for updating the plan, Schoppe said, is to schedule a public hearing in October or November. The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Dina Gipe PLEASE SIGN IN MEETING: Y-,� S 1 L v\ DATE: 2 16__ Q q NAME STREET ADDRESS CITY i SK /7G Gt1117 v,,H oo)e7 t-0 4�?9� r 6% 111)7 . 21, l3 ; G� . 3e2 / i g.CD DuScu 478 ��� ,�v� a��✓�u - Z Alat —A6 3-71 � " i 59'7i Via d Ile" 5 ls-1 �' it�(9�•'� L[�VcXUC�V'1F-� ( ��<L yor,� �i _ (,k Il I of e, �A�j IJZo �et q7 &/ /r# 24ucp— Xc o e-sc- 4eo, mien YIDS W v1 I I �v 1