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Plan Commission Minutes 2014 08-13-14Page 1 of 4 APPROVED 9/10/14 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PLAN COMMISSION City Council Chambers Wednesday, August 13, 2014 7:00pm Commission Members in Attendance Chairman Tom Lindblom Deborah Horaz James Weaver Jack Jones Michael Crouch Art Prochaska Absent: Jane Winninger, Charles Kraupner, Jeff Baker City Staff Krysti Barksdale-Noble, Community Development Director Mr. Chris Heinen, City Planner Other Guests Dan Kramer, Attorney Meeting Called to Order Chairman Tom Lindblom called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Roll Call Roll call was taken and a quorum was established. Minutes July 9, 2014 The minutes were approved as presented on a motion by Mr. Crouch and second by Mr. Prochaska. Unanimous voice vote approval. Citizen’s Comments None Public Hearings 1. Continued PC 2014-12 The Yorkville Unit School District #115, petitioner, has filed an application with the United City of Yorkville, Kendall County, Illinois, requesting special use permit approval for the construction and operation of a free standing wind turbine system with a minimum height of seventy feet (70') to be installed at the Yorkville Middle School. The real property is located at 920 Prairie Crossing Drive in Yorkville, Illinois. Old Business As there was no further information for this case, Chairman Lindblom entertained a motion to open and continue the Hearing. Jones moved and Prochaska seconded the motion to open the Hearing. There was no discussion and the Hearing was continued on a motion by Crouch and second by Jones. Motions passed unanimously on voice votes. Page 2 of 4 New Business 1. PC 2014-12 Special Use for Wind Turbine (described above) Action Item Special Use Case continued per above. 2. PC 2014-15 Peaceful Pathways Montessori School, petitioner, has filed an application with Kendall County seeking a major amendment to their existing special use to modify the site plan and reconfigure the parking lot. Attorney Kramer was present on behalf of the petitioner and said this school started in 2005 as a Montessori school and is now licensed to teach through 8th grade. The owner is Shawna Klatt Watkins and she has completed two additions already. Mr. Kramer said they will build a new building and blacktop the existing gravel parking lot plus a small additional area. They have worked with the Fire Protection, have a good water system and oversize septic for expansion. The final County Board vote is next week. Mr. Kramer asked for a positive recommendation on this project which was presented at this meeting for a 1.5 Mile Review. This property on Rt. 71, is zoned Agricultural and the facility is licensed and regulated by DCFS. Mr. Heinen said it complies with the current Comp Plan. Commissioner Horaz asked if there are any flooding issues, however, Mr. Kramer said the creek is mostly dry. She also asked about the stand of trees--they will not be disturbed. Mr. Weaver moved to give a positive recommendation to this request and Mr. Jones seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Crouch-yes, Horaz-yes, Jones-yes, Prochaska-yes, Weaver-yes, Lindblom-yes. Passed 6-0. Additional Business 1. Outdoor Display Regulations Mr. Heinen said that Commissioner Baker had asked about regulations regarding outdoor displays such as at gas stations. Currently there are none and the Commission was asked if they wished to have an ordinance for this. An ordinance would include areas such as the temporary Jewel greenhouse, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Ms. Noble said the City receives a couple requests a year for uses outside the normal business. One example was an auto repair business that wished to have a vegetable swap. The Parks Dept. regulates this type of request. Staff would have to determine if the use is sporadic or all summer etc. There could be an issue with zoning if parking overflows for these functions. Other questions to be addressed include if the events should be limited in number per year, will permits be needed, etc. Another similar complaint received is for a fitness center downtown in regards to the available parking spaces. Events there often require on-street parking. Ms. Horaz said kids walk on the street during big fitness events and it is a safety issue. Mr. Crouch said the question is should the Commission wait until something happens or be proactive. Mr. Prochaska said that when safety becomes an issue, then regulations are needed. Page 3 of 4 Chairman Lindblom asked if the City would speak with the owners of the two properties in question. Krysti said the City has spoken with them, however, there are no regulations to enforce, but they must have adequate parking. In addition, the gas station display is not blocking a public sidewalk since it is their own property. Mr. Crouch also observed there will be a limited amount of sidewalk by the barriers downtown, when Rt. 47 is finished. He asked if the City would allow merchants to place items on those sidewalks. Mr. Prochaska said there is no need for an ordinance and said that the fitness center owner owns large amounts of property downtown and could provide alternate parking. Mr. Crouch said it would benefit the businesses to work with the City instead of having an ordinance. 2. City Council Action Updates a. PC 2014-10 Willman and Groesch, Petitioner, Lighthouse Daycare, Special Use The Special Use was approved by the City Council. b. PC 2014-11 City of Yorkville (Alternative Energy Systems) Text Amendment This matter was tabled separately and will be sent back to the August 5th EDC meeting and will be considered along with the Zoning update. c. PC 2014-13 Kendall Crossing Monument Signage Special Use Amendment This item was also tabled and sent back to EDC and will move to Council to be considered again on August 26th. After research, it was found that the signage area is in a public right of way and a special license agreement will be needed for the signs. 3. Zoning Ordinance Update 2014 a. Presentation of proposed final draft of the Yorkville Zoning Code Update Ms. Noble said staff and members of the Zoning Commission have been working the past 4.5 years to update the Zoning Ordinance. The original one was written in 1973. About 40 meetings were held over time and an open house was held recently. No public attended these meetings, however, the proposed changes were put on the web and 73 responses were received. They were also put on Facebook and social media. The draft went to EDC for technical review and Plan Commission input was requested also. It will go back to EDC in September or October. A Public Hearing will be held at the Zoning Commission. For the record, Chairman Lindblom thanked Michael Crouch, Jeff Baker, Krysti and Chris for all their hard work. Mr. Crouch also noted that Travis Miller, former Community Development Director, also worked on this document. He thanked all committee members. In reviewing some of the changes, Commissioner Prochaska asked if setbacks are discussed for taller buildings. Ms.Noble said they were not addressed, however, overlay language could be used for these situations. Ms. Horaz also brought forward some issues regarding aesthetics. Chain link fences was one item and Ms. Noble said fences are not allowed in front yards and that only vinyl coated chain link fences are allowed in the proposed ordinance. Commissioner Horaz had several further comments and will forward them to Ms. Noble for consideration. Page 4 of 4 Mr. Crouch discussed trailers being allowed in yards or driveways and cautioned that the City must be mindful of what items people have on their properties prior to the ordinance. Mr. Weaver said that some homeowner's associations have certain regulations governing these situations. RV's, campers and semis in driveways were discussed. 4. Comprehensive Plan Update 2014 & Southside Retail Study Updates a. Award of contract for the Comprehensive Retail Study updates The Lakota Group was approved as the firm to conduct the Comp Plan update. They will have a booth at Hometown Days and set up an office in Yorkville. b. Status update on the Southside Retail Study Mr. Heinen said the southside retail group is now working on the retail study and should have data available for the City by the end of this month. In October, they will give a presentation to developers of large shopping centers. Additional Business There will be a joint ZBA/Plan Commission meeting on September 10. There will be one item for discussion and the City Attorney will conduct a training session regarding the functions and duties of ZBA. There will be three new members on the ZBA. Ms. Barksdale-Noble said the beekeeping ordinance was passed by Council and she gave a brief overview of the regulations. Adjournment There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 8:05pm on a motion by Mr. Weaver and second by Mr. Prochaska. Respectfully transcribed by Marlys Young, Minute Taker