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EDC Minutes 2004 11-18-04 Page 1 of 4 APPROVED 01/20/05 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE YORKVILLE CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2004 The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. ATTENDANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF: Alderman Richard Sticka; and Alderwoman Rose Spears; Kelly Kramer from the City Attorney's office; and Mayor Art Prochaska. OTHERS: Lynn Dubajic, YEDC; Carolyn Herren; and Tim Winter 1. Minutes Minutes from the August 19 and October 21, 2004 meeting were approved. 2. Building permit report The building permit report from September 2004 was noted and moved forward to the Committee of the Whole. 3. PC 2004 -19 Carolvn Herren property rezoning Committee Chairman Richard Sticka said the Plan Commission voted 6 to 1 to recommend the rezoning. Commissioners wanted to know exactly what would go on the property. Some of the residents who attended the public hearing were concerned about what type of commercial business would go on the property. Mayor Art Prochaska said the city's zoning map already calls for the property to be zoned commercial. He also said that residents seemed most concerned about what will happen along Corneils Road. They seemed to want assurances of adequate setbacks. Meanwhile, the Plan Commissioners pointed out to the concerned residents that the city always requires heavy berming. Sticka said in his opinion the rezoning should go forward to the Committee of the Whole. Alderwoman Rose Spears agreed. 4. PC 2001 -06 Grande Reserve Unit 9 Preliminary /Final Plat, Sticka said the Plan Commission unanimously approved the request. He said one of the parcels was incorrectly drawn on the map, but it was a matter of a missing line. Tim Winter, representing the developer, said comments from the city staff have been addressed. The only things not finalized are the architectural standards and they're still working on some sanitary sewer issues, he said. Page 2 of 4 Both Sticka and Spears agreed the matter should be forwarded to the Committee of the Whole. 5. Countryside TIF District Update Lisa Lyon with URS gave a preview to the public hearing regarding the proposed Tax Increment Financing redevelopment project and plan for the Countryside Shopping Center. In her presentation, she offered a brief run through of what would be covered at the public hearing. She said the TIF wouldn't increase the tax rate. It does, however, raise the equalized assessed valuation of property and that creates the pool of funds, Lyon said. A TIF can be in place for a long as 23 years. And, when a TIF is dissolved, the funds are dispersed to all of the taxing bodies. In this case, the city is seeking a site specific TIF focusing solely on the 20 -acre Countryside Shopping Center. Lyon said what's important is that the shopping center is considered an improved site. That means it may be found eligible for a TIF as a blighted area. In her analysis, Lyon said the area does qualify as a blighted area based on obsolescence, deterioration, excessive vacancies, structures below minimum code standards, and declining or lagging equalized assessed valuation. The EAV for the center is 3.1 percent based on an EAV of 12.6 percent for the rest of the city, Lyon said. And for the last two years, the EAV has been declining. Among the redevelopment goals and policies, Lyon said the project area is in a key location, which is very important. Some of the general goals include making the project area one that will contribute more positively to the health, safety and general welfare of the city and preserve or enhance the value of properties within and adjacent to the project area. Another goal is an increased real estate tax base for the city and other taxing districts. Also, a goal is to seek new commercial development to the area, which would expand the sales tax and employment base of the city. The developer interested in the property has offered some various site plans, Lyon said and the redevelopment plan must include a land use plan. The first version includes one main anchor; the second version includes a main anchor that could possibly be a home store; the third would feature a department store as the main anchor; and the fourth version would feature one main anchor and two junior anchors. The theme to each version is to orient the building to good traffic patterns, Lyon said. And, the building would have to coordinate with all of the existing outlots around it, she added. Page 3 of 4 The TIF plan provides basic guidelines for what could be done, she said. However, the TIF plan doesn't include specific aspects of what the redevelopment of the property would be. Mayor Prochaska said the city doesn't need to have a specific user in mind for the TIF plan to be accepted. He also said that URS is projecting the TIF to be on a 23 -year schedule. However he said the Joint Review Board recommend a 12 to 15 year schedule. Lyon said that if more money is generated in the TIF, it's better to distribute the extra money to the taxing bodies than to end the TIF early. She also said early on in the TIF, the EAV wouldn't cover the costs for redevelopment. Sticka said he'd like the other taxing bodies in the city to have some sort of comfort level with the proposed TIF. He said the city needs the support of the other taxing bodies. Lyon said the URS would work closely with the city for the first couple of years of the TIF if it is approved. After that, the firm would be available to help when needed. She said any redevelopment agreements would have to be monitored closely by the city administrator and the city's legal council. Lyon also said this is an opportune time for the city to seek a redevelopment plan for the property. The key is to guide the development and plan for it. 6. Woodworth Estates Preliminary Plan Sticka said the Plan Commission unanimously gave its recommendation for approval of the preliminary plan. Mayor Prochaska said the property has been annexed and zoned for many years. The subdivision has been developed a little at a time. The committee agreed to send the request forward to the Committee of the Whole with a recommendation for approval. 7. Illinois Main Street Lynn Dubajic with the Yorkville Economic Development Corporation said she attended a meeting about the possibility of Yorkville becoming an Illinois Main Street community. The good news is that it doesn't cost anything to be a Main Street community. The bad news is that there's no money in the Main Street coffers at the moment. The Main Street program is a national program and if the city was to become part of it, the city would be able to use the expertise of the state. To join, a steering committee possibly of downtown merchants would need to be formed, she said. Dubajic also said membership in Main Street is on a tiered level. The city could join the introductory level and remain at the level for as long as it wished. The city could then become more involved at it's own pace. Page 4 of 4 Mayor Prochaska said the city considered joining Main Street about 10 years ago but it never fully got off the ground. He said he doesn't have a problem with the city becoming involved in the program. But, he said that someone from the private sector would need to champion it according to Main Street regulations. He then suggested maybe the city should hold off on joining the program until the downtown revitalization plan is completed. He also said joining the program might work well with the revitalization plan. He said it also would be good to get feedback on this from the downtown merchants association. Additional business Spears said she'd like to set up a presentation from a member of the Illinois Coalition for the Handicapped for the Committee of Whole regarding handicapped accessibility. She said many improvements for accessibility could be made without a major expense. Mayor Prochaska said he would contact the representative from the coalition and try to set something up for the beginning of the year. In other additional business matters, Sticks said he recently received a request from someone asking the city to table the appearance code issue. However, Sticks said he'd like to move forward with the code and possibly set up a committee to adjust it if needed. He said it's important to have an appearance code in place. Sticka also said he received a call from Mary Block who expressed concern about the Assembly of God Church's plans to build on property neighboring her farm. She wants to make sure the city requires proper berming and/or fencing to protect her farm operation. The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m. Minutes by Dina Gipe i .� ,�� C-