EDC Minutes 2004 08-19-04 APPROVED BY THE
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COMMITTEE/Bo RD
ON
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
YORKVILLE CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2404
The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m.
ATTENDANCE
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF: Aldermen Richard Sticka and Marty
Munns; and Alderwomen Rose Spears and Valerie Burd; Kelly Kramer from the City
Attorney's office; and zoning official Anna Kurtzman. OTHERS: Lynn Dubajic, I
Yorkville EDC; George Dinges; Steve Horve; Thad Gleason; Rob Gamrath; Marvin
DeLahr; Ellen George; John George; and Christopher Kopecky.
1. Minutes
None.
2. Building Reports
The building permit report from July 2004 was viewed and forwarded to the next
Committee of the Whole meeting.
3. School District 0115 Resolution Requesting Funding Alternatives
Chairman Richard Sticks said the School District is requesting something that the city
asked the district to request months ago.
Alderwoman Valerie Burd said she suggested to the School District that the district
formally request the city to adopt a resolution on funding alternatives. Sticks said it
seems the committee's role in this process is informal. Mayor Art Prochaska said that in
the future if a large development is proposed for the city, the funding alternatives could
be negotiated into the annexation agreement.
4. Blackberry Oaks Golf Course Annexation Agreement,
Sticks said he's inclined to give the golf course the requested concessions. He said he
doesn't see any reason to clobber them and the city can immediately begin collecting
sales taxes once the annexation is approved.
Mayor Prochaska said he isn't fond of the requested utility tax rebate. Kelly Kramer,
from the city attorney's office, said although it has been requested, her office doesn't
have comments back from the golf course's attorney.
Also, City Administrator Tony Chaff said the city's ordinances do not allow serving
alcohol on the golf courses. Mayor Prochaska added that there also was a request for the
bar to stay open once the restaurant closes. He said the city would have to review both
requests. Kramer said that issue should go to the Public Safety Committee.
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Likewise, Sticka said it should be added into the agreement that lights not be installed.
Mayor Prochaska said most of rebates in the agreement are standard for businesses
coming into the city.
Graff also suggested the annexation agreement include some language saying that
landscaping is okay but that any major renovations would need to be approved by the
city.
Graff said the next step is for the request to go to a public hearing at the Plan
Commission.
5. Yorkville Ace Annexation Aereement
Sticka said this is an issue similar to the golf course annexation. The annexation will
allow the city to collect sales taxes it currently isn't getting.
Meanwhile, Mayor Prochaska said the Yorkville Ace Hardware wouldn't hook up to the
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city's water and sewer services right away. Graff said the city has atwo -year window.
The city is moving forward on the agreement. The next step is to go to a public hearing at
the Plan Commission.
6. Swanson Lane Estates -- Annexation and Zoning
Sticka informed the committee that the Plan Commission unanim ously approved the
annexation and zoning.
Chris Kopecky, representing the petitioners, said the property is a fairly pristine piece of
property and the petitioners are proposing a five -lot subdivision. He said the entire
property is heavily wooded which is the main reason for seeking the P.U.D. zoning.
Sticka said there are not provisions for detention in this plan Kopecky said that because
the property is heavily vegetative, in lieu of a detention area, the developers might
increase the vegetation
Graff said city engineer Joe 'Wyrwrot feels comfortable with the terrain that is currently
there. He believes there can be conservation designs added so that the drainage is
properly handled. Sticka said Illinois drainage law says that the developers can't increase
water flow from their property.
Kopecky said their engineer wasn't available for the meeting, but that the options are
being looked at.
Sticka said the Plan Commission questioned whether Lot 3 could be subdivided again.
Kopecky said if it is subdivided again at some point in the future, no more than three lots
could go in there. And, he said that would have to go back to the city for approval.
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Residents of the Blackberry North subdivision expressed concerns at the Plan
Commission about the trees. They don't want the tree lines disturbed. Kopecky said the
intent of the developers is not to disturb the trees. The wooded area is an attraction to
potential buyers. The fact that the entire property is heavily wooded is the main reason
for seeking a PUD zoning, he said.
Mayor Prochaska said it might be a good idea to request a tree survey ordinance be done
if the subdivision is recommended for approval and attached that request to the motion.
Kopecky said he'd like to see what the developers would be asked to agree to before
commenting.
The committee gave its recommendation to move forward with plans. A public hearing
before the City Council will be scheduled for Sept. 24.
7. Fog Hill Unit 7 Pod 10
Sticka said the Plan Commission unanimously voted against the request. Commissioners
felt the request for variances and setbacks was not justified because no plan was given for
any particular building.
Since the plan was presented to the Plan Commission, changes have been made, Rob
Gamrath, representing the petitioner, said. He said prototypes of the proposed homes
were brought to this meeting. Also, he said the entryway to the proposed subdivision was
relocated to match the entry across the street as requested and is much wider.
Of the 13 acres on the site, he said only 6 acres are developable. About 1.5 acres are
going to commercial and 2.7 acres are going to the city for the right of way, he said. Also
lot 14 is going to the city for open space is 3.1 acres. Anna Kurtzman, a code official for
the city, said the lot widths don't meet city code. Gamrath said of the lots that aren't 90
feet are very close and the petitioner is asking for deviations. Also, he said those lots are
set far back from the street, so there is still plenty of yard space. Lots 14 are almost 88
feet; lots 5 and 6 are irregular shaped lots; lots 7, 8 and 9 meet the requirements; and lots
10, 11, and 12 almost meet the requirements, he said.
Kurtzman also brought up the rear -yard setbacks and front -yard setbacks, Gamrath said.
Along Eldamain Road, there is a setback greater than the 30 feet required. The city
requested a 15 -foot pedestrian path along the road as well as 25 feet for landscaping.
Consequently, everything has been pushed forward, which is why the petitioners are
requesting 25 -foot setbacks, he said. He said the front porch goes within the 30 -feet
requirement. That's all that would be encroaching on the setback, Gamrath, said.
Sticka said if this drawing had been available at the Plan Commission meeting, it might
have been approved. The problem was they were asked to approve something without
knowing exactly what they would be approving. Meanwhile, the PUD already calls for
some architectural standards.
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Sticka, however, did question how the confident the petitioner feels with the rendering
since a developer hasn't been chosen. Gamrath said the petitioner has met with
developers who have agreed to build the type of product in the drawing if they are chosen
as the developers.
Marvin DeLahr, also representing the petitioner, said that the entire plan is based on the
concept of this building and the city could feel confident that if the plan is approved, the
product in the drawing is the product that would be built.
Alderman Marty Munns said he would give his approval to the project as long as the
products are as nice as can be. Sticka agreed saying this area needs a high quality
product. Kramer said there is somewhat of an anti- monotony clause in the agreement
where no two fronts can be identical.
The committee agreed to send the petition forward to the Committee of the Whole on
Sept. 7 and a public hearing at the City Council on Sept. 14.
8. PUD Amendment for Senior Avartment Housing
Sticka said the developer originally seeking a PUD was unable to get the necessary
funding from the state to proceed with the plan, so the project has been turned over to
someone else.
Graff said the _new developers are looking at a senior housing project with assisted living.
The previous plan was for senior housing only.
George Dinges, representing the developer, showed some pictures of some similar
housing units in Danville, Batavia and Decatur.
Dinges said the average resident of these housing units is a frail female about 84 years
old who isn't ready for a nursing home. The niche for these housing developments is that
they're about one step from a nursing home, he said. They've been extremely well
received.
These types of housing units are affordable, he said. Rents range from $472 per month to
$2,200. All utilities are paid and three meals per day are included, he said.
Dinges said the state of Illinois wants to provide residents with an alternative to
prematurely going to a nursing home. The state pays about 60 percent of what they would
pay to person going to a nursing home, so the state saves money, he said. He said these
types of developments are a high priority in the state.
Thad Gleason, also representing the developer, said the proposed two -story building for
Yorkville would house about 74 units. He said it's designed to be a residential home
rather than an institution. The developer hires an interior designer to make the place look
very comfortable and homey. Architecturally, Sticks said the proposed building looks
much nicer than what was originally proposed.
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Mayor Prochaska said this is something the community has been asking for and he'd like
to see the developer come back to the city with a plan that is workable. Sticks said, while
he believes the proposed building would be great for the community, he said the
developers are asking for substantial changes in the PUD. For instance, he said the city
worked hard to put covered parking in the PUD. Now it seems like the residents won't be
the ones who will be using the parking lots. He said the city and the developer would
need to work hard to make a PUD that fits. Dinges said they would go over the PUD with
the city and make any changes as applicable.
Sticks said there would need to be a public hearing before the City Council to revise the
PUD, but it first needs to come back to the EDC. Kramer said she'd recommend it come
back to the committee only because there would be substantial changes to the original
PUD agreement.
9. White Tail Ridee —1.5 Mile Review
The city of Oswego sent a letter regarding transfer of jurisdiction of the 1.5 mile review
based upon the boundary agreement between Oswego and Yorkville.
The property is north of Route 126 and west of Grove Road. The plan is for a golf course
community. It's been submitted to the county, but no recommendations have been made
yet, he said.
Sticks asked if the city was okay with doing the 1.5 -mile review. Graff said the only
concern is what the zoning would fall under. Because the property falls into the area for
future planning, zoning would fall under the default zoning which is R -1, Kurtzman said.
That isn't the same as estate zoning. Mayor Prochaska said one of the reasons the city
created estate zoning was so the city had a zoning classification for county developments.
After it was determined the city doesn't need to respond to the Oswego letter, Sticks said
the city would want to do the 1.5 mile review and that the zoning would likely fall into
the most restrictive zoning whether that be R 1 or estate.
10. Revised Landscape Ordinance
Graff said city staff has been seeking comments on the revised ordinance. Of the seven or
eight developers or landscape architects who attended a recent meeting, there were two
responses. A letter from S & K Development, L.L.C., stated that the proposed revisions
are `potentially extremely costly to the developers." They said the matter should be
carefully reviewed before it is adopted.
The other, an email, from Wallace Munday from Munday Landscaping, basically stated
that the landscape ordinance appears to have touched on all of the points mentioned at the
meeting, Sticka said.
The landscape architects who attended the meeting said the proposed ordinance is okay
and it's not as restrictive as other communities, Sticka said.
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Graff said the proposed revisions don't change the standards of planting material. A lot of
the changes were related to buffering for commercial and applied to PUD agreement so
that they're consistent. He said there's also credit given for existing vegetation and an
appeal process has been added.
Mayor Prochaska said one of the reasons for revising the ordinance is to correct overages
and not to increase standards. Graff said the standards have been increased slightly.
Spears asked if City Planner Mice Schoppe could outline the changes made so it's easier
to see what they are.
Mayor Prochaska said he's not sure how the changes would add costs as the letter from S
& K stated. If it was a new ordinance, their concerns would have made sense, he said.
Graff said he'd talk to them.
The committee agreed to send the revised ordinance to the C.O.W. after they review an {
outline of changes provided by Schoppe.
11. Anneamnce Code
Sticka said he's glad to see it back on the agenda. It's something the city needs to adopt,
he said.
Kurtzman said she tried to tighten it up by changing many of the "shoulds" to "shalls" to
make it more of a mandate. Sticka said apparently, the city couldn't say it won't allow
pole buildings. He said the city wants to require brick and masonry on buildings and he's
not sure it can go on those types of buildings. But, other committee members say they
can. The city also can't disallow mobile homes outright.
After questions for the committee about several of the guidelines, Sticka said it's
important to get the code adopted. Because the city has nothing on the books now, it's
important to get it approved and changes can be made later, he said.
Regarding some of the restrictions outlined on Page 4 of the proposed code regarding
footprints, Mayor Prochaska asked if the restrictions are possibly too restrictive. While
it's good to be restrictive, he said the city doesn't want to drive away good builders. The
proposed code says the footprints be noticeably varied from buildings with three or more
residential units. Committee members agreed the code shouldn't be that restrictive and
should be removed from the code.
The committee agreed to send the proposed appearance code to the C.O.W. in September.
12. Amendment to Building and Zoning Code Addressing Maximum Height and
Buildine Materials
Burd asked why the maximum height of buildings was being discussed because the city
has restrictions stating buildings can't be higher than three stories. Mayor Prochaska said
that was before the city started requiring certain buildings to have sprinklers in them.
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Requests for senior housing in the city have prompted the code to be reviewed. By
building higher buildings, the developers of those buildings can keep costs down, he said.
Burd said if the fire department is against raising the maximum height of buildings, then
she doesn't think the city should increase the height. Graff said the fire department isn't
objecting yet. He said code official Bill Dettmer has spoken to the department about the
issue.
Mayor Prochaska said the city has had requests from developers wanting to build these
taller buildings. He wants to know if the city should look at allowing taller buildings. At
this point, however, is because the city doesn't have a ladder truck the fire department
has opposed buildings taller than three stories or 35 feet.
Sticks said he would only approve taller buildings if the fire department gave its
approval. Mayor Prochaska said if the taller buildings were approved, maybe the
developers would have to pay a fee to help the fire department get the necessary
equipment. Twice, he said there have been requests to build four -story buildings on
Walnut.
Spears said she's not comfortable with building and building and having the developer
put money towards the purchase of necessary fire equipment. She said she'd rather
already have the equipment.
Burd said she feels this was approached the wrong way. She said she feels manipulated.
The better way to go about it would have been to come to the committee and ask if taller
buildings would be something the committee would consider.
Graff asked how the city staff should prepare for a vote on something like this. Sticks
said that unless the fire department says they're ready to deal with taller buildings, the
city has no reason to address it at all. But Mayor Prochaska said the fire department
would never going to recommend taller buildings. It's up to the city to ask the department
to look into it and so far that's all the city has done, he said.
Graff said the fire department asked the city to bring them some standards. The city had
brought those to the department and they're under review.
Sticka said he's not comfortable going forward until the fire department gives the city
some standards that are acceptable to them.
13. Additional Business,
None.
The meeting adjourned at 9:21 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Dina Gipe
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