Plan Commission Minutes 2002 08-14-02 - 1
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UNITED CITY OF YORKVII.LE O
PLAN COMMISSION MEETING
WEDNESDAY,AUGUST 14, 2002
Chairman Tom Lindblom called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Members present: Kerry Green, Clarence Holdiman, Jeff Baker, Anne Lucietto, Bill
Davis, Sandra Adams, Brian Schillinger,Jack Jones, Tom Mizel, Ted King,Michael
Crouch, Andrew Kubala and Tom Lindblom.
A quorum was established.
VISITORS
Those who spoke at the meeting or signed the sign-in sheet were: Rich Guerard, Mary
Krasner and Rich Olson, with Wyndham Deerpoint Homes; John Phillipchuck, Art
Zwemke, Tom Smart, Katherine Allen, Greg Hepp and Bob Howry with the Grande
Reserve project; Chuck Hanlan with Inland Real Estate; Lynn Dubajic, Yorkville
Economic Development Commission; City Administrator Tony Graff; City Planner Mike
Schoppe; Mayor Art Prochaska; Alderman Richard Sticka; and City Attorney Dan
Kramer.
MINUTES
Minutes from the July 10 meeting were approved without corrections.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
None
OLD BUSINESS
PC 2001-18 The Highlands: Petition to annex and rezone.
Rich Guerard reviewed changes made in the development plan of The Highlands. He said
the original plan called for 709 units. In the new plan,the number of units was reduced to
649 units.
Previously, the Plan Commission recommended annexation and zoning, however the
preliminary plan was deferred until a more complete review could be made. At issue was
the Mary Block farm and her concerns that the new subdivision and plans for a new
school and park area would be adequately buffered from the farm and its operations.
Guerard said he and others from Wyndham Deerpoint Homes held numerous meetings
with Mary Block and an agreement was reached. Details of the agreement were
incorporated into the landscape plans Wyndham Deerpoint submitted to the city,he said.
Reviewing plans for the development, Guerard said The Highlands includes 403 single-
family homes; and 246 duplex units on 123 lots. There are 91 acres of open space in the
320-acre development. Guerard said the developers also reached an agreement with the
Yorkville School District regarding the site and configuration for a new school. He said
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the developers will pay a transfer fee to the schools that will be escrowed until it is time
to build a new school.
The developers also reached an agreement with the Yorkville Park Board regarding a
park site and an 80-foot wide trail. Guerard said the developers conformed to all of the
requirements from the park board.
Explaining the agreement with Mary Block, Guerard said the developers and toured some
of Wyndham Deerpoint's existing projects with Mary Block to look at some of the
buffering concepts put into use. Guerard said Block's primary concern was buffering.
The agreement calls for a combination of natural planting, a six-foot solid fence and
landscaping with landscape easements.
The south tip will be naturally planted; some plantings will reach 6 feet tall. Guerard said
they are very effective. He also said the area will have a six-foot fence. The plan also
includes 10-foot landscape easements and the planting of bushes to keep people from
coming close to the fence.
Along the school site,the landscaping plan calls for a three-foot berm as steep as the city
will allow. Along the north end, the fence will be moved in two feet. Guerard said they
also will record a disclosure on the plat.
He said they designed a plan for each area that buffers the Block property and the details
of the plan are in the landscape plan already submitted to the city. Also, Guerard said the
fences will be maintained by the homeowner's association. He added that the developers
are now working with Block on drainage issues.
Commissioner Jeff Baker asked when the landscaping would be installed. Guerard
answered that the landscaping will be installed as each phase is being built. He added that
all of the landscaping for each phase will be installed before the area in the phase is
occupied.
In another matter, Guerard said the developers received the traffic study from the Illinois
Department of Transportation and conducted a sight line study for Routes 126 and 71. He
said they won't have a IDOT sign-off until final engineering. The roadways will meet
IDOT standards.
Watershed issues also are being addressed, Guerard said. Also, he said Parcel 8 has been
adjusted to line up with Cardinal Lane as requested.
Commissioner Tom Mizel asked Guerard to explain the developer's agreement with the
park board. Guerard said they reached a land/land agreement, not land/cash. The
agreement includes 19 acres of dedicated parkland, which includes a prairie path, and
bike trail and a nine-acre park connected to the school site. Also,the trail is 80-feet wide
as requested by the park board and the developers kept the natural tree line. In addition,
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he said the bike path runs the entire length of the project and also runs in front of the
school.
Commissioner Andrew Kubala made a motion to approve the preliminary planned unit
development as presented for PC 2001-18,the Highlands. Anne Lucietto seconded the
motion. The motion was unanimously approved by a roll call vote. Kerry Green, Clarence
Holdiman, Jeff Baker, Anne Lucietto, Bill Davis, Sandra Adams, Brian Schillinger, Jack
Jones, Tom Mizel, Ted King, Michael Crouch, Andrew Kubala and Tom Lindblom all
voted yes.
Commission Chairman Tom Lindblom commended Guerard for working with the
development's neighbors on the project.
PC 2001-06 Grand Reserve concept plan review.
Art Zwemke explained the changes made to the Grand Reserve concept plan since it was
last presented to the commission. He began by saying that Grand Reserve is a master
planned community that touches on Galena Road to Route 34. He said the most important
thing the developers looked at was the open space opportunities and they tried to build
around what Mother Nature gave the area and some of the man-made features.
The proposed 1,127.3-acre development includes 422 acres of open space. Zwemke said
145 acres along Blackberry Creek could be a regional park area and that roughly 80 acres
fall under a conservation area. The plan also includes 12 different neighborhood parks
ranging in size from two to three acres to 10 acres.
Traditionally, the land/cash ordinances require half land and half cash. Zwemke proposed
that the developers give all the 85 acres to the park board or city and$1,000 per dwelling
unit for improvements. Some of the money could go to neighborhood parks and some
could go to regional parks.
Plans also call for an upscale clubhouse on 5.5 acres of land. In the concept plan,the
clubhouse area includes parking for 180 vehicles, tot lots, wading pools and a cabana.
The apartment component of the plan includes a clubhouse, which Zwemke said is a
popular feature among apartment complexes. The clubhouse would be about 2,500 square
foot and would include a pool and gazebo with apartments surrounding it. Zwemke said it
is a first-class apartment area located on the far eastern edge of the property close to the
proposed Metra site.
Zwemke said exhibit 3.17 in the handbook distributed to commissioners, shows the
layout for the apartments,townhomes, duplexes, single-family homes and elementary
school site.
Regarding suggestions made at a previous Plan Commission meeting,Zwemke said
commissioners were uncomfortable with lot sizes of 7,200 and 8,400 square feet for some
single-family homes. He said developers are working in the spirit of the city's draft
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comprehensive plan. In doing so, he said the developers could market the homes as an
age-restricted product. He said they could market to empty nesters by placing restrictions
in the covenants such as no swingsets or requiring all master bedrooms to be on the first
floor.
A second major change in the plan includes the area west of Bristol Road and south of
Route 34. Zwemke said the if the developers provide city water perhaps Kendall County
would allow septic systems on 18,000 square foot lots. The county ordinance says 30,000
square foot lots are needed for a well and septic. He said that might eliminate the need
for a Blackberry Creek interceptor. The Fox-Metro Sanitary District will pick up the rest
of the property.
Plans still call for primarily single-family housing south of the ridgeline. The lot sizes
would start at 10,000 square foot and increase. Zwemke said the developers are focused
on the whole community and not just on lot sizes and houses.
Zwemke outlined several scenarios, which would alter the number of dwelling units in
the plan and the number of school age children each scenario would generate. He said
they are trying to be responsive in that regard.
Yorkville School Superintendent Dr. Engler recommended the developers firm up plans
with the city and then to speak to the School Board.
Commissioner Brian Schillinger expressed concern that it would be difficult for students
to walk to school because of the planned location of the high school and middle school.
Commission Member Michael Crouch indicated less than 10 percent of students walk to
school anyway.
Zwemke pointed out that exhibit 4.4 shows how they can create an "interesting and
wonderful" school campus. He said that with the blessings of the Plan Commission, he
would like to go to the School Board to talk about the land donation.
At the last Plan Commission meeting, commissioners asked what homes in the
development might look like. Zwemke said exhibit 3.19 shows a single-family empty
nester product, which would go in neighborhoods 1, 2 and 3. The house sizes and costs
are estimates, he said. As the developers spread their costs, the costs will dictate what
housing goes on what lots.
Exhibit 3.18 gives more detail, Zwemke said. He said the plans they are presenting are
reasonable. He said if lot sizes are the key concern, he would like to come back with a
drawing at the public hearing September to show what it would look like. He asked that
the commission to consider the monotony if all lot sizes are 12,000 square feet.
Schillinger said the 12,000 square foot is a minimum requirement-they don't all have to
be 12,000 square feet. Zwemke said that considering that an average of lots will be
11,500 square feet,they're not that far off.
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Commissioner Kerry Green asked if there were provisions to keep children away from
the railroad property. Zwemke said only good common sense. He added that something
could possibly be put into place to increase safety and reduce noise.
Kubala asked if the developers were seeking one PUD or several. Zwemke said it all falls
under one PUD. He said they will come in for final plat approval as they reach each new
phase. He said it would be ideal of all the markets in the plan were available today. He
said no one can see into the future so everything cannot be platted at once.
Kubala said it seems to be a monumental task on part of the Plan Commission to see that
the community interest is protected.
Zwembke said that doing a master community is an effective use of time.
Commission Member Sandra Adams said she still has a problem with lot sizes less than
12,000 square feet. Mizel agreed.
Zwemke asked if the city's ordinance requiring 12,000 square foot lots was designed to
protect the city from lot sizes any smaller. He said the biggest market driver is the size of
the home. He said the developers believe they have a good balance between homes with
lot sizes of 10,000, 11,000 and 12,000 square feet.
Phillipchuck said that the smaller lot sizes are in exchange for more open space.
Commissioner Jack Jones said that instead of open space,they'd rather have homes
further spread apart.
Mizel asked if the developers could offer the open space and minimum lot sizes of 12,000
square feet. Phillipchuck said the numbers wouldn't work with the infrastructure
available.
Lucietto commented that essentially the developers are asking the Plan Commission to
sign a blank check to 10,000 square foot lots.
Zwemke commented that the density on the entire project is 2.15 units per acre.
Meanwhile,the draft comprehensive plan allows for densities of 2.5 to 3.5 units per acre.
He said the developers are asking the Plan Commission to look at the development as a
whole community.
Jones commented that while the developers have done a good job, the commissioners still
have a problem with lot sizes of 10,000 square feet.
Schillinger also said that the commission is asking for 12,000 square foot minimum lot
sizes not cut out of lots that exact same size. Zwemke said they're not that far off in the
plan.
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Zwemke asked that if there were no other issues, he would like to move forward. Lucietto
expressed concern about road access. Schillinger said he sees a lot of bottlenecking on
the roadways.
Zwemke responded by saying the developers believe the access points are sufficient. By
design, they've tried to create individual neighborhoods in the plan. He said they've
closed of lots in groups of 105 to 110 to create a neighborhood effect. He said the only
traffic in the groups would be that of neighbors.
Crouch said an informal poll of school board members favored a campus site on the
property. He added that he has been a longtime supporter of 12,000 square foot lots.
However, he said the draft comprehensive plan allows smaller lot sizes in transitional
areas. He said that if the commission is uncomfortable with the draft, it should change it.
Since it hasn't been changed, he said opposing anything smaller than 12,000 square foot
lots is unfair to developers who are trying to work within the plan.
City Administrator Tony Graff said he expects the city council to approve the
comprehensive plan in the next meeting or two and that several of the city's ordinances
will be changed to reflect what is in the comprehensive plan.
Schillinger said with a development of this magnitude, the slower it goes the better off
the city is.
Lindblom said the public hearing on the Grande Reserve plan will be held at the Sept. 18
meeting at which time members of the community can voice their opinions. About 10 to
15 community members were in attendance. One commented that the development is
almost the size of a city in itself.
NEW BUSINESS
PC 2002-20 Corneils Road: Inland Real Estate Development Corporation request
for a pre-concept review.
Chuck Hanlan with Inland Real Estate presented two pre-concept review plans to develop
90 acres of the property south of Corneils Road and west of the Yorkville Business
Center.
Hanlan said the land was annexed seven years ago and zoned R2 PUD with the gross
density not to exceed four units per acre. He said the exhibits illustrate several parcels of
land initially zoned for industrial type uses. A previous agreement indicated that if the
land was not developed for industrial use in five years, it could revert back to the
residential zoning.
Now, two years after that window opened,Hanlan first presented Concept B which
includes 160 duplex units on 80 lots and 212 townhomes. The plan features a landscape
buffer greater than what the city's ordinances would require,Hanlan said.
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Hanlan said the density is 3.96 units per acre. He said storm water management basins
have all been designed and some are already in place to the south. A linear detention will
be created along Corneils Road. He said developers are not sure if it will be wet or dry
detention.
Because the land has already been annexed and zoned,Hanlan said Inland could jump to
the preliminary plat process. However,the developers put together a second plan for the
Plan Commission to review.
The second plan, or Concept A, features single-family homes on lot sizes ranging from
8,500 square feet with a minimum width of 65 feet to over a half acre. There also is a
park in the center. Overall, Concept A would feature 205 single-family lots and a density
of two units per acre.
He said Inland feels the annexation agreement allows for this type of flexibility. With the
two concept plans, Hanlan said he is showing the Plan Commission the two ends of the
spectrum. Both plans,he said, are viable in the marketplace.
Commissioner Kerry Green commented that the Rob Roy Creek often floods in that area.
Hanlan said any flooding issues will be resolved.
Kramer said that EEI is looking at the entire Rob Roy Creek to take a regionalized
approach to the issue of flooding.
Mizel commented that in Plan A there are 126 lots below 12,000 square feet. Hanlan
replied that since both plans are viable, if the commissioners are against any lots less than
12,000 square feet,then Inland will go with Plan B.
In response to a question from Lindblom,Kramer said that the city zoned the property B3
and M1 initially. He said the city viewed the area as a transitional area which would
likely include some feathering in of townhome or duplexes and then single-family
residential. He said townhome or duplexes makes sense next to the industrial.
Commissioner Jack Jones said he would like to see a blending of single-family and multi-
family housing such as duplexes and prefers that it not be a cookie-cutter development.
Crouch said he would prefer single-family housing.
Hanlan said it could be difficult to blend the uses with multi-family and single-family
housing. To make any part of the project work with single-family housing, it would need
to be entirely single-family housing, he said. The development would need at least a
couple hundred single-family lots to make any sense, he added.
Lucietto commented that most of the commissioners are amenable to duplexes and
detached townhomes. She added that some sort of buffer zone between the residential
area and industrial area would be needed.
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Kramer indicated that if Inland were to pursue a mix of uses, a PUD amendment would
be required.
Lucietto suggested Hanlan take the comments back to the developers and make changes
accordingly before returning to the Plan Commission for approval. Crouch said neither
plan is something the commission would approve.
Jones said the commissioners would be amenable to a mix of single-family lots on a
minimum of 12,000 square foot lots and duplexes. Lucietto said that because it is a
transitional area,they would be more amenable to duplexes than they normally would.
Hanlan said 1.2,000 square foot lots is not an option Inland wants to pursue.
Hanlan said he'll talk to staff and then return to the Plan Commission.
In other matters, Lynn Dubajic announced that a Business Assistance Expo would be held
Aug. 22.
Tony Graff said two Plan Commission meetings will be held in November and January.
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Dina Gipe.
Revisions by Jackie Milschewski, City Clerk