MINUTES

PLAN COMMISSION – ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2015 – 7:15 PM

Roll Call

Secretary Lube called the Roll of Members physically present as follows:

PRESENT: Chairman Richard Fullmer, Jr., Secretary Robert Lube, Michael Anderson, Tina Grotzke, Marco Gutierrez, Crecencio Gonzalez IV, Bryon Bednar, Ronald Ward, Steve Kehr

Also Present: Attorney Peck, Zoning Administrator Kimberly Clarke, Ald. Benson

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

The minutes of the Joint Meeting of June 23, 2015 and the Regular Meeting of August 4, 2015 were previously distributed to the Board Members. Chairman Fullmer asked if there were any corrections to be made to said minutes. There were none.

A motion was made by Mr. Gonzalez, seconded by Ms. Grotzke to APPROVE the Joint Meeting minutes of June 23, 2015 as presented. The motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 9 Fullmer, Lube, Anderson, Gutierrez, Grotzke, Gonzalez, Bednar, Ward, Kehr

Nay: 0

A motion was made by Ms. Grotzke, seconded by Mr. Lube to APPROVE the minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 4, 2015, as presented. The motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 9 Fullmer, Lube, Anderson, Gutierrez, Grotzke, Gonzalez, Bednar, Ward, Kehr

Nay: 0

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS

Chairman Fullmer stated the Rules of Proceeding for the hearing before the Plan Commission – Zoning Board of Appeals will follow a strict order of presentation. A sign-in sheet for interested persons addressing the Board is located at the podium. This hearing is being recorded. Please silence all cell phones and pagers. Mayor McDermott has appointed a new member, Steve Kehr, who is present tonight. The Board welcomed him as a member of the PC/ZBA.

Other Business

FYI – Ordinance 14-36-O Granting a Special Use to operate a private school. The Achievement Center – located at 6438 Joliet Road, Unit 204. Chairman Fullmer stated that this matter is taken out of order to accommodate the applicants – more or less a status update.

Ms. Clarke stated that representatives of this private school were asked to return and provide a status after one year of operation. Ms. Clarke met with the principals on site; she has provided photographs which depict the classroom with five desks for ten students and the small bus used for transporting students to their work/study assignments. Everything is operating smoothly and there have been no complaints from residents. Catherine Folks stated that the space is more than adequate; additional conference rooms are being used as needed. Everything is working great. Chairman Fullmer thanked her for the report.

ACTION ITEMS

1. Continued Public Hearing Case # 2015-1 – TA – Section 10-2-13: Fences- A public hearing published in The Doings to amend the City of Countryside Zoning Code regulating fences.

a. Ms. Grotzke moved to open the Public Hearing in this matter, seconded by Mr. Bednar and carried by unanimous voice vote. Ms. Clarke stated that this is a continued matter from last month regarding the height of corner side yard fences and the degree of openness of the fence; it was suggested that staff provide examples of the types of open fences allowed along with a specific definition. Attachment 1 underlined in red is the revised version of the text – The tern Open-style Fence shall refer to a fence design that has a method of construction and pattern of materials leaving the plane of the fence a minimum of 50% open as measured continuously in four-foot intervals along its length. The test is supplemented by a photo of the open-style fence. Discussion ensued. The main question is visibility – with a height of four feet on any corner side, and three feet at the front yard.

b. Chairman Fullmer asked if 50% visibility is adequate; a wrought iron fence has more visibility. Discussion re: angle change – which was not considered; board on board construction would not be considered 50% visibility. Ms. Clarke stated that a vision triangle of 30′ is the determining factor. A picket style fence provides clear visibility. Atty. Peck stated that the fence must meet safety requirements. Chairman Fullmer sought further clarification and asked Ms. Clarke to revise the wording with an additional line of text – When standing perpendicular to the fence being able to see through it and that a plain line of sight is needed when rounding the corner. Chairman Fullmer suggested that this matter be continued to next month for additional language.

A motion was made by Mr. Lube, seconded by Mr. Gonzalez to CONTINUE THIS MATTER TO NEXT MONTH. The motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 9 Fullmer, Lube, Anderson, Gutierrez, Grotzke, Gonzalez, Bednar, Ward, Kehr

Nay: 0

2. Continued Public Hearing Case # 2015-2 – TA – Section 10-10-3: Off-Street Parking – A public hearing published in The Doings to amend the City of Countryside Zoning Code regulating Off-street Parking.

a. Mr. Bednar moved to open the Public Hearing in this matter, seconded by Mr. Gutierrez and carried by unanimous voice vote. Ms. Clarke presented possible amendments to parking small utility trailers and the need to create clearer language regulating the use of such trailers in residential districts – re: size limit and type of trailer stored in a side yard screened on three sides. Exhibit A deletes travel trailers from the Recreational Vehicle title and Exhibit B adds trailers to the list of prohibited vehicles. Photos of two examples of utility trailers are provided.

b. Board members discussed the pros and cons of both approaches – Ms. Grotzke believes that worker vans should be allowed. Mr. Ward stated that size matters – the problem is travel trailers are taller than the allowed six-foot fence. Mr. Gonzalez stated that small ones should be kept in the garage; as far as other larger ones, they are illegal, period. Mr. Kehr has such a trailer parked on his property; it is out of sight and screened on three sides. General consensus is that no business using such a trailer should be run out of a home in Countryside. Chairman Fullmer moved to keep the current language as is, seconded by Mr. Bednar. It was noted that this is an isolated complaint – keep the language as is. Chairman Fullmer pays to store his boat. Discussion re: prohibit parking of vehicles with trailer plates – cannot do that; this is a blue-collar municipality. Attorney Peck stated that if a condition is not specifically permitted, it is prohibited by City Code. That premise is not fully understood by residents. Ms. Clarke stated that specific language will help the Code Enforcement Officer; residents come in and ask to see language that states that trailers are specifically prohibited; there is currently no such language in the Code. Chairman Fullmer withdrew his motion and asked Ms. Clark and Attorney Peck to rewrite the language permitting recreational trailers so long as they are screened, and prohibiting commercial trailers. The issue is defining each and limiting size, maximum height, emphasizing coverage on three sides and that the unit must be in good condition. The Board does not wish to over-regulate residents; it is a real dilemma, especially since only one person has complained.

A motion was made by Mr. Gonzalez, seconded by Mr. Gutierrez to CONTINUE THIS MATTER TO NEXT MONTH. The motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 9 Fullmer, Lube, Anderson, Gutierrez, Grotzke, Gonzalez, Bednar, Ward, Kehr

Nay: 0

Chairman Fullmer requested a five-minute recess.

* * *

Continued Public Hearing Case # 2015-3 – TA – Section 8-5-9: Permitted Signs in Business Zoning District – A public hearing published in The Doings to amend the City of Countryside Municipal Code regulating electronic message board signs.

a. Ms. Clarke stated that at the August meeting Board members asked for further clarification re: quality of signage. Everyone agreed there was a difference between the qualities of EVM signs in the City. Ms. Clarke has worked with Infinity Signs to determine the optimum pitch; 16 mm is best viewed at less than 75 feet. She provided photos of the 16 mm pitch, compared to higher numbers. Pitch refers to the closeness of LED lights which determines crispness of the image or wording. A few other changes are recommended that were not in the original staff report, thus eliminating the need for a special use. Staff proposes to allow EVM signs to be lit continuously, with dimmer settings at night; increase the time interval to ten seconds; increase allowable display area to 50% of the sign; allow full color; eliminate the maximum number of text lines; and limit the use of EVM signs to monument signs only. Exhibit A refers to the current regulations; Exhibit B shows proposed amendments to the regulation for EVM signs. Ms. Clarke also added the term, dissolving, in item d, which is prohibited along with animation, flashing, scrolling or blinking characters.

b. Mr. Lube is concerned about pole signs being converted to LED readers – Ms. Clarke stated that cannot be done without requesting a special use. Only one free-standing sign is allowed per lot. Most businesses in town have pole signs; they cannot convert them to LED reader signs unless they take down the pole sign and replace it with a monument sign. Regarding lighting at night, signs are automatically adjusted to reduce light exposure at night. The reader board permitted at present is 20 s.f. or 50% of the sign, whatever is less.

c. Nick Mataragos, owner of Time Out Sports Bar, believes this is the future – businesses should be allowed more messages, more colors, six messages per hour is not enough. These messages are flashing every 5-10 seconds; that’s the point of having signs – to get your message out. He purchased his sign with City-imposed restrictions; he thinks his sign should remain lit all night long. He doesn’t think signs are a distraction unless they are too bright. LED signs are the future; they should have no restrictions; they are a quality sign with electronic controls and should be used liberally.

d. Mr. Gutierrez stated that this type of sign should be permitted only on the main commercial corridors. Ms. Clarke stated that they cannot be placed any closer than 150 feet from any residential property – along business or commercial corridors Discussion re: maximum interval time – after further discussion, it was agreed to change the interval to one minute – or 60 changes per hour – rather than six. Board members agreed that ten seconds is too quick – although that is the highway standard. Ms. Clarke read language from the International Sign Association website stating that EVM signs are not a hazard to traffic safety – and ten seconds is the norm allowed on all roadways in 40 states. Signs do not impact traffic safety.

e. Staff is proposing full color display – the colors of the rainbow – ROYGBIV – graphics would be allowed but not flashing or scrolling. Board members agreed that the sign may remain lit at night but the reader portion should be turned off after hours. Chairman Fullmer moved to allow one-minute intervals, allow full color and limit location of the sign to 200 feet of a residence, allow pitch of 16 mm, seconded by Mr. Gonzalez and carried by Roll Call vote. Atty. Peck stated that the motion is to approve Exhibit B as presented in the zoning memorandum, except that item c is changed to 60 seconds and item b is changed to 200 feet; all else remains as proposed in the Zoning Code text amendment.

A motion was made by Mr. Fullmer, seconded by Mr. Gonzalez that this matter be APPROVED as presented. The motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 9 Fullmer, Lube, Anderson, Gutierrez, Grotzke, Gonzalez, Bednar, Ward, Kehr

Nay: 0

Other Business

Ms. Clarke stated that rooftop antennas will be addressed next month as a text amendment. Home Depot is a PUD – they wish to amend their site plan to allow for Penske Truck Rental. There will be more sign changes to the Sign Code.

ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Mr. Gonzalez, seconded by Mr. Gutierrez that this meeting be ADJOURNED. The motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 9 Fullmer, Lube, Anderson, Gutierrez, Grotzke, Gonzalez, Bednar, Ward, Kehr

Nay: 0

Chairman Fullmer declared the meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

/fp

APPROVED: 10-6-2015

Respectfully Submitted,

RICHARD FULLMER, JR., CHAIRMAN