MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
PLAN COMMISSION AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
OF THE CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE
HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2003

Chairman Fullmer called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Secretary Lube called the roll; the following members were

PRESENT: Chairman, Richard Fullmer, Jr., Secretary Robert Lube, Mr. Steven Jasinski, Mr. Fred Fahey, Mr. Daniel Moss, Ms. Cynthia Schulz

ABSENT: Mr. Edward Ziemba

ALSO PRESENT: Mayor LeGant, Ald. Fajdich, Ald. Michalczyk, Ald. Conrad, Ald. Krzeminski, Bldg. Comm..Krautstrunk, City Attorney Erik Peck, Econ. Development Director Muenzer

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The first order of business was approval of the Minutes of August 5, 2003. Mr. Fahey, moved, seconded by Mr. Ziemba, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

PUBLIC HEARING

Chairman Fullmer read the Notice of Public Hearing to consider a Special Use in the B-1 Retail Business District of Section 10-6A-1 or 10-6A-2, Chapter 10, to add a dog grooming retail business on property commonly known as 1404-06 W. 55^th St. The applicant is Kathleen Deets, 1328 W. 53^rd Place, LaGrange, IL 60525. Ms. Deets was sworn in by Chairman Fullmer and testified as follows: Ms. Deets wishes to open a dog grooming business next to the pizza parlor. This is a new venture for her; she has 20 years experience managing a printing company. She is shifting gears career-wise and hopes to establish a successful pet grooming business, beginning with 2-3 employees and eventually growing to 6 groomers and washers. There will be no veterinary service or overnight stays of animals. Hours of operation will be from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on certain nights; Saturday hours would probably be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The retail portion will focus on a bakery, bones and treats, possibly leashes and collars, high-end specialty items; also cat supplies and grooming; she anticipates 20% retail business; no exotic animals will be handled. There is sufficient parking for employees in the rear; drop off and pick-up are in front.

Resident William Heidorn, 5420 Gilbert, is concerned with the dog walking situation. Ms. Deets stated that a small grassy area is located in the rear of the store. She will place plastic bags there for convenience; and may have hoses accessible for clean-up if necessary. Cleanliness is very important in this industry; another possibility is the use of pea gravel for drainage. Ald. Krzeminski suggested included that in the zoning variance. Mr. Peck stated that the motion is to make pet grooming a Special Use in the B-1 Zoning District and to approve the special Use variation for Ms. Deets. Mr. Jasinski moved, seconded by Mr. Moss, to recommend amending the City Zoning Code to make dog grooming a Special Use in the B-1 Retail District and to grant a Special Use variance to Kathleen Deets to operate a dog grooming facility with the restriction that there be no over-night boarding of animals. Motion carried by unanimous Roll Call vote – 7/0.

Chairman Fullmer stated that this recommendation will come before the City Council at it’s regular meeting on September 24, 2003.

PUBLIC HEARING

Chairman Fullmer read the Notice of Public Hearing to consider a Special Use of Section 10-6B-2, Chapter 10, in order to allow a drive-thru facility at the Country Inn Motel, property commonly known as 5631 S. LaGrange Road. Applicant is Prafull Patel, 5631 S. LaGrange Road, Countryside, IL 60525. Himanshu Modi, Architect, was sworn in by Chairman Fullmer and testified as follows:

Mr. Modi presented three site plans to the Board and stated that the owner, Mr. Patel, wishes to improve the site in phases. The existing structure has two wings in the front with exterior corridors, and a central structure of 27 rooms with indoor corridors. Phase I is to demolish the two wings in the front, leaving the central structure of 27 rooms. They plan to erect a 15,225 sf. shopping center. The site plan shows a single-story multi-roofed structure with 9-11 individual shops; all curb cuts will remain as they are. Retail use is allowed in the B-2 zoning district; they need a Special Use for the drive-thru facility; the site itself is 61,000 sf. Phase II will occur after the shopping center is in place; it is difficult to maintain the property in the current economic climate.

Chairman Fullmer stated that at their last appearance here they planned the hotel and the commercial space as one development; why separate them now. Mr. Harry Shah, one of the owners, responded that it was very difficult to get bankers to finance hotels since the travel industry was very hard-hit after 9-11. At present they are getting financing for the shopping center. They have a letter of intent from Marquette National Bank; they are unable to get financing to build the hotel behind it. They own 14 hotels, including a Hilton, but at present the travel industry business has lost 40%. They do not have the financing at present to build anything other than the shopping center.

Mr. Modi stated that they will build a top-notch shopping center and offered the site plan elevations showing the shopping center in several different heights. They will have national franchise, good quality tenants to make the project viable. Mr. Lube does not like the idea of construction phases. With a one-way drive-thru, traffic is limited. Where will employees park? Mr. Shah stated that the bank’s first requirement is the drive-thru lane. Mr. Jasinski questioned whether this is the highest and best use of the land.

Resident Jerry Korek, 9920 W. 57 St. stated that if the exit is on 57^th St. the project is doomed to catastrophe. He is the 57^th St. representative and has a petition in hand tonight from community members opposing the exits; 57^th St. is a huge problem; many children live on that block; it will create additional traffic congestion. Mr. Shah stated that they will protect everyone’s interests.

Ald. Fajdich stated that this is not the forum for that discussion; the PC/ZBA is considering the drive-thru at this time; that is the only matter under discussion. Mr. Ziemba moved, seconded by Mr. Fahey, to deny the Special Use variance for the drive-thru facility on the property commonly known as 5631 S. LaGrange Road and find that the petitioners have not established the standards required under the Zoning Code. Motion carried by unanimous Roll Call vote – 7/0.

Chairman Fullmer stated that this matter will come before the City Council at its Regular Meeting on September 24, 2003 at 7:30 p.m.

PUBLIC HEARING

Chairman Fullmer read the Notice of Public Hearing to consider a variance of Section 10-9-5-8B, Chapter 10, in order to provide for a building expansion to the Home Depot in a P.U.D. on property commonly known as 140 Countryside Plaza. Applicant is David Delach, The Home Depot, 1400 W. Dundee Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60004. Mr. David Behrens was sworn in by Chairman Fullmer and testified as follows: He stated that Home Depot is on schedule with plans for a building expansion within the former K Mart store; expansion will take place along the LaGrange Road side. He presented a site plan indicating the proposed expansion location. The original space is 92,000; they plan to add an additional 13,500 feet for a total of 105,500 sf. which is typical size of their stores. The garden center is 20,000 sf.; they normally occupy 25,000 sf. The grand opening is a critical element to the store; they do not anticipate expansion taking place prior to the grand opening; it will be future expansion of the building once they are operational.

Mr. Lube asked whether the expanded area will be under roof; Mr. Behrens responded affirmatively. After discussion, Mr. Behrens agreed to relocate the seasonal sales area to the front of the store so as to maintain the main driveway integrity. The question arose about ingress/egress to LaGrange Road. Mr. Muenzer stated that the City will get the parties together to address this issue and make sure it moves forward. To date there are no plans for an exit to the west at Joliet Road; that is all private property. Mr. Peck stated that the site plan prepared by Greenberg, Farrow Architects is brought into evidence as Petitioner’s Exhibit A and the motion is to approve a variance to the Zoning Code to provide for building expansion of the P.U.D. of the future Home Depot located at 140 Countryside Plaza in conformity with petitioner’s Exhibit A with removal of the seasonal sales area on the eastern side. Ms. Schulz moved, seconded by Mr. Jasinski, to approve the site plan as amended. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Chairman Fullmer stated that this matter will come before the City Council at its next Regular Meeting on September 24, 2003.

Chairman Fullmer read the Notice of Public Hearing to review the Sign Ordinance as allowed by Section 8-5-3 of the Code to review the definition of animated signs, chaser signs, flashing signs, reader signs, changing of the copy of a sign, bulletin boards, display encasement or marquee signs, referred to the PC/ZBA by Chairman Fuller of the same. Board members should have received a letter from Mr. Peck, who provided a brief history for the benefit of new board members. Mr. Peck stated that while the City Code does prohibit electronic signs, it does not refer to them specifically but calls them by several other names, so technically there is no prohibition against electronic signs except by definition. This Board previously made a recommendation to City Council to prohibit electronic signs altogether. The City Council reviewed the recommendation and referred the matter back to the PC/ZBA for further consideration. They do not agree to the strict prohibition of electronic signs and asked the board to consider limiting their size, speed of which the message changes (3,5,or10 seconds) and the total area of the sign. He asked the board to reconsider their recommendation to the City Council by not prohibiting them but perhaps restricting on limiting them by color, lumens, etc. Mr. Peck asked Mr. Muenzer to review ordinances of neighboring municipalities regarding electronic signs. Mr. Muenzer will also seek advice from our planner consultant team. Board members noted that electronic signs could be made a special use.

Mr. Peck suggested continuing this matter to the next meeting to allow additional time to study the question of regulating signs. Neon signs will also be included. Mr. Krautstrunk noted that the City has no control over inside signage, only outside signage. Mr. Peck noted that the Code addresses neon signs as illuminated signs. This matter will be discussed at the next meeting.

OLD BUSINESS

Mr. Muenzer stated that the Comprehensive Plan Workshop for residents will be held September 16 at 7:00 p.m. here at City Hall. It will be similar to the last meeting

Chairman Fullmer noted that 42 vehicles were parked at Enterprise over the weekend. Employees are parking on residential streets. Mr. Muenzer indicated that this may be an isolated incident; there are peaks and valleys in their business; this is also their busiest time of year. They must maintain that lot so it is not a residential nuisance. Mr. Muenzer indicated that in speaking with them their business has increased substantially due to greater visibility with the LaGrange Road location. Police Chief Swanson will discuss the matter with Mr. Muenzer and Enterprise representatives.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to discuss, Mr. Lube moved, seconded by Mr. Moss to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Chairman Fullmer declared the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.