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Minutes - 04/20/2009 - Plan Commission1. 2. 11 MINUTES OF THE APRIL 20, 2009 REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLAN COMMISSION OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS AMENDED ON MAY 18, 2009 CALL TO ORDER: The Regular Meeting of the Plan Commission was called to order by Acting Chairwoman Tropinski in the Samuel E. Dean Board Room of the Butler Government Center at 7:32 p.m. ROLL CALL: Gail Polanek called the roll with the following persons PRESENT: Acting Chairwoman Marcia Tropinski, Members Raju Iyer, Richard Knitter, Gopal Lalmalani, Mintu Sharma and Vivek Singhal ABSENT: Chairwoman, Barbara Payovich IN ATTENDANCE: Gerald Wolin, Trustee and Robert Kallien Jr., Director of Community Development APPROVAL OF MINUTES: There were no minutes to approve. UNFINISHED BUSINESS CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL MINUTES UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK — TEXT AMENDMENT — STUDY AND voB - TEXT FOR MULTI - REVIEW TO DEVELOP PROPOSED TEXT FOR ASSISTED LIVING, FAMILY TOWN HOME AND MULTI - FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS Director of Community Development Kallien said that the request to amend the text in the Zoning Regulations was spelled out in the recent Friary litigation and is something that the Village really needs to do. The Commissioners were provided material as to how other communities in the area deal with the issue of multi - family, senior housing, etc. The information included Hinsdale, Burr Ridge, Naperville, Lake Forest, Wilmette, Winnetka and Highland Park. He requested that the review be continued for a month so the Commissioners had time to review the information and if there was something that they like in particular when reviewing the material, to contact him. A comparison can then be prepared from the top examples. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we can utilize how other communities handle the issue. Member Knitter asked for clarification that senior and multi - family would be handled as separate issues and not combined into one. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 1 of 9 April 20, 2009 Director of Community Development Kallien responded that there are currently four residential districts that deal with single- family. The R -4 District also allows for cluster -type attached dwellings such as those located in the Briarwood Lakes Subdivision. A thought may be to create an R -5 District that would provide for units that are attached or stacked in terms of multi - family, townhomes, etc., and then we could weave the issue of senior housing and assisted living in some of the other districts. An existing nursing home facility is located in the B -3 District, so maybe multiple locations should be made to accommodate those uses. Member Singhal asked for a copy of the court decision. Director of Community Development Kallien said that when the Friary case went through the public hearing process they were seeking a text amendment and a special use in the CR District (Conservation Recreation District) to modify the existing text in order to accommodate their proposed assisted - living development instead of rezoning the property. It went through very lengthy litigation and when it went before the Judge he ruled that Oak Brook's zoning really lacked the ability to provide for that type of use. Not only did it lack in that particular district, but was lacking throughout the entire municipality. Nowhere in the community can there be an apartment or stacked residential uses by right. Assisted living is not mentioned anywhere in the code, Nursing homes are mentioned, which years ago may have been the catch all for senior housing. In his ruling, the judge directed the Village to review the ordinance and really provide for these missing things. Member Singhal asked about the Village's demographics today because ultimately the Village is trying to maintain some degree of continuity. He asked if we had some historical and projected demographics both in terms of age and other profiles, as well as migration into and out of the village. Director of Community Development Kallien said that the 2000 census showed that there was a decrease in population from the 1990 census of over 9000, which had decreased down to 8702 even though another development had occurred during that period of time. It was determined that the decrease in fact had been a reduction in the number of school aged children. The Butler School District showed a reduction of 250 -300 children enrolled between 1990 and 2000. In 1990, the average age in Oak Brook was around 48,. and in 2000 the average age was in the mid 50's. There is a possibility that the 2010 census may show the median population to be close to 60 years of age. As new families move in they either have very few or no children and the community is aging. As a result, if the community continues to age there may be a point in time when the Village will need some type of housing opportunities for the population that is here. There are some limited opportunities from the large single family detached, such as Forest Gate, which is a smaller single family detached. There is also the Oak Brook Club and Briarwood Lakes, but other than these there are really no other housing opportunities. When it comes to VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 2 of 9 April 20, 2009 assisted- living or congregate care facilities, aside from the nursing home on Midwest Road, the Village lacks these kinds of facilities. If someone were in need of that type of facility they would need to move elsewhere. Member Singhal questioned what the Village may really want to do and how will it project twenty to forty years from now and what type of population mix would there be; such as multi - family versus single family and the large corporate homes that existed at one time. Some of the background would be helpful in looking at why Winnetka is Winnetka, or why Hinsdale is Hinsdale. Does Oak Brook want to emulate the local communities or create a unique identity for now and posterity. Member Sharma asked whether a market analysis would be done. Director of Community Development Kallien responded that when the materials are reviewed from the court case, the Judge has basically told the Village of Oak Brook that there is a hole in the Zoning Code, and that does not mean that properties should be rezoned for this type of use, but the Village needs to provide some reasonable accommodation. It may be limited to providing it in one or more of the zoning districts so if a developer would seek out that type of use there would be some avenue available to get that type of use in the community. Currently there is no opportunity at all. Member Knitter moved, seconded by Member Singhal to continue this item to the next regular meeting. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS A. THE CLUBHOUSE OAK BROOK. — 298 OAKBROOK CENTER — SPECIAL USE — OUTDOOR DINING AREA ADJACENT TO A RESTAURANT Director of Community Development Kallien briefly reviewed the request and said that outdoor dining is very popular amenity in Oak Brook and most of the best restaurants have them. The Clubhouse is located on the southeast end of the Oakbrook Center and had been granted one outdoor dining area, which is located on the west side of the building. They are seeking an additional outdoor dining area and have received approval from the Oakbrook Center. Mark O'Sullivan, Manager of the Clubhouse Oak Brook, LLC said that they are seeking approval of an additional outdoor dining area and due to the construction of the Barnes and Noble, there has been a change to the facade and railing near the existing patio. Their intent is to modify the existing railing to match the new railing and construct a new patio in order to compete with some of the other restaurants that have opened since they did in 1997. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page � -3--of 9 April 20, 2009 NEW BUSINESS CLUBHOUSE - 298 OAKBROOK CTR - SPECIAL USE - OUTDOOR DINING AREA They have operated the current outdoor dining area since it was approved in 1998 without incident and would like to operate an additional patio space with some changes to the existing special use. Currently, the barriers used are temporary and they would like to construct permanent barriers. Part of the reason for the change is to provide safety. Taking the barriers in and out each year, have caused them to be less structurally strong than they would be with a permanent system in place as shown in the proposed plan. Scott Suckow, President of Really Nice Restaurants (The Clubhouse), said he supported the proposed request. Member Knitter questioned the use of portable heaters and how they would be handled. Mr. O'Sullivan said that they have not operated outdoor heaters as yet but are seeking them as part of the special use. They do not have plans to do so at the current time, but do not want to hinder themselves should they been needed. They are operated at some of the other outdoor dining areas. If they are used it would be operated with the same health, safety and welfare of the public as they currently do. Member Iyer asked when they would be open. Mr. O'Sullivan responded that it is the same time frame that the current special use operates, with set up on April 1, open on the 15th through October 15 of each year. Director of Community Development Kallien noted that that our seasons tend to change. He recommended that we provide the caveat that these types of facilities can be kept open longer in the season as weather permits. In November of last year a number of outdoor dining areas were calling the village when it was 70 degrees and the Red Stone restaurant across the street in Oakbrook Terrace had its outdoor dining area open for business, but in Oak Brook they could not. Language has been provided that as weather permits they are allowed to stay open. Originally, the only outdoor dining areas were located in the Oakbrook Center and time frames were put in place because the mall needed the equipment to be put away because they needed someplace to put the snow, when it snowed. The seasons seem to be changing somewhat and some areas in Oak Brook such as McCormick and Schmick, the Grotto and Dona Grill have a separate area that is almost part of the restaurant. Those areas would not need to be plowed or equipment moved for those purposes. Individual leases control when the tenant can keep the equipment in place. The mall has shown some willingness to allow those amenities to stay up later. The proposal appears that it would be an improvement over what is currently being used. The new steel fencing and planters will be a significant upgrade. No one in the audience spoke in support of or in opposition to the request. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 4 of 9 April 20, 2009 Motion by Member Knitter, seconded by Member lyer to recommend approval of the request from The Clubhouse located at 298 Oakbrook Center to permit an additional dining area and to amend the existing special use, subject to the following conditions: 1. The development of the outdoor dining areas shall be in substantial conformance with the revised plans as submitted and approved. 2. The perimeter planter/barriers will be permanent and constructed in accordance with the plans submitted. 3. The restaurant will be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the outdoor areas and shall comply with all applicable requirements of the DuPage County Health Department. 4. The outdoor dining areas will be operated in accordance with the following amended rules of operation: a. The outdoor seating will expand to not only include an outdoor seating area located on the Southwest side of the restaurant, but also an outdoor seating area on the Southeast side ag well. No more than 40 seats may be provided on each patio for a maximum of 80 seats. b. A permanent barrier system of painted steel to match the existing newly installed railing near the entrance to Barnes and Noble will replace the copper and iron planter boxes previously in place. Each six foot section will feature a metal flower box that is water tight with internal drainage to allow for live greenery and seasonal flowers. In the winter, the metal flower boxes will incorporate material appropriate for the winter season. The barrier system will be anchored into the concrete and locked together. They will meet or exceed the barricade standards approved or required by the Village. c. The emergency egress gates shall open out only and be three (3) feet wide and labeled "Exit Only." d. Access to the outdoor dining areas shall be, through the restaurant only. e. Portable heaters may be used. 5. Comply with all other applicable rules and ordinances of the Village of Oak Brook. 6. Add the provision "Not withstanding the attached exhibits, the applicant shall meet all Village Ordinance requirements at the time of building permit application except as specifically varied or waived." ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: 6 - Members Iyer, Knitter, Lalmalani, Sharma, Singhal, and Acting Chairwoman Tropinski Nays: 0 Absent: 1 -- Chairwoman Payovich. Motion Carried. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK. Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page -5- of 9 April 20, 2009 B. LABRIOLA CAFt — 3021 BUTTERFIELD ROAD — -OAK BROOK LA$RIOLA cAFIr - 3021 PROMENADE -- SPECIAL USE — OUTDOOR DINING AREA ADJACENT BUTTERFIELD - TO A RESTAURANT SPECIAL USE OUTDOOR DINING Director of Community Development Kallien said that at the present time there are three outdoor dining areas approved at the Oak Brook Promenade. Labriola Caf6 is one of the new dining establishments and has been very successful. They are requesting an outdoor dining area to provide an additional seating amenity. Nick Andrews, General Manager of the Labriola Cafe, said that they are seeking special use approval to allow an outdoor seating area adjacent to the restaurant. The request is seating for 28 patrons to be located on the north side of the building. It will be designed in a similar fashion to the other three dining areas in the Promenade operating from April 15 to October 15 of each year or as deemed by the Village. Fencing along with concrete planter barriers will be placed permanently into the sidewalk in order to prevent any type of hazard from occurring in the parking lot and would increase safety in the area. They will maintain all safety and health regulations as required by the Health Department, which they comply with inside the restaurant. There will be no substantial injury to any surrounding properties in the neighborhood. Everything will be handled by professional contractors. Member Knitter questioned the size of the tabletops to be used in order to accommodate 28 people outside their outstanding restaurant. Mr. Andrews responded that the caf6 type seating would have tabletops that are approximately 24 inches in diameter. The caf6 seating would be for about 6 tables seating 4 people and 2 tables seating 2 people. Member Knitter questioned whether the proposed planter /barrier would prohibit a car from parking in front of the restaurant. Mr. Andrews responded that it would not impact cars from parking in front of the restaurant, The planters would be offset to allow for parking and pedestrian traffic. Director of Community Development Kallien commented that the Building Code requires a minimum of 36- inches for a walkway and the applicant is providing 48- inches, which would be from the edge of the curb to the planter. Evelyn Blum said that she was a neighbor that has lived in Oak Brook since the late 1950's. She just received the notice and was not familiar with the location of the restaurant. She questioned the hours of operation and whether there would be loud music. She noted that things in the area had changed quite a bit from what they had been used to and did not want this use to negatively impact them. After being shown the location of the restaurant, she commented that her initial questions had been answered. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 6 of 9 April 20, 2009 No other residents spoke in support of or in opposition to the request. Trustee Wolin said that he did not believe the request would negatively impact anyone living on the south side of the Tollway because the outdoor seating would be located on the inside of the shopping center. He commented that he was supportive of the outdoor seating area. The request makes sense and hopefully will bring more customers into Labriola and the Promenade. His only concern was the 4 -foot sidewalk area. In this particular case it should be approved, but in the future a 5- foot sidewalk would be better. At the Promenade, the buildings have actual columns that go down to the sidewalk. Even without the outdoor dining, the edge of the existing column to the street is only 4 -feet wide, so what they are providing is no worse than what currently exists. This is an excellent restaurant and the plan proposed makes sense. Director of Community Development Kallien commented that when the Promenade shopping center was being planned the 3 existing outdoor dining areas were included. In this case, Labriola Cafe is doing quite well and when it was first talked about, the thought was to locate the dining area between the walkways, but the owner was not interested in that option. Motion by Member Singhal, seconded by Member Knitter to recommend approval of the request from Labriola Cafe located at 3021 Butterfield Road to permit the outdoor dining area as proposed, subject to the following conditions: 1. The development of the outdoor dining area shall be in substantial conformance with the revised plans as submitted and approved. 2. The perimeter planter/barriers will be permanent and constructed in accordance with.the plans submitted. 3. The restaurant will be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the outdoor areas and shall comply with all applicable requirements of the DuPage County Health Department. 4. The outdoor dining areas will be operated in accordance with the following rules of operation: S. a. A maximum of 28 seats may be provided in the outdoor dining areas and located adjacent to the building on both sides of the front entrance. b. The emergency egress gate located on the northeast side of the front door shall open out only. The northwest side of the seating will have an open area in the fence for easy access in and out of the area. C. Access to the northeast dining area shall be through the restaurant only. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 7- of 9 April 20, 2009 d. A minimum four -foot wide sidewalk adjacent to the outdoor dining areas will be maintained at all times. S. Comply with all other applicable rules and ordinances of the Village of Oak Brook. 6. Add the provision "Not withstanding the attached exhibits, the applicant shall meet all Village Ordinance requirements at the time of building permit application except as specifically varied or waived." ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: 6 — Members Iyer, Knitter, Lalmalani, Sharma, Singhal, and Acting Chairwoman Tropinski Nays: 0 Absent: 1 — Chairwoman Payovich. Motion Carried. 6. OTHER BUSINESS A. REVIEW PLAN COMMISSION DISCUSSION ISSUES The Commissioners discussed adding items for discussion at future meetings. Member Knitter suggested looking at internet capabilities being brought into the Village that would encourage new business to locate in Oak Brook and to keep existing businesses. Such as, looking at internet companies, connections and bringing in higher speed internet facilities, like in downtown Chicago and Schaumburg. It would be good if the entire Village would be capable of Wi -Fi for the residents and businesses. Member Singhal discussed how to ' create a coalition whereby both parties can benefit. Cisco is already setting up global communication rooms. Since Oak Brook has McDonald's presence, and it is one of the largest global companies, it should be used as a, benefit to attract as many people that could conceivably benefit from bringing Oak Brook into the 21St Century. Trustee Wolin said that relative to high speed internet there was an article in the Chamber of Commerce publication regarding bringing in high speed capabilities that other companies can tap into. The article will be provided to all of the Plan Commission members. The issue of Wi -Fi has come up several times and the Village is interested in doing it. There have been discussions with Federal Signal, which is one of the larger companies, which had proposed some capabilities that have been used by police and fire departments. If they did it, it could provide a base to start developing a Wi -Fi network. However, it has not moved forward because of funding limitations. Member Knitter used the example, that if you were an independent company trying VILLAGE OF OAK BROOD Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 8 of 9 April 20, 2009 OTHER BUSINESS Plan Coimission Discussion Issues to locate in some suburbs, you would need to provide your own back up generator. There are some cities that are providing back up power supplies so that when the main power goes out they could tap into the back up power source. Perhaps Oak Brook could go to ComEd and see if they could provide a secondary back up power supply that would allow a company for "x" dollars, available for a company that would be guaranteed to be up and running no matter what. It might generate leads to other businesses that are very internet related to stay in Oak Brook if the capabilities like that existed in the business community. Director of Community Development Kallien said that over the last couple of years the Village has been successful in locating Kellogg's entire IT department into the building at 800 Commerce, which has back up power, etc. The building at 814 Commerce may be occupied by the IT department for DeVry University. These are indications that the Village is able to attract those kinds of businesses. He will discuss these issues with the representative from the Chamber of Commerce who is responsible for recruitment of businesses and ask what potential businesses are currently told about internet capabilities. Member Singhal said that there are cities outside of this country that are setting that up as an attraction for the globe. We have the Oakbrook Center, which is probably one of the most premier malls, and we should offer them the capability to advertise on a global basis using a fee for service on the internet platform. There would be a small investment that they would all end up making; however, the way that you look at cities would transform itself. He is amazed that Bermuda is number one and we are number 19 as a nation in this area. 'Why not make Oak Brook Number one. Member Iyer said that he would like to know what the Chamber of Commerce has to say regarding these issues. Director of Community Development Kallien said that there may be a point when it might be beneficial for that type of entity to come out and speak to the Village. 7. ADJOURNMENT: ADJOURNMENT Motion by Member Knitter, seconded by Member 1yer to adjourn the :meeting at 8:23 p.m. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried. ATTEST: Robert Kallie , MDirectorimmunity Development Secretary VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 9 of 9 April 20, 2009 1;;��