Minutes - 06/18/2007 - Plan CommissionMINUTES OF THE JUNE 18, 2007 REGULAR MEETING
OF THE PLAN COMMISSION OF THE VILLAGE OF
OAK BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON AUGUST
20, 2007
1. CALL TO ORDER: CALL TO ORDER
The Regular Meeting of the Plan Commission was called to order by Chairwoman
Payovich in the Samuel E. Dean Board Room of the Butler Government Center at
7:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL: ROLL CALL
Gail Polanek called the roll with the following persons
PRESENT: Chairwoman Barbara Payovich, Members, Raju Iyer, Gopal
Lalmalani and Marcia Tropinski
ABSENT: Member Adrian
IN ATTENDANCE: Trustee Gerald Wolin, Robert L. Kallien, Jr., Director of
Community Development and Dale Durfey Jr., Village Engineer.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MINUTES
REGULAR PLAN COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2007
Motion by Member Iyer, seconded by Member Lalmalani to approve the minutes of
the May 14, 2007 Regular Plan Commission Meeting as written. VOICE VOTE:
Motion Carried.
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS BUSINISI-Ir;D
BUSINESS
Chairwoman Payovich noted that the applicant for White Oak Meadows at 3101
White Oak Lane had requested for a continuance of its hearing in writing to the July
16, 2007 meeting so it was removed from the agenda.
4. A. BRITTWOOD CREEK — 56 ACRES OF VACANT LAND LOCATED BRITTWOOD
CREEK SUB STREET -
SOUTH OF 3535t' EET WEST OF BREAKENRIDGE FARM FINAL PLAT -
i THIRTY -LOT
SUBDIVISION AND EAST OF ROUTE 83 — FINAL PLAT — THIRTY -LOT SUBDIVISION
SUBDIVISION
Walter Morrissey, attorney for the applicant reviewed the progress since the last
Plan Commission meeting. They had several meetings with staff and believe that
they have substantially met the concerns that were expressed at the last meeting
regarding some of the engineering questions. He summarized some of the items
covered at that meeting.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 1 of 13 June 18, 2007
■ They are seeking a waiver of the street lighting system
• They described a Trex wood fence that they would be installed on top of the
concrete berm and have filed an application seeking a variation for it.
a They talked about the boundary changes along the northeast corner.
• They described the covenant running with the land restricts the number of
homes on this parcel to 30.
■ They reviewed the easement that was provided to the owner of Oak Brook
Farms, which is on the adjacent property located at the northeast corner
known as Out Lot V that can be used for the purposes of access for horses
and grazing.
They believe that they have satisfied the concerns raised in the engineering review.
Dan Callaghan, developer and property owner, said that they have had several
meetings with the Village Engineer and another meeting scheduled this week. There
was a concern raised about the buffer area and the impact of the wetlands, which is
about six- inches wide along the creek bed. He has had wetlands on 3 of his other
developments, including Forest Gate and said that an impact is usually considered
when it is interrupted by housing and improvements to housing. There are detention
areas and ponds that are adjoining the buffer area. The buffer area does not
currently exist for any of the homes downstream, which cuts into 35th Street before it
goes into the Fullersburg Woods area. Their engineer is confident that this plan will
be approved. They have approximately .8 acre of wetlands on the property. They
are mitigating it at 2 to 1 and in addition are providing enough buffer area, which
turns .8 acres into over 3 acres of area. There is a substantial benefit to the
environment so the mitigation they are providing should not be a concern.
There was a concern that without proper planning the grading would cause trees to
be taken down. He proposed to raise the streets up from existing grade in this
development, which eliminates the need to remove the fill from the streets. There is
also fill from the ponds and detention area, so raising the streets allows the dirt from
those areas to go into the street. This also prevents approximately 1900 truckloads
of dirt (which equates to approximately 10 truckloads per hour for a month ). He
agreed to be a minimalist in order to minimize as much impact on the community
and on this property as best possible, and he has kept that commitment. The case
file includes pictures of houses in different subdivisions in Oak Brook. Step
foundations and retaining walls can assist in the saving of trees. The building pads
have already been designed for the houses and the typical pad is 10,000 - 12,000
square feet (2 acre lots), which also typically have a minimum of 220 -foot front yard
widths. He is confident that they will be able to and want to save the trees.
Although many people thought that many trees were taken down at Forest Gate,
I
there were over 500 augured holes left on the site where the previous owners had
removed the quality trees to another location. Paul Butler's brother farmed the
property until 1976. The majority of the trees left on the property were seedling
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
June 18, 2007
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 2 of 13
i
weed trees. The trees on Forest Gate are now significant quality trees and
abundantly more so than what existed when the site was purchased. He intends to
carry that philosophy into Brittwood Creek. He designed his own home around a
200 -year old oak tree, which has a 2 -1/2 foot retaining wall for about 80 feet. People
that purchase these lots would be able to value engineer the site to preserve as many
trees as possible. He is a forward thinker, will improve the area, not diminish it, and
is looking to raise values.
Mr. Morrissey said that the property is designed to have eleven R -1 lots (2 -acre plus
lots), ten R -2 lots (1 -acre lots) that abut Route 83, and nine R -2 lots (1.4 to 1.6 acres)
that are located in the middle of the parcel. They have attempted the issue presented
by staff.
Village Engineer Durfey said that he met with the applicant on several occasions and
they have another meeting set for June 19. It is a complicated subdivision and so
far, no major issues have arisen. The consultant is still looking at the riparian
environments and he did not anticipate any issues. If there would be any, he was
hopeful they would be mitigated in some fashion. Nothing has come up that would
be a problem at this time. He mentioned the height of the road in the memorandum
because it is something different. The roads are being filled versus being cut in.
The use of the retaining walls as described by Mr. Callaghan will help to mitigate
some of the tree loss. The changes proposed to the grading of the roads would not
violate any Codes.
No one in the audience spoke in support of or in opposition to the request.
Member Tropinski questioned Village Engineer Durfey on the number of items that
were noted in his May 14, 2007 memorandum and where they stood now.
Village Engineer Durfey responded that they are being addressed. It is a long
process to go through all of the comments and plans.
Member Tropinski commented that she believed the trees can be preserved very well
with retaining wails and was in favor of not hauling the dirt, off the site, just for
energy conservation purposes.
Member Iyer agreed with Member Tropinski's comments and that Dale has
answered the questions with regards to the issues on the review.
Village Engineer Durfey said that they will continue with the review and if
something major would come up, it would be placed before the Village Board.
Director of Community Development Kallien commented that the letter from the
Forest Preserve District was addressed to Village Engineer Durfey and was in
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 3 of 13 June 18, 2007
regards to the retaining wall and fence along the property.
Village Engineer Durfey said that the original retaining wall is in the same location
as before, and the Forest Preserve District did not have a problem with it prior to
this, so at this point in time, he is not quite sure what it means.
Mr. Morrissey said that they received a copy of the notice this afternoon and two
issues were raised regarding the stormwater drainage off the wall westward onto
their property and the amount of separation/space of the wall to the FPDDC
The location of the retaining boundary line. Th g wall is the same as it was when the
project first started. The only issue that has changed is that the 6 -foot high chain
link fence allowed would dilute the quality of the subdivision, which is why they are
seeking a variation through the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Mr. Callaghan said that a letter was sent from the Forest Preserve District on May
14, 2007 that stated the planned wall would not impact the district in any way. The
concrete wall will be 4 feet high and 3 feet away from their property line. The
statement assumes that the wall will be using a spread footing, which would require
5 -feet, is incorrect. The footing is going to be a monolific poured wall, which is 12-
14 -inch wide poured wall. They will use an oversized trencher that will dig 4 feet
below the grade and the tires will be a foot away froze the Forest Preserve District
property, which would be staked by the engineer. The dirt will go onto his property.
The forms will go up and they will never go onto Forest Preserve District property.
A boundary fence has been installed at least 6- inches upon his property. He fully
understands the impact of any damage on the forest preserve property.
Jon Green, Engineering Resource Associates, Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor for
the project said that there has been a study of the grading plans of the 50 -foot forest
preserve buffer along Route 83 and about 80% of the forest preserve property drains
west toward the Route 83 public ROW ditch or to the north or south. There is one
pocket of land that actually drains east towards the subdivision. In that location,
they have strategically located a drainage inlet in front of lot 23 with an oversized
pipe. It lines up just north of the existing 18 -inch culvert under Route 83. A
drainage study was done and an analysis of incoming stormwater drainage into the
subdivision from the west and they are confident that they are not causing any kind
of drainage problems and will convey the water in an acceptable fashion suitable to
local and county ordinance.
Chairwoman Payovich asked Village Engineer Durfey if the Forest Preserve District
will relay comments to him regarding that particular issue that would be acceptable
and he agreed.
Chairwoman Payovich introduced the new Plan Commission Trustee Liaison Gerald
Wolin and welcomed him.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 4 of 13 June 18, 2007
Trustee Wolin said that being a developer is hard work and that they have come a
long way in this process. They not only answered the objections of the Plan
Commission, but also to the residents in the area. He is confident that it will be a
great development.
Member Lalmalani asked if there was an update to the access issue on Route 83.
Mr. Morrissey responded that the access issue off Route 83 would be limited to
police, fire and paramedic vehicles. There has been conversation with IDOT and
DuPage County, but it is an action that has to be initiated by the Village. Mr.
Callaghan is a private owner and cannot initiate it. The village has been asked to
cooperate with them in their endeavors to convince them that it would be beneficial
to the residents of the subdivision to have that emergency access.
Village Engineer Durfey said that the developer is going to draft a letter and after he
reviews and revises it if necessary, will send it to IDOT on Village letterhead. IDOT
prefers to deal with a municipality versus a developer. It is being coordinated with
the applicant and hopefully, will be accomplished.
Motion by Member Tropinski, seconded by Member Lalmalani that the final plat is
in substantial conformance with the approved preliminary plat and the applicant has
satisfied the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations for approval of a Final Plat
of Subdivision of the thirty lot subdivision to be known as Brittwood Creek and is
subject to the following conditions:
1. Recommend approval of the waiver to the street lighting system
2. Recommend approval of the proposed grading on the site
3. Recommend no vehicular no access onto 351h Street, with the exception of
emergency vehicles.
4. The revision of the fence and wall style and height is subject to the approval
of the variation.
5. All outstanding issues contained in Village Engineer Durfey's
Memorandums dated June 13, 2007 on page 16 and May 8, 2007 on pages 8-
8.b of the case file, including the drafting revisions and approval of the
stormwater, water main, gateway, landscape retaining walls and pond design
details.
6. Final Plat is subject to final Engineering approval.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 5 — Members Iyer, Lalmalani, Tropinski and Chairwoman Payovich
Absent: 1 -- Member Adrian
Nays: 0 — None. Motion Carried.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK. June 18, 2007
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 5 of 13
NEW BUSINESS
5. NEW BUSINESS
A. OAK BROOK PARK DISTRICT — 115 CANTERBERRY LANE — MAP OAK BROOK
PARK DIST - 115
AMENDMENT TO REZONE THE 40 -ACRE PARCEL FROM R -1 TO CR CANTERBERRY
LANE - MAP
AND SPECIAL USE TO USE THE PARCEL AS AN EDUCATIONAL SITE AMEND R -1 to CR
WITH GARDENS FISHING PIERS ADA ACCESSIBLE PATHWAYS AND and SPECIAL USE -
hDUCATIONAL
OTHER LAND IMPROVEMENTS SITE
Director of Community Development Kallien summarized the request. The property
is located east of York Road on the south side of Canterberry. It is approximately a
40 -acre parcel of property that was previously known as the Dean property. The
Oak Brook Park District acquired the land several years ago and is now there
intention to utilize the property beyond its current open space. The request involves
a map amendment from R -1 to CR to make it consistent with their other properties
as well as doing some limited site improvements.
Tom Truedson, resident and Commissioner on the Oak Brook Park District, along
with several other commissioners thanked the Commission for reviewing their plan.
They are excited to bring this to the Village of Oak Brook. Dorothy Dean provided
one of the biggest gifts that someone could bring to the community and she wanted
to ensure that this property would not be developed and that it would be ushered into
a future that people and animals could co -exist together and enjoy nature in its
fullest sense. She was fully aware of the value of the property and trusted the Park
District and the Conservancy organization. He is the Chainnan of the Park District
and was one of the reasons that he ran for the Park District in order to move this
plan forward. He grew up on Canterberry and knew Dorothy Dean since the 1960's.
She owned the property back into the 1940's and he spoke to her many times over
the years. When she donated the property in the mid 1990's they discussed what her
objectives were and how it would come to fruition. They created a video about 7 -8
years ago with Dorothy about her visions for the property. The whole purpose was
to get it into an archive to memorialize exactly what she wanted done with the
property, so that years from now when there are other boards, members and entities
they will know. They are bringing forward what Dorothy wanted in this application.
It is very low impact and is designed around and with people, but people with
animals to enjoy her property together in a very tranquil environment. There can
never be any volleyball, baseball or any sort of similar activity program.
Stan Motley, Executive Director for the Park District noted that comments were
received from Village Engineer Durfey regarding the parking. Based on that they
are doubling the size of the parking. He is also the caretaker of the property and
lives there. He sees people coming and going every day and weekend and the cars
that come and go. They are going to maintain a natural prairie. They received a
grant from the Illinois Dept of Natural Resources in the amount of $500,000 that is
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 6 of 13 June 18, 2007 ola
7
helping to achieve what has been presented. It will be a basic park. It will have
shelters, hiking and ADA accessible trails, fishing piers on the pond; they are
working with the Salt Creek Association to put in a canoe launch on Salt Creek.
They are fortunate to have wetlands on the site so that people will be able to hike the
site and see numerous educational exhibits. It will be as it was back in the late 1800
and early 1900's and they are very excited about it.
John Donaker, resident of Hinsdale has lived 15 years in the Graue Mill
Condominiums and said that fortunately their townhouse looks out onto the
property. He raised several issues.
■ Some of what is being proposed is duplicative of what the Forest Preserve
District and Lyman Woods is doing already and seems to be a waste of
resources to duplicate anything that is already being done that close to home.
• The issue of canoe launches on Salt Creek -- the water is filthy and very
shallow and has not been maintained at all in terms of cleanup. He
questioned whether it would be a wise policy matter for the Park District to
encourage people to put canoes in that area of the creek.
■ The residential properties are adjacent to the Dean property. The Graue Mill
is on the south end and they have never been confronted with people
wandering around those areas. There is a potential for a security issue to at
least be addressed, if larger numbers of people are allowed to walk through
the paths that the Park District has proposed.
■ The property was originally identified as a sanctuary for animals and the
frequent use of the property by people will scare away the animals and will
probably disappear as the number of people using the site increases.
He was asked that that the Park District address the issues.
Mr. Motley addressed the issues raised. The hiking trails on the site are the existing
trails and they are not developing any new trails in the outlying area. They are
creating some new ADA trails around the pond with educational exhibits for
schoolchildren or scouts, With regards to concerns for security and negative impact
on the neighbors, the existing trails are the only ones that will be developed and will
be wood chipped and will not be developed for any high usage. The bike trails
coming down from Cook County comes right under I -294 there. The developing
trail coming from Addison being projected to finish in November will end at that
trail and connect to it and will move the traffic out onto Canterberry Lane and
keeping it out of the park. The Salt Creek Canoe Association has a long -range plan
over the next 10 years to clean up the creek. He received a box of maps (funded by
REI) and the association has volunteers who are working hard getting community
support. The vision is there and they are working toward it. He is not sure how
many people will launch there, but it will be a small launch approximately 10'x1.0'
made out of limestone, similar to the fishing pier that will be around the pond. It
will not be a negative impact, and long range when it is cleaned up it will be
wonderful for people to use.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 7 of 13 June 18, 2007
Member Lalmalani asked for comments regarding the animals being scared away by
too many people using the site.
Mr. Truedson responded that Dorothy Dean talked about and embraced the number
of people that walked the property and fished on the pond. She was always
j enthusiastic about sharing her property and having people enjoy it. The Park
District is making that part of their mission. The different groups that are
counseling them of this project have advised that by making the proposed changes
on the property, it will bring and make it better for the forest preserve animals to live
there. They are not looking to over - program the site to bring in thousands or even
hundreds of people. It is a very low impact use. They want people to be able to go
and enjoy the property just as they can today. They are trying to provide parking
that is accessible so that they do not have to park on Canterberry Lane. They are not
trying to draw people there, but they do know that people will want to come down to
enjoy it. Just like the forest preserve areas, the animals are not driven away and
cohabitate very well; they are very concerned with and believe that will be the case
here too.
Mr. Motley responded that the area will be similar to the Wolf Prairie, which is also
a natural prairie and the same animals will be seen there, such as deer, coyotes and
hawks. It will always remain a passive use and they are not competing with the
level at Fullersburg or Mayslake. There will be very little outreach programming
and will mostly be passive for the residents of Oak Brook.
i Member Tropinski questioned one of the Village Engineers comments in his
memorandum regarding lighting in the public parking lot, and how it would impact
the animal life on the property.
Mr. Motley responded that the entrance to the parking lot is inside the park and their
intent is to put a gate at Canterberry Lane, which will be closed from dusk to dawn.
When dark there will be one streetlight at the current light pole on Canterberry Lane,
so the lighting will not have any negative impact on the wildlife or the
neighborhood.
Member Iyer asked for a response to comments in the memorandum regarding the
Salt Creek Floodplain issues.
Mr, Motley responded that they have already received the necessary permits for the
grant to construct on the site. There is a marsh on the backside of the property and
any activity would not be affected by any flooding or have an impact on the
Foodplain. There will be just paths, parking lot and shelter. In the past 8 months,
there have been some 75 -100 -year flood rains and there has not been any flooding
beyond the level of the existing pond, which is an overflow for Salt Creek. They
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 8 of 13 June 18, 2007
will have to submit for an engineering permit and according to DuPage County,
wetlands do not exist on the property, however there is a permit from DNR
(Department of Natural Resources) and DuPage County. The 20 -car parking lot
with the ADA accessible parking spot and access to the trails, will well serve what
has been there. During his 8- months on the site as caretaker, the maximum cars on
the site are 5 or 6. It will be serving the same activity level as they are developing.
Director of Community Development Kallien said that the CR zoning district refers
to a setback of 100 feet for any structure and the Zoning Ordinance classifies
parking as a structure. The location of the parking lot may need to be relocated
further south on the lot. The revised drawing is different from what was originally
proposed. He questioned if the Park District envisioned school buses coming to the
site, and if so the turning radiuses may need to be redesigned.
Mr. Motley responded that the application for the engineering permit would need to
include all the radiuses if they chose to do a educational outreach program.
Director of Community Development Kallien asked what type of improvements are
planned for the existing buildings. The previous use was originally a residential
single - family house. If the use is changed to CR, the use of the buildings will
change and may trigger the need for life safety issues, such as a fire sprinkler
system, alarms, etc.
Mr. Motley responded that the area of the buildings is exempt from the grant, but
they have no plans for it at this time. Within the next 5 -10 years, they may develop
a long -range plan, but at this point, they do not have any plans or funding to do so.
They did not have the money to support it and with the wishes of Dorothy Dean,
they have decided to stay with the plan that has been brought forward, which
excludes any public use for the house and buildings from the development.
Director of Community Development Kallien commented that the number of
parking spaces ultimately built is far less than what the Code requires. When a use
is not explicitly mentioned in the Code then the next closet use is applicable, which
would be "parks." The requirement would be 1 parking space for every 10,000
square feet of space, which is not what may be needed. The requirement would
result in the need for 160 spaces and the applicant is seeking 20; therefore, a
variance process is required and ultimately an appropriate number will be
determined. Defining a new standard would have required a study of uses against an
established standard. The Zoning Board of Appeals will review the variation
request. If the result makes a substantial change to the site plan, then the Village
Board would have the option of referring it back to the Plan Commission for
additional input.
VILLAGE OF OAK. BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 9 of 13 June 18, 2007
Member Lalmalani questioned if there would be any administrative offices on the
site.
Mr. Motley responded the administrative offices for the location would be at the
main Park District building at Central Park.
Village Engineer Durfey said that the comments contained in the memorandum are
mainly permit issues, because nothing can be done until a permit is have been
applied for.
Mr. Motley summarized the reason for the request. The 40-acre property is zoned
R -1 and the Park District is in the Parks and Recreation industry. All of the other
Park District parks in the Village are zoned CR and they would like this park to be
consistent with the rest of their property and provide parks and recreation services to
the residents of Oak Brook.
Man Amendment
Motion by Member Lalmalani, seconded by Member Iyer that the applicant has
satisfied the requirements to recommend approval of the requested map amendment
to rezone the 40 -acre property located at 115 Canterberry Lane from R -1 to CR.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 5 — Members Iyer, Lalmalani, Tropinski and Chairwoman Payovich
Absent: 1 — Member Adrian
Nays: 0 -- None. Motion Carried.
Director of Community Development Kallien said that for the record, this will
increase the utilization of this property and if the property becomes too successful
and parking would go onto Canterberry Lane, the Village Board would hear from
the residents to do something and would act accordingly, because the street is not
designed to have a lot of parking on it due to its configuration.
Member Lamalani asked if the restricted parking would make this project not very
successful, which what is desired. For example, a parking lot designed for 20 would
not allow for 500 people on the site.
Director of Community Development Kallien responded that if it is found that more
people start to visit the site, the Park District would want to amend their Special Use
to expand the parking facility because Canterberry Lane is not designed for excess
cars. It is something that the Village will continue to monitor the area and will need
to respond if issues develop. The Park District is a government entity and would be
responsible.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 10 of 13 June i 8, 2007
Mr. Truedson said that their consultant has built a number of these entities and they
are guiding them on this process. They recommended fewer parking spots and the
Park District decided that they would like to avoid adding parking in the future, so
they believe that the 20 spaces they are seeking would be a good compromise and
should work fairly well. They are not going to over program the site to bring people
in. They acknowledge that the residents on Canterberry do not want people parking
there. Currently it is not uncommon to see 4 -5 cars along Canterberry and they want
to end that. They do not want to overdo the parking to drive people onto the site.
Member Lalmalani said that the tranquil balance should be commended.
Lee Donager, Graue Mill Condominium questioned how 10 school buses could be
prevented from accessing the site; and although it may not be promoted, they will
hear about it.
Mr. Motley responded that there is a simple sign that is on all of the other properties
that will state a "reservation is required." They will work with the school district,
and it would be done with proper scheduling and have not had a problem controlling
it. They want to maintain a minimal impact on all the neighborhood parks and have
done so through proper scheduling with them. They will never reach the state of
Fullersburg Woods or Mayslake. Their goal is to provide a tranquil setting as
Dorothy Dean's original intent with a conservation easement on the property.
Special Use
Motion by Member Lalmalani, seconded by Member Iyer that the applicant has
satisfied the requirements to recommend approval of the requested special use for
the 40 -acre property located at 115 Canterberry Lane subject to the following
conditions:
1. To be in substantial conformance with the revised Site Plan submitted.
2. Subject to approval of the variation to the parking and driveway
requirements.
3. The applicant will obtain an approved Engineering permit that addresses all
outstanding issues.
4. Notwithstanding the exhibits contained in the case file, the applicant shall
meet all Village ordinance requirements at the time of building permit
application, except as varied or waived.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 5 — Members Iyer, Lalmalani, Tropinski and Chairwoman Payovich
Absent: 1 — Member Adrian
Nays: 0 -- None. Motion Carried.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 11 of 13 June 18, 2007
5. B. VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK — TEXT AMENDMENT — REAR YARD AMENDMENT
SETBACKS ALONG STREETS — REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF REAR YARD
APPLICABLE TEXT ALONG STREETS
Director of Community Development Kallien summarized and provided the
background on the Village initiated request, which may result in a text amendment
to the Zoning Ordinance.
A residential property owner has property with a rear yard that backs up against
York Road. They applied for a pen-nit to locate an accessory structure in the rear
yard and a number of contradictions were found in different places in the Code. In
some places, it stated that in the R -3 District the accessory structure was allowed; in
the accessory zoning provisions, it was also allowed to be placed within 5 feet of the
property line. However, there was another provision that said any structure had to
be located 100 feet from York Road.
The 100 -foot requirement comes from an extraordinary setback that was established
back when the first ordinance was created in 1966. Although staff cannot prove the
rationale for the extraordinary setbacks, they believe it was there to provide room
for major roadways to be expanded as Oak Brook grew from its small size to its
current development. At one time, 22nd Street, York Road and 31" Street were all
2 -lane roads. Over time, the various jurisdictions have improved it to accommodate
traffic, growing to 4 -6 lanes.
Some properties back up to these roads in Brook Forest, Ginger Creek, York
Woods, Hunter Trails and Midwest Club. When the 100 -foot setback is applied to
their backyards, it was found that many have a very limited use of their backyards.
It was further found that some of the houses as they were constructed are in conflict
with the provision. The Village is pretty much developed and the provision needs to
be amended so that it is fair and provides the assurances that if the roads are ever to
be expanded that they can be, but still provide some opportunity for people to
reinvest in their property. The contradictions exist and many people are probably
not aware of the impact of some of the provisions on their property because they
have not applied for a deck or outbuilding. We are starting to see that there are
issues.
An analysis will be done to show where the problems are and suggestions will be
offered on what we can do. If it is determined that a text amendment is needed, it
will be drafted and will then be reviewed by the Zoning Board of Appeals for public
hearing and then to the Village Board for final action.
There has been some contact with some Homeowner Associations and they are very
surprised at what that section of the code does to some of their residents, so it needs
to be corrected.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 12 of 13 June 18, 2007
Once the analysis is completed, and can quantify what is out there, then the next step
would be to share that information with the subdivisions affected and get their input.
He said that there has been some consideration given to certain areas. York Road
will not get any bigger than it is now, as well as 31St Street. There were never any
special rules for Meyers or Midwest Road, which are major roadways. The
properties in those areas were allowed to develop according to the setbacks for their
zoning district. If they wanted to reduce the impacts of the roadways, many have
done extensive plantings to the rear of the property.
The property in question on 11 Dover, York Road could not be seen from his house
or York Road due to the extensive vegetation that exists. There are ways to mitigate
and minimize the impact on these roads and maybe one of the alternatives should be
to let the underlying zoning district be utilized. Over the years, whoever has been
enforcing the codes has already done that in some cases, but it has not been
consistent. It needs to become consistent and fair. It is a code provision that goes
back to 1966 and at the next meeting there will be material provided that will allow
us to seek closure on this issue. We do not want to have more people go through the
unfair burden of going back to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a swimming pool or
a deck in some of these areas.
Motion by Member Lalmalani, seconded by Member lyer to continue the review to
the next Regular Plan Commission Meeting. VOICE VOTE: Motion Carried.
6. OTHER BUSINESS OTHER
ausrNCSs
There was no other business to discuss.
7. ADJOURNMENT: ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Member Iyer, seconded by Member Tropinski to adjourn the meeting at
8:58 p.m. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried.
ATTEST:
Robert Kallien, irecto f Community Development
Secretary
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
Regular Plan Commission Minutes Page 13 of 13
June 18, 2007