Minutes - 06/19/2000 - Plan CommissionVILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES
June 19, 2000
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
ALSO PRESENT:
A quorum was present.
ll. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman
Members
Village Trustee
Director of Community Development
Village Engineer
Stelios Aktipis
Stephen Allen
Samuel Girgis
Anthony Tappin
Surendra Goel
Barbara Payovich
David Pequet
Alfred Savino
Robert Kallien
Dale Durfey
Member Girgis moved, seconded by Member Tappin, to waive the reading of the May 15, 2000,
Plan Commission Meeting minutes and to approve them as amended.
VOICE VOTE: All in favor. Motion passed.
Ill. YORKSHIRE REALTY (YORKSHIRE GLEN OF OAK BROOK) — 4 YORKSHIRE
DRIVE — PRELIMINARY PLAT — SEVEN -LOT SUBDIVISION
Ed Resner, Eddy - Resner Engineering, reviewed the revised preliminary plat and explained the
berm and wall cross section design on Harger Road (page 29 of the petition file). It is standard
practice for civil engineers to use "stationing." The point 0 on the exhibit is at the northwest
area of the property at Lot 1 where the curve starts. At every fifty feet they take a cross - section
through the property and show the existing conditions. The existing ground conditions are
shown in a dashed line. Per the promise of the applicant, he was directed to show two options.
First is a berm from one end to the other and the second with berm /wall /berm configuration.
For the most part, when there is a one -inch rainfall, the typical storm will result in eighteen
inches of water at the peak of the rainfall.
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Member Allen questioned how to deal with the safety issues existing in the areas between
berms and the standing water, and in the areas where there is a wall with steep drop -off. Mr.
Resner said that they have added curbing that adds 20 -24" of height along the residential side
of the berm. The other side of the berm will be grass. There have been different standards of
practice over the last thirty years, and they rely on the statistics and the insurance underwriters
opinion with respect to these types of facilities. In his professional opinion, the prevailing
common practice is not to have any fencing around a stormwater detention.
Member Allen asked if there were any other similar projects in other parts of Oak Brook.
Chairman Aktipis responded that there are similar situations and some are even higher. Village
Engineer Durfey said that there are other places in the Village particularly along roadways. At
31St and Midwest Road the County built a 5 to 6 foot wall along there when the road was
widened. Several years ago the Village built a wall at York and 22nd in front of the Drake that
was about three feet high. He is not aware of any detention facilities that have walls, but there
are a lot of walls around the Village for various reasons. Member Allen asked if there are any
situations where there are two berms with a retention area in between so that if someone were
to fall in that area, would anyone ever be able to see them? Village Engineer Durfey said that
the drawing is somewhat incorrect in that the berm shown on the house side is not actually a
berm. It will be a filled area all the way up to the rear of the homes. It will be a level or slightly
sloping area from the back of the homes back to the top of the beginning of the detention basin
then down to the basin.
Member Tappin asked what percentage of berm vs. wall was proposed on the whole project.
Mr. Resner said that it will be approximately 50 %.
Member Girgis questioned the highest depth of the water at the 100 -year flood. Mr. Resner
responded approximately 4 '/2 feet, but statistically that has a 1% occurrence of happening.
The berm has a slope of 3/1 as required by the Village, and the water rises and falls. There is
also a 24" curbing along the retaining wall side, which is the commonly accepted practice for
insurance companies.
Community Development Director Kallien asked which option they were pursuing, the
Commission agreed that on the Harger side of the property it would be all berm with some
additional stone capping of up to two feet in areas which need additional elevation. The
residential side would be entirely a decorative stone wall as shown on the revised plat on page
29 of the petition file.
No one in the audience spoke in support of or against the proposal.
Member Tappin moved, seconded by Member Allen to recommend for approval the design for
the detention wall as proposed on page 29 of the petition file.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Ayes: 4-
Nays: 0 -
Absent: 3-
Motion Carried.
Allen, Girgis, Tappin and Aktipis
Goel, Payovich and Pequet
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IV. FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT OF DuPAGE COUNTY — 3800 YORK ROAD
(GRADE HOUSE) — MAP AMENDMENT TO REZONE THE PROPERTY FROM R3
TO CR AND A SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO USE THE FACILITY ( GRAUE HOUSE)
FOR CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL PURPOSES
Mary Dickson, of Bond, Mork & Dickson, P.C., attorney representing the Forest Preserve
District of DuPage County (hereinafter referred to as "District ") reviewed their request for map
amendment and special use. They are seeking to change the zoning district from R -3 to CR
and approval of a special use, which would allow a historical facility to be available to the public
and used primarily for educational, cultural and historic purposes. The Graue Mill is noted as a
historic location in Oak Brook and has been operated by the District for over fifty hears. The
District acquired the Graue House that is adjacent to the Graue Mill in 1988, and the house has
been vacant since 1989. In 1998, the District received a grant from the state to renovate both
the interior and exterior of the Graue House facility. It is the District's intent and desire that the
Village allows the District to fully use the Graue House as a compliment to the Graue Mill.
The District has planned the ground floor of the Graue House for staging and welcoming of
guests to the Graue House; a small exhibit room in which artifacts of the period related to the
interpretation of life during the period of active mill operation; and there will also be a space to
show the use of the Graue Mill as a stop on the underground Railroad. The ground floor will
also be used for meetings, educational and cultural programs, and for social events such as
teas and receptions. They may also have a gift shop for sales of items related to the Graue Mill
and House. To the extent that District policy and state law allows, and any local ordinance,
they would also propose allowing the District to allow the consumption of light spirits in the
event a wine and cheese reception were to be planned at the facility.
The second floor of the Graue House will be used as office space for volunteers and/or
employees of the Graue Mill Corporation, which assist the District in the operation of the Graue
Mill and Graue House. There may be more than just 2 or 3 people working in the House itself,
but there would be only 2 -3 working in the offices on the second floor. In the event there would
be a class or a cultural event, they may have more than 3 people who are either staff or
volunteers in the facility. Hours of operation of the second floor of the business office will
coincide with the hours the Graue Mill is open to the public, which is currently 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
seven days a week. They would also seek the potential to have some evening meetings and
evening availability to use the house for a reception or a tea. The Graue House does have a
basement, but will only be used for placement of the utilities.
The LaSalle Factors are addressed on page D -1 through D -3 of the petition file. The map
amendment will bring this small parcel of District property into conformance with neighboring
zoning. The property values will not depreciate because of a change in zoning classification or
by granting the special use request. No individual property owner will be affected by the
request. Present zoning does not properly reflect the use of the Graue House. The Graue
House and surrounding property are publicly owned and the relative gain would be to the public
and would be a second historic use to complement the existing Graue Mill.
Member Tappin questioned how many parking spaces are available. Mary Dickson responded
that there are 97 parking spaces available. The parking lot serves both the Graue House and
Graue Mill. It is located across the street and is accessed either by the underpass or at the
signaled street passage.
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Member Tappin questioned how many people are working at the Graue Mill. Michael Palzetti,
the Programs Services Division Manager, said that there are approximately 5 or 6 volunteers or
staff members, and almost never more than a dozen.
Chairman Aktipis questioned how many visitors the facility presently attracts and how parking is
accommodated. Michael Palzetti responded that during special events there could be 150 -200
on -site for instance, Octoberfest. Most of the parking is on -site, but they have made
arrangements with one of the local businesses, and with the York Tavern. Most of the events
are on Sunday, and local businesses have graciously given them permission to park in their
lots.
Member Allen asked if the facilities would be used year round. Michael Palzetti responded that
it basically runs from April to November, but there is hope that once the house is on site they
may have additional and seasonal events.
Mary Dickson added that a map is included in the packet that shows the 97 spaces and it
includes spaces for buses and handicapped parking. They have included a property depiction
that shows Lot 1, which is somewhat less than one acre. The District did at one time own Lot 1
and Lot 2, but Lot 2 was deeded to the County for road improvements. The rest of the District
property is zoned CR so the allowance of this map amendment would bring this small parcel of
property into conformance with neighboring zoning. There is no present plan to have any
cooking on the facility. There might be a tea or reception that would be catered. The facility is
secured by motion sensor and controlled by District rangers and local police, so they believe it
is a secure facility. It is the District's hope that this map amendment will be allowed, because
they believe the Graue Mill serves as a very important tourist and historical attraction in the
Village of Oak Brook. The House would only serve as a compliment to that and would also be a
facility that not only the Forest Preserve District, but also the Village of Oak Brook could take
tremendous pride in being able to offer both to its citizens, school children, and people who visit
the Village of Oak Brook in the county of DuPage.
Chairman Aktipis said that the Plan Commission should be very pleased that the initiative has
been taken to improve the House and to make it part of the Graue Mill facility. He asked, with
more certainty, how many people would be working in the House. Michael Palzetti said that
they are trying to establish that the office space upstairs would be limited to 2 -3 staff members.
On a weekend there may be six people in the building that are staff members monitoring the
public's use of the facility.
Director of Community Development Kallien said that he was not suggesting a maximum
capacity for the building, because the building code of DuPage County establishes that. He
was saying to not use up all the parking spaces that are across the street, so that somehow
there would be a cap on how many people could reasonably be expected to be working in the
facility at any one given time. Chairman Aktipis added that they want to establish a number that
will be there permanently, with the flexibility to have more people at special events. Michael
Palzetti responded that 8 would suffice.
Chairman Aktipis asked what hours of operation would be needed. Mary Dickson said that the
typical hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and they would like the
opportunity to have evening activities. The latest evening event they have in Fullersburg is the
Halloween event, which is usually completed about midnight. Michael Palzetti said that they will
be conducting their board meetings on the site, which run until about 10 p.m. They are looking
for social events, similar to what the Bath and Tennis may host, on weekends no later than
midnight.
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Member Tappin asked if the building would meet the fire codes. Director of Community
Development said that because it is a County owned facility, they utilize the county building
code that is very similar to the Village code. Member Allen questioned if that code would also
limit the number of occupants and Kallien responded that it would.
Andrea Hoyt, Manager of Project Development said that they will have ADA accommodations at
the front door on north side of the building. This is the reason they are talking about not having
any public events on the second floor. Relative to code compliance, they have the fire alarm
system hooked up to Oak Brook along with meeting all county requirements.
No one in the audience spoke in support of or against the proposal.
Member Girgis said that this is a welcome change to the area.
Member Girgis moved, seconded by Member Allen that the petitioner has met the requirements
necessary to recommend for approval the Map Amendment as requested to change the zoning
of the property located at 3800 York Road from R -3 to CR to conform with surrounding Forest
Preserve District property.
ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: 4 - Allen, Girgis, Tappin and Aktipis
Nays: 0-
Absent: 3 - Goel, Payovich and Pequet
Motion Carried.
Member Allen moved, seconded by Member Girgis that the petitioner has met the necessary
factors as required by the Ordinance to recommend for approval the Special Use Permit at the
proposed location as requested and is so designed, located and operated that the public health,
safety and welfare will be protected and will not cause substantial injury to the value of other
property in the neighborhood. Recommendation for approval is subject to the following
conditions:
1. A maximum of 8 staff /volunteers will be able to work at the facility, with the
exception of special events.
2. The normal hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — seven days a week (to
coincide with the hours of operation at the Graue Mill)
3. During special events and for Forest Preserve District board meetings:
a. 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. — Sunday through Thursday
b. 8 a.m. to midnight — Friday and Saturday
ROLL CALL VOTE
Ayes: 4-
Nays: 0 -
Absent: 3-
Motion Carried.
Allen, Girgis, Tappin and Aktipis
Goel, Payovich and Pequet
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Mary Dickson thanked the Commission for its consideration and also complimented staff with
being most helpful and very adept at pointing out everything they needed to do in the
application process.
V. ADJOURNMENT
Member Girgis moved, seconded by Member Allen to adjourn.
VOICE VOTE: All in favor. Motion carried.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m.
L. t��
.e--- Director of Communit t Devel pment
Secretary
July 17, 2000
Date Approved
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