Minutes - 10/24/2019 - Planned Development Commission2.
4.
VILLAGE OI
OAK B Rg , K
CALL TO ORDER:
MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 24, 2019
REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OF THE
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON JUNE 25, 2020
The Regular Meeting of the Planned Development Commission was called to order
by Chairwoman Marcia Tropinski in the Samuel E. Dean Board Room of the Butler
Government Center at 6:59 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Cathy Chiarelli called the roll with the following persons
PRESENT: Chairwoman Marcia Tropinski, Vice Chairman Wayne Ziemer,
Members Jeffrey Bulin, Natalie Cappetta, Thomas Doyle and Alfred
Savino
ABSENT: Member Raju Iyer
IN ATTENDANCE: Trustee Michael Manzo, Development Services Director Tony
Budzikowski, Public Works Director Doug Patchin, Fire Chief Barry
Liss, Deputy Police Chief Jason Cates, Village Attorney Michael
Castaldo III, Village Consultant Engineer James Patterson, Village
Planner Rebecca Von Drasek, and Planning Technician Assistant
Cathy Chiarelli
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNED DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MAY 23, 2019
OF MAY 23, 2019
Motion by Vice Chairman Ziemer, seconded by Member Bulin to approve the
minutes of the May 23, 2019 Regular Planned Development Commission meeting as
written. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no unfinished business.
NEW BUSINESS
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
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October 24, 2019
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
5. A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT — CASE NUMBER 2019-12-ZO-PUD — OAKBROOK
SHOPPING CTR,
OAKBROOK SHOPPING CENTER, LLC, PROPERTY OWNER —1300 22ND LLC, PROPERTY
ER - 1300
STREET (PORTION OF PARKING LOT AT SE QUADRANT OF SOT- PROPOSED 2�
OAKBROOK SHOPPING CENTER) — PROPOSED RESTORATION RESTORATION
HARDWARE
HARDWARE RETAIL FURNITURE GALLERY WITH RESTAURANT RETAIL
DEVELOPMENT — PLANNED DEVELOPMENT GAGER WITH
RESTAURANT
Chairwoman Tropinski announced the commencement of the public hearing for the
proposed planned development for Restoration Hardware. All witnesses that
testified were sworn in.
Danielle Cassel, Vedder Price, 222 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, attorney for the
applicant thanked staff for their hard work in reviewing the petition and providing
helpful feedback. She introduced everyone that would be speaking on behalf of the
request.
Ben Freeman, Brookfield Properties (property owner), Vice President for
Development, 350 N. Orleans Street, Suite 300, Chicago gave a brief overview of
the history of Oakbrook Center and how it continues to evolve and thrive. He
reviewed the PowerPoint that identified several major tenants at Oakbrook Center.
He noted that many outdated buildings/businesses have been or are in the process of
being redeveloped with a dedication to modernized retail offerings and that
Oakbrook Center remains at the forefront of the retail revolution. He was excited
with the opportunity to bring Restoration Hardware Furniture Gallery and Restaurant
to the community.
Dave Stanchak, Restoration Hardware, President and Chief Real Estate and
Development Officer, 15 Koch Road, Corte Madera, CA thanked the commission for
the opportunity to present the petition. He was familiar with and fond of the Oak
Brook area. He gave a PowerPoint showing several Restoration Hardware Galleries
throughout the United States. The galleries were all very high end, paying close
attention to the geographic location, material used and landscaping details. Their
vision is to transform small retail locations into beautiful, experiential spaces that
stand out from the crowd.
Attorney Cassel continued with a PowerPoint showing building elevations, artistic
renderings, landscape plans and a massing study to provide a visual of the future
development. Included were updated case file materials based on staff comments.
The trash enclosure was moved further north of 22nd Street and the drive isle was
reconfigured to be "right turn only" due to safety concerns.
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The PowerPoint depicted the requested departures showing the exact setbacks that
were requested along 22nd Street and how it compared with the previously approved
setbacks along 22"d Street within the Hines Development. Also reviewed were the
highlighted areas where the outdoor dining and outdoor sales would take place.
Chairwoman Tropinski asked Attorney Cassel to review the requested departures and
describe the rationale for the location chosen.
Attorney Cassel responded that Restoration Hardware "RH" is currently located in
an interior 12,000 square foot store within the shopping center. The RH Gallery and
Restaurant demands a much larger stand-alone building. Current zoning regulations
require a 300 -foot setback from 22nd Street.
She presented a site map of Oakbrook Center, which included all surface parking
areas and detailed the entire perimeter parking and noted that most of the existing
parking spaces along the southwest corner of the mall are owned by Macy's and
would not be available for their development. Other surface parking areas were
either too narrow or too valuable to other businesses. The only feasible option was
the location that is currently underutilized surface parking.
The first requested departure is to construct the building south of the 300 -foot setback
to 22nd Street. The entire 200 -foot building would be within that setback. The
building was rotated so only the single -story portion would be along 22nd Street and
the higher elevations would be behind the single -story.
She stated that the setback relief was warranted due the provision in the Planned
Development Regulations stating that plan developments within the commercial
areas are to be in substantial compliance with the goals of the Commercial Areas
Revitalization Plan "CARP". The CARP strongly advocated redevelopment of
Oakbrook Center's perimeter parking lots into something more purposeful and
attractive. Included in the response to the required standards is a detailed response
to the CARP in the case file under Tab 4 that noted a building in this location was
not only permitted, but also encouraged.
She noted that there are a variety of zoning districts and setback requirements along
the long stretch of 22"d Street. The location of the building will not be disruptive to
the streetscape and would be consistent with the Hines Development. The other
requested departures consisted of the outdoor dining and outdoor sales zoning codes.
Chairwoman Tropinski asked Ms. Cassel to describe the flow of traffic into and out
of the building parking areas.
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
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October 24, 2019
Ms. Cassel reviewed the drive patterns and pointed out the main entrance, the trash
enclosure and all parking isles. The actual parking space size will be consistent with
the all other parking space dimensions throughout the mall.
David Carlin, President/CEO, Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce was in
support of the project. The chamber members were very excited that such a first-
class development would be coming to Oak Brook. The finished product would
create an atmosphere that is not currently available in the suburbs. The project will
provide revenue to the village through sales tax and permit fees. Oakbrook Center
has continued to reinvent themselves and revitalize the commercial area surrounding
it. The chamber was very enthusiastic about the project.
Vice Chairman Ziemer asked if the main entrance drive was two-way traffic.
Ms. Cassel confirmed that it was a two-way drive. Clarification was provided as to
which lane was right turn only onto the ring road.
Maximillian Sprovieri (member in the audience did not provide his address)
questioned how building the RH Gallery south of the ring road would help bring
commerce to Oakbrook Center.
Ms. Cassel replied that experience has shown that whether customers go to the
adjacent mall or to the RH Gallery they access each other due to the proximity. The
proposed walkway from Neiman Marcus to RH Gallery will also benefit both
retailers.
Member Cappetta asked if the parking and landscaping plan shown along 22,d Street
existed or was it proposed; and who would be responsible for maintaining it.
Ms. Cassel responded that Oakbrook Center is in the process refreshing much of the
current landscaping. The final design will be subject to staff review and will balance
Oakbrook Center's landscaping along with RH Gallery's interior landscaping design.
RH Gallery will be responsible for the landscape maintenance on their property and
Oakbrook Center will be responsible for all surrounding landscape maintenance.
Trustee Manzo said that he was excited about RH Gallery coming to Oak Brook.
However, he was concerned that a reduced setback along 22nd Street would be setting
a precedent. The Hines development, which was a half billion -dollar project, was an
exception and filled the void left by McDonald's leaving Oak Brook.
Member Savino said that he too was initially concerned with the reduced setbacks,
but thought reconfiguring the building may not work in the space. Although he was
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concerned there may not be enough landscaping, he noted that the building was so
beautiful that perhaps it should not be hidden behind landscaping. He questioned
who approves the landscaping.
Planner Von Drasek responded that the village would approve the final landscape
plan. It is likely that Brookfield Properties will have their landscape improvements
completed prior to delivering the "building pad" to RH Galleries to apply for the
permit. RH Galleries will have their own landscape plan for the building pad area.
Member Savino questioned who would own the building and who would make the
decision on the building contractors.
Ms. Cassel responded that Oakbrook Center will be the building owner and RH
Gallery will lease the property and will do the site preparation work. RH Gallery
will be responsible for constructing the building and will pay rent.
Member Savino cited several safety hazards with the pedestrian flow from the RH
property to the new pedestrian walkway and the curve shown on the plans. He asked
if there might be a better location for the pedestrian walkway.
Ms. Cassel responded that this part of the planned development is continuing to
evolve and they will continue to work with staff to ensure that the trellis covered
walkway final signage placement alerts pedestrians and drivers. That particular
location will have very low landscape plantings to ensure visibility along with yield
and stop sign placed as needed.
Mr. Freeman added that the other pedestrian walkway locations considered were
found to be less desirable. Proper signage and special paving should help to make
the proposed site safer. It is also a smoother transition being curb to curb and not
having too many inlets to navigate.
Deputy Police Chief Cates agreed with the current proposal and supported that the
walkway should not be moved closer to the intersection, as there would not be a clear
line of sight from cars turning right from the intersection onto the ring road if the
walkway were shifted west.
Member Bulin questioned how the development would change the flow of traffic
from the intersection to the ring road as well as the road coming from Neiman
Marcus. He asked for a recap from the Traffic Study detailing the counts.
Ryan Wagner, Project Engineer, V3 Companies, 7325 Janes Ave #100, Woodridge,
IL responded that the ring road would maintain its current flow since they will not
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be stop sign controlled. The north/south movements from the Neiman Marcus road
will be stop controlled. A count was not conducted for the Neiman Marcus road.
The intersection to the ring road counts go up with minimal delays. There would be
need for additional safety measures.
Member Bulin commented that there should be more pedestrian access along 22nd
Street. The plan showed a sidewalk at the south entrance of the building that he
thought would not be usable due to access.
Ms. Cassel responded that 22nd Street is owned by the State of Illinois and IDOT
controls the easement along 22nd Street. They hope that there would be a public
sidewalk in the near future. There was previous discussion about adding a pedestrian
crosswalk at the southeast corner of the intersection (southwest corner of the RH
Gallery), but grading changes were a problem.
Member Bulin pointed out how difficult it was for pedestrians to get to Oakbrook
Center from 22nd Street and thought they should come up with a solution to try to
provide some pedestrian movement. It would be more urban to create a grand
entrance along 22nd Street.
Ms. Cassel noted that the drop off location is on the east side of the building. It was
equal distance to both the north and south entrances of the Gallery.
Member Bulin asked if they could consider shifting the drop off location south in
order to generate a better pedestrian flow at the south entrance along 22nd Street. It
would create a grander south entrance that could possibly incorporate bicycle
parking.
Ms. Cassel agreed that they should develop a plan to encourage more customers to
use the south entrance.
Member Ziemer believed a development that calls itself urban should have more
sidewalks and a street presence. He questioned how many parking spaces would be
lost for the development.
Ms. Cassel replied there would be a net loss of 56 parking spaces. Oakbrook Center
is at about 4.4 parking spaces per 1000 square -feet of retail space.
Mr. Freeman added that the development would be using underutilized parking
spaces and with the development, the Center would continue to be fully compliant
with the parking ratios required in the zoning ordinance.
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Member Doyle asked if the bluestone surrounding the building was permeable and
whether the sidewalk surrounding the building could be converted to a permeable
surface.
Mr. Stanchak responded that the bluestone and the decomposed granite surrounding
the building are both permeable. Pending compliance with the handicap parking
requirements, they would be happy to convert the concrete sidewalk to a permeable
surface.
Oakbrook Center representatives were in agreement with this request.
Member Doyle suggested there was no consistency with the RH Gallery walkway,
the trellis covered walkway, and that it would make sense to maintain consistency in
both walkways and make them both permeable surfaces. Trees surrounding a non -
permeable walkway would have a difficult time flourishing. A single walkway
surface could create a safer path.
Mr. Freeman agreed to revisit the pathway plans during the final landscape planning
process and agreed that a single surface may be a safer pedestrian path.
Member Bulin said that the development would nearly double the amount of
permeable space in the area.
Member Doyle requested clarification on Direct Sales Tax Revenues.
Michael Selig, Vice President, Tax at Restoration Hardware, responded that
Restoration Hardware is a California based corporation and are considered an out-
of-state retailer for Illinois purposes. Distribution of their products comes from
California, Maryland and Ohio, none in the State of Illinois. Sales tax goes to where
the product is delivered. If you live in Oak Brook, it would go to Oak Brook, which
is what they follow throughout the country in accordance with applicable laws. Sales
tax from the Oak Brook store would be from purchasing retail items directly from
the store that are taken with the customer. Retail items and the restaurant result in
sales tax to Oak Brook.
Member Cappetta asked if there would be ground level outdoor seating and was
concerned about the lack of protective barriers.
Mr. Stanchak responded that the ground level outdoor seating was for outdoor
furniture display only and not for outdoor dining.
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Member Cappetta believed the current zoning setbacks for the mall were outdated
and she supported the buildings coming closer to the roads and the proposed location.
It appears to be the only location that RH fits, as Macy's owns the rest of the mall
area west of the proposed site, so it is a hardship as it is the only viable site.
Ms. Cassel said that the precedent goes beyond the Hines development. It is the
setbacks along Enterprise Drive and down 22nd Street. Not only the 2019, but also
the 2007 Commercial Areas Revitalization Plans called on businesses to follow
modern planning principals and bring retails buildings closer to the street edge to
reduce the visible seas of surface parking.
Trustee Manzo tried to explain the sales tax model used by Restoration Hardware.
Ms. Cassel explained that the taxing is like that with Carvana, in that where the car
is delivered receives the tax benefit of the sale, only it applies to couches and
furniture not stocked in the RH store.
Trustee Manzo referred to Member Cappetta's comment regarding the setbacks and
he said that they did not want to create a tunnel effect along 22nd Street with large
buildings on both sides of the street. He questioned if there was a possibility to
change the business model in order to capture some of the sales tax revenue.
Ms. Cassel responded that they were not familiar with the Carvana agreement, but
would be happy to look at it.
Member Doyle asked if extra safety consideration were given to prevent someone
from driving through the RH south entrance.
Mr. Stanchak supported the idea of extra safety features at the entrance and suggested
that perhaps they would use decorative wrought -iron gates as shown on several other
RH Galleries during his PowerPoint presentation.
Ms. Cassel suggested they be mindful of maintaining emergency personnel's access.
Director Budzikowski asked if RH Gallery's primary customers were residential. He
pointed out that Oak Brook has eight hotels and numerous restaurants and offices
that would be potential commercial customers and that clientele would bring the sales
tax directly to Oak Brook.
Mr. Stanchak responded that the RH Gallery aesthetic plays well with all hospitality
(hotels and restaurants) as well as offices. Oak Brook has a unique market and they
could have a substantial amount of office furnishing sales.
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Regular Planned Development Commission Minutes Page 8 of 11 October 24, 2019
Director Budzikowski explained that the 300 -foot building setback along 22nd Street
has been in place since at least 1962. Shopping malls have evolved and the
Commercial Areas Revitalization Plan provides a guide for future developments.
The plan development process allows the commission the ability to be
discriminative, deviate or depart from the zoning regulations, as well as provide
conditions.
Trustee Manzo mentioned that open space in the commercial district was not a
deficiency, but was by design. He did not believe that following the pattern of "malls
evolving" was best for every community. He was in support of the development, but
did not want to lose the character of Oak Brook.
Planner Von Drasek noted that the open space that would be lost for this development
was existing surface parking.
Member Cappetta asked if the south sidewalk could be extended to reach the road so
that pedestrians would not have to walk across a grass area.
Ms. Cassel responded that there were concerns about pedestrian safety with
westward moving cars turning into the mall at that location.
Mr. Wagner added that there were significant challenges in extending the sidewalk
to the street. The entire grading would need to be changed as well implementing
ADA requirements.
Director Budzikowski asked that the south sidewalk extension request be evaluated
through the engineering process as a condition. He reviewed the additional requested
conditions.
Member Bulin said that the condition should be to reevaluate the entire south
entrance as well as the east -side pedestrian drop-off area in order to create a more
urban feel.
Motioned by Member Bulin, seconded by Vice Chairman Ziemer to recommend
approval of the planned development as requested, subject to the following
conditions:
1. Compliance with Plans: The development, maintenance and
operation of the property will be in substantial compliance with the
plans and documents as submitted, except for minor changes approved
by the Development Services Director and Village Manager in
accordance with Section 13-15-8 of the Zoning Ordinance.
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2. Final Engineering approval shall be required prior to the issuance of
the building permit for the development.
3. Final landscape plan approval shall be required prior to the issuance
of the building permit for the development. All landscaping for both
the RH and the plans for the larger site will be installed as part of the
development (including landscape labeled "Existing Trees per
Previous Plans by Others").
4. The outdoor dining and display areas shall be approved in accordance
with the approved site plan and separate special use approval shall not
be required. Final review and approval of the outdoor seating areas
shall be provided with a building permit and reviewed/approved by
the Development Services Department.
5. Trash enclosures and other service areas shall be screened with a
material that matches the gallery building.
6. All sign proposals shall comply with applicable sign code regulations
of the Oak Brook zoning regulations.
7. Comply with all other Village Ordinance requirements at time of
building permit application except as specifically varied or waived.
8. Reevaluate the entire south entrance as well as the east -side pedestrian
drop-off area.
9. Reevaluate the safety of the pedestrian connection to Neiman Marcus.
Create consistency with the aesthetics of those pathways and ensure
permeability.
10. Add bicycle racks.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 6 — Members Bulin, Cappetta, Doyle, Savino, Vice Chairman
Ziemer and Chairwoman Tropinski
Nays: 0 —
Absent: 1 — Member Iyer. Motion carried.
The public hearing was concluded.
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6. OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business to discuss.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
8. ADJOURNMENT:
Motion by Member Cappetta, seconded by Vice Chairman Ziemer to adjourn the
meeting at 9:04 p.m. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried
ATTEST:
/s/ Tony Budzikowski
Tony Budzikowski
Development Services Director
Secretary
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK
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October 24, 2019
OTHER
BUSINESS
PUBLIC
COMMENT
ADJOURNMENT