Planning & Zoning Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2015 The City of DeKalb Planning & Zoning Commission held a regular meeting on December 16, 2015 in the City Council Chamber of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chair Atherton called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Planning & Zoning Commission members present: David Castro, Deborah Nier, Jerry Wright and Chair Christina Atherton. Members absent: Adam Katz, Matthew Crull and Roger Ruehling Also present: Derek Hiland, Principal Planner, Anne Marie Gaura, City Manager and Brenda Hart, Administrative Assistant. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by J. Wright to approve the December 16, 2015 agenda. The motion was seconded by D. Castro and approved by voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by D. Castro to approve the October 28, 2015 minutes. The motion was seconded by J. Wright and approved by voice vote. OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS 1. Public Hearing on a request by Herbert Buhr for a variance from the building setback requirement on property zoned “SFR-1” Single Family Residential and located at 212 Fairview Drive DeKalb, Illinois. The applicant has requested that the public hearing for the variance request be continued until the January 13, 2016 meeting. Staff acknowledges the need to continue the item and suggests that the Planning and Zoning Commission call the item, open the public hearing and immediately continue the public hearing until the first meeting of 2016. D. Nier motioned to continue the item until the January 13, 2016 meeting. D. Castro seconded the motion and it was approved by voice vote. 2. Public Hearing on a request by KV & Sons, LLC for a Special Use Permit on .34 acres of property for a Dunkin Donuts with a drive thru, located at 460 E. Lincoln Highway Dipak Patel, on behalf of KV & Sons, LLC requests the approval of a Special Use Permit to allow the construction of a multi-tenant building with three quick service restaurants and a drive thru facility associated with a Dunkin Donuts located at 446-460 East Lincoln Highway. The Applicant proposes to build a multi-tenant building that would make for better traffic circulation both on and off the site, create restaurant spaces that are state of the art, design conscious and bring the development up to current ADA standards for handicapped accessibility. KV & Sons, LLC is challenged by the constraints of the site. A modern looking Dunkin Donuts restaurant will incorporate architectural design that enhances the East Lincoln Highway corridor. The property is currently zoned Central Business District and is designated for commercial use according to the Comprehensive Plan map. The current zoning designation of Central Business District allows for the construction for businesses of this type with a requirement for a special use permitted drive-thru facility. In the CBD Zoning District there are no parking demands or requirements. The drive thru hours of operation would be 7AM to 11PM. This Special Use Proposal would not introduce something that is a new use or detrimental use to the Central Business District area. The proposed Special Use can be operated in a manner which minimally impacts even the neighborhood, if operated with the conditions outlined below. Jim Bibby of Rempe Sharpe and Associates from Geneva. Mr. Bibby said that the site at 460 E. Lincoln Hwy is an important location. He noted that previously there were issues with the site because of the narrowness of the alley. Within the proposed plan the alley will be widened by 5’ and will be acceptable for 2 way traffic at a 17’ width. Staff requested a drive through that allowed for a bailout lane, 16’ wide drive through lane. Mr. Bibby noted that additional diagonal parking will be added on Fifth Street. He said that the placement of the 1,500 square foot open patio on the corner will allow greater visibility for traffic at the corner of 5th Street and Lincoln Hwy. Chair Atherton opened the floor to public comments and questions. Trixie Flaherty - 514 E Lincoln Hwy, Gordon’s Hardware – Ms. Flaherty says she likes the drawings but has one concern. Since McDonald’s redeveloped their property the turn lane to turn into McDonalds and onto Fifth St. is the same lane. She noted that she sees near accidents daily and is concerned that this new proposal could make it worse. Ms. Flaherty also wondered if the new parking would be public or private. She said that often the parking for her business, Gordon’s Hardware, is taken up by patrons of the Stage Coach Theatre and says the same might happen with this parking and posting should be done to avoid the problem. Lisa Sharp – Sharp Architects, tenant at 421 Grove St – Ms. Sharp extended a thank you for tackling this site with the railroad and highway, etc. She commented that she is looking forward to having the new development in this area and also noted that it is a very challenging lot. Steve Kapitan -1228 Sycamore Rd - Mr. Kapitan commented on the traffic flow, saying that traffic turning left into McDonalds gums up the traffic flow. He asked where the building would be located. D. Hiland answered that there will be a setback of 15/20 feet allowing for the patio which should help with visibility for Stage Coach noting the importance of the added visibility. Chair Atherton asked if there were questions from commissioners. J. Wright asked if the parking spaces on the side will be facing the drive through lanes. Mr. Bibby said yes. He asked if it is anticipated that all traffic would come off of Fifth St. and if it’s shared with other businesses. Mr. Bibby answered that yes, the entrances will be off of Fifth Street and that other businesses will utilize the alley. J. Wright asked if the entrance to Dunkin Donuts is off of the patio. Mr. Bibby answered that the main entrance is off the patio and a side entrance off of an interior sidewalk. J. Wright wondered if there had been discussion regarding the traffic flow. Mr. Bibby said the original plan placed the entrance closer to Route 38 and that it had been moved due to discussion. D. Castro wondered if the staff has knowledge of any studies on traffic flow and commented that he would like something more concrete. D. Hiland is not aware of any studies that have been done regarding the turn lane. Mr. Hiland answered that no, there was no regional analysis except for how traffic comes off of Fifth St. D. Hiland said he could look into whether there were any studies done by the State if the item is continued to the next meeting. D. Nier asked if parking will be on the street and if it will it create any problems on Fifth Street. Nier asked D. Hiland if additional parking is required for in-store dining. D. Hiland answered that parking requirements don’t apply within the Central Business District. He noted that the thinking is that there’s sufficient hard surface parking provided by the City in the downtown area. D. Hiland commented that parking off of Fifth St. is not actually on Fifth St. but rather cars will still have to back onto Fifth Street to exit the stalls. Chair Atherton echoed the concerns about traffic flow noting that people turn onto Fifth Street to get around the tracks. She also commended the petitioners for placing the patio in the proposed location because of the potential danger. Chair Atherton asked if there are any concerns about landscaping. D. Hiland said they anticipate revised landscaping plans. Mr. Bibby said significant landscaping will be added. D. Nier asked what kind of signage there would be and if it would be placed only on the front. She said she would like to see a picture of any proposed signage. D. Nier made a motion to continue the public hearing until the January 27, 2016 meeting. J. Wright seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously by voice vote. CONSIDERATION Worksession with DeKalb Development Company LLC on a concept plan for redevelopment of 4.48 acres of property along Lincoln Highway that would include a hotel and apartments. DeKalb Development Company LLC would like feedback from the Commission on a concept plan to redevelop a 4.48 acre parcel located on the south side of Lincoln Highway, west of Walgreen’s on First Street and extending westerly along Lincoln Highway beyond the National Bank and Trust Building to Pearl Street. The concept plan proposes a five-story, 187-unit apartment building (459 bedrooms) arranged around pedestrian courtyards, and a 128-room four story Springhill Suites with 464 parking spaces provided for both uses. D. Hiland commented that this is a plan that has taken shape over the years. The remaining homes along W. Lincoln Hwy and Pearl Street will be razed. From staff’s perspective this is a concept plan with the developer looking for feedback from the Commission at this point in time. He noted there are four items for discussion: • Land Use • Density • Parking Requirements • Land Use Policy Chair Atherton gave direction that this is a workshop for the purpose of gaining insight and information. This is not a time for a public hearing but strictly a workshop. David Patzelt - Shodeen Group – 77 N. First Street, Geneva, IL 60134- Mr. Patzelt gave specifics on the proposed property noting it lies south of Lincoln Hwy, north of the railroad tracks, east of Pearl Street and west of First Street and the NB&T property. He noted that on the site are about a dozen different structures that will be razed within the next 60 days. The red house to the west of Pearl Street has already been demoed. Mr. Patzelt informed the Commission that the site will be cleaned up and reseeded after all demoes are complete. Mr. Patzelt showed a map of the area noting that the garage will be accessed from Pearl Street as that area drops below grade and lends itself to the entrance. Mr. Patzelt shared that the apartment building would house 187 fully furnished residential units with 429 beds and a total of 327 parking spaces. The proposal before the Commission is for the most expensive rental housing in DeKalb. The proposed four story hotel, a Marriott Springhill Suites product, would sit to the east of this building with a common shared driveway. The hotel will have an urban retro contemporary design with a 2,000 square foot lobby lounge, a business library, a fitness center and pool. Mr. Patzelt gave the opinion that this will appeal to the frequent business traveler being a moderate to upper end hotel, a little higher than what DeKalb is accustomed to. Mr. Patzelt asked how we get there? He said there are two main issues to be resolved. 1. Commercial space on the first floor of the apartment building. The proposed plan has no commercial space on the first floor. Mr. Patzelt noted that the Shodeen Group is in the commercial and retail business but doesn’t feel that this project warrants any additional commercial space with a current lack of demand for retail space in the downtown DeKalb area. Mr. Patzelt said they would rather allow current, existing retail to flourish than to add competition. He said the Shodeen Group owns additional property that would be able to be developed as commercial space in the future if needed. He noted that there is, however, a housing demand in DeKalb’s downtown area, particularly a need for higher end rentals, which was the consensus of the consultants hired by the City of DeKalb to provide direction and design guidelines for the DeKalb City Center Plan. Mr. Patzelt referenced the downtown map in the DeKalb City Center Plan which did not call for commercial space in this specific area. 2. Parking needs related to the hotel and residential units Mr. Patzelt noted that the proposed project is a different animal and is a new concept for DeKalb. He suggested that people live in apartments such as this in order to do more walking and referenced the DeKalb City Center Plan space map. Staff and the developer are in agreement on the parking requirements for the hotel which would be one space per room plus one space per employee. With 128 rooms and 5 employees that equals 133 spaces. The differences in opinion occur over the parking requirement for the residential apartment units. Mr. Patzelt noted what the Shodeen Group sees in communities with similar rental space is quite different than what the City of DeKalb’s ordinance requires. The ordinance requires one parking space per bedroom plus half a space per unit, for a 3 bedroom unit which equals 3.5 spaces. He said that the more urban opinion and trend is toward car rental, Uber or lift services rather than owning a car. Mr. Patzelt also noted the relationship between the hotel and apartment building should be considered, as common ownership will allow for common and shared parking. The hotel lot will most often not be full and would be open for use by the residents of the apartment. Typically, use with a heavy student population would be 1.0 parking space per residential unit. Instead of one space per unit their architect recognized the need at 1.6 spaces per unit but on the plan drew it at 1.7. In summary, the Ordinance requires 553 spaces. At 1.6 spaces per unit the total would be 299. At 1.7 spaces per unit, the total is 327 spaces. Mr. Patzelt said the ultimate question is, does DeKalb have a pallet for what has been presented? Commission Comments & Discussion: Chair Atherton asked D. Hiland how long this plan has been discussed and what year NB&T was built. D. Hiland answered NB&T Square was before the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2008. Atherton asked if the original plan included some retail space. D. Hiland answered yes, it did. Chair Atherton gave her opinion that what’s been presented is a great proposal, acknowledging that DeKalb has a need for upscale rentals but noted that she is also hesitant. Chair Atherton expressed her concern regarding the lack of parking noting that within DeKalb residents still rely on cars to a greater degree than in the suburbs as DeKalb is lacking public transportation. Chair Atherton agrees that 3 spaces for 3 bedrooms is too great a requirement but thinks more parking than what has been proposed may be needed. Chair Atherton added that she loves the hotel concept in the downtown area. Nier asked for some clarification saying she’s hearing differing statements, that this proposal is for upper end rentals but also hearing talk of student rental. Mr. Patzelt answered in comparable communities, upper classmen, masters and/or PHD students and younger professors make up many of the tenants and noted that they’ve found this to be a popular product in a school town. Nier inquired if the demographics of that student/young professional group doesn’t ask for commercial space. Mr. Patzelt reiterated not wanting to create empty retail space but added Shodeen Group may develop stores west of Pearl Street in the future. He said the thought is to help the community in the present asking the question, which comes first, rooftops or commercial space? He said the downtown has a surplus of vacant space. Nier asked how many units and how many bedrooms there are. Mr. Patzelt answered that there are 187 units which include, 70 – 3 bedroom units, 45 – 2 bedroom units, 38 – 1 bedroom units and 19 – 4 bedroom units for a total of 459 beds. Mr. Patzelt said that not everyone will bring a car and assured the number of cars will be monitored and limited with additional rent for a parking space. Residents will want to think twice before bringing a car. If goods and services are needed, residents will be within walking distance to downtown DeKalb. D. Castro expressed his excitement that someone is interested in the property. He brought up other instances in DeKalb’s history where there were contingencies allowed which provided a variance for reserving an area for future parking space if needed and asked if this is a possibility for this project if parking becomes a problem. D. Hiland said yes, this is a possibility noting an additional area must be within 300 feet to satisfy the code conditions. D. Hiland said the staff reports indicate when this proposal returns it will, most likely, hold a Planned Unit Development request to accommodate this issue and said it is possible to craft wording to this affect if additional parking were found necessary. Mr. Patselt said they would like wording to allow this condition to be removed if additional parking space is not necessary so that they can develop the area further. J. Wright asked what the impact has been to the cities of Champaign and Carbondale with a similar college setting and wondered if they’ve been able to maintain occupancy. He asked if it’s helped or hurt their economy. Mr. Patselt suggested those communities might best answer those questions. D. Hiland reminded the Commission of the University Plaza development, after remodeling and adding amenities are 100% occupied. He suggested this indicates there are those that want something better. They don’t believe there’s a product like this in DeKalb. Maybe this could be the catalyst. Chair Atherton commented on the need to not only attract students but also business people considering DeKalb is home to large industry such as 3M and Target. D. Castro made the point that having commercial on the first floor causes a place to appear more alive and active. If there are only residential units the property may appear dead. He referenced the suburbs as having combined residential and commercial properties that keep the downtowns vibrant. He said that he is seriously concerned about this point. Other questions that were raised were in regard to a need to do an environmental assessment and if there’s a concern regarding the railroad tracks and noise. D. Hiland answered in regard to the contaminated site south of the tracks saying that he researched it and found nothing but assumes they would want to test the soils. Mr. Patzelt said Phase I, possibly Phase II environmental may be done. They did conduct those tests which only showed some asbestos from the homes which was removed. There is no concern about contamination underground. Mr. Patzelt said they are not concerned about vibration from the railroad tracks but rather the noise. The question was asked regarding where runoff would go. Mr. Patzelt said storm water requirements would have to be met and would have to do the calculations to determine the pervious and impervious surface to determine what those runoff requirements would be. D. Hiland said this item would move forward to the City Council for a similar type of discussion. Staff expected the item to go on to the City Council on January 25, 2016 or sometime after the first of the year. REPORTS/ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING There will be no meeting December 30. The items from tonight’s meeting will be continued on January 13th. A meeting will also be held on January 27th. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by J. Wright to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by D. Nier and approved by voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Hart, Recorder Minutes approved at January 13, 2016 Meeting