Industrial & Commercial Development Commission

1 APPROVED 2 MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 3 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 4 5 Village Hall Terrace Room 6 February 28, 2012 7 8 Members Present: Chairman Patrick Lederer, Curt Wilens, Larry Herskovitz, Tensley Garris, 9 David Gottlieb, Jill Narens, Richard Rushkewicz and Dick Leopold. 10 11 Members Absent: Susan Elfant. 12 13 Staff Present: David Schoon and Colleen Brunner. 14 15 16 Call to Order & Introductions 17 18 Chairman Lederer called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall at 7:30 a.m. 19 20 Review of Minutes: 21 22 On a motion made and seconded, the minutes from the January 11, 2012 joint ICDC-EDC 23 meeting were approved as presented. 24 25 Public Comment- Hear from the Audience- None 26 27 Community Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Report 28 29 A written report was included with the packet. Schoon’s additional comments included; 1) 30 Greenacres Country Club is not pursuing its rezoning request for paddle courts. They will use 31 existing space on the property; 2) Discussion at tonight’s Board meeting regarding the library 32 interior renovation and expansion and how it will effect parking; 3) Wood Oaks School request 33 for multi colored electronic message signage will require a Zoning Code text amendment; 4) the 34 Village Board is holding a budget workshop Saturday, March 3rd concerning the FY12-13 35 Budget. They will be discussing a possible stormwater utility fee and a telecommunication tax 36 increase from 1% to 6%. 7) Reds Garden Center has proposed a landscape waste transfer station 37 on their property. It will be on the Plan Commissions agenda March 6th to consider for a Zoning 38 Code amendment and special permit; and 8) ICDC Commission has a new member, Mark 39 Freeman who is the owner of the McDonald’s on Skokie Blvd. 40 41 A general discussion occurred among the ICDC members concerning the proposed 42 telecommunication tax. Commission members expressed concerns regarding the increase from 43 1% to 6% and how it will be a significant expense for business owners. They would like 44 additional information regarding the proposed budget and how the proposed stormwater utility 45 fee and the telecommunication tax increase fit within the budget. They also would like to know 46 the outcome of the Board meeting on Saturday.  Joint ICDC/EDC Meeting Minutes February 28, 2012 1 2 Update Regarding Ad Hoc Economic Development Committee’s Discussion Regarding 3 Economic Development Incentives 4 5 Schoon reported that the Ad Hoc Economic Development Committee met January 17. They 6 concentrated efforts on 1) minor changes to the existing Class 6b guidelines and what should be 7 the appropriate guidelines for special circumstances; and 2) establishing an alternative property 8 tax abatement. The Committee is struggling with how to come up with an alternative property 9 tax abatement that will practically work. ICDC members stated that they could understand why 10 it may be difficult to establish a workable alternative to the Class 6b incentive. The Ad Hoc 11 Committee is scheduled to meet again in April. 12 13 Update Regarding Downtown Planning Efforts 14 15 Schoon reported that at the February 21, Committee of the Whole meeting, the Board of Trustees 16 reviewed the Draft Downtown Plan and major recommendations of the Downtown Plan Steering 17 Committee. Several trustees expressed their opposition to the use of eminent domain (which is 18 not an element of the plan but was discussed by the Committee) and the use of TIF financing for 19 the redevelopment of targeted redevelopment sites; however, there was general support for such 20 items as the proposed Zoning Code amendments regarding height and bulk, further studying the 21 Shermerville Commons concept, better entryway and directional signage, and actively assisting 22 downtown property owners fill commercial space with retailers. Suggested next steps for the 23 Downtown Plan will be presented at the March 13 Regular Board meeting. 24 25 Commission members commented that the Plan does provide information that we didn’t have 26 before regarding financial issues associated with the redevelopment of downtown sites. The 27 Plan also shows developers that the Village is open to new concepts and future development of 28 the Downtown area. 29 30 Brainstorming for 2012 Economic Development Work Program 31 32 Schoon outlined five areas of focus from previous years’ work programs and the tools available 33 to a village to promote economic development. The Commission then focused on what projects 34 it thinks the Village should work on in the next fiscal year to promote economic development. 35 Ideas included: 1) continue the business visitation outreach program; 2) Work on improving 36 transportation access to business areas of the community, in particular mass transit; 3) we should 37 use social networking more to promote business development in the community; 4) encourage 38 elected official to use receptive attitude when developers and businesses present their ideas to the 39 Village; 5) Continue interaction with the broker community through AIRE and ICSC; 6) 40 Engage in additional Shop Northbrook marketing, such as placing banners at the Metra station to 41 encourage shopping and the use of QR scan codes on printed materials. 8) Improve interaction 42 between ICDC members and Board members to help foster a more inviting business 43 environment. Schoon will present a draft work program at the next Commission meeting. 44 45 Old Business - None 46  Joint ICDC/EDC Meeting Minutes February 28, 2012 1 New Business 2 3 Garris reported that the Chamber’s annual dinner is April 3, networking programs continue on 4 the 1st Friday of each month, and March 15 is business after hours social at Pinstripes. 5 6 Next Meeting 7 8 The next ICDC meeting had been scheduled for March 27, 2012, but due to a number of 9 members being unavailable, the meeting was rescheduled to March 20, 2012. 10 11 Adjourn 12 13 On motion made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 a.m. 14 15 Respectfully Submitted – 16 Colleen Brunner