Industrial & Commercial Development Commission

1 APPROVED 2 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 3 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 4 Village Hall Terrace Room 5 November 25, 2014 6 7 Members Present: Chairman Patrick Lederer, Mark Freeman, David Gottlieb, Larry Herskovitz , Brian 8 Lee, Dick Leopold, Richard Rushkewicz, and Thomas Washburn, Curt Wilens 9 Members Absent: Tensley Garris, Jill Narens 10 Staff Present: David Schoon 11 Guests: None 12 Review of Minutes 13 On a motion made and seconded, the minutes from the October 28, 2014 ICDC meeting were approved 14 as submitted. 15 Public Comment-Hear from the Audience-None 16 Community Planning & Economic Development Coordinator Report 17 David Schoon, Village Staff Liaison provided updates regarding the following: (1) NorthShore 770 keeps 18 moving forward; (2) We are still in discussion with RIC and the 430 Dundee Marathon station owner; (3) 19 1000 Skokie is expected to send a preliminary application for the Board to consider on December 9, 20 Lifetime Fitness is the contract purchaser of the property; (4) The cell tower at the YMCA was approved 21 by the Village Board; (5) 60 Revere Drive rezoning from I1 to O2 will come before the Board on 22 December 9; (6) Dunkin Donuts at Dundee and Pfingsten presented a revised plan to the Plan 23 Commission; (7) The Board approved the PNC Bank on the NorthShore 770 site; (8) The proposed self- 24 storage facility on Shermer and Janke, the applicant continues to work with Staff to work out some 25 details; project may go to the Plan Commission in January; (9) The Board approved the assisted living 26 facility at 99 Point Drive behind J. Alexander’s; (10) The Board considered a resolution objecting to the 27 Mission Hills development. Item was tabled to the December 9 meeting; (11) Pulte Homes resubmitted 28 a redesign of the development; (12) No formal application was received from the Anetsberger 29 development; (13) Jacob Homes has a contract for the C1 properties located on Shermer Road. The 30 applicant will not come in until January; (14) The Downtown Zoning Committee met recommending 31 approval of the new zoning code amendments. Item will go to the Board in January; (15) the Village and 32 Chamber have started a Facebook campaign this weekend to promote Shop Northbrook; (16) A 33 presentation from Public Works on Storm Water Management is planned for later this winter or early 34 spring; (17) Willow Road project continues with its goal to complete the concrete work from Waukegan 35 Rd. to the river in downtown Northfield. 36 Existing Regulations for Shelving within Commercial (Mercantile) Operations 37 David Schoon reported that in the early 1990s the Village adopted regulations regarding shelving and 1  ICDC Meeting Minutes November 25, 2014 1 racking in commercial businesses, i.e. Costco, Home Depot. Either manual or power forklifts were 2 needed to move products around within these types of stores. Activities were performed while 3 customers were typically in the building. At that time the Village felt that a local regulation was in need. 4 The Village is pursuing new international building codes in January. One of the items that was adopted 5 as part of the local amendment was this regulation. The regulation states that if you are using power or 6 manual fork lift equipment in the moving of large shelving systems that include pallets or shelving over a 7 certain height or depth, it is not allowed. A waiver can be requested from the Village Board. The 8 Commission discussed whether is it necessary for the Village to have this regulation or is it the 9 responsibility of a business for their own liability sake, to take care of the issue. Big box stores generally 10 have rigorous training and procedures related to power equipment and shelving in place. A motion was 11 made to abolish the amendment immediately and was seconded by Member Wilens. The motion passed 12 unanimously by voice vote. 13 Shuttle Bus Service Presentation 14 David Schoon solicited thoughts about the Shuttle Bus Service presentation made by Tim Grzeisigkowski 15 at a previous meeting and sought feedback from the Commission on the program. It was questioned if 16 there was interest in pursuing with the business owners and property owners on Skokie Boulevard? 17 Member Freeman asked if it was possible to receive a Pace monthly report for ridership usage. A report 18 would enable the Committee to be able to measure ridership and would be useful for marketing 19 communication. Schoon states we receive monthly reports from Pace on the number amounts of 20 ridership. Member Leopold feels that three shelters are needed for Commercial Avenue. He would like 21 the opportunity to be able to contribute financially and put his name on a kiosk. He feels that others 22 would be interested to sponsor shelters with advertising and sponsorship. David will talk with Pace and 23 get more information regarding installing bus shelters. 24 Survey 25 David Schoon reported on changes to the draft survey based on member comments from the last 26 meeting. 27 Commission members felt pages 5 and 6 of the survey were deemed dangerous pages as they provide 28 the possibility for the discussion to get off track. It will be up to the interviewer to maintain control of 29 the conversation. Pages 5 and 6 are designed for the interviewer’s benefit. All questions may not be 30 answered. The survey is meant to be a frame work for discussion. The survey will be represented as a 31 partnership between the Village and the Chamber. The responses will be shared with the Chamber. The 32 goal is to create and receive feedback to find out what the issues are that we want to survey the 33 business community. The Commission will only provide an aggregated response. It was suggested that 34 the individual be informed in the beginning that the responses will be held privately. Member Freeman 35 asks that we analyze business ownership vs. business management. Chairman Lederer feels it is 36 important to get to the decision maker of all entities. Member Leopold felt it was important to identify 37 if the person interviewed is a Northbrook resident or a commuter and should be incorporated on page 38 1. It was also recommended to identify the person’s role in the business and seek more information on 39 the responder. Membership asked to visit businesses in the area that they represent. David Schoon will 2  ICDC Meeting Minutes November 25, 2014 1 continue to work on the list, find contacts, and begin assigning people. Arrangements can be made for a 2 February training session. If anyone has more information or concerns, please email Chairman Lederer. 3 Joint Meeting with Economic Development Committee in January 2015 4 The Commission discussed the format for the joint meeting with the EDC. Chairman Lederer responded 5 that he thinks it is a positive decision to hold a joint meeting with the EDC and the ICDC Commissions 6 and serves a purpose. It was discussed if we should provide a summary of agenda items from the past 7 year to the EDC. Schoon will develop a list of top items. 8 Old Business – None 9 New Business- 10 Schoon is working on the business newsletter for January. The Commission asked that we include an 11 updated statement of what items have been worked on in the past few months along with information 12 on fire inspections. Schoon asked if there was some issue in particular to include in the next newsletter. 13 Chairman Lederer stated the Commission has reviewed regulatory items such as shelving, food trucks, 14 and transportation issues. It was mentioned that cyber security and threats to individuals would be a 15 good item for the Chamber to develop and report on. 16 The December meeting was cancelled. The next meeting is scheduled for January 14. 17 Adjourn – 18 On motion made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m. 19 Respectfully Submitted – Sue Anetsberger 3