z - Retired - Building and Zoning Committee

MINUTES Regular Meeting Building and Zoning Committee of the Board April 17, 2014 1. The meeting was called to order by Chair Barry at 5:00 P.M. Present: Trustees Barry, Barker, Addington, Scott and Senicka, Clerk Szymski, Steve May, Jill Ziegler, Larry Forssberg, Police Chief Tom Mulhearn 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Minutes from January 23, 2013 were reviewed 4. Unfinished Business A. Discussion ● Fencing requirements for limited construction - If an addition is being built on Cass Avenue and it is close to the sidewalk or bus stop or a house is a short distance away from the new construction, a chainlink fence should also be required where there is a safety concern. We don’t want to be more stringent or less stringent than other villages. We will have to be somewhere in the middle. Kids seek out these building if they know no one lives there and a fence would keep them out. We need to put together some language and define the threshold for what type of street it is, or if it is within 15 feet from a right of way, or the dollar amount. Larry McIntyre - We don’t want to come across as developer unfriendly and require unnecessary expense. Maybe this is something staff could look at when the permit is being obtained. This will look cleaner, safer and more professional. There was a suggestion to put together some language for this change. ● Comprehensive Plan Design Guidelines - The final step of the Comprehensive Plan is the Design Guidelines. It will be used with the TIF to recommend what the Village would like to see when a developer approaches with a project. It will be a basis to go on and will be very helpful for a potential site downtown or the Cass and 63rd Street area of town. Developers can be provided with a copy of the guidelines. It shows what can be done with different setback, outdoor dining and landscaping and different architecture. Please give Jill Ziegler any comments you may have on the Design Guidelines and she will pass them on with her comments to make changes. B. Updates ● Text amendment for construction fences - All construction fences need to be chainlink with a gate and lock. It is up and running and it is good to see everything protected in addition to the on-site trees. ● Permit placard - On the back of the permit placard, the building rules and regulations are listed for projects. The placards were in use before the ordinance was passed. Design suggestions for the metal placards that will be used for new construction came from Larry McIntyre. He received opinions from Village Hall employees. The rules and text will be on the backside and will be hung on the construction fence so the contractors can read them. There were a couple of different design suggestions. It was questioned why Westmont First was on it and not a Village logo. There were several examples shown with Westmont First and the Village logo, and “Another Beautification Project in the Neighborhood”. If there are concerns or questions, the phone number will be on the front and back. From an artistic standpoint, red, white, and blue would be nicer than a monotone. It would be framed with a blue and white border. The Village will be making 6 to 10 signs. When this sign is in place on the fence, it will let the public know that the project was approved by the Village. To get the permit bond, the contractor would have to return the sign. It would be good to put the QR code on the sign so that someone could scan it to get the information of the Community Development Department. ● Text amendment for maximum garage size - After having received a request for a detached garage of 1,000 sq. ft. which was equivalent to a 5-car garage plus an attached garage for 3 cars on a 100 ft by 300 ft lot, staff recommending restricting the total square footage of attached garages. Staff requested direction on how to proceed, and Planning and Zoning Commission suggested a text amendment. The attorney noted that if more than 50% of the residential structure is used for storage within an attached garage, then it is not being used as a house. ● Text amendment for sandwich board signs in B-2 General Business District - A text amendment was completed to give B-2 General Business District the same flexibility as the B-1 Limited District to use sandwich boards for advertising. ● ISO update - building code amendments - Vicki Senesac spoke regarding the ISO rating of the Village which was lowered from 4 to 10 (the lowest rating). The main reason was that the Village is using an old Building Code, the 2003 ICC International Building Code, and the Village needs to update to raise the ISO rating. Vicki looked at using the 2006 ICC International Building Code, but after speaking with the Fire Department, they suggested using the 2012 ICC International Building Code. She has put together a draft ordinance. She has also put together a document of the significant changes that will result including the residential sprinkler code requirement. The cost is approximately $ 2 - 3.00 / sq. ft. There are many misnomers and rumors about how residential sprinklers really work. Ninety-two jurisdictions around Westmont have adopted it. Larry Kaufman of the Fire Department reviewed the code and did a comparison. The sprinkler code for residential can be amended but that may have an effect on the ISO rating. Sprinklers could also be required for a minimum square footage home. Vicki asked for recommendations on how to approach the Code update. Residential sprinklers are not just the cost of installation. They need to be serviced and monitored and there is a potential for leaks. Sprinklers can be one of the biggest headaches in building a home in other communities, like Glen Ellyn, that require the installation of sprinklers. Chief Weiss - There are more people dying in residential fires than in commercial fires. A fire can start in a 1,000 sq. ft. home as well as a 5,000 sq. ft. home. If the Village is concerned about saving lives, all new homes should have to install the sprinklers. If the Village doesn’t have the sprinkler requirement, the ratings will affect everyone in the community because of the higher insurance rates. There was a question about why to require residential sprinklers for just new construction, should everyone have to do it? The cost of retrofitting an old house is much more costly. Should there be a meeting on each code? Villages don’t always adopt the newest building codes because later changes will be made to it. There was also discussion on other Villages not requiring permits for roofs and windows. If the inspectors don’t verify the materials that are being used, why require the permits. Should we do away with these type of permits? It is for the protection of the homeowner to get a permit and to have the contractors get registered with the Village. This is so they are not using fly-by-night contractors or to make sure they are licensed by the state. Community Development has checked to see if other communities don’t require roof permits. There was only one community. It was mentioned that the Village needs to improve the inspection process. Some communities use binoculars to do roof inspections. Ron Searl - The Committee should review the 2012 Building Code and go over the changes. The Village has more multi-family than single family housing. It will be helpful to have a document that shows the top 10 list of changes. The Committee can share the comparison document and have further discussion on it. C. Updates from Larry Forssberg - Westmont Economic Development Partnership ● WEDP website - Larry brought the committee up to date on the website being created. ● Residential broker discussion - Larry had a meeting with the residential brokers to discuss what Westmont has to offer and informing of the new website being created. They were asked what they would like to see and what type of information that can be found on the website such as school information, showing different properties available. 5. New Business A. Informational brochures - Brochures are being created for different types of permits that a resident may need and what additional items they need to bring with them.  B. Clark Station site update - 6101 S. Cass Avenue - The owner met with staff and was told what action he needed to take with the property. A permit was issued for the demo of the structure and the parking lot. A chain link fence was put up and the work was started. 6. Other information The next meeting will be July 10, 2014. There being no other business for the Committee, a motion was made to adjourn. Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 P.M.