City Council Planning Sessions

1. City Council Planning Agenda Documents: 2015-03-09 CITY COUNCIL PLANNING AGENDA.PDF 2. City Council Planning Wheaton College - Facility Planning Ps03 Documents: 2015-03-09 CITY COUNCIL PLANNING WHEATON COLLEGE - FACILITY PLANNING PS03.PDF 3. City Council Planning Minutes Documents: 2015-03-09 CITY COUNCIL PLANNING MINUTES.PDF 4. City Council Planning Draft 2015-02-23 Minutes Ps02 Documents: 2015-03-09 CITY COUNCIL PLANNING DRAFT 2015-02-23 MINUTES PS02.PDF  WHEATON CITY COUNCIL PLANNING SESSION WHEATON CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS 303 W. WESLEY STREET, WHEATON, ILLINOIS MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015 - 7:00 P.M. AGENDA I. Call to Order II. Approval of Minutes – February 23, 2015 III. Wheaton College – Facility Planning IV. Public Comment V. City Council/Staff Comments VI. Adjournment During the Public Comment portion of the agenda, the presiding officer shall recognize any person requesting to be heard on any of the planning session agenda items only. Persons speaking during Public Comment shall not speak longer than three (3) minutes and shall be permitted to speak only once. Visitors must remain quiet and not engage in behavior that interferes with the Planning Session. The presiding officer may, or upon a majority vote of the council, request any visitor who violates any provision of this paragraph to leave the council chambers, and such visitor shall thereupon leave. Any person providing public comment shall address the presiding officer only and shall not proceed with remarks until recognized. When recognized, the person shall state his or her name and address. Cross floor discussions are prohibited. If a member of the City Council has questions of any person who has provided public comment, that person may address the specific question.  Donald B. Rose Q City Manager TO: Honorable Mayor & City Council DATE: March 5, 2015 SUBJECT: Wheaton College Facility Planning On February 17, 2015. Wheaton College hosted an informational meeting for the neighborhood surrounding Wheaton College for the purpose of providing an annual update related to their facility planning. Members of the City Council were not able to attend this meeting due to its conflict with a City Council meeting. College Architect Bruce Koenigsberg offered to make a similar presentation to the City Council at one of our Planning Sessions. Mr. Koenigsberg will be present at our March 9 Planning Session for the purpose of presenting the same information which was presented to the College neighborhood on February 17.  MEMORANDUM TO: Record FROM: Susan Bishel, Public Relations Coordinator SUBJECT: March 9, 2015 City Council Planning Session Minutes DATE: March 10, 2015 CC: Mayor and City Council, City Manager, City Clerk, Department Heads The Planning Session took place in the Council Chambers, Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley St., Wheaton, Illinois. Those attending the Planning Session included: Mayor Gresk, Councilwoman Corry, Councilman Prendiville, Councilman Rutledge, Councilman Saline, Councilman Scalzo and Councilman Suess. Also in attendance were City Manager Rose, Assistant City Manager Dzugan, Director of Planning & Economic Development Kozik and Public Relations Coordinator Bishel. The session began at 7:01 p.m. and concluded at 7:31 p.m. The following items were discussed: I. Call to Order The Wheaton City Council Planning Session was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Mayor Gresk. II. Approval of February 23, 2015 Planning Session Minutes The Council approved the February 23, 2015 Planning Session Minutes. III. Wheaton College – Facility Planning City Manager Rose stated Wheaton College’s architect was in attendance to present information that he recently presented as part of a neighborhood outreach meeting regarding the college’s facility planning. Bruce Koenigsberg, college architect for Wheaton College, stated the college holds an annual neighborhood meeting to update the surrounding community on the college’s future plans. It serves as a 12-month look ahead at anticipated facility planning efforts. Mr. Koenigsberg provided a summary of the topics he covered at the recent meeting. The college’s current fundraising campaign targets two strategic projects: a new music conservatory building and a new welcome center. While both projects are early in the planning stages and will be influenced by fundraising results, Mr. Koenigsberg showed drawings of the initial site locations for the two projects and discussed changes related to these projects Mr. Koenigsberg showed the site on College Avenue near Chase Street that the college has identified for the new welcome center, on which currently stands one student house and a student apartment building. Due to previous reconfiguring of a roadway in this area, he stated the two buildings are awkwardly placed, and the college would like to remove these and replace them with the new welcome center. The site of the new music building is proposed to take the place of the old science building, of which the college is currently only using a small portion. Mr. Koenigsberg stated the college is proposing to move these functions to the vacant building that was the former location of Wheaton Christian Grammar School. The college plans to remove a portion of this building and relocate its student health and counseling services here. To replace the student housing that would be lost at the new welcome center site, the college is proposing to build three 12-bed houses on Irving Street similar to its new student housing on Irving, with the option of constructing a fourth student house at a later time. Mr. Koenigsberg reviewed the site plan and how a new configuration would remove a driveway onto Irving that had concerned some neighborhood residents during the building of the new homes on Irving. He reviewed a new parking configuration possibility and stated the college would follow the same process as it did with the recent student housing on Irving, beginning with neighborhood meetings likely starting in April. Mr. Koenigsberg reviewed some of the questions raised at the neighborhood meeting and stated the college is proposing adding housing for 48 students, but it would also be losing housing for 34 students when the two buildings on College Avenue are removed. In response to Council questions about other plans on Irving, Mr. Koenigsberg stated there are no future plans to replace any other existing homes owned by the college on Irving with newer ones. In regard to parking near the new music building, Mr. Koenigsberg stated this facility could also be served by Edman Chapel’s parking lots, and the college could better configure the tennis courts and nearby parking lots. In addition, the parking in this area is employee parking during the day but would be available at night for event parking. Mr. Koenigsberg reviewed questions from the neighborhood meeting related to utilities by stating the college would want to ensure that the new projects do not negatively impact the sanitary sewer or stormwater storage in the area. Because the sewer in this area is flat and shallow, Mr. Koenigsberg stated it is his understanding that the City regularly flushes the sewer to ensure it does not back up. He said the college would work to ensure it would not overload the infrastructure. In response to a Council question, Mr. Koenigsberg stated the new housing would be required to have sprinkler systems, but the older homes are not required to have sprinkler systems. In response to Council questions, Mr. Koenigsberg stated the neighbors in attendance at the previous meeting seemed amenable to the projects, and he anticipates that they would bring any concerns up during the special use request process. IV. Public Comment There were no public comments. 3/9/15 Planning Session 2 V. City Council/Staff Comments There were no City Council/Staff comments. IV. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 p.m. 3/9/15 Planning Session 3  MEMORANDUM TO: Record FROM: Susan Bishel, Public Relations Coordinator SUBJECT: February 23, 2015 City Council Planning Session Minutes DATE: February 24, 2015 CC: Mayor and City Council, City Manager, City Clerk, Department Heads The Planning Session took place in the Council Chambers, W aton City HaIl, 303 W. Wesley St., Wheaton, Illinois. Those attending the Planning Sessio ed: Mayor Gresk, Councilwoman Cony, Councilman Prendiville, Councilm edge, Councilman Saline, Councilman Scalzo and Councilman Suess. Also in at ere City Manager Rose, Assistant City Manager Dzugan, Director of Planni cono evelopment Kozik, Director of Public Works Laoang, Forestry Superintende ney, Publi ks Management Analyst Wallace and Public Relations Coordinator Bi e session bega 15 p.m. following the conclusion of a public hearing and concluded 2 p.m. The following s were discussed: I. Call to Order The Wheaton City Council Plannin was calle rder at 7:15 p.m. by Mayor Gresk. II. Approval of February 9, 2015 Plan S Minute The Council approved t Jary 9, 2 lanni ion s. Ill. Urban Reforest Policy , City Manager Rose st he Cit uncil pre sly decided it wanted to fund reforestation efforts related the eme s rer. The Cit had a number of different approaches in the past rkwa epla s y staff has created a reforestation policy that t will use laci trees, continuation of the City’s Shared Cost e Replacem rogr nd for permitted parkway tree planting by adjoining ‘nts Forestry Superi ent Malon tated the Urban Reforestation Policy includes a six-year replacement progn begin cing all parkway ash trees, where possible. The Public Works Department ha n r 500 trees to be planted in Fiscal Year 201 4-15 and 500 trees in Fiscal Year 201 -16. T e second year of the plan (Fiscal Year 2015-1 6) will include planting 100 trees in the areas hardest hit by the emerald ash borer. Then, the City would use an outside consultant to determine appropriate tree locations for years 3 through 6 of the plan, planting 1,000 trees per year. In response to Council questions about residents who had previously committed to a shared cost parkway tree program to replace an ash tree adjacent to their property, Forestry Superintendent Maloney stated the residents who participated in the 2014-15 program have been refunded, and the City planted 200 trees in these locations last fall and will plant 300 in the spring. In response to Council questions about the quality of trees the City can secure, Forestry Superintendent Maloney stated the City is planting trees with a 2-inch diameter trunk. He stated while the tree-growing industry has been greatly affected by the economic downturn in 2009, the City shouldn’t have problems securing trees. In terms of maintaining the health of newly planted trees, Forestry Superintendent Maloney responded to a Council question by stating the City has been using Gator Bags, which help keep the new trees watered, and the assistance of residents adjacent to these parkway sites to ensure the health of the new trees. In response to a Council question, Forestry Superinten oney stated the City will determine the species of trees planted through the Ui n Policy to provide a healthy and diverse tree population. IV. Public Comment There were no public comments. IV. City Council/Staff Comments Councilman Prendiville welcomed the City Council Planning Session. IV. Adjournment The meeting was 2/23/15 Planning Session 2