Planning & Zoning Board

July 12, 2016 WHEATON PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL VOTE Chair Weller called the July 12, 2016 Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley Street. Upon roll call, the following were: Roll Call Vote Present: Ron Almiron Nicole Aranas Bob Gudmundson Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Absent: Chris Derrick Mark Plunkett City Staff Present: Tracy Jones, Staff Planner II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - MAY 24, 2016 The minutes were approved as submitted. III. PUBLIC COMMENT There was none. IV. NEW BUSINESS ZA #16-12/ PUD/ 520 EAST KENILWORTH AVENUE & 603 IRVING AVENUE/ WHEATON COLLEGE Pursuant to notice duly published on June 24, 2016 and letters mailed to neighboring property owners on June 22, 2016, Chair Weller called to order the July 12, 2016 public hearing requesting approval of a special use permit for a planned unit development to allow the renovation of the existing Armerding building located at 520 East Kenilworth Avenue and the construction of a new 550 seat concert hall addition on the west side of the existing building. The project further includes the demolition of the existing Breyer Laboratory building located at 603 Irving Avenue. Letters from Mr. Derrick and Threshold Acoustics were incorporated into the record. Bruce Koenigsberg, 1911 Stoddard Avenue, Wheaton was sworn in. Mr. Koenigsberg stated that the subject property is located at the southeast corner of Kenilworth and Irving Avenues and is completely surrounded by other Wheaton College properties. The proposed project is planned in two phases. The renovation of the existing Armerding building would occur during the first phase of the project and the construction of the new 550 seat concert hall addition would occur during the second phase of the project. It is anticipated that the first phase of the project would start this fall with the second phase of the project planned to start in the first half of 2018. Tony Payne, 211 Vernon Avenue, Wheaton was sworn in. Dr. Payne stated that he had worked for Wheaton College since 1983 and that he has been running the Artist’s Series at Wheaton College for 33 years. He added that the additional practice rooms, classrooms and concert hall addition are tremendously needed for the Conservatory of Music Program and that he was in full support of the zoning request. David Yandel, 1211 West 22nd Street, Oakbrook was sworn in. Mr. Yandel stated that he was one of the architects working on this project. He stated that the renovation of the existing Armerding building includes the  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board July 12, 2016 Page - 2 - of 3 replacement of existing windows, the removal of the existing roof observatory and mansard panel, the installation of new HVAC equipment with required screening and the installation of new accessible ramps at the existing entrances. Mr. Yandel stated that the exterior design of the concert hall addition would match the materials and colors of the existing Armerding building. A main architectural feature of the concert hall is the angled orientation of the addition in relation to the existing building which helps to minimize the length of the building along Kenilworth Avenue. Other architectural features include the glass entries and the two-story lobby. In addition to the main assembly space, the proposed concert hall addition would include offices, studios, practice rooms and classroom space for the Conservatory of Music Program. Greg Miller, 141 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago was sworn in. Mr. Miller stated that he was the acoustics specialist working on the project. He stated that the air handling units would be mounted on the roof of the concert hall addition. He added that extreme care was taken to select quiet equipment that would not create any noise issues inside the concert hall or for the closest residential neighbor located at 425 East Jefferson Avenue. He added that proposed screening walls would also reduce noise levels. Eric Russell, 9575 West Higgins Road, Rosemont was sworn in. Mr. Russell stated that he was the traffic consultant working on the project. He stated that 12 existing parking spaces to the east of the Armerding building would be removed during the first phase of the project to provide room for additional landscaping screening of new electrical equipment that would be installed for the building. The 18 existing parking spaces along Kenilworth Avenue would remain unchanged during the first phase of the project but then eliminated during the second phase. Mr. Russell stated that Wheaton College has completed a campus wide traffic/ parking study which concludes that the existing parking supply is more than adequate to meet existing peak parking demand conditions and that there is sufficient parking capacity to accommodate the 550 seat concert hall addition. Mr. Koenigsberg addressed the special use permit standards for a PUD as required by the Zoning Ordinance. He stated that the proposed special use permit for a PUD would not be detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience or general welfare of the neighboring property owners. Chair Weller questioned whether Wheaton College held a meeting to discuss this project with the neighbors. Mr. Koenigsberg stated that a meeting was held on June 23, 2016 to discuss this project with the neighbors and approximately 20 residents attended. Ms. Aranas questioned the proximity of the concert hall addition to Irving Avenue and whether a setback variation was required. Staff Planner Jones stated that while the concert hall addition appears to be fairly close to Irving Avenue that portion of the street was previously vacated to Wheaton College, so no setback variation is required. Mr. Koenigsberg stated that Wheaton College would eventually like to convert this portion of vacated Irving Avenue to a pedestrian walkway, which would add addition green space next to the proposed concert hall addition. Mr. Gudmundson moved and then Mr. Almiron seconded the motion to close the public hearing. On a voice vote, all voted aye. The Board decided to vote this evening.  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board July 12, 2016 Page - 3 - of 3 Mr. Almiron moved and then Mr. Wanzung seconded the motion to approve ZA #16-12 as presented. Roll Call Vote Ayes: Ron Almiron Nicole Aranas Bob Gudmundson Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Nays: None Absent: Chris Derrick Mark Plunkett Motion Passed Unanimously V. MISCELLANEOUS There was none. VI. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Gudmundson moved and then Mr. Wanzung seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. On a voice vote, all voted aye. Respectfully submitted, Tracy L. Jones, Staff Planner