TOWN OF NORMAL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010, 5:00 P.M. REGULAR MEETING, CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 100 E. PHOENIX AVE. NORMAL, IL Members Physically Present: Mr. Boser, Mr. Feid, Ms. Hutchison (left at 6:05 p.m.), Mr. Bradley, Ms. Lorenz and Mr. McFarland Members Absent: Mr. McBride Others Present: Mr. Mahrt, Corporation Counsel, Ms. Davison, Town Planner, Mr. Troemel, Director of Inspections Call to Order: Chairman Boser called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and noted that a quorum was present. Approval of Minutes: Mr. Feid moved, seconded by Ms. Lorenz, to approve minutes of the November 4, 2010, meeting with one correction – in the “Other Business” section there’s an incorrect reference to the “Bond Conference.” It was the statewide planning conference. Motion carried 6-0. Public Hearings: a. 10-12-14-PC: Amended Final Development Plan, Morgan Court PUD (711 Kingsley Street, #3) Ms. Davison explained that the Morgan Court PUD has four buildings. Originally, the PUD had 4 rooming houses, but two have been replaced with apartment-style structures in recent years. Ms. Davison the summarized the plan to demolish the building at the southwest corner of the PUD and replace it with an 8-unit apartment building with 32 residents. The current structure is a rooming house licensed to house 44 people. The new building will not impact the current parking or parking lot lights. Staff recommends approval with conditions to screen the dumpster, to add a bike rack, and to improve the fence with staff approval. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 2 DECEMBER 9, 2010 Mr. Feid asked about the impact on parking. Mr. Troemel summarized the code requirements for parking on the site, stating that parking meets current code. Mr. Feid asked if all owners within the PUD had signed off on the amendment to the Final Development Plan. Ms. Davison said that all owners had signed the form earlier in the week, and the form is on file with the Town Clerk. Mr. Boser opened the public hearing. Frank Miles, 202 N. Center, Bloomington, Illinois, testified as the attorney for the developer. Mr. Miles was the attorney when the PUD was originally developed, and he has seen housing trends change through the years. The current trend is away from rooming houses and toward apartment-style living. If this amendment to the PUD is approved, there will only be one rooming house left in the PUD where the original PUD had four. There were no questions for Mr. Miles and the public hearing was closed. Mr. Feid stated he is in favor of the amendment because it is an improvement over the current building. Mr. Feid moved to approve the amendment to the Final Development Plan with the staff conditions. Ms. Hutchison seconded. Ayes: Mr. Feid, Ms. Hutchison, Ms. Lorenz, Mr. McFarland, Mr. Bradley and Mr. Boser Nays: None Motion declared carried. b. 10-12-15-PC: Site Plan, Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery (North of Raab Rd. and West of Towanda Barnes Rd.) c. 10-12-16-PC: Preliminary Development Plan, villas at Mercy Creek d. 10-12-17-PC: Site Plan, meadows Mennonite Retirement Community Mr. Boser stated his preference that Town staff explain all three projects taking place on the Apostolic Christian Church property, although all three are separate voting items. Ms. Davison provided a summary. The property is approximately 102 acres at the northwest corner of Raab and Towanda-Barnes. The Apostolic Christian Church is located at the southwest corner of the site. In 2009 the Town approved an annexation agreement with the church to permit development of the site in a manner shown in a concept plan. The concept plan shows sections of attached single family housing, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 3 DECEMBER 9, 2010 detached single family housing, a retirement community, an area of commercial development, and a cemetery. After approving the annexation agreement, the Town annexed and rezoned the property. At this time the church has submitted three plans that Town staff finds to be in compliance with the approved concept plan. All of the projects are on the west side of Mercy Creek Boulevard. The projects are a cemetery, a cul-de-sac of attached (duplex) housing, and a retirement community. The cemetery will have a gravel driveway throughout, although the connection to Mercy Creek Boulevard will be hard surface. A trail will be built throughout the site in addition to a park on the north end. The cul-de-sac will be developed as a PUD called the Villas at Mercy Creek. The plan includes 6 duplexes (12 units). In addition to attached garages at each unit, there will be several off-street parking spaces provided for visitors. The plan includes no sidewalks. The retirement community, called the Meadows at Mercy Creek, will be phased. The first phase will include 50 residential units and the community center. The site will have two access points off Mercy Creek Boulevard. Mr. Feid expressed concern with the cul-de-sac in the Villas at Mercy Creek being a public street. He asked if it was a change in Town philosophy. He said streets with substandard widths are typically private. He believes it is not a wise use of public resources to extend public services to this street. Gene Brown, Town Engineer, stated that in recent years the Town has accepted such streets as public, citing the Vineyards as an example. Ms. Davison stated that the Town supports narrower streets in certain applications for the environmental benefit of less pavement. Ms. Hutchison asked for clarification on the staff condition regarding trees in the Meadows report. Ms. Davison stated that the Community Design Standards have specific requirements for tree replacement. Although the required number of trees is present on the site, the parking lot must have at least 8 trees between it and Mercy Creek Boulevard. The developer can remedy this by simply rearranging the tree locations. Ms. Lorenz asked if traffic will be an issue on Raab given traffic levels already present on Raab and Towanda Barnes. Mr. Brown said this development is not expected to generate enough traffic to have warranted a traffic impact study. He also noted that the intersection of Raab and Towanda Barnes will be improved in 2014-15 by the county, which will include signals. The improvement of Raab will depend on PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 4 DECEMBER 9, 2010 further development in the area. Ms. Davison noted that the improvement of the Raab and Towanda Barnes intersection will also trigger the need for the church to consolidate the current curb cuts on to Raab and eliminate the residential driveway on Towanda Barnes. Ms. Lorenz asked if there is any plan to build a fire station on the east side to improve response times. Ms. Davison said the current 5-year budget does not include a new fire station. Mr. Boser asked for a total number of residents expected in the overall development. Mr. McFarland stated that he visited the cemetery on West College, where they have a paved driveway through the site. He said there was quite a bit of traffic, and he is concerned with the use of gravel at the Apostolic Christian cemetery. He believes appearance could be an issue and that gravel could be dusty and dirty. Ms. Davison said Town staff supports gravel for its environmental benefit of being permeable and because the cemetery traffic will be slow and infrequent. Mr. McFarland also expressed concern about the narrow right-of-way and pavement width and lack of sidewalks within the Villas at Mercy Creek. He also asked if the narrow street would cause problems for fire trucks. Mr. Brown said the cul-de-sac has no on-street parking and plenty of room for vehicles, including fire trucks, to maneuver. The lack of sidewalks is similar to the Evergreen Village PUD, where no sidewalks were required. The cul-de-sac is short and has very few residences, which should generate little traffic. The off-street parking spaces combined with the house setbacks would also make it difficult to build a sidewalk. Mr. Boser asked where people will walk. Mr. Brown noted the sidewalk connections north and south and the sidewalk north of the houses heading east and west. Mr. Boser opened the public hearing. Frank Miles, 202 N. Center, testified as the attorney for the developer. Mr. Miles said that many of these issues are addressed in the approved annexation agreement. For example, the concept plan shows no sidewalks. Ms. Hutchison asked about gravel in the cemetery. Mr. Miles said the church has not had a funeral in 2.5 years and anticipates only 4-5 burials per year for the foreseeable future. The church is right next door, and all of the burials will be for church members. Thus, the church will have a great interest in ensuring the cemetery and the driveways are well maintained. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 5 DECEMBER 9, 2010 Mr. Boser asked how many residential units are in the overall development. Mr. Miles did not have a precise number but noted that the concept plan showed the number, and it has already been approved. Mr. Feid asked if the access easement issue with the Laesch family had been resolved. Mr. Miles believes it has been resolved. Ms. Davison noted that she sent notice of the public hearing to the Laesch family and has not heard from them. Mr. Feid asked how the retirement community will build the second phase given that there is pavement proposed on the site of the next building footprint.