North Cook News

Village of Buffalo Grove Planning and Zoning Commission met Sept. 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:31 PM by Chairman Frank Cesario

Public Hearings/Items For Consideration

1. Consider a Variation for a Rear Yard Setback Reduction for the Property at 647 Sycamore Road (Trustee Johnson) (Staff Contact: Chris Stilling)

Mr. Morrison (project contractor) and Ms. Lambert were sworn in.

Ms. Lambert described her request for a variation to replace a portion of the existing deck with a roofed-over screened porch that encroaches 6’ into the rear yard setback.

Com. Au asked the petitioner about the existing deck, specifically if the new roofed-over screened porch would extend past the existing deck.

Ms. Lambert clarified that the proposed portion of the roofed-over screened porch would not extend past the existing deck.

Com. Moodhe asked the petitioner if there would be new piers, and would the whole deck be removed and replaced.

Mr. Morrison verified that the whole deck would be replaced.

Com. Moodhe asked staff if there are any neighbors near in the rear yard.

Village Planner, Ms. Akash replied there are no neighbors in the rear yard.

Chairperson Cesario asked staff if any residents who had seen the public hearing sign called with concerns regarding the petitioner’s request.

Village Planner, Ms. Akash replied yes. There were a total of three inquiries regarding the petitioners request for variation.

Com. Khan asked the petitioners if they were the original owners of the home and if they had built the original deck.

Ms. Lambert replied that she is not the original home owner and the deck came with the home when it was purchased 40 years ago. She noted that the deck was re-decked once.

Com. Khan asked if there was a permit pulled for the re-deck.

Village Planner, Ms. Akash replied that there is no record or knowledge of a pulled permit.

Com. Khan asked staff about the existing deck and the permit process. He wanted to know if the deck was permitted then, why do petitioners have to come back.

Village Planner, Ms. Akash replied that they must come back because the deck that was permitted originally is different than the roofed-over deck, which then becomes an addition and requires a permit for the setback requirements.

Chairperson Cesario asked the petitioner why they were requesting to add the roofed- over deck.

Ms. Lambert replied that the improvements to the existing deck will look nicer.

Chairperson Cesario asked the petitioner if the look and feel would match the home.

Mr. Morrison replied that the structure will match the house.

Com. Goldspiel asked staff which zoning district the home was located in because both R4 and R5A are listed in the staff report.

Village Planner, Akash took a moment to look up the correct zoning district. Ms. Akash replied that the home is in R5A.

Com. Goldspiel asked what the setback requirement was for a home in R5A.

Village Planner, Akash replied that the setback for a home in R5A is 30 feet which is also the setback in the other zoning districts listed in the staff report.

Com. Goldspiel asked Ms. Akash why are there so many if they all require a 30 feet setback.

Village Planner, Akash replied that aside from the setback, there is other criteria within each district that makes each one different from the other.

Chairperson Cesario entered the staff report as exhibit one. The public hearing was closed at 7:46 PM.

Com. Weinstein made a motion to approve the construction of a screened room addition that would encroach 6’ into the rear yard setback subject to the following:

1. The proposed expanded screened room addition shall be installed in accordance with the documents and plans submitted as part of this petition.

Chairperson Cesario commented on the screened room addition, noting that the addition looks nice and makes sense. He also noted that there are no near neighbors in the rear yard, which is really the main concern when it comes to this sort of request. However, there are none, and fully supports the addition.

RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]

AYES: Moodhe, Cesario, Cohn, Goldspiel, Khan, Weinstein, Au, Worlikar

ABSENT: Kevin Richards

Regular Meeting

Other Matters for Discussion

1. Workshop- Proposed Unattended Gas Station on Woodman’s Lot 2 (Trustee Weidenfeld) (Staff Contact: Chris Stilling)

Deputy Village Manager, Mr. Stilling provided background on the workshop to kick off the discussion regarding the proposed unattended gas station on Woodman’s Lot 2. Mr. Stilling noted that there will need to be an amendment to the planned development to amend the ordinance for rights to an unattended gas station. After the conclusion of the workshop the development team will come back before the Planning and Zoning Commission at a later date to provide a recommendation to the Village Board.

Mr. Arneson, from Fox Arneson, discussed the Woodman’s out lot and the proposed use of the out lot. Mr. Arneson discussed the layout proposed and the construction of the 24 hour, unattended fueling facility on Parcel 2 of the Barclay Station Subdivision at Deerfield Parkway and Milwaukee Avenue. The facility will have the capacity for 10 vehicles to fuel simultaneously, 4 double sided and 2 single sided. This facility will not have a convenience store or a car wash. The layout of the out lot is as such to accommodate the tanks when they have to maneuver through to fill the tanks. The reconfiguring of the site does effect the current compensatory storage on site. A second pond will be constructed with underground detention to make up for the lost volume of the existing pond. They have worked with staff on all the moving operations of the site and feel that the design before the PZC tonight is the best use of the site and keeps all operation safe. Mr. Arneson passed the discussion over to the member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for comment.

Chairperson Cesario thanked Mr. Arneson for the overview of the facility and started off the discussion. Mr. Cesario asked Mr. Arneson if he could go over the safety features of the unattended gas station.

Mr. Arneson discussed the limits of fuel that can be dispensed. The State Fire Marshal’s Office does restrict the limit of fuel dispensed to 100 gallons pumped in one transaction. Thus the pumps shut off automatically after pumping 100 gallons of gasoline.

Mr. Arneson noted that the existing Woodman’s Gas Station is unattended for half a day and due to it being unattended for a portion of the day, the safety regulations and standards are the same as a gas station that is unattended all day. That said, the proposed gas station will have smoke detectors linked to the fire department, which are also heat detectors. Additionally, there are emergency shut off’s at each dispenser. If any emergency shut off is triggered, it not only shuts down the flow of product to that specific dispenser but at every dispenser located on site. The flow of product can only be restarted by the owner of the gas station only after the situation has been investigated and cleared.

Chairperson Cesario asked Mr. Arneson if there are similar safety measures as it relates to the underground storage tanks.

Mr. Arneson replied yes, there are safety measures for the underground storage tanks. The underground storage tanks are double lined to detect leaks, in fact, all pipping for the gas station is double lined to detect any kind of leak. If any leak was detected by the monitoring system in the lining, all dispensers would automatically shut off.

Chairperson Cesario asked Mr. Arneson if he could walk the commissioners through the traffic flow of the site.

Mr. Arneson talked about the access to the site off of Deerfield Parkway and the space available on site for vehicles to maneuver. He noted that there is plenty of space on site for vehicles to be queuing also.

Com. Moodhe asked Mr. Arneson to describe the refueling process and who has the safety responsibilities during the refueling of the tanks.

Mr. Arneson replied that Woodman’s has the overall safety responsibility over its facilities. Typically, the refueling process takes place during off hours for most gas stations to avoid high traffic volumes.

Com. Moodhe reiterated that the tank operator is responsible during the refueling process and the fact that it is an unattended gas station doesn’t play into the refueling process of the gas station.

Mr. Arneson replied no.

Com. Moodhe asked if the same would hold true during a spill.

Mr. Arneson replied that there are mechanisms in place. The underground tanks only accept so much gas and only fill to about 90% to 95% full and automatically shuts off and stops accepting product.

Com. Au asked Mr. Arneson if there would be any surveillance of the site since it is unattended.

Mr. Arneson replied that Woodman’s has an extensive surveillance system on all of their properties and this one would be no exception. The surveillance is monitored over at the grocery store.

Con. Au reiterated that the surveillance video of the sites are monitored at the store. She also asked if any of the safety features the stations are equipped with have ever been activated at the current site.

Mr. Arneson replied that he has no knowledge of that.

Com. Worlikar asked Mr. Areneson what would happen in the event a patron does not disconnect the nozzle from their vehicle.

Mr. Arneson replied that above the nozzle is a breakaway piece and stops the fuel from flowing.

Com. Worlikar asked if there is a process in place in the event that something like that happened. If I were that person, what would I do if that happened to me?

Mr. Arneson said that there is signage out there, and it is also required by law to have a phone number posted for someone to call in the case of an emergency. The phone number is the number of the phone. It would not trigger any kind of spill.

Com. Worlikar asked about traffic flow within the gas station. He also asked if there have been any traffic studies done regarding the flow and how to best use the space.

Mr. Arneson replied that once inside the gas station, the patrons are free to maneuver. There has not been a study done of the traffic flow at the existing gas station, however, it is his understanding that they are very happy with the flow.

Com. Moodhe asked about the water issues as it relates to compensatory storage.

Mr. Arneson clarified that the compensatory storage on that site is not the compensatory storage for the store. It is only for what is on that side.

Com. Moodhe asked about other locations they have identified for compensatory storage for the new site.

Mr. Mcliheran, Civil Engineer for the project, replied that the current compensatory storage on site will be impacted by the proposed unattended gas station. The volume lost in the current compensatory storage on lot 2 will be made up by a stormwater pond with pipes underground to make up in size as shown in the packet.

Com. Moodhe asked where the pipes would be coming from and what kind of piping it will be.

Mr. Mcliheran referenced the image in the packet. The pipes will be between the canopy and the existing drive. As far as the pipes go, they are just pipes and just provides extra volume so it operates the same way. Models were run also.

Com. Moodhe asked staff about parcels as it relates to the residents. He asked if staff had heard any complaints from the residents about the improvements that have been made to the area.

Deputy Village Manager, Mr. Stilling replied that he has not heard anything. He commented on the past rain events and had not heard any complaints about the intersection.

Com. Goldspiel raised concerns about three water issues. The first issue being the compensatory storage and the stormwater area. He asked if possible flooding of the Des Plains River was factored in.

Mr. Mcliheran replied no because it is on the other side and part of a different floodplain.

Com. Goldspiel asked whether the ponds will have more water or less water after all the improvements to the lot have been made.

Mr. Mcliheran commented on the impervious surface and its effects on the ponds. He noted that the ponds are equipped to handle the additional impervious surface that will be added.

Com. Goldspiel asked how far they would be excavating for the underground storage tanks.

Mr. Arneson replied that they will dig about 12 feet down. Com. Goldspiel asked if that conflicted with the water table.

Mr. Arneson replied that they had not experienced that with the existing gas station. The geotechnical studies indicate that this would not be an issue on lot 2 either.

Com. Goldspiel asked if the surveillance would be monitored at all times.

Mr. Arneson replied that the surveillance would be monitored at all time at the grocery store by a customer service representative.

Com. Goldspiel ask which thing would be sent to the fire department.

Mr. Arneson replied that anything that sets off an alarm will alert the fire department automatically. The only way the system can be reset is by the ownership.

Com. Weinstein asked about the design of the proposed unattended gas station.

Mr. Arneson went over the design guidelines in the staff report. Essentially, the design of the canopy and the signage on the canopy will be similar to that of the existing gas station.

Com. Weinstein asked how far the southernmost pump was from the residents near the gas station.

Mr. Arneson replied that it is 16 feet.

Com. Weinstein commented that he is uncomfortable with that distance. Additionally, Com. Weinstein asked if there were going to be any other variation requests included in the proposal

Mr. Arneson replied that there are a couple.

Mr. Stilling noted that once they come to a final plan, the commission will have a better idea of the variation requests. It all depends on the use.

Com. Weinstein suggested that the plan come with very few variation requests and that the signage matches the signage across the street.

Mr. Arneson commented on the signage. He noted that the proposed signage is in the staff report and is actually smaller in size than the sign at the existing gas station across the street. Additionally, the style of the design will be very similar such as color and the Woodman’s sign on the canopy.

Com. Cohn asked Mr. Arneson where the storage tanks would be located. Mr. Arneson referred to the renderings in the staff report.

Com. Cohn asked how far those are from the homes.

Mr. Arneson was unsure, but quite a few ways back.

Com. Cohn asked hypothetically if a tanker or a snow plow hit a pump what would happen and what mechanisms are in place to keep gas from flowing everywhere.

Mr. Arneson replied that there are breakaways for every line and added protection from the canopy.

Com. Cohn asked if there is any secondary containment to catch fuel.

Mr. Arneson replied that there will be vortex structure that would house that before going near the water or sewer system.

Com. Cohn asked if the home to the south has a basement.

Mr. Arneson said he does not know if the some to the south has a basement.

Com. Cohn said that information would be good to know since basements are more susceptible to gas than homes without. Com. Cohn shares Com. Weinstein’s concerns about the pump being so close to the home.

Chairperson Cesario commented on past experiences with fuel station developments as it relates to right turns.

Mr. Arneson replied that the purpose of the gas station is for convenience but also because Woodman’s has been very successful in that location.

Com. Khan asked Mr. Arneson how long the existing gas station has been in operation. Additionally, Com. Khan asked what the hours of operations are for the existing gas station.

Mr. Arneson replied that it has been open for about a year. The operation hours are from 8:17 am to 6:45 pm. and the operations remain open unattended. Mr. Arneson noted the only difference between the proposed gas station and the existing gas station is that the proposed gas station has no car wash or store. All other features are the same.

Com. Khan asked how many dispensers were at the existing station.

Mr. Arneson replied that there are 8 double sided dispensers and 1 single sided dispenser for diesel fuel.

Com. Khan asked if they need an additional 5 double sided dispensers at the proposed unattended gas station.

Mr. Arneson replied that Woodman’s feels that there is a large demand that they currently cannot keep up with.

Com. Khan asked about the queuing of the existing gas station.

Mr. Mcliheran explained the traffic study they conducted at the existing gas station.

Com. Cohn asked if both needed to be opened at night.

Mr. Arneson noted that most people buy gas by convenience.

Com. Cohn would like to know what the demand actually is and what the plans are.

Com. Weinstein commented on the queuing that occurs and assumes that the traffic is not of the same volume at night.

Mr. Stilling commented on the volume of fuel that is being pumped at the existing gas station and noted that they are running out of gas on a regular basis.

Chairperson Cesario thanked them for coming and answering their questions.

Approval of Minutes

1. Planning and Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting - Sep 4, 2019 7:30 PM

RESULT: ACCEPTED [5 TO 0]

AYES: Moodhe, Cesario, Cohn, Goldspiel, Weinstein

ABSTAIN: Zill Khan, Amy Au, Neil Worlikar

ABSENT: Kevin Richards

Chairman's Report

1. Discussion Regarding Rules and Procedures for Public Hearings and Public Comment (Trustee Johnson) (Staff Contact: Chris Stilling)

Nicole Woods, Deputy Community Development Director, reviewed the rules and regulations of those who volunteer with the Village.

Committee and Liaison Reports

Com. Au discussed the Village Board meeting she attended on Monday, September 16 and provided an update on the three items that were approved by the Village Board during that meeting.

Staff Report/Future Agenda Schedule

Deputy Village Manager discussed future items on the next agenda.

Public Comments and Questions

Huishi Dorg asked about the stance of recreational marijuana as it relates to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Chairperson Cesario explained the parameters of the Planning and Zoning Commission as it relates to recreational marijuana.

Michelle He thanked the commissioners for their work. Ms. He commented on recreational marijuana and the effects it could have on the reputation of the Village of Buffalo Grove.

Lily Shui commented on the possibility of having a recreational marijuana store and the negative effects it could have on future generations including her own children and the Village of Buffalo Grove.

Yang Lin commented on recreational marijuana and underage use.

Jing Ma commented on recreational marijuana and the effects it has on individuals. She discussed findings she received from a company in Colorado. Additionally she discussed some door to door work she has done on her own in her neighborhood.

Mr. Brankin, Village Attorney, noted that speakers only have 3 minutes to make a public comment.

Chairperson Cesario discussed what would be happening at the Oct. 2 public hearing and discussed that the Planning and Zoning Commission does not decide on whether the Village opts in or out.

Mr. Brankin suggested that those in the audience interested in understanding the process as it relates to which bodies of the Village make certain decisions, to contact Village staff.

Chairperson Cesario thanked all those in the audience for their views.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:02 PM

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