Village of Arlington Heights Plan Commission met April 26
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS had before the Village of Arlington Heights Plan Commission Meeting taken at the Arlington Heights Village Hall, 33 South Arlington Heights Road, 3rd Floor Board Room, Arlington Heights, Illinois on the 26th day of April, 2023 at the hour of 7:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
SUSAN DAWSON, Chairperson
LYNN JENSEN
JOE LORENZINI
BRUCE GREEN
JOHN SIGALOS
JAY CHERWIN
ALSO PRESENT:
JAKE SCHMIDT, Development Planner
APPROVED
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, pledge of allegiance. Everyone stand for the pledge please.
(Pledge of Allegiance recited.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, roll call please.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Cherwin.
COMMISSIONER CHERWIN: Here.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Drost.
(No response.)
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Ennes.
(No response.)
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Green.
COMMISSIONER GREEN: Here.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Jensen.
COMMISSIONER JENSEN: Here.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Lorenzini.
COMMISSIONER LORENZINI: Here.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Sigalos.
COMMISSIONER SIGALOS: Here.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Warskow.
(No response.)
MR. SCHMIDT: Chair Dawson.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Here.
All right, we have some meeting minutes up for approval.
COMMISSIONER GREEN: I'd like to make a motion for approval.
COMMISSIONER SIGALOS: I'll second.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Great.
Any discussion before we vote?
(No response.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Okay, so we just do a voice vote, right?
MR. SCHMIDT: Right.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Okay, all in favor?
(Chorus of ayes.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: I'm abstaining.
Any other abstentions? I was not present.
(No response.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, great. So, then we have our first item on the agenda.
Petitioner is here? All right, if we could swear in anybody who might be testifying on your behalf, that would be great.
Before I swear you in, have all public notices been given?
MR. SCHMIDT: Yes, they have.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Terrific.
(Witnesses sworn.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, go ahead.
MR. EVENS: All right, great. Good evening, everybody. Thank you for taking the time this evening to meet with us. My name is Jeffrey Evens, I'm the attorney for Dr.
APPROVED
Walter Zattera and Mika Zattera. This is Dr. Walter Zattera, he is the individual who is seeking the petition today more or less.
Tonight we're here because of the planned unit development that exists at 11 South Highland in Arlington Heights. The underlying zoning district for this property is B-5 which permits a dental use or a medical use. However, the PUD itself, the planned unit development rules do not, they actually have an exclusion for medical. So, what we'd like to first point out is that the former businesses located at this location included a physical therapist and a podiatrist office. It appears that these offices were operating regardless of the planned unit development exception for medical and dental.
Accordingly, the addition of a dental office to this property will not alter the essential character of the locality and will be compatible with the other existing uses and zoning of nearby property. With the variance, the property will be used in a way that is similar to past uses and is a reasonable use for the property. This variance is the minimum variance necessary to allow this reasonable use.
Petitioner Dr. Zattera has been running his dental practice for the
past 16 years just a few blocks away. He recently lost his lease due to the sale of the building, and this has created a substantial hardship for him and his business. His plight is due to these unique circumstances for which we seek this approval of the variance.
At this time, I'd like to let Dr. Zattera introduce himself and tell you a
little bit about himself.
DR. ZATTERA: Well, I do have a practice, or did have a practice only two blocks away from where I'm looking at now. The building, I was told that it was going to be torn down. I got a month's notice and I had to get out of there and I put everything in storage. Luckily, I knew a few dentists and I'm working at two different locations right now part time. I hope I don't wear out my welcome there, but so far it's going pretty good, but I can't wait to get into my new spot.
MR. EVENS: So, to summarize, we just seek a variance to the planned unit development agreement amending Ordinance #98-061 to permit a dental office to operate and utilize the property at 11 South Highland along with the variance to waive the requirement for a parking study.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Great, thank you very much.
MR. EVENS: Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, Staff report? Oh, wait, do we have
conditions of approval? We do.
Have you read the conditions of approval and are you in agreement?
MR. EVENS: Yes, we have. The two conditions of approval were to
purchase parking passes at the Vail Garage for the employees which is acceptable. The other was that no other area of the PUD other than this unit would fall under this variance and that's acceptable also. He's only going to be operating in the 11 South Highland unit. CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Okay, great.
All right, Staff report please.
MR. SCHMIDT: Certainly.
The address of the subject property is 11 South Highland Avenue,
and the proposed use falls under the classification of offices, medical and dental. It's within the B 5 Downtown Zoning District, and the requested action as the Petitioner stated is to amend the underlying PUD for the property to allow a medical office where the underlying PUD prohibits those types of uses.
APPROVED
The Comprehensive Plan designates the site for mixed use purposes
and the site is compliant with this designation being a commercial and residential property. There is one variation requested as part of this petition, that being a variation from Chapter 28, Section 6.12-1.3 to waive the requirement for a traffic and parking study by a qualified professional engineer.
The Metropolis PUD is in the heart of downtown, bounded by
Campbell Street to the north, Vail Avenue to the east, and Highland Avenue to the west. The subject unit is on the west side of the PUD directly accessible on the first floor from Highland Avenue. The Metropolis PUD was approved in 1998 and the ordinance waived provision of any on-site parking for the development, however prohibited medical uses over parking concerns. Staff notes that the Vail Garage has been significantly expanded following adoption of the original PUD ordinance, and years since medical users have moved into the subject unit without Village knowledge but have since vacated.
Dr. Zattera who is a local dentist in Arlington Heights has the subject
unit under contract and is proposing relocation of his practice to the location. The practice would operate between 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Mondays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every other Friday and Saturday, and the office is closed on Thursdays and Sundays. The practice usually sees only one patient per hour. In the peak business hours, there are four staff members and two patients present. Consultations are by appointment only and no walk-ins are allowed.
There is one variation requested as part of this petition to waive the traffic and parking study, and the Petitioner did provide a written response to variation justification criteria. With respect to the first criterion that the proposed use will not alter the essential character of the locality and will be compatible with existing uses and zoning of nearby property, the Petitioner has stated that the former businesses occupying the property were medical uses and there is no issue relative to parking.
Staff concurs with this statement. Usage data from the Vail Garage was examined from the 2022 peak season which is May through September. During the days and hours the proposed business would operate, there is an average parking availability of 319 spaces on publicly accessible levels of the garage. The minimum number of available spaces was 31 spaces which can easily accommodate the practice's staff and patients present at any one time. On-street parking options also exist on Highland Avenue, Campbell Street, and Vail Avenue in close proximity to the subject unit.
With respect to the second criterion, that the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances which may include the length of time the subject property has been vacant as zoned, the Petitioner stated that the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances as they are currently being forced out of their existing practice location. Staff concurs that a hardship is being faced by the Petitioner, and given that the previous uses in the site were medical with no issues known to Staff, the cost and time required for a full traffic and parking study would add to the hardship of the Petitioner.
With respect to the third criterion, that the proposed variation is in harmony with the spirit and intent of this chapter, the Petitioner states that the dental office will have less traffic and parking needs than previously occupied medical offices, and at peak business hours, there are four staff members present and two patients present. As one of the intents of the Village Zoning Code is to prohibit uses, buildings or structures incompatible with the
APPROVED
character or development or intended use within the specified zoning districts, Staff believes that given the intensity of the operation described, waiving the requirement for full traffic and parking study would not result in a use conflicting with this intent of code.
Lastly, with respect to the fourth criterion, that the variance requested
is the minimum necessary, the Petitioner stated that the variance to waive the traffic and parking study is the minimum necessary to allow their use of the property. Staff notes that it is the only variation requested, and otherwise the use is allowed within the B-5 Zoning District and, therefore, Staff concurs with the statement.
In conclusion, reviewing the requested amendment to PUD
Ordinance #98-061 and the requested variation, the Staff Development Committee recommends approval of the petition subject to four conditions, the first being that the Petitioner shall purchase employee parking passes within the Village-owned garage system. The second, that medical uses in the Metropolis PUD are limited to the subject unit only, 11 South Highland Avenue, and that otherwise medical uses will be prohibited in the remainder of the PUD. The third is that all other conditions of Ordinance #98-061 shall remain in full effect, and lastly, that the Petitioner shall comply with all applicable federal, state and Village codes, regulations and policies. This concludes my presentation. If there are any questions, I'm happy to answer.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Thanks, Jake.
Do we have a motion to include the Staff report in the public record?
COMMISSIONER JENSEN: I'll so move.
COMMISSIONER LORENZINI: Second.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, all in favor?
(Chorus of ayes.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, so next we're going to open for public commentary. I'm not sure, I believe there's only one individual in the -- no? Okay, so seeing no public commentary, we're closing the public commentary.
Sorry, I forgot to ask if there are any questions before public commentary, I do apologize, but we have opened and closed, so I'm assuming we're good. Any questions, comments? Do we have a motion? Any commentary? I'm just -- do you have a question?
COMMISSIONER GREEN: No, no, no. My comment was I think it's a great project. We met you guys at the Conceptual Plan Review Committee, and it's a nice fit for the building.
COMMISSIONER CHERWIN: I like the tenant, I like it now.
COMMISSIONER GREEN: With that, I'd like to make a motion.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Unless Commissioner Lorenzini, did you have a comment?
COMMISSIONER GREEN: I'm sorry. Are you good?
COMMISSIONER LORENZINI: I'm good.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right.
COMMISSIONER GREEN: All right, I'd like to make a motion.
A motion to recommend to the Village Board of Trustees approval of PC #23-003, an Amendment to PUD Ordinance #98-061 to modify a condition of approval to allow medical and dental office uses within the subject unit, and the following Variation:
APPROVED
1. A variation to Section 6.12-1.3, to waive the requirement for a traffic and parking study by a qualified professional engineer.
This recommendation is subject to the following conditions:
1. The Petitioner shall be required to purchase employee parking permits for parking within the Village-owned garage system for all employees working within the subject unit.
2. Medical uses in the Metropolis PUD are limited to the subject unit only, 11 South Highland Avenue. Medical uses are prohibited in the remainder of the PUD.
3. All other conditions of Ordinance #98-061 shall remain in full effect.
4. The Petitioner shall comply with all federal, state, and Village codes, regulations and policies.
COMMISSIONER CHERWIN: I'll second.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Great, any commentary before we go to a vote?
(No response.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, roll call.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Cherwin.
COMMISSIONER CHERWIN: Yes.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Ennes.
(No response.)
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Green.
COMMISSIONER GREEN: Yes.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Jensen.
COMMISSIONER JENSEN: Yes.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Lorenzini.
COMMISSIONER LORENZINI: Yes.
MR. SCHMIDT: Commissioner Sigalos.
COMMISSIONER SIGALOS: Yes.
MR. SCHMIDT: Chair Dawson.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Yes.
All right, that's a unanimous approval from us. I hope we're able to make this as painless as possible for you. Again, I agree with the other comment made, I think it's a great fit for the area. That being said, we are just a recommending body. That's it, you need to go before the Village Trustees for final approval. Jake will be able to give you more information about when that is, but hopefully we're able to get this through for you relatively quickly. Congratulations! Thank you.
DR. ZATTERA: Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, thanks.
COMMISSIONER GREEN: Thanks.
COMMISSIONER JENSEN: Good luck.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Do we have anything else on the agenda? I don't have the agenda in front of me.
APPROVED
MR. SCHMIDT: We do have public comment in general, and then there is one other item to discuss.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: But not in the other items besides general public comment, correct?
MR. SCHMIDT: Right.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Okay, thanks. Bruce has been giving me a cheat sheet and he had it folded over so I didn't, I couldn't peak at his agenda -- COMMISSIONER GREEN: Sorry.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: -- because I didn't have my Internet up. Okay, so we now open for general public comment, right?
Jake, you're looking at me like I'm doing something wrong, what did I do? We're all good?
MR. SCHMIDT: We're good, we just have one other item to discuss.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Before public comment?
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
COMMISSIONER GREEN: I would like to make a public comment. I heard that there was a new story of somebody with an axe that went after somebody who was living or somehow staying in the lower level of the underground garage over here. If that's true, my question is why as a Village are we allowing people to live in the underground parking garage? Nobody has to answer me, but I just want to go on the record that I think this should be answered by somebody because this is a dangerous situation, and we're always complaining about the parking in the downtown and now you have an area that nobody will go in. So, anyway, that's my comment. Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Okay, any other public comment?
(No response.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: No, all right.
So, we're going to close general public commentary, but Jake has something else for us, what is that, Jake?
MR. SCHMIDT: I just wanted to notify all of you that five of the
Commissioners have not yet submitted their Village's Statement of Economic Interest.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Darn it, I did Cook County. I forgot to do the Village, sorry.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: I did Cook County, don't I get credit for that?
COMMISSIONER GREEN: That's one down.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: I will get it turned in; that is my fault.
MR. SCHMIDT: Yes, the deadline is Monday, so just a reminder.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Yes, thank you.
COMMISSIONER JENSEN: Jake, this is a much better rendition than last year which was almost unanswerable. This one still is very, very strange. It doesn't allow you to give it a Not Apply or whatever. You know, you only have to list the things that apply, so you could easily, someone could assume you've forgotten to fill it out rather than you actually wrote it in.
COMMISSIONER CHERWIN: Is it online now, Jake, the Arlington one?
MR. SCHMIDT: Yes.
APPROVED
COMMISSIONER SIGALOS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER LORENZINI: It was online, but I couldn't download it, so Becky had to send me a hard copy and I filled it out that way.
MR. SCHMIDT: Yes, it should be online, but a printed copy could be provided if needed.
COMMISSIONER JENSEN: All right.
MR. SCHMIDT: That's all.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Luckily, I'm not the only though, you said five. So, there's four others of you, but --
COMMISSIONER GREEN: Whoever you are.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: -- I got Cook County, I got that one down.
Okay, anything else, Jake?
MR. SCHMIDT: That is all.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: Okay, well, do I have a motion to adjourn?
COMMISSIONER GREEN: So moved.
COMMISSIONER CHERWIN: Second.
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All in favor?
(Chorus of ayes.)
CHAIRPERSON DAWSON: All right, we are adjourned.
(Whereupon, at 7:47 p.m., the public hearing on the above mentioned petition was adjourned.)
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