Village of Buffalo Grove Planning and Zoning Commission met Jan. 3

Outgoing Village Trustee Gregory Pike was honored at his last meeting on Sept. 19 by President Eric Smith | Buffalo Grove/Facebook

By Angelica Saylo Pilo

Feb 7, 2024

Village of Buffalo Grove Planning and Zoning Commission met Jan. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by Chair Mitchell Weinstein

Public Hearings/Items For Consideration

1. Consider a Special Use for a Supermarket and Food Store in the B-5: Town Center Planned District at 21 Buffalo Grove Road (Trustee Weidenfeld) (Staff Contact: Andrew Binder)

Petitioners were sworn in.

Binder, Associate Planner, provided a background on the subject property and the request.

Barry Millman, Horizon Realty Services, thanked the village for their efforts in helping to move the project forward. He indicated that the new tenant does have experience operating a grocery store in other locations.

Com. Au asked if the proposed/old use is a grocery store that prepares fresh food.

Rakesh Pandita, the Petitioner, indicated that he has ten years’ experience in business with similar concepts. He clarified that the prepared foods will be prepared by a professional chef; variety of options to choose from; authentic cooking methods.

Com. Au asked if the previous business was solely a grocery store.

Binder confirmed.

Com. Au asked if the food will be pre-made or made to order.

Pandita confirmed the food will be pre-made.

Com. Moodhe asked if all other grocery stores in the village would be considered a grocery store classification if they provide pre-made foods.

Binder confirmed.

Com. Moodhe asked if they had enough space to do what they wanted to do and if the meals will be for individuals or for families.

Pandita confirmed there will be enough space and the meals will be individually sized. Chairperson Weinstein asked if the previous business failed, or did the owner retire. Millman confirmed that the previous business owner retired.

The public hearing closed at 7:46 PM.

Com. Moodhe made a motion to make positive recommendation to the Village Board to allow a Special Use for a Supermarket and Food Store in the B-5: Town Center Planned District at 21 Buffalo Grove Road, subject to the following conditions:

1. The Supermarket and Food store shall be operated in substantial compliance with the business description and plans provided as part of this petition.

2. The Special Use is granted to MLA Associates, LLC. to operate a Supermarket and Food Store at 21 N Buffalo Grove Road, which shall not run with the land.

3. The Special Use granted to the MLA Associates, LLC. is assignable to subsequent petitioners seeking assignment of this special use as follows:

a. Upon application of a petitioner seeking assignment of this Special Use, the Corporate Authorities, in their sole discretion, may refer said application of assignment to the appropriate commission(s) for a public hearing or may hold a public hearing at the Village Board.

b. Such assignment shall be valid only upon the adoption of a proper, valid and binding ordinance by the Corporate Authorities granting said assignment, which may be granted or denied for any reason.

Com. Davis seconded the motion.

Com. Moodhe spoke in favor of the motion and indicated that Buffalo Grove is 4th largest population of Indian residents in the Chicagoland area. This is a good use for the property.

RESULT: RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE [UNANIMOUS]

AYES: Moodhe, Spunt, Weinstein, Au, Davis

ABSENT: Kevin Richards, Neil Worlikar, Sujat Saxena

2. Consider an Amendment to the Sign Plan Approved by Planned Unit Development Ordinance No. 2022-092 Along with Sign Variations to Allow the Installation of a Wall Sign on the East Elevation of the Building at 43 McHenry Road (Trustee Weidenfeld) (Staff Contact: Andrew Binder)

The petitioners were sworn in.

Binder, Associate Planner, provided an overview of the petitioner’s request including an amendment to the PUD, approved sign plan, and sign variations.

David Mikel, spoke on behalf of the property owner and on behalf of Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) through Site Enhancement Services. He indicated with the amount of visibility that the building has, they felt that a sign on the east elevation would be helpful for wayfinding, especially at nighttime. He said the east elevation does have great visibility from Lake Cook Road and the proposed signage looks consistent with other signage on the building.

Com. Spunt stated that he drove past it the other day and all he could see was a brick wall. Com. Spunt believes that it will help with wayfinding. He asked if the clinic is open 24 hours.

Mikel confirmed.

Com. Au asked if there is a monument sign.

Binder confirmed and showed the location on the property.

Com Au asked why the petitioner is making the request now and thought the purpose of the monument sign was to achieve visibility from Lake Cook Road.

Mikel stated the new sign will help navigate customers to the location if they are traveling westbound on Lake Cook Road.

Com. Au asked if the 3rd sign was permitted, does it meet the other code requirements. And why does the sign need to be the size proposed.

Mikel provided an explanation regarding the visibility of the east elevation vs the main entrance sign.

Binder reviewed the requested variations and indicated that the main entrance sign is very small. He confirmed that the total of all 3 signs does not exceed the square footage permitted for the tenant space.

Com Davis asked why the sign proposed on the east side of the building is larger than the north side.

Com Mikel stated that the wayfinding to make the building look better and the corporate standards of VEG. He continued that the new signage is an effort to help people to be able to identify where the business is located within the building.

Com. Moodhe asked If the sign is granted approval, would this affect the Wild Fork’s signage.

Binder stated no.

The public hearing was closed at 8:05 pm.

Com. Moodhe made a motion to make a positive recommendation to the Village Board to allow an amendment to the sign plan approved by Planned Unit Development Ordinance No. 2022-092 and Sign Variations to allow the installation of a wall sign on the east elevation of the building at 43 McHenry Road, subject to the following conditions:

1. The proposed project shall be developed in substantial conformance with the plans attached as part of the petition.

Com. Davis seconded the motion.

Com. Spunt spoke in favor of the motion noting the sign is for an emergency veterinarian and will help people who are experiencing an emergency to find the location better.

Chairman Moodhe spoke in favor of the motion and indicated that NCH has 6-7 signs and the proposed sign will be helpful when people are stressed out regarding pet health.

Com. Davis stated that he drove through the parking lot and thinks the sign makes a lot of sense.

Com. Au indicated that the sign looks a little big for the wall it is on but stated that maybe it is because she is used to looking at smaller signs.

Chairperson Weinstein noted that the Wild Fork had a lot of proposed signage and the new sign makes sense for the location. He continued that he welcomes VEG into the Village, as the Village recently lost a veterinary clinic.

RESULT: RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE [UNANIMOUS]

AYES: Moodhe, Spunt, Weinstein, Au, Davis

ABSENT: Kevin Richards, Neil Worlikar, Sujat Saxena

Regular Meeting

Other Matters for Discussion

Approval of Minutes

1. Planning and Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting - Dec 6, 2023 7:30 PM

RESULT: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS]

AYES: Moodhe, Spunt, Weinstein, Au, Davis

ABSENT: Kevin Richards, Neil Worlikar, Sujat Saxena

Chairman's Report

None