DeKalb Times

City of Sycamore Plan Commission met July 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Chairperson Bill Davey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and City Clerk Mary Kalk called the roll. Those Commissioners present were: Marvin Barnes, Ron Bemis, Dave Finney, Ken George, Stephen Nelson, and Nathan Schwartz. Commissioners Rose Treml, Penny Carter, Ishmael McGhee, Ted Strack, and Chuck Stowe were absent. Other staff members present were City Manager Brian Gregory, Director of Building and Engineering John Sauter, City Engineer Mark Bushnell, and Plan Commission Attorney Keith Foster.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 11, 2018.

Motion - Commissioner George moved to approve the Minutes of June 11, 2018 and Commissioner Nelson seconded the motion. Voice Vote - Chairperson Davey called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Commissioners present voted aye. Motion carried 7 - 0.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion- Commissioner Finney moved to approve the agenda and Commissioner Schwartz seconded the motion. Voice Vote - Chairperson Davey called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Commissioners present voted aye. Motion carried 7 - 0.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

A. Consideration of a Request by Meijer Stores Limited Partnership for an amendment to a Special Use Permit for a Planned Unit Development in accordance with Article 4.3 of the City’s Unified Development Ordinance.

City Manager Brian Gregory said in March of 2017, the City Council approved a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Meijer Stores Limited Partnership, who purchased property from First Midwest Group (formerly First Rockford Group) with the intention to build a 192,940 square foot store. In the PUD, there were three variances that dealt with the number of parking spaces, as our code differentiates between parking spaces for a stand-alone retail building versus a shopping center complex of 300,000 square feet or more. Ultimately, Meijer was looking to have a number of parking stalls in between those numbers, at a ratio of about one space for every 280 feet. Since that time, Meijer has revised its footprint to include a 159,264 sq. ft. anchor store. He said the Plan Commission is not looking at the size of the building, necessarily, but looking at the PUD amendment being the number of parking stalls. As the agenda states:

The planned unit development special use and corresponding development agreement outlines the parking plan and a sign package as proposed:

• The superstore will have 574 parking spaces. Code requires 1 space per 225 sq. ft. of net floor area (NFA) or 708 spaces, if the development was to be viewed as a standalone building. The Sycamore Crossings development as a whole is anticipated to generate 300,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. The code requires developments of more than 300,000 sq. ft. to provide one space for every 300 sq. ft. of NFA. Based on this the superstore would require 531 spaces.

Given the overall size of the Sycamore Crossings development and Meijer’s experience with parking needs for a store of this size, staff is comfortable with the parking plan as proposed. The ratio of number of parking spaces to the proposed building is roughly the same in the revised PUD at 1 space for every 277.50 sq. ft. versus 1 space for every 280 sq. ft. as previously approved.

• Meijer is proposing that parking lot islands be oversized and located at the ends of the parking isles and around the perimeter of the lot in lieu of islands every 20 spaces as required by code. In addition, the plans include additional landscape islands along the front and side of the superstore. The request is for operational purposes, namely the plowing of snow and a desire to maximize spaces that are closer to the building.

Staff is comfortable with the alternatives to traditional islands as the proposed alternatives offset code requirements and provide a buffer between the supercenter lot and adjacent outlots. This was approved previously and no significant changes are proposed.

• The building specific sign code does not factor in signs that identify the grocery entrance and general merchandise entrances, noted as “Home” and “Fresh”, potential licensee wall signs if other businesses such as a pharmacy operates within the superstore and the drive-thru signage on the building. While there are areas within the code that could be applied to make these signs compliant, staff felt it most appropriate to present the sign package as a whole for review and consideration.

He noted that in the background, in the total sign package, there is an example of a shared development sign that would be at the corner of Peace Road and Route 23. That sign shows slightly larger than was approved in the annexation agreement for the property and allowed by our code, but both Meijer and First Midwest Group are both aware so the sign that would come forward for permitting would be code compliant. He also said that the approved final plat and the development agreement that was approved back in March 2017, stays the same. It’s just that the agreement pointed to the site plan and some exhibits, reflecting changes in this PUD amendment that would change.

Mike Flickinger, Director of Real Estate, Meijer Stores Limited Partnership said he was here to seek approval to modify the plan that was previously approved, to go to the new prototype size which is a 159,000 square foot store with the outdoor garden center. For purposes of the plan itself, nothing has changed from the store. The organization has shrunk the box to ensure getting the best usage of the square footage. This change is not just for this municipality, but for all the stores they are approving today. He said Mike Mondus, P.E., CFM, and Executive Vice President of SPACECO Inc., the civil engineer of record, is here to answer any technical questions.

Commissioner Barnes asked what is taking so long, as this was approved over a year ago.

Mike Flinkinger said when they originally approved this store, they didn’t have a definitive build timeline. The organization slates their stores a couple years in advance because they have a build cycle that is 12-14 months. This was one of those stores that was in the planning phase. They recently just took full title to the land and wanted to come back this evening to get this reapproved. Right now, he said, they have this slated as opening in 2020 which means they would start construction in spring of 2019.

Commissioner Barnes asked, in terms of parking, what happens if no other buildings are added.

City Manager Brian Gregory said staff had discussed this and Meijer doesn’t own any of the other property other than the superstore and the gas station sites. First Midwest Group has had interest but the marketing is based on the anchor store arriving and generating the traffic. He said they are confident that there will be some other development and that they looked at Meijer because they want their store to flourish. We always want to balance that sea of parking with the right number between the stand-alone versus the shared parking. This is a large investment and so they want to get the parking right, as well. He said there is some ability on the site to expand the building and the parking, if necessary, in the future.

Mike Flinkinger said they are very conscience of storm water and how it affects the environment so when they look at the parking, it’s a little more than they need so they are comfortable.

Commissioner Ron Bemis asked if lots 48-52 will have buildings with their own parking.

City Manager Brian Gregory said yes. Each of the lots would have parking requirement based on the intended use, setback, etc. and would be looked at independently. He added that the islands were slightly bigger to improve the aesthetics. He said, for landscaping, there is a large buffer along the east side that will add green space and be a buffer between cars passing, the building, and the blacktop.

Ron Harper, 710 Anjali Court, Sycamore, Board Trustee for Vista Verde Subdivision, asked about the provision to expand the store in the future. He wants to know once they build the store how will they expand it.

Mike Flickinger said when the plat was recorded, the land size was as it sits today. One of the reasons they show that as a future expansion area is to give them flexibility. He said, they reduced the plan today, based on their corporate-wide plans, but as retail evolves, there is always the possibility of expanding and instead of changing the size of the lot they own, they wanted to show a future building area. At this point, they have no plans for this space other than to show it as a potential future building area which is not a separate lot number, but within the Meijer parcel.

Commissioner Finney asked if they would expand within the existing building or construct a separate building.

Mike Flickinger said it could be either. The part to the south labeled “future building expansion” is intended, if we decide to expand, need the space, or if there is potentially another user that wants to, in the future, be connected to our building. Also, the parking is laid out in front of that area today relative to the overall square footage of their parcel. He said there is no specific plan today, but it would have to come back to the commission, if so.

Motion Commissioner George moved to approve as presented a favorable recommendation to the City Council and Commissioner Nelson seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote Chairperson Davey called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Commissioners Marvin Barnes, Ron Bemis, Dave Finney, Ken George, Stephen Nelson, Nathan Schwartz and Chairperson Davey voted aye. Motion carried 7– 0.

City Manager Brian Gregory said this will go to City Council on 7-16-18, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.

CONSIDERATIONS

A. Consideration of a Request by Uriel Morales, Owner of County Liquors, for a Special Use Permit to operate an Equipment Rental Store, Including Trucks and Trailers at 625 East State Street, Sycamore, Illinois.

City Manager Brian Gregory said this is a workshop item, with no action being requested tonight, for the property at 625 East State Street, owned by Louie Schoeberg and the business, County Liquors, owned by Uriel Morales, who in May of 2014, began a U-Haul business at the property. When Uriel Morales approached the city with a question, they looked at the code and found that U-Haul or Truck and Trailer Rental was actually something that would be considered a Special Use in properties zoned C-3 Highway Business, which it is and its primary function is a liquor store. He said they started discussions with the owner and instead of a cease and desist, Staff followed DeKalb County’s approach to noncompliant zoning uses, allowing the owners an opportunity to submit an application for a special use permit and go through the process. It is the U-Haul piece that comes before the Commission tonight. He said the owners addressed the Special Use Criteria (below) in the application.

Special Use Criteria

The starting point in the discussion is to consider the special use criteria that the City uses in evaluating requests. Per Section 4.3.3 of the City’s Unified Development Ordinance, a Special Use Permit shall be granted only if evidence is presented to establish that:

A. The proposed structure or use at the particular location requested is necessary or desirable to provide a service or a facility which is in the interest of the public and will contribute to the general welfare of the neighborhood or community;

B. The proposed structure or use will not have a substantial adverse effect upon the adjacent property, the character of the neighborhood, traffic conditions, utility facilities and other matters affecting the public health, safety, and general welfare; and

C. The proposed structure or use will be designed, arranged, and operated so as to permit the development and use of neighboring property in accordance with the applicable district regulations.

City Manager Brian Gregory said there have not been any complaints from neighboring properties, but we need to consider a couple of points as outlined in the background regarding parking, arrangement of rental vehicles and trailers, and property appearance. He explained, as stated in the agenda, given that the special use request is for trucks and trailers that are stored in a parking lot intended for a liquor store, parking needs to be considered. Currently, the site has room for approximately 20-24 passenger vehicles in the paved area. To the north, is a larger gravel area that could accommodate considerably more vehicles, however is in conflict with section 6.7.4.C.1.a and b of the UDO, which reads, “every parking space, including access thereto, shall have an all-weather dust-free surface” and “all open off-street parking areas and driveways shall be improved with a compacted CA-6 crushed stone base, not less than eight (8) inches thick, surfaced with two (2) inch bituminous concrete surface or sealed with a bituminous surface treatment Class A-2 or equal, or four (4) inches of concrete on compacted base.” He said when the U-Haul trucks are parked on the paved area to the front or side of the building, they take up some of the spaces for the liquor store. There have been conversations with the manager and in an attempt to meet the code, the vehicles were moved, making it more aesthetically pleasing as well as, meeting the needs for County Liquors’ clientele. But, per the code stating “dust-free surface”, the customers parking needs to be on an approved surface, so that also needs to be reconciled in the Special Use consideration. Staff has noted and a few have asked about the overall maintenance of the property. They have talked to the owners and right away, improvements of painting and clean up in the back have been made. They also applied for the Gateway Improvement Grant through the city. They plan to remove pavers and replace with grass, add salt-resistant plantings around the base of the sign, add a stone veneer 3-4 feet high on the front of the building, paint, and add all new windows. He said when they discuss the uses at the staff level, they talk about the arrangement of the product or vehicles, being either along the plane of the front of the building at the setback line or to the rear of the property behind the building, so as not to block the sight line of other businesses.

Commissioner Finney asked if fencing is required in the back of the property.

Lisa Jensen, Manager County Liquors, 416 E. State Street said there is a field and tree line in the back so after talking with the city, they have started putting the vehicle in the back.

City Manager Brian Gregory said one other complicating factor is that there is a flood way and a flood plain that comes up into that gravel area so a fence would not be able to be installed.

Commissioner Barnes asked about the tractor trailer rentals that were in the back and if that goes along with the U-Haul.

Lisa Jensen said there have been tractor trailers back there for thirty years, but they have been removed and their priority is County Liquors and U-Haul.

Commissioner Schwartz said we need to check if there are enough parking spaces on the currently paved area and said it makes sense to push the vehicle to the back of the building due to the efforts of the Gateway Improvement program and in trying to beautify the area. He asked if it should be a requirement for the trucks to be parked in the back of the building. Since, there is a requirement to have a dust free surface, not gravel, and if we allow an exception here, is it going to be a problem for here or other locations? Will that gravel area be allowed, can it be allowed, and how would it impact this and other businesses.

City Engineer Mark Bushnell, said from the aerial view, there are 19 existing parking spaces, but he didn’t see any American Disabilities Act (ADA) stalls. The rear portion of the property is in the floodplain and paving is an option, but the only issue is, you can’t create any fill. If they were to pave back there, for every ton of asphalt an equal volume of dirt or gravel would have to be removed because you can’t fill in the floodplain.

Lisa Jensen said it is cost prohibitive and yes they do have an ADA stall with a sign, just outside the door.

City Manager Brian Gregory said there is an ADA stall and added that there would be some pavement, maintenance, and striping that would be needed, as in the code. This would also help in the arrangement, to make sure they are getting the maximum number of cars. If the stalls aren’t marked appropriately, you don’t get the efficiency of the parking. He said, with the workshop, they are looking for direction. He said there are other properties, some with gravel drives or parking that have been grandfathered in, but, if there was a new property that was being developed, it would require a parking surface to be improved as written in the code, but he could research that more.

Chairperson Davey asked if is allowable and permissible, in the code, for the U-Haul trucks to be parked on the unpaved, gravel area in back and keep the vehicles in front on the paved area.

Commissioner Nathan Schwartz asked if he was talking about a storage area for the business may be gravel, but the driving and the walking area for the customers would be paved.

Chairperson Davey said yes, as he is trying to make an accommodation because it is a flood plain behind the building. If they could park the U-Haul trucks back on the gravel like they are doing now, would that be permissible.

Director of Building and Engineering John Sauter said that the code doesn’t differentiate, it just says that any parking needs to be improved, whether it be asphalt or concrete. The challenge with that might be a car dealership arguing that point as well, so we need to be careful if we are going to create a different standard and how we do that.

City Manager Brian Gregory said yes, if this was a new property being developed, it would be required to be paved. He said for the annexation of the property, we heard through the process that when it was annexed, it was originally developed under the county rules and annexed into the city. It was in a time when deals were done on handshakes.

Louis Schoenberg, 813 Somonauk St, gave a brief history of County Liquors and how the property was annexed into the city with the verbal agreement and handshake that he never had to pave the back of the property. He said when he had the business, there were two liquor stores in town. The petitioners have taken over the liquor store and now there are 14 liquor licenses and if they don’t have the truck rental business, they will go out of business. They take care of things and they are clean. Regarding the flood plain, we never got a drop of water on the property until the year 2000, when the water closed down Route 64. He said as far as parking spots, he used to do six to eight times more business than the current owners and he never had a problem with parking. He said the clientele is in and out in three minutes, unlike a restaurant patron who is parked for an hour or a grocery shopper who is shopping for 45 minutes. He said they have more than enough parking the way it is.

Chairperson Davey asked if the asphalt area needs improvement

Louis Schoenberg said the asphalt area is fine. It has had a couple of patches but they keep it up.

City Manager Brian Gregory said the east side was paved later and the condition of that is better than the other. There are some patches, but no holes, but there definitely is some maintenance needed like sealing and striping and ongoing regular maintenance.

Commissioner Finney confirmed that the U-Haul business has been there for four years and there have been no complaints, so that they are dealing with a handshake from the past and need to get this on paper and make it right going through the workshop process.

City Manager Brian Gregory said yes and part of that, too, depending on the outcome, is to protect the business owners because the Plan Commission, City Council, and staff could change the sentiment. The owners could invest further in the property, and then down the road, somebody could say they can’t do this and get a cease and desist order. Going through the process now while they continue to operate and get feedback that can be worked in, whether it is granting a Special Use or Special Use with certain conditions. This allows everyone to know the rules and, as long as they comply with the conditions, it allows them to operate that business. It is extra steps, but it protects the business owners as well.

Commissioner Schwartz asked if they come back next month and say they are ok with the parking and gravel as it is, but if the business is sold, does that open the case again and require the new owners or new business to pave the lot or would our hands be tied.

City Manager Brian Gregory said you could write a condition that it would be with the current property owner, for the current use, recognizing that if it were to sell in the future, it would have to come back and or make other improvements.

Lisa Jensen asked to make the condition as current property owner or current business owner as Uriel Morales may buy the property from Louis Schoenberg in the future.

Commissioner Barnes said he has no problem with “and/or” but Commissioner Schwartz brings up a good point.

Commissioner Schwartz said the “and/or” of the current property owner or business owner is fine and fair since both parties are the current parties. We would want staffs’ consideration on that, but he would be ok with that.

Commissioner George asked if nothing has been said in four years, then they should get the Special Use. He’s not so sure about the conditions. Leveling the building and rebuilding it, is a completely different story, but if they leave it the way it is, the Special Use should stay with the property.

City Manager Brian Gregory said the Special Use is for the operation of a truck and equipment rental facility that could run with the property. It’s the condition of the special use, that is the condition. The question of the storage of the vehicles on an unapproved surface, is about where the vehicles should be placed on the property and that’s something that staff could work with owners in a diagram, where trucks 15 feet or less are parked on the side looking orderly, and anything longer would be parked in the back. These could be tied together.

Chairperson Davey said it could be cleaned up, sealed, striped, but keep the configuration. Some of the ones on the west side are fine, but keep the bigger ones in back. As far as paving, if it is just to park the U-Haul trucks in back and since it’s been this way for 30 years, as long as the customers have a place to park and they continue to park trucks in back, then that is ok.

Commissioner Bemis said if they are going to give up on some of the things that are grandfathered in, he thinks it makes sense for the U-Hauls to be backed up to the north rather than the east and west since it is the gateway to the city.

Commissioner Finney said he agreed with the invisible line in back of the building plane for the U-Haul portion and the front being the County Liquor portion with an advertising sign out front.

Commissioner Barnes said he is sympathetic with the handshakes and Louis Schoenburg has been a good steward of the city so he agrees with a fair compromise.

City Manager Brian Gregory said staff will work with the owners on the feedback in anticipation of a petition for the formal process of a Special Use, which includes a public hearing and the application of the criteria outlined in section 4.3 of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). That petition coupled with any public testimony will come before the commission in the August meeting and they will be able to make a recommendation on the Special Use and any conditions to the City Council.

REPORTS

PERSONS TO BE HEARD FROM THE FLOOR ON OTHER THAN AGENDA ITEMS

ADJOURNMENT

Motion Commissioner George moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:53 p.m. and Commissioner Schwartz seconded the motion. Voice Vote Chairperson Davey called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Commissioners present voted aye. Motion carried 7 - 0.

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