Plan Commission

APPROVED PLAN COMMISSION VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD The Plan Commission of the Village of Deerfield held a Workshop Meeting at 7:30 P.M. on March 24, 2016 at the Village Hall, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Present were: Mary Oppenheim, Chairperson Bob Benton Larry Berg Al Bromberg Elaine Jacoby Stuart Shayman Absent: Jim Moyer Also present: Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner Dan Nakahara, Associate Planner Public Comment on a Non-Agenda Item Andrew Marwick, 442 Kelburn Road, voiced his concern about the former Wonder store space parking garage being filled in the Deerbrook Shopping Center. Mr. Marwick commented that the former Wonder space would be a very good resource for a potential grocery store; and that a Fry’s Signature Marketplace Grocery Store (a popular grocery store chain of the Kroger Company in Arizona) would be a good fit for the location. He also pointed out that there is a huge advantage in being able to walk from a heated garage right into the store to shop for your groceries especially in the cold weather. Mr. Marwick stated that the Kroger Company is a much larger grocery competitor than grocery stores currently in the area (such as Jewel); and expressed his support for a Kroger Grocery Store coming into that location in the Deerbrook Shopping Center. Mr. Marwick commented that a Costco or Sam’s Club in that location may bring in a lot more sales tax revenue, but he is not convinced that a warehouse club store would be very beneficial to the Deerfield area. (1) Request for Approval of a Final Development Plan for 8 Parkway North in the Parkway North Center on Site 5 & Site 8 (Parkway North Center and Quadrangle) Mr. Tim Sweeney, Principal, Quadrangle Development Company, introduced the members of the development team for the 8 and 5 Parkway North sites: Christopher Noon, President of Quadrangle; Stephen Wright, Principal with Wright Heerema Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 2 Architects; Patrick Kennedy, Executive Vice President with V3 Companies; and Kevin Clark, Associate Principal with The Lakota Group. Mr. Sweeney explained that the size and overall design of the Final Development Plan for 8 Parkway North had not changed since the petitioners last meeting with the Plan Commission on February 25th, 2016 and they felt that they succeeded in addressing the comments from the Commission, staff, Engineering Department and the Fire Protection District. Mr. Sweeney pointed out that their submission materials included a letter from the Fire Protection District with two recommendations in regards to the design of the development site. He confirmed that the design on the Final Development Plan incorporated the Fire Protection Districts’ design recommendations. Mr. Sweeney reiterated that they are in conformance with all the necessary requirements; and that they are not requesting any variances. Commissioner Bromberg asked for confirmation that the petitioners are not planning on starting construction until they secure a tenant. Mr. Sweeney confirmed that was correct. He explained that the reason they are going through the approval process for the Final Development Plan for 8 Parkway North now, even though a tenant for the property is not secured, and a construction schedule is not planned, was to truncate the development schedule. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that Quadrangle’s development schedule for the 8 Parkway North site was in their submission packet. Mr. Sweeney confirmed, and stated that the development schedule was around 18 months, and explained that if they hadn’t taken preliminary steps and gone through the approval process now, then the development schedule could take up to 24 months. The petitioners are confident that by going through the approval process now and therefore expediting the development schedule from 24 to 18 months, the shortened development schedule would be more appealing to potential tenants. Chairperson Oppenheim asked for confirmation that there have been no other changes in terms of the traffic or any other information from Lake County in regards to the road ways. Mr. Sweeney confirmed that there were no changes in regards to the traffic and road ways. He also commented that the Plan Commission had requested that the petitioners bring to the meeting some building materials representative of the façade, and introduced Steven Wright, to present the material samples. Mr. Wright commented that the petitioner’s goal was to match the precast on the adjacent buildings. The glass for the proposed 8 Parkway North building is a light grey (slightly lighter than the other buildings in the Parkway North Center). He noted that the performance of the new generation glass is a great deal better than materials previously used in the past. Mr. Wright commented that the indoor lighting actually gives the glass a darker appearance, but in the natural light it’s actually a little more transparent. The new generation glass gives the building a little crisper and lighter look, so there is a slight difference in comparison to the other Parkway North Center buildings. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the petitioner’s intent all along has been to coordinate the 8 Parkway North building with the other buildings in the Parkway North Center. Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 3 Chairperson Oppenheim commended the petitioners for their very detailed and very thorough submittal. Chairperson Oppenheim reiterated that the Preliminary Development Plan was previously approved many years ago, and they are seeking approval of their Final Development Plan. Commissioner Benton motioned to approve the request for approval of a Final Development Plan for 8 Parkway North in the Parkway North Center on Site 5 & Site 8. Commissioner Berg seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Ayes: (6) Benton, Berg, Bromberg, Jacoby, Shayman, Oppenheim Nays: (0) None The motion passed and will be on the April 18th Village Board of Trustees Meeting agenda. (2) Prefiling Conference: Request for a Special Use for a Portillo’s Restaurant with Drive Thru at 700 Lake Cook Road (former On the Border Restaurant) Dan Uebelhor, Project Manager, InSite Real Estate, identified InSite Real Estate as the acting petitioners on behalf of the Portillo Restaurant Group. Mr. Uebelhor introduced the members of the development team for the Portillo’s Restaurant at 700 Lake Cook Road: Eric Pedersen, Project Management Director with InSite Real Estate; Michael Weber, Site Planner with InSite Real Estate; Shawn Benson, Civil Engineer with Wight & Co.; Jarrett Jensen, President of Jensen & Jensen Architects & Engineers; Sherri Abruscato, Chief Operating Officer with the Portillo Restaurant Group; Eric Russell, Principal with KLOA, Inc.; and, Rob Whitehead, Co-owner of Olympic Signs. Mr. Uebelhor gave a general project overview: the lot size is approximately 2.3 acres; the zoning is the C-2 Outlying Commercial District; the formal request is for a Special Use approval for a Portillo’s Restaurant, and to allow for a drive thru. The proposed building footprint is about 9,258 square feet on the ground level with a 1,500 square foot mezzanine level for an extended kitchen, storage and mechanical area, for a total area of 10,772 square feet with a total of 124 parking spaces exceeding the 117 required parking spaces. The proposed site plan has the following boundaries: Estate Drive to the north; Lake Cook Road to the south; and direct access to Deer Lake Road to the east. The proposed restaurant is consistent with the commercial and restaurant context within which it’s located in the C-2 Outlying Commercial District. The building currently residing on the 700 Lake Cook Road property (the former On the Border Restaurant) will be demolished, and the new Portillo’s Restaurant building will be built over that area. Mr. Uebelhor explained that traffic patterns within the existing site have not drastically changed. The site will maintain the existing ingress and egress. Internal pedestrian circulation is being supplemented with crosswalks and sidewalks which lead to adjacent parking lots and businesses. And careful consideration has been given to the drive thru Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 4 as this element is critical to the restaurant’s operation and provides customers with a high level of service is a hallmark of Portillo’s. The proposed restaurant drive thru will be designed to provide for stacking for 40 cars. Mr. Uebelhor presented an enlargement of the outdoor seating area to the Plan Commission. The outdoor patio is located on an expanded sidewalk in colored concrete to compliment the building color and is located directly on the north side of the building near the main entrance. The outdoor are is planned for 12 tables (six with umbrellas) with 48 chairs total. The area includes a painted, decorative concrete block and rod iron fence frames anchored by 4’ by 4’ steel posts for safety purposes. The umbrellas will be red to match the signage on the building and the tables will have a decorative black aluminum base with a sand mix resin table top. The chairs will be aluminum wrapped in beige PBC type basket weave. Mr. Uebelhor commented that the outdoor area will be fully enclosed as required per the regulations and rules stipulated by the liquor license, as well as for safety. Commissioner Bromberg commented that in the drawings that they received it appeared that there was seating on both sides of the main entrance doors. Mr. Uebelhor explained that they recently updated the outdoor seating plan due to the Village liquor law license requirements and that the Plan Commission did not have the most up-to-date version in their packets. Chairperson Oppenheim asked for confirmation that the document being presented was an accurate version of their proposed plans for the outdoor seating area. Mr. Uebelhor confirmed that was correct, and stated that the outdoor seating area will be fully enclosed, as this was a concern of the Village. Mr. Uebelhor explained that the goal of the proposed landscape plan was to create a variety of shade and ornamental trees; diversify the site against future disease; anticipate future whether conditions by using more salt resistant hybrids. The landscape design included the consideration of multi-seasonal blooming, attractive focal points, deciduous and broad leaf mixtures, and to soften the hardscape and for screening in the layout to compliment the building and overall site. The design also incorporated several native plant species from the Conserve Lake County species list. Mr. Uebelhor commented on the building shape and size which includes the ground level (9,258 square feet), the patio facing to the north, and the mezzanine level (upper level to be used for storage and mechanical spaces). Chairperson Oppenheim asked for confirmation that there is no public space on the upper floor. Mr. Uebelhor confirmed that would not be any public space on the upper floor. Jarrett Jensen commented on the proposed Portillo’s building elevations, design and character. The structure will be a precast building with full brick face on all four sides which is different from their previous submissions that had precast with stamped, painted bricks. The character of the building embodies a 70’s theme and building has a variety of building elements that create a variety of interests. The primary building elevation is approximately 23’ 10”. Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 5 On the Lake Cook Road frontage (south elevation) the elevation moves up to 25’ on a ledge stone element with a Portillo’s sign. The south elevation also includes 3 diamond building elements that were recently changed to remove the text from the diamonds based on the Appearance Review Commission’s (ARC) recommendations. Mr. Jensen explained that the petitioner’s recent meeting with the ARC included a lot of discussion of signage, placement of signage, and the character of the building elements. The petitioners have made substantial changes to the building’s signage based on the ARC’s comments, and are confident that the ARC will be satisfied. The south façade has shuttered window elements above the Portillo’s sign, which assists in breaking up masonry wall. Chairperson Oppenheim asked for confirmation on whether the window shutters were for actual windows or just decorative pieces. Mr. Jensen confirmed that the window shutters were purely decorative, and added that the window shutters were also incorporated around the other sides of the building as well to break up the wall mass and tie into the character of the other building elements. The south side of the building is the tallest side at 30’ 10” tall. The east elevation of the building also has a Portillo’s sign and the diamond-shaped building elements on the east wall. The petitioners consider the diamond-shaped building elements to be a character item and not signage as the text was removed from within the elements based on the ARC’s comments. Mr. Jensen explained that in order to keep the form and the character of the building, the development team decided to keep the diamond shapes as building elements, as well as introduced the window shutter elements along the east wall. The petitioners also noted that they reduced the quantity of the gooseneck building wall lighting fixtures and shifted around some of the locations of the fixtures. The gooseneck lights are all in black and the spacing between them changed from six to eight feet based on the ARC’s request. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if there was actually less lighting on the building now. Mr. Jensen confirmed that there is less building lighting per the ARC’s request. The north side of the building faces the parking lot and serves as the main entrance of the building. The north façade entry feature has a green soffit feature above it, and is slightly highlighted with sledge stone with a 70s themed mural highlighting the building entry. The outdoor seating area would will be located on the north side of the building where there will be steel posts inset into concrete block and horizontal rails painted in an artichoke green. There is also a trellis over the outdoor seating area similar to the trellis (a steel sunshade) along the west side. Commissioner Bromberg asked if the sign on the north elevation that said “A Chicagoland Tradition” was still being proposed. Mr. Jensen confirmed that they are still proposing this signage. He commented that “A Chicagoland Tradition” is on all of the current stores and it is a part of the Portillos criteria package. Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 6 Commissioner Benton commented that having two drive thru lanes was a great design decision, and asked how the customers on the outer drive thru lane would be served their food. Mr. Jensen explained that Portillo’s associates work the lanes (especially during the peak lunch and dinner times). There will be 3 to 8 associates outside in the drive thru area assisting with directing traffic and taking orders. After an order is taken by an associate, a different associate would take the payment as well as deliver the food to the customer. Often times (during busy hours) a Portillo’s associate takes customers’ orders even before they pull up to the drive thru menu. Mr. Jensen discussed the building materials. There will be 3 different colors of face brick: cinnamon colored brick for the main field, darker colored brick for the horizontal banding, and a basic brown colored brick for the lower main fields. There will be sledge stone manufactured cultured stone on the south and north sides of the building and a variety of shades of artichoke green for the decorative window shutters. The trash enclosure will be full brick and match the brick color of the building. Flower planters line the top of the trash enclosure (per Mr. Portillo’s request). In addition, the trash enclosure will be heavily landscaped. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if it was going to be slightly bermed behind the trash enclosure. Mr. Jensen noted that there will be a slight berm. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the loading area is located directly to the north of the trash enclosure. Mr. Jensen confirmed that the loading area would be near the trash enclosure at the back of the building on the south and east façades. Deliveries to the restaurant would be made at off hours, typically prior to opening. Chairperson Oppenheim agreed that it made sense to have all deliveries done outside of operation hours as it is not an entirely practical place to have your loading area with the double drive thru. Mr. Jensen commented that the delivery service would not conflict with the operating hours. Chairperson Oppenheim asked for confirmation that deliveries would be restricted to occurring prior to the restaurant opening (assumingly early in the morning), so that there is not a traffic issue. Mr. Jensen confirmed that deliveries and restaurant operation hours don’t overlap. There are LED parking lot lights in the parking lot, and the petitioners will work with staff to make sure that the lighting levels and photometric plan meets the Village’s standards and criteria. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the main objective in regards to the outdoor lighting was to ensure that the lighting remains within the property. The petitioners are satisfied with the lighting plan for the property from an operations standpoint, but want to ensure that it meets the Village’s standards. Rob Whitehead, explained that the petitioners had originally presented the signage “Portillo’s Hotdogs: Beef, Burger, Salads” on every elevation; however, the Portillo’s ownership has since dropped the word “hotdogs” from their official name, so now it will just say “Portillo’s” on their signage. There is an internally illuminated LED Portillo’s sign on the north elevation and the only part of the sign that lights up is the word “Portillo’s” while everything else is opaque. The power supplies are housed in a green bar and the LED is concealed behind plastic. Mr. Whitehead presented a sample of a reverse Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 7 element that is being used as accent lighting on the building. The strip will be painted to match the color of the building in order to blend in (and is almost completely invisible to the naked eye). Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the accent lighting essentially gives a muted glow. On the south elevation the “Beef, Burgers, Salads” sign element will be internally illuminated with LED lights. Mr. Whitehead explained that on the east elevation they consider the triangle elements as decorative pieces since all of the verbiage was eliminated from within the triangles. The petitioner does not consider the triangle elements as a sign. Mr. Whitehead commented that there are stars bordering the trim of the building with concealed LED lighting within the trim piece (not visible to the naked eye) that is going to give off a glow from the panel and highlight the detail of the stars in the border. He also noted that the accent lighting is not going to be overpowering and is simply meant to show the detailing in the panels. Commissioner Shayman asked if the accent lighting was internally illuminated. Mr. Whitehead explained that there is an LED lighting element within the trim area that gives off a soft glow to highlight some detailing on the panel. Commissioner Bromberg asked if the petitioners if they had presented any of their signage and building element plans to the ARC. Mr. Whitehead confirmed that they had shown this total detail to the ARC; however, at that time the text was still on the triangle building elements. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the petitioners had gone back to the ARC with some of their revisions. Mr. Whitehead replied that they had not yet gone back to the ARC, but he is confident that the ARC is going to be excited about the changes they made to the signage based on their recommendations. Commissioner Bromberg asked Mr. Ryckaert, if he thought that the triangle building elements would still be considered signage even without the words on it. Mr. Ryckaert indicated that would need to be reviewed further at the staff level. The site is going to have a standard drive thru menu, as well as illuminated directional signage. The petitioners explained that the directional signage has to be illuminated based on the high car count, the busy night traffic and the logistics with customers in and out of the restaurant. The petitioner is seeking a proposed monument sign which exceeds the allowed size by 10 square feet because of the distance that the restaurant building will be set back off the road and the vast quantity of the frontage. The petitioner decided that a slightly larger sign would be a better fit and make more sense aesthetically. The petitioner is under the impression that the ARC was in favor of these variations. Chairperson Oppenheim inquired about the other sign elements that concerned the ARC. Mr. Whitehead commented that they would like to keep the signage that reads “A Chicagoland Tradition” as it is a final element at the entry to the restaurant. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the petitioners will still be proposing to have the ghost signs. Mr. Jensen commented that the ghost signs were removed from their plan, and added that they are pleased with the signage that they came up with as an alternative based on the ARC’s feedback. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the entry mural was going to be removed from the building element plan as well. Mr. Whitehead clarified that the entry Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 8 mural was a painted element that was remaining a part of their building element design. Mr. Jensen added that all the new Portillo’s Restaurants have a themed mural as a building element. Chairperson Oppenheim asked how the mural was received by the ARC, and if the ARC viewed the mural as a sign rather than an artistic or decorative element. Mr. Jensen commented that the ARC wasn’t sure what to make of the mural, and several of the commission members asked why it was a part of the design. Mr. Jensen explained that it is a design package that all ties together and goes with the 70s theme of the restaurant. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the petitioners would like to keep the mural as a part of the building design. Mr. Jensen confirmed this and stated that all of the new Portillo’s Restaurants have a mural that represents the theme of the restaurant. Mr. Whitehead added that the last 30 new Portillo’s Restaurants have incorporated the mural on the building. Commissioner Bromberg asked about a height and centering issue with some of the signage that the ARC was concerned about. Mr. Jensen identified that as the north entry elevation “Portillo’s” signage, and confirmed that the height of the sign was adjusted to center it vertically, and adjusted the gooseneck lighting fixtures down as well. Mr. Jensen commented that the petitioners made a lot of adjustments to their signage and building element designs based on the ARC’s comments, and feel that they’ve come a long way, especially with removing the signage from the diamond features. Ms. Abruscato added that this is the least amount of signage that they have ever put on a Portillo’s restaurant building. Commissioner Bromberg asked if the ARC had an issue with the size of the Portillos sign on the east elevation. Mr. Whitehead confirmed that the sign was deemed larger than the allowed, and explained that their thought was to keep the size of the sign at 122 square feet as there is a large amount of open wall space. Chairperson Oppenheim advised that the size of the signage will need to be further discussed with the ARC. She commended the petitioners for the sharp look of the building signage and elements. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that many of the Plan Commissioners were originally concerned with the safety, logistics and operation of the double drive thru; however, after observing other Portillo’s restaurants with the double drive thru she is personally convinced that it is a very safe operation and that it works great. Commissioner Berg was concerned about the safety of the drive thru, and commented that he had lunch at the Skokie Portillo’s Restaurant that afternoon. He noted that at that location there is only one drive thru lane. Commissioner Berg commented that when a customer’s food isn’t ready at the drive thru window a queue line is formed in front of the restaurant where customers wait for their food to be delivered to them by a Portillo’s Associate. In his opinion that is a dangerous situation because cars are pulled up with the driver’s side up against the curb, and there are oncoming cars in the middle of the road, as well as cars going in the opposite direction. Commissioner Berg pointed out that it is really two and a half lane driveway with 3 cars moving in 3 different directions (south, north, south) and all of the traffic movement is going on directly in front of the entrance where pedestrians are walking in and out of the restaurant. Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 9 Commissioner Berg asked if the double drive thru is going to alleviate that type of situation. Mr. Jensen commented that he is aware of the issue with the single drive thru lane and pointed out that all the new and renovated Portillo’s Restaurant are designed with double drive thru lanes for this very reason; for safety of guests going through the lanes. He added that it has worked well. He also pointed out that in the rare case that someone comes through the drive thru with a larger order than normal there is the opportunity to park in the side stalls. Mr. Jensen confirmed that Portillo’s management would not have the customer park in front of the restaurant. Mr. Jensen commented that many of their Portillo’s Restaurants use holding stalls during busy drive thru times. Commissioner Berg asked if the holding stalls are going to be kept vacant at busy times. Mr. Jensen commented that the stalls would not initially be blocked off during busy times, but it would be evaluated as time goes on, and the stalls would be blocked off if deemed necessary. Mr. Jensen pointed out that the proposed double drive thru for this restaurant has stacking for 40 vehicles and notes it should sufficiently accommodate the drive thru traffic. Sherri Abruscato commented that the purpose of the double drive thru lane is to have the ability to move vehicles through the lanes efficiently so as one car is sitting at the drive thru window waiting for their order, other vehicles may exit once their orders have been delivered. Ms. Abruscato confirmed that Portillos would reevaluate the drive thru over time, and designate drive thru holding stalls if necessary. She added that they would evaluate if there should be permanent or temporary (posted at the stalls during peak hours). Ms. Abruscato commented that the whole idea of having the two lanes around the building is that it is the most efficient way for the drive thru service to operate and pointed out that the double drive thru lane also allows cars to be easily directed out of the lanes if an unforeseen situation (a car breaking down) occurs. She also mentioned that the double drive thru lane would allow customers that pre-order their food online to get through the drive thru operation quicker. Ms. Abruscato commented on the safety of Portillo’s associates walking in and out of the drive thru lanes, and noted that employees are always dressed with the appropriate gear (reflectors on for night time and bright jackets or shirts on for during the day). The drives thru lanes are also made much wider than necessary so that there is plenty of space between the lanes for their employees. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that through her personal experience and observation the double drive thru seemed to work very well. Eric Russell, Principal with KLOA, stated that the initial traffic study was done in October 2014 and they are currently in the process of updating the traffic study to ensure that the latest plan will work with the current traffic operations on the street system. The access points to the 700 Lake Cook Road Property have remained the same with 3 access points into the property, which provides a nice distribution for ingress and egress. Mr. Russell commented that there were not any unforeseen issues (from the previous traffic analysis) with backups occurring from the Lake Cook Road intersection that would block access to or from the driveway to Deer Lake Road. There is good Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 10 movement to and from the office building to the west of the subject property and there have been improvements made to the pedestrian system to and from the west. He also noted that the sidewalk system along Deer Lake Road commenting that it is a safe operation for pedestrian who may walk to the restaurant from within the office park. The previous traffic study concluded that it was a safe operation overall; there was enough capacity on the access driveways; the drive thru provided adequate capacity; and, the parking lot met the Village’s parking requirements. Parking surveys were taken from other Portillo’s Restaurant locations of similar size during peak lunch and dinner times, and concluded that the peak parking demand was lower than the total number of parking spaces being supplied on this site. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the traffic study predicted any additional backups since the last traffic study in October of 2014. Mr. Russell commented that the proposed size of the building is the same, and the restaurant is still predicted to generate the same vehicle and pedestrian traffic, so there are really no changes from last time. Commissioner Shayman asked if there was much vehicle traffic cut through from the office building to the west. Mr. Russell commented that the site is designed is to keep traffic moving slowly through that area, as it is predicted that a lot of pedestrians will be walking from the parking lot into the front of the building and crossing the main access point into the property. There are stop sign controls as you go between the two properties and cross walks across the main drive. There is certainly going to be some cross traffic between the properties, but it should be slow moving traffic. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the petitioner is still confident that there isn’t going to be a backup on Pfingsten Road as vehicles access out through Deer Lake Road onto Pfingsten Road since that is the main entry point for the residential neighborhood across the street. Mr. Russell commented that during the traffic study they evaluated that intersection as vehicles were traveling west bound accessing Pfingsten Road. They found that there is a short delay for vehicles turning left out, but there wasn’t a lot of stacking back from Pfingsten Road. Overall, the traffic study found that the amount of stacking was certainly not enough to block any of the driveways to the existing office buildings, and none of that is predicted to change with the proposed restaurant traffic. Chairperson Oppenheim asked Mr. Ryckaert if 124 parking spaces are within code, or if the restaurant would be required to provide more parking spaces due to the outdoor seating. Mr. Ryckaert commented that under the code outdoor parking could be counted if the Plan Commission believes it is needed but typically restaurants with outdoor seating have not been required to provide more parking spaces, as the outdoor seating area is not used on a regular basis given whether conditions and customers preferences to sit inside, etc. (it’s more of an optional seating area). Chairperson Oppenheim asked if a variation would be required. Mr. Ryckaert commented that the Plan Commission can consider the requirement of additional parking, and if they want the outdoor seating area to count in the parking requirement then a parking variation would be required. This is not usually the case. Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 11 Commissioner Shayman asked how many seats are in the restaurant. Mr. Jensen commented that there were a total of 243 seats inside the restaurant; however, there proposal for the outdoor patio is to add a door from the interior dining to the exterior patio dining, which would eliminate 4 seats inside (one 4 seat table top), with a total of 239 interior seats, and 48 proposed seats for outdoor seating area. Commissioner Shayman asked how many parking spots were being provided in total. Chairperson Oppenheim reiterated 124 parking spaces. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the only change to the entry into the parking lot was that Deer Lake Road would be widened. Mr. Russell confirmed this and added that it would be a single lane in, and two lanes out at the access point to Deer Lake Road. Vehicles exiting through Deer Lake Road will have a dedicated right turn only lane, so that they can easily and efficiently exit back onto Lake Cook Road. There will also be two lanes for left turns onto Lake Cook Road. Commissioner Benton commented that exiting out of the subject property and onto Deer Lake Road in that manner would be efficient as not many people are going to proceed straight to other office buildings and restaurants. He and added that the office buildings are likely to generate mostly pedestrian traffic walking to the restaurant from the offices. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that the sidewalks don’t extend all the way from the office buildings to the east to the restaurant, and felt that people were more likely to drive from the office buildings to the restaurant. Commissioner Bromberg asked about the development schedule for the project. Mr. Jensen commented that the development team was looking forward to submitting their building plans to the Village, so that they can start on the building permit process. Chairperson Oppenheim asked about their ideal timeline for completing the project. Ms. Abruscato commented that realistically they would like to open by the end of the year or early in 2017. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the development teams concerns about the property last time had been rectified. Ms. Abruscato commented that after working with the InSite engineering team and thoroughly evaluating the land, the Portillo’s Restaurant Group wanted to move forward with developing a Portillos restaurant on the 700 Lake Cook Road property. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the building looks very sharp architecturally, and that she liked some of the changes that were made in terms of the design elements. She feels that the plant materials are very well laid out and a good variety. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that she was as excited as everyone else in this community at the thought of Portillo’s finally opening; and advised the petitioner to have some of their signage issues resolved. Chairperson Oppenheim advised the petitioners to present the Plan Commission with an up to date proposal packet that reflects all of the changes to their plans as there are specific guidelines in regards to variations. Ms. Abruscato commented that the development team feels that the design of the building has developed immensely from their initial design proposal. The restaurant building design still has the 70’s look and character, but it is very refined. Chairperson Oppenheim asked Mr. Ryckaert if the signage was the only item that the petitioners Workshop Meeting March 24, 2016 Page 12 would need a variation on. Mr. Ryckaert commented that there is one other variation for the property as it does not have direct access to a traffic signal from the drive thru. There being no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Glowacz