Plan Commission

APPROVED PLAN COMMISSION VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD The Plan Commission of the Village of Deerfield held a Public Hearing Meeting at 7:30 P.M. on September 8, 2016 at the Village Hall, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Present were: Mary Oppenheim, Chairperson Larry Berg Al Bromberg Jim Moyer Absent were: Bob Benton Elaine Jacoby Stuart Shayman Also present: Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner Dan Nakahara, Associate Planner Public Comment on a Non-Agenda Item No public comment on a non-agenda item (1) Request for a Special Use for a Self-Improvement Facility for Shred415 Deerfield LLC. Lawrence Freedman, attorney, Ash, Anos, Freedman & Logan, L.L.C., noted that the petitioner is seeking a Special Use for a Self-Improvement Facility. Johnathan Berger, Owner of Bensenville Associates, LLC (and owner of the 636 Deerfield Road Building), commented that tenants drive the success of commercial buildings and that he is excited to discuss his first tenant in the 636 Deerfield Road building with the Plan Commission. Mr. Berger commented that he views the 636 Building as two separate buildings: the southern portion that faces Deerfield Road as a retail building, and the northern portion as a commercial building. Mr. Berger is excited about Shred415 becoming a tenant in the 636 Building as the business fits in perfectly with the other uses that will be occupying the building; adding that in addition to Shred415 there are also three additional tenants under lease that are going to be a part of the 636 Building. Mr. Berger commented that the northern portion of the 636 Building (where Shred415 is going to reside) is a critically important tenant space for the building. Matthew Micheli, COO, Shred415 LLC, commented that he appreciated the opportunity to be before the Plan Commission tonight, as Shred415 has been working with Mr. Berger for a long time to make opening their Deerfield location a reality, and they’re very excited about this new location. Mr. Micheli commented that Shred415 is a boutique fitness studio, and gave an overview of the business. Shred415 will offer interval Public Hearing Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 2 training with each class being 60 minutes in duration (the studio is completely class based, and customers primarily reserve their class times in advanced). Classes are led by a certified personal trainer with a maximum of 30 participants. The space will have 15 treadmills and 15 decks on the floor and over the course of the 60 minutes, clients alternate between the treadmills and decks. The Deerfield location will be the ninth location for Shred415. Shred415 started in April of 2011 with a location in Lincoln Park, Chicago. The business has since expanded with four locations in the city, one location in Northfield (which was their first suburban location), and one location out of state in St. Louis. Shred is currently in the process of adding another out of state location in Indianapolis. Jordan Shackelford, partner of Shred415, manages the day-to-day operations of the Northfield location, and partner in the Deerfield location was in attendance to answer any questions about the operation. Mr. Micheli noted that Shred415 LLC is a woman owned business that started in 2011 by Bonnie Micheli and Tracy Roemer. The company was started from the ground up, and continues to grow through the success of their locations and the support of their tremendous client base. The petitioners are confident that Shred415 will be a compliment to Deerfield, as Deerfield’s demographic is consistent with their client demographic. Shred415 has taken the time to talk to their clients (specifically in their suburban locations: Northfield and Hinsdale) in order to gain a better understanding of their daily agendas, including how they consume and how they spend their time before and after classes at Shred. Through their client inquiries, the petitioners have found that their customers come to Shred to be a part of a community, and the friendships formed at Shred often extend beyond the classroom. Many of their customers often take the time to grab coffee together before or after class. Their customers also tend to go grocery shopping with their children after class or they bring their family and children to the studio on the weekends, and then go to lunch afterwards, or breakfast beforehand. Shred clients not only come to the studio to work out, but also spend time in and around the area patronizing other businesses. Mr. Micheli commented that they have found that Shred facilities have been a positive influence on the surrounding commercial area. Mr. Micheli commented that they spend a significant amount of capital to build their Shred415 studios out to a Grade-A finish, and they have put a lot of effort into learning how to build better studios in order to create a more aesthetically pleasing ambience for both their clients and the surrounding community. Mr. Micheli described the general layout of a Shred415 facility, which includes a studio room, retail area (where customers can purchase apparel, water and snacks), and childcare room. The owners of Shred415 LLC consider their Shred locations a family place where families come to the studio together, and mothers and fathers come to class to work out and bring their children to Shred’s on-site childcare facility. Mr. Micheli commented that on the weekends whole families come to Shred together, and have found that coming to Shred is a community- building experience for their clients. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if there was staff that supervised the children. Mr. Micheli confirmed that the childcare area was staffed during classes that offered child care (child care is not available for all classes). Anytime child care is available the area is properly staffed; with a minimum of one staff member Public Hearing Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 3 during child care classes; however, depending on the number of children are signed up for child care, there are as many as two and three staff members tending the child care facility. Commissioner Bromberg asked if customers of Shred415 paid-per-class or if memberships were available for clients as well. Mr. Micheli commented that customers have the options to pay-per-class ($25 per class), purchase one of their class packages, which includes: 3, 5, 10 and 20 class packages (the more classes included in a package, the cheaper each individual class becomes) or purchase a monthly membership. Shred has introductory monthly memberships as well as promotional class specials. Mr. Micheli commented that their goal was to create a pricing structure that accommodates anyone’s needs depending on how often they like to come. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the classes were “drop-in classes” or if clients were required to register for classes in advanced in order to control the number of clients in each class. Chairperson Oppenheim explained that part of the Plan Commission’s scrutiny of the petition is the overall effect that their business is going to have on the pedestrian and vehicle traffic coming in and out of Shopper’s Court, and the overall safety of the site, especially during peak times. Mr. Micheli commented that their clients primarily sign up for classes in advances (many of which sign up months in advance in order to secure their preferred classes and class times), and that all classes max out at 30 participants (no exceptions as the work out studio can’t fit more than 30 participants at once). Clients are allowed to be waitlisted for a class, and if there are open spaces to fill at the time of the class clients are moved from the waitlist to the class. Commissioner Moyer inquired about the amount of time that was in between consecutive classes. Mr. Micheli responded that there was a fifteen-minute break between classes in order to give the class time to depart, and the new class to get situated; for example, if a class runs from 6AM to 7AM, there is a fifteen-minute break before the next class, which would start at 7:15AM. Mr. Micheli commented that early morning classes at 5AM & 6PM tend to be very busy, and 7:15AM classes can be busy depending on the day of the week, as it tends to be a harder time to commit to with respect to children’s drop-offs at school and people commuting to work. Classes tend to pick back up between 8:30AM and 9:45AM. The studios times vary by location depending on the community’s needs. Classes pick back up in the late afternoon again starting around 4:15PM; the Deerfield location is likely going to have 4:15PM, 5:30PM and 6:45PM class times. Mr. Micheli commented that Shred has slightly altered its class times at their Northfield location in order to accommodate their clients’ schedules, and that they expect similar class times to be in demand at their Deerfield location. The last class of the night is likely to be at 6:45PM on most nights, as there doesn’t tend to be a demand for late night classes in suburban locations. Mr. Micheli summarized that the peak hours for class times is the morning from 5AM through 9:45AM, and the late afternoons starting at 4:15PM. Public Hearing Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 4 Commissioner Berg asked if Shred was completely class based, or if clients were able to use the studio for their own individual work outs outside of class times. Mr. Micheli confirmed that Shred is all class based, and that members are not allowed to use the facilities when there is not a class going on. Commissioner Bromberg asked Mr. Berger if the other tenants in the 636 Building were going to have different peak times than Shred415. Mr. Berger commented that based on the different types of uses in the building, and the particular businesses going into the remaining tenant spaces that the tenant peak times would differ. The other tenant on the north side of the building is expected to have an afternoon peak time, and retail tenants (which are going to take up the remaining 2/3 of the building in the front) are expected to have day time and lunch times peak times. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that any food service tenants would have meal time peak times, which is not a peak time for Shred, an exercise facility. Mr. Freedman commented that the parking study was done deliberately to represent the 636 Deerfield Road Building at full tenant occupancy. Commissioner Bromberg asked if the traffic study found that an increased number of vehicles would exit the location from the northeast and go down Rosemary Terrace to Waukegan Road. Javier Millan, Senior Traffic Engineer, KLOA, responded that the traffic study estimated that during the morning peak hours (7:15AM to 8:15AM) about 25 vehicles would potentially travel north, and during the PM peak hours about 15 vehicles and then midday Saturday about 23 vehicles respectively. Mr. Millan commented that the traffic signal at Rosemary Terrace is going to be attractive to vehicle traffic exiting onto Deerfield Road from the property, since getting out onto Deerfield Road going east without a signal during rush hour can be difficult. Commissioner Bromberg agreed that the traffic signal at Rosemary Terrace would be the easiest way to exit in order to go east on Deerfield Road. Mr. Millan commented that the traffic study did not estimate any additional traffic going north on Rosemary Terrace to cut through to Waukegan Road, since the traffic signal allowed vehicles to easily exit onto Deerfield Road where vehicles can travel west to the next traffic light at the intersection of Deerfield and Waukegan. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that in the existing condition vehicle traffic does exit out of the Shopper’s Court parking lot and go north onto Rosemary Terrace to get to Waukegan Road, and that her concern is if traffic is going to increase significantly from the new development of the 636 Building. Commissioner Bromberg commented that he suspects cut-through traffic is going to increase, but that it may inevitable as a result of the development of the site. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the traffic study included the municipal parking lot in its total numbers count for parking space availability. Mr. Millan confirmed that the municipal lot was included in their parking numbers, but the 14 parking spaces directly in front of Italian Kitchen and other uses were not included in their final parking number count. The parking study concentrated on the parking lot in the back, as well as the municipal parking lot. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that it was her understanding that their parking data was fairly conservative. Mr. Millan commented that Public Hearing Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 5 the data was conducted under the assumption all customers are going to be driving to the location; although they anticipate that customers may opt to walk from their homes or the train station to Shopper’s Court since the location is in the downtown area. Commissioner Moyer commented that the fifteen minutes between classes seemed like a tight transition period, and asked how confident the petitioners were that it was a sufficient amount of time. Mr. Millan commented that the fifteen minutes in between classes reduces the overlap that would occur during back-to-back classes without a transition period, and is confident that the fifteen minutes will allow for most of the first class to disperse and the second class to come in. Commissioner Moyer commented that he thought people were going to opt to walk or ride their bikes to Shred, and asked if the property owner was planning on having bike racks on site. Mr. Berger confirmed that there would be two bike racks on site. Commissioner Berg asked if any stacking difficulties were anticipated to occur at the traffic light at Rosemary Terrace during the overlap peak hours. Mr. Milan commented that the traffic analyses considered the impact that the entire 636 Building (with all tenants) would have on the traffic in that area, and found that it’s not going to increase the queuing enough to affect the access drive to Rosemary Terrace. (2) Request for an Exception to the Approved Sign Criteria for the Charles Ifergan Commercial Planned Unit Development to Allow a New East Wall Sign for American Mattress. Karen Dodge, Municipal Resolutions, commented that American Mattress is seeking to place a new wall sign on the east wall of their tenant space. She explained that the stipulation that no wall sign was allowed on the east wall of the building did not come from the Village, but from the property owner’s sign criteria for the building when it went through major renovations a few years ago. American Mattress is seeking an exception to the approved sign criteria for the development to allow a new wall sign on the east wall of the building. The sign will be approximately 29 square feet and consist of the words “American Mattress” in white letters. The existing wall sign for American Mattress is located on the south wall of the building and is the same size as the proposed east wall sign. The new sign is going to be located the same distance from the corner of the building as the existing south wall sign, so the appearance will be symmetrical. She noted that the store is hard to see coming from the east driving west bound on Lake Cook Road, so the sign would be helpful to the business. American Mattress previously had a store location directly across the street, which produced $700,000 in sales; however, the new location is only producing $240,000. They attribute their lack of sales at the new location to inadequate signage. Chairperson Oppenheim clarified that the refusal to allow American Mattress to have a sign on the east wall is not a part of the Village’s code but an additional requirement of Public Hearing Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 6 the development’s sign criteria that was created by the owner, Mr. Charles Ifergan. Chairperson Oppenheim confirmed that the size, location and appearance of the signage was within the Village’s Zoning Ordinance and would not need to be granted any variation from the Village for the additional signage. There being no further business to discuss a motion was made and seconded to close the public hearing. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Glowacz  APPROVED PLAN COMMISSION VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD The Plan Commission of the Village of Deerfield held a Workshop Meeting at 7:30 P.M. on September 8, 2016 at the Village Hall, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Present were: Mary Oppenheim, Chairperson Larry Berg Al Bromberg Jim Moyer Absent were: Bob Benton Elaine Jacoby Stuart Shayman Also present: Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner Dan Nakahara, Associate Planner (1a) Discussion of Shredd415 Special Use Chairperson Oppenheim commented that it’s a tight site and the coordination of the tenants’ hours of operation has to fit together in a way that allows traffic to work. Chairperson Oppenheim commended the Petitioner’s for the thoroughness of their traffic study, and commented that the data driven reasoning provides evidence that the additional tenant traffic should not overwhelm the existing traffic situation, and therefore, should allay any traffic concerns in the future for businesses seeking tenant space in the 636 Deerfield Road Building. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that even with the 15 minutes in between classes, clients of Shred may opt to leave their vehicles in the parking lot after class and walk across the street to grab coffee together, which means that more cars than anticipated may be lingering in the parking lot in between and after classes. So there may be a little more overlap than currently anticipated; however, the traffic study indicated that although the parking lot is going to be busy during peak hours, there is a sufficient amount of parking available for everyone to fit at any given time. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that she shares Commissioner Bromberg’s concern about vehicle traffic using Rosemary Terrace (going north) as a cut through to Waukegan Road; however, part of their perception right now may be skewed by the fact that everyone is tired of the construction on Deerfield Road, which has a large impact on traffic as a whole, as it has caused vehicles traffic to venture off the main roads to find circuitous routes around the construction. Commissioner Bromberg commented that the Village previously approved the 636 Deerfield Road Building as a multi-tenant use with the understanding that the change from a single tenant building to a multi-tenant building would impact the traffic in the area. Chairperson Oppenheim reiterated that the Workshop Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 2 Plan Commission had previously taken into consideration the impact that the multi- tenant building would have on the traffic area, and that their focus was to ensure that each tenant appropriately fit into the space, and she is satisfied with the Petition that everyone is going to fit, and that customers can come and go safely from the location. Commissioner Bromberg commented that neighbors have become used to the location being empty; however, although filling the building is going to impact traffic in the area, their ultimate goal is to fill tenant spaces with businesses that positively benefit the community. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that the site is also unique in that members of the church across the street also park in the municipal parking lot on Sunday, but the businesses are not busy on Sunday morning, so there’s a lot of interconnectedness, and a really nice synergy. Commissioner Berg motioned to approve the Special Use for a Self-Improvement Facility for Shred415 Deerfield LLC. Commissioner Moyer seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Ayes: (4) Berg, Bromberg, Moyer, Oppenheim Nays: (0) None The motions passed and this item will be on the October 3rd Village Board of Trustees Meeting agenda. (2a) Discussion of American Mattress Signage The Commissioners agreed the exception to the sign criteria is appropriate and the sign is well designed. Commissioner Bromberg motioned to approve an exception to the approved sign criteria for the Charles Ifergan Commercial Planned Unit Development to allow a new east wall sign for American Mattress. Commissioner Moyer seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Ayes: (4) Berg, Bromberg, Moyer, Oppenheim Nays: (0) None The motions passed and this item will be on the October 3rd Village Board of Trustees Meeting agenda. (3) Prefiling Conference: Request to Amend the Deerfield Depot Sign Plan to Allow RTA Interagency Directional and Informational Signs at the Lake Cook Metra Station in the Deerfield Depot Planned Unit Development Joseph Moriarty, Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), explained that for the last few years the RTA has been leading a collaborative effort with CTA, Metra, Pace and municipal governments to design and employ a system of interagency signs to help make it easier for passengers to make transfers between Metra Trains, Rapid Transit Trains and buses. The RTA is petitioning the Village of Deerfield for approval to install Workshop Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 3 three sign posts in the parcel just north of the Lake Cook Road Metra Station. The new signage will include replacement bus stop signs and additional information signage to assist passengers in making the transfer from a train to a bus. Mr. Moriarty explained that the proposed signage (pending the Village’s approval) is a part of a larger program of signs that are going to be installed on the Metra Platform; all of the signage has a cohesive design. A bus boarding area flag with the letter “A” is going to be added by the bus stop sign; the signs are going to be 18” X 24” aluminum bus stop signs on an 11’ pole. For the two bus lanes and the access side walk, RTA is only proposing two bus stop signs, which will complement the directional signage on the platform. Mr. Moriarty explained that since the Lake Cook Road Station is a smaller parcel it allows the bus loading area to be located directly north of the train station; therefore, it’s not difficult to locate the bus area, and not a lot of signage is needed to direct commuters to the bus pickup/drop-off area. He noted that their goal is to make it as easy as possible for commuters to go from the train platform to the bus boarding area. The petitioners are planning for design and engineering towards the beginning of 2017, and signage installation around the third or fourth quarter in 2017. Commissioner Berg asked if this project was being done at all the transportation stations that had both bus and train access. Mr. Moriarty explained that the RTA received funding from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) through the federal government for nineteen locations region wide. The select locations have a high interagency transfer demand, including: five downtown terminal stations: Union Station, Ogilvie, LaSalle, Millennium Park and the Museum Campus. Mr. Moriarty pointed out that the Lake Cook Road Station is a great example of an area where there is a large amount of transfers between Metra and Pace. There are three hundred locations around the region where passengers can make an interagency transfer, and the RTA is focusing on the seventy-five locations with the most demand. Currently fourteen locations in the region already have signage installed, and the RTA’s goal is to complete 20-25 at a time. The Lake Cook Metra Station is one of the initial tier sites. Chairperson Oppenheim explained that the Village of Deerfield’s Zoning Ordinance has certain limitations on the size of directional signs allowed to be posted properties, and the petitioners are requesting more signage and slightly larger signage than is typically allowed under our Zoning Ordinance. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the Lake Cook Road Metra Station has a lot of buses coming in and out of its transportation center. She also pointed out that the layout of the parking lot around the train station, as well as the location of the train station itself can be confusing. The train station is located in the very back, and the parking lot not only serves the train station, but the businesses located in the train station as well. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that it’s understandable why the Lake Cook Road Station would be selected as one of the initial stations for RTA’s new signage project. Mr. Moriarty noted that one advantage of the layout at the Lake Cook Road Station is that the train platform and the bus stops are within sight distance of each other, so commuters can easily identify the bus pickup/drop-off area as they exit Workshop Meeting September 8, 2016 Page 4 the train. However, it can be difficult for first time users to identify where to go, and which bus to take to get to their destination. Mr. Moriarty explained that the RTA’s ultimate goal was to post signage that made commuters riding experiences as consistent and easy as possible. The RTA uses the term “seamless”, as their goal is for commuters to have seamless transfers from one transportation system (mode) to another. Mr. Moriarty noted that both Metra and Pace are very successful at the Lake Cook Road Station, and the new signage is designed to be an added value for customers. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the petitioner’s request is for a directional signage package that includes the installation of bulletin boards on the train platform in addition to the bus stop signage. Mr. Moriarty confirmed, and commented that there are currently 4 demonstration locations up and running, including: the Davis Station in Evanston and the Van Buren Station. The Joliet Union Station has a train connections diagram with the CTA System superimposed upon the Metra System (locations where passengers can make transfers are highlighted on the train connections diagram). He noted that each specific location features specially designed signage based on the locations signage demands. The designs include: bus connection diagrams (designed for stations where all the buses radiate from a certain location, similar to the Lake Cook Road Station), neighborhood maps, train route diagrams, etc. The RTA is in its expansion phase of their signage project with 14 regional locations in the downtown, suburban and outlying Chicago area; all of which have a large amount of train to bus connections. Commissioner Berg asked if any of the proposed signage was going along Lake Cook Road, or if all of the signage was going to be located on the northeast corner of Metra’s property. Mr. Moriarty clarified that in addition to the proposed bus stop signage there would be new signage featured on the Metra Platform. He noted that there was not going to be signage located along Lake Cook Road. Chairperson Oppenheim reiterated that the signage was all within the Lake Cook Metra Station property. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the petitioners have a very complete, thorough packet of information, and that the information provided would be sufficient for the Public Hearing. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that in her opinion the more information posted for commuters in a train station, the better. Chairperson Oppenheim advised the petitioners that in the interest of full disclosure that her husband is an Officer of Metra and to avoid any appearance of impropriety she is not going to participate in the Public Hearing, and will recusing. The Public Hearing for the petition is on the October 27th Plan Commission Meeting agenda. There being no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Glowacz