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 February 23rd, 2017 at the Village Hall, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Present were: Mary Oppenheim, Chairperson Al Bromberg Elaine Jacoby Jim Moyer Absent were: Bob Benton Larry Berg Stuart Shayman Also present: Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner Dan Nakahara, Planner Public Comment on a Non-Agenda Item No public comment on a non-agenda item (1) Public Hearing on the Request for a Special Use for a Autism Therapy Center at 1161 Lake Cook Road and an Amendment to the Sign Plan for the Deerfield Business Center Kim Garvey Hoehne, Founder/CEO, KGH Consultation and Treatment, discovered her passion for working with autistic children in college when she began working with a little boy with autism. KGH became official in 2001. KGH currently has two locations, one in Madison, Wisconsin and the other in Northbrook, Illinois. The Northbrook location is made up of a pediatric center and a teen and young adult center. Ms. Garvey Hoehne is looking to move to the Deerfield Business Center because of its great location near two major highways. KGH serves families from Wisconsin to all the way south of Chicago. Ms. Garvey Hoehne has also identified several positive, synergistic associations in the area that she would like to pair up with and work together. KGH offers an all- encompassing, comprehensive program with their goal to provide wrap around services for their clients and their families. KGH provides free screenings and free mental health support at the beginning of sessions for parents and siblings. KGH strives to promote and increase the quality of life for the client as well as their families. KGH clients range from infants to young adulthood and is a specialized facility for children on the autism spectrum, as well as children with co-morbid conditions, who have autism as well as other difficulties. Ms. Garvey Hoehne believes that the benefits of KGH can help to Public Hearing Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 2 support the Deerfield community by offering first responder training, as well as providing training for librarians on how to better help individuals with special needs who come to the library. Ms. Garvey Hoehne has worked hard over the last three years in growing the practice internally; developing clear standard operating procedures and fidelity implementation, which really helped KGH become a distinguished behavioral health service provider. Kim hopes to expand into the community to help more students that are not attending KGH by supporting other professionals and public service members with informative trainings on autism awareness. KGH offers numerous free programs such as their parent support group and screenings for early diagnosis, as well as working with insurance companies on their families’ behalf. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9AM to 6:30PM, as well as half days on Fridays. They may have Saturday hours depending on the interest from parents who want to bring their children to sessions on Saturdays. Twenty to twenty-five percent of their clients are seen off-site in their homes or in the community. Ms. Garvey Hoehne feels that KGH can create a very positive synergy with their neighbors, BJBE and the Jewish High School, and provide a nice therapeutic, educational and spiritual support for the Deerfield community. Ms. Garvey Hoehne explained that her clients traffic will come into the business park from the Lake Cook Road and Pine Street intersection and continue to travel west on the drive isle towards her building. With regard to drop-off and pick-up, safety is their primary goal. Staff members escort their clients and their families to their vehicles after a session. If there is any sense of concern for safety, staff members will also come out to meet their clients at their vehicles during drop-off. KGH has designate pick-up and drop-off parking spaces in front of their building for this purpose; the spots will be marked with 12”x18” short term parking signs. Employees are required to park in the spaces furthest from their building, so as to provide their clients with the preferred spaces nearest to their entrance. KGH is also working with BJBE on developing a fenced in recreation area in between the two buildings, which will provide KGH with the needed accreditation to become a nationally accredited private preschool. A fenced in recreation area will also provide a safe outdoor space for fresh air, friends and exercise. KGH and BJBE are in discussion about the schedule for the courtyard area. Chairperson Oppenheim asked for confirmation that it is going to be a shared courtyard area between the two organizations. Ms. Hoehne confirmed and commented that the fenced in area is subject to shared use and agreement between the two owners. Chad Silvester, Partners in Design Architects, commented that the first sign as vehicles enter the property from the Lake Cook Road and Pine Street intersection is a BJBE directional sign that faces east. KGH is going to have a directional sign perpendicular to the BJBE directional sign with an arrow directing their clients to the west towards their facility. Further, down the frontage road, there will be a double-sided sign with KGH and directional arrows pointing to the south, so that traffic flow will proceed to the second entry in front of the drop-off area. The petitioner is designating signs posted for the short term, pick-up and drop-off parking spaces in front of the building. Adjacent to these Public Hearing Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 3 signs will be a low linear ground mounted sign that reads “KGH”. In addition, the building directory sign in the northeast corner of the site will be modified to add KGH. There are also two preexisting signs within the parking area that KGH is going to be added to as well. Mr. Silvester added that there is also going to be work done in the courtyard area to fence in the area while working with the existing grade and landscaping. Architecturally there is not going to be any work to the exterior of the building. Commissioner Bromberg asked for the proposed size of the directional signs. Mr. Silvester noted that the proposed signage included; 1.) 18”x74” directional sign located at Lake Cook Road and Pine Street intersection entrance 2.) 12”x18” directional sign located at the northeast corner of Pine Street and the frontage road; mounted on an existing pole with the BJBE sign on top 3.) 12”x18” double-sided, directional sign further down the frontage road to direct visitors into the property 4.) 12”x18” vehicular sign located in front of the building at the drop-off and pick-up area to mark the six short term parking spaces 5.) An existing ground mounted sign located at the northeast corner of the parking lot that KGH will be added to with a directional arrow 6.) An existing ground mounted sign located at the northwest corner of the parking lot that KGH will be added to with a directional arrow 7.) The preexisting building directory sign located at the northeast that KGH will be added to with a directional arrow. Mr. Ryckaert commented that all the proposed signage for KGH meets code, with no variations. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the courtyard is completely surrounded by the buildings, and if the fence would be against the side of the building. Mr. Silvester explained that the fence would be approximately six feet from the building, so that a sidewalk would go around the fenced-in courtyard area, between the building and the fence. Roy Splansky, Chair of the Real Estate and Construction Committee, BJBE, commented that they met with Ms. Garvey Hoehne to view her plans for the facility including her proposed plan for the courtyard area. He commented that they feel that there are many synergies between them, and they are excited to work with her going forward. Mr. Splansky commented that they also brought up the idea of fencing in the two sides of the courtyard, instead of having the current proposed fenced in area that is contained strictly for their buildings. The buildings themselves create a fenced in area, so the thought would be to install a fence along the two sides of the buildings, in order to restrict entry from any outsiders. Currently, for BJBE, the exits out into the courtyard are emergency exits only; therefore, BJBE would not have their members exit out into the courtyard area unless they were working on a program with KGH. Mr. Splansky acknowledged that there are a few matters to work out in terms of safety and KGH’s own requirements. He noted that BJBE looks forward to working together with KGH to make this happen. Commissioner Bromberg asked if the fire department would be okay with them closing off that area, because they need access in case of an emergency situation. Mr. Silvester commented that they would have to work through that with the fire department, and it comes down to examining the floor plans of each building and finding out which is the required means of egress, and then creating the appropriate signage. He commented that it may turn out that they do not have to rely on those doors Public Hearing Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 4 going to the courtyard for egress, but if they are required too then they would have to look into providing the appropriate hardware on those gates to make sure that they are always accessible for life safety and emergency personnel. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if that courtyard space was currently only accessible by KGH and BJBE, and not any of the other tenant spaces in the area. Mr. Splansky explained that the courtyard is currently open on the two ends, but it would become exclusive space for the two buildings by fencing in the area between the buildings. Dan Brinkman, Senior Transportation Engineer, Gewalt Hamilton Associates, Inc. commented that they began the traffic study by taking morning and afternoon traffic counts of KGH’s existing facilities in Northbrook. These counts provided them with the baseline on how much traffic goes in and out of the facility and the parking demand. KGH would be a complimentary use to the other uses in the Deerfield Business Center because their peak hours in the morning differ from the Jewish High School and BJBE whose morning peak times are very busy. KGH’s morning peak times occur after the traditional morning rush hour, and their afternoon their peak time is from 3:45PM to 4:45PM, which are a little earlier than the traditional street peak hours. KGH’s peak times’ pattern works very well with the other traffic flow in the area. To make sure that they accommodated Mrs. Garvey Hoehne’ s plans for growth, they took the traffic volumes and the parking demand that they looked at in December at her existing facility in Northbrook and increased it by twenty percent, which was the basis for all of their analysis. With the growth, they are expecting an estimated 40 trips in the morning with 31 coming to the facility and 9 exiting the facility. An estimated 94 trips in the evening with 54 incoming trips and 40 outgoing trips. A traditional office use in a building of this size (1161 Lake Cook Road building), would generate an estimated 55 trips in the morning versus 40, and 102 trips in the evening versus 94. Mr. Brinkman commented that they are going to add traffic to the area, but the traffic impact is not going to be as significant as a traditional business use, especially given the different peak times. Mr. Brinkman commented that it was important to have the directional signage at the Lake Cook Road and Pine Street intersection entrance to direct KGH traffic towards the west drive. He recognizes that many new clients visiting the facility for the first time may disregard the signage and turn into the parking lot too soon. KGH will have a lot of returning clients and this should not be an ongoing issue. In regards to the parking demand, Mr. Brinkman noted that there are a total of 436 spaces for the entire development; 160 of the spaces are designated use for BJBE, but their daytime demand is only about 55 spaces. He noted that the Village code requires 194 spaces for the BJBE, but they have a variation for 160 spaces. The two remaining buildings require about 168 spaces per code. KGH is considered a medical office use, therefore the parking requirements are based on the calculation 5.6 spaces per 1000 square feet, so KGH would need 118 spaces per code; with a total of 480 parking spaces required for the entire development. There is an existing variation for 30 spaces for the BJBE; therefore, KGH is only asking for a variance of ten spaces in terms of the remaining parking spaces available for the rest of the business center. Public Hearing Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 5 In regards to the actual parking demand, the parking study determined that there are more than sufficient parking available for KGH, BJBE, the other existing business center uses and any future parking demand for current vacant tenant spaces in the center. KGH would need an estimated 66 parking spaces (calculations based on 120% of their peak demand at their current Northbrook location). The total parking demand for the Deerfield Business Center would be 220 spaces. Mr. Brinkman commented that the proposed signage for KGH is meant to direct visitors and clients towards the west drive isle, and the signage is designed to aesthetically fit in with the existing signage in the business center. The six designated short term, pick-up and drop-off parking spaces in front of the building are needed to efficiently and safely escort their clients to and from the building. There is a little overlap with KGH’s peak time in the evening when BJBE is busy and recommended adding a “Yield” or “Yield to Left Turns” sign behind the “Do Not Enter” sign. This “Yield” sign would be appropriate to try to minimize any conflict between the counterclockwise flow through the parking lot in front of the KGH building and the vehicles exiting BJBE on the west drive aisle. Mr. Brinkman concluded that KGH is a complimentary use to the Deerfield Business Center that doesn’t have significant traffic or parking impact on the area. The proposed signage plan is designed to operationally minimize KGH’s impact on the traffic in the area; Mrs. Hoehne is also planning on providing her clients with directions to her facility. Chairperson Oppenheim asked Mr. Brinkman if he recommended that the “Yield” sign should be installed once KGH takes occupancy or wait and see if it’s necessary. Mr. Brinkman recommended that the “Yield” sign should be included as a part of KGH’s signage plan, so that the center can adjust to the new operation. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the “Yield” sign would be considered a directional sign. Mr. Ryckaert commented that it would be considered a traffic sign. Mr. Brinkman commented that the “Yield” sign would be facing the vehicle traffic exiting BJBE, so that there is a visual warning that the vehicles traveling inbound may be making a left turn in front of them and to yield to those vehicles. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the “Yield” sign is included in the proposed sign plan packet. Mr. Brickman confirmed that they would add the “Yield” sign to the proposed sign plan. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that there is a cut-out on the west end, directly in front of the building, where an additional five parking spaces could be placed if there was a need for additional parking in the future. Mr. Brinkman confirmed that there would be some flexibility for that space, as long as the grading and drainage complied with Village engineering standards. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that if KGH ran into traffic issues with efficiently and safely getting their clients to and from the building, developing that area into additional parking spaces may be more convenient for her clients as the area is right in front of the building. Chairperson Oppenheim explained that she would not have an issue with a variance for ten parking spaces, but that it’s worth mentioning that there is potential for additional parking if the need presented itself in the future. Mr. Brinkman agreed that the potential is there, and it is good to have the option. Public Hearing Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 6 Gary Wool, resident, managing member, Deerfield Office Center, commented that they could add five spaces directly in front of the 1161 Lake Cook Road building. He noted that there is also another area to the north, in front of the 1121 building, that currently has FedEx mailboxes that can be relocated in order to add another four to five spaces. However, he noted that based on the traffic study there is not a need for the additional parking, but it is there if needed in the future. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if there was an auxiliary parking area for the temple during High Holy Days. Mr. Splansky explained that during the High Holidays, the temple is able to use the Jewish High School’s parking lot because there isn’t any school on those days, and they also shuttle people back and forth from an additional parking lot to the west. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the other uses in the office park have difficulties finding parking on those days. Mr. Splansky commented that they have not run into any issues in regards to parking. Mrs. Garvey Hoehne informed the Commissioners that on the High Holy Days many of her staff is off and many of their clients do not come, so their clinic traffic is greatly reduced on those days. David Mangurten, resident, 602 Warwick Road, commented that he is a long time Deerfield resident, as well as a long time Deerfield Business Center tenant. He is currently a tenant at 1161 Lake Cook Road, unit C. Mr. Mangurten is in support of the project. His lease is up in two years, so ownership is working with him to relocate him into another tenant space in the center. His employees are at work during the High Holidays, and they haven’t experience any issues with finding parking on those days. Mr. Mangurten assured the Commissioners that there is excellent communication between the synagogue and ownership. The entire office center receives informative emails whenever there is a big event, and hopes that KGH would do the same. Mr. Mangurten wishes KGH luck with their petition. Chairperson Oppenheim thanked Mr. Wool for providing cost information on the installation of a sidewalk on the frontage road as was discussed at the prefiling conference. Mr. Wool noted that the cost to install a sidewalk on the south side of the frontage road is expensive due to the different grade elevations. Mr. Wool also noted that he spoke with the facilities manager at Textura. Mr. Wool commented that the Textura facilities manager did not think they would be interested in installing a sidewalk and referenced that Textura along with Walgreens and other businesses contribute to the Transportation Management Association of Lake Cook for Pace Shuttlebug service. The Shuttlebug service transports employees from their businesses to the Lake Cook Road Metra Station. 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 February 23, 2017 at the Village Hall, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Present were: Mary Oppenheim, Chairperson Al Bromberg Elaine Jacoby Jim Moyer Absent were: Bob Benton Larry Berg Stuart Shayman Also present: Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner Dan Nakahara, Planner (1a) Discussion of the 1161 Lake Cook Road Special Use Chairperson Oppenheim commented that she is satisfied with the clarification that the petitioners have presented to the Plan Commission, as well as the changes they have made to their signage plan. The new sign locations are optimal for safely and efficiently moving vehicle traffic through the property. Chairperson Oppenheim is also satisfied with the traffic study, and agrees that the results support the petitioners request for a variance of ten parking spaces. She also mentioned that there is a sufficient amount of space on the property to add more parking spaces if the need arises. Chairperson Oppenheim personally feels that the petition’s material is very well put together, and KGH would be a good addition to the Deerfield Business Office Center. Commissioner Moyer commented that this was a great use. The Commissioners were supportive of this petition, agreed that this was a great use and would be a good addition to the property. Commissioner Bromberg motioned to approve the request for a Special Use for an Autism Therapy Center at 1161 Lake Cook Road and an Amendment to the Sign Plan for the Deerfield Business Center. Commissioner Moyer seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Ayes: (4) Bromberg, Jacoby, Moyer, Oppenheim Nays: (0) None The motions passed and will be on the March 20th Village Board of Trustees Meeting agenda. Workshop Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 2 (2) Prefiling Conference on the Request for a Special Use for a Personal Fitness Training Center in Suite D at the 448 Lake Cook Road building (formerly addressed 430 Lake Cook Road) in the Industraplex Planned Unit Development (Ivan Wolfson and Jim Poulos – FIT Boutique) Jim Poulos, owner, Fit Boutique, commented that Fit Boutique is a personal training studio located in Deerfield, seeking a Special Use to relocate their studio to the 448 Lake Cook Road building, suite D. Fit Boutique has been in Deerfield for five years, and the growth of their business has generated their need for a larger tenant space. Mr. Poulos is excited about relocating to the 448 building, and is looking forward to working with the property owner who is in support of their businesses and their needs. Fit Boutique primarily offers one-on-one personal training sessions, as well as two private boot camp sessions a week: one is a free class on Saturday mornings and is offered explicitly to their clients, and the other is a private class attended by six to eight girls from Deerfield (the private class is a weekly arrangement between Fit Boutique and the girls’ parents). Commissioner Bromberg asked if it’s the same group of girls every week. Mr. Poulos confirmed that it was the same core group of girls attended the class every week. Chairperson Oppenheim asked how old the girls were. Mr. Poulos responded that the girls are around ten years old. Mr. Poulos commented that in regards to parking they would be thirty parking spaces available for Fit Boutique, which would be more than enough parking for their needs. Chairperson Oppenheim explained that the Village’s Zoning Ordinance requires a specific number of parking spaces based on the type of use; however, there are times when the required number of parking spaces (per code) exceeds the actual need. Chairperson Oppenheim asked if the petitioners were requesting a waiver for the traffic study. Mr. Poulos confirmed that they are requesting a waiver of the parking and traffic study. Chairperson Oppenheim pointed out that the petitioners performed their own traffic study; determining that there is an ample amount of parking at the 448 Lake Cook Road building based on their parking needs. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that she supports the petitioners request for a parking study waiver, since there appears to be plenty of parking for their use. The Commissioners agreed to waive the parking and traffic study. Chairperson Oppenheim asked the petitioners if they were concerned about new clients being able to find their location at 448 Lake Cook Road, since it is hidden in the back of the property. Mr. Poulos explained that their business is established, and they have many repeat clients. Fit Boutique is a destination location, and most of their clients hear about them by referral from a friend, colleague, etc. Their current location, at the back of the 740 Waukegan Road building, can be very difficult to find, so they are used to taking a few minutes to give their clients directions. He noted that they are prepared to explain to clients how to get to their new location. Dr. Ivan Wolfson, psychologist, Wolfson Psychological Services and owner of the 448 Lake Cook Road building, commented that he was just granted an address change from the Village, changing the building’s address from 430 Lake Cook Road to 448 Lake Workshop Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 3 Cook Road. He commented that this address makes more sense since it is directly behind the 444 Lake Cook Road building. Mr. Wolfson thinks the address change will make it easier to find. Commissioner Bromberg asked for clarification on their hours of operation. Mr. Poulos explained that their facility if open Monday – Thursday, 6AM to 9PM; Friday, 6AM to 8PM; and Saturday, 7AM to 4PM. The facility is closed on Sundays. He commented that their clients schedule one-on-one sessions with their trainers, and individual sessions are determined by the availability of the facility space and staff members during a client’s specific requested training time. All sessions are based on scheduled appointments except for the two weekly boot camp classes. Fit Boutiques hours of operation are based on the demand of their clients. Chairperson Oppenheim asked what other types of uses are in the 448 Lake Cook Road building. Dr. Wolfson commented that he is a psychologist, and he just moved from the 420 Lake Cook Road building to the 448 building. He commented that due to the tucked away location of the 448 building, typically, only a business that is a destination location would be interested in renting a tenant space there. The location change works well for Dr. Wolfson, since he is a sole practitioner whose business is based on scheduled client appointments. Another tenant who is going to move into the 448 building is a small professional video production company that is primarily going to utilize the facility for equipment storage. The entire office space consists of two buildings merged into one, and there are currently on average only three people in the building at once. The warehouse space in the back is rented for storage, and no work is done from that property. Mr. Ryckaert asked if there were any vacancies in the building. Dr. Wolfson responded that if Fit Boutique is approved for a Special Use then there would be no vacancies in the building. The other tenant is the former owner of the building who works out of her tenant space with her daughter; Dr. Wolfson purchased the building on foreclosure with his psychiatrist business partner. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that it doesn’t appear as if there is going to be an issue with a lot of people coming and going from the building; especially since Fit Boutique does not offer traditional group workout classes. Chairperson Oppenheim explained that the next step in the Special Use process was for the petitioners to come back for a Public Hearing with the Plan Commission; advising them that they would need to present their parking needs and traffic impact at that time. Chairperson Oppenheim asked the Petitioners if they would be making any exterior structural changes to the building, or if they were requesting any signage for their studio. Mr. Poulos responded that the only signage they are requesting was a business logo decal on the glass front door to their studio. Chairperson Oppenheim advised the petitioners that there were code limitations on how large window signage can be. Mr. Ryckaert asked if the petitioners wanted a wall sign on the side of the building. Mr. Poulos responded that they only wanted window signage. Dr. Wolfson commented that he would like to replace the address signage that reads “430”. He would like to replace the two existing “430” address post signs with the Workshop Meeting February 23, 2017 Page 4 building’s new address, “448”, as well as add another “448” address wall sign on the building itself. Posting the address on the building is a requirement by the Village, so that emergency vehicles can easily identify the building. Dr. Wolfson explained that the owner of the 420 building is willing to let him place a sign on the 420 property to help direct visitors to the 448 building and since it can be difficult to identify the 448 building from Lake Cook Road. Chairperson Oppenheim commented that it would be directional signage to guide their visitors towards the back of the property to the 448 building. She asked if the proposed signage could be a part of this petition. There was a discussion amongst the Plan Commission and the petitioners as to whether or not they wanted to include the directional/address signage as a part of their petition. Mr. Ryckaert advised the petitioners that the owners of the 420 building would have to agree to and sign the Public Hearing application for the petitioners to include this signage as part of this petition. The petitioners would like to include the directory/directional/address signage as a part of their petition for the Public Hearing. Chairperson Oppenheim reiterated that the owner of the 420 building would have to be a part of the request, since the proposed directional signage for the 448 building would be off-site (on the 420 property). Commissioner Bromberg asked what would happen if the 420 property changed ownership and the new owner no longer want the directional signage on their property. Mr. Ryckaert explained that the ordinances are normally written so that the rules and regulations are inherited by the successor; therefore, the ordinance would be specific to the property, not the owner. The Petition will be on the April 13th Plan Commission Meeting agenda for a Public Hearing. (3) Request for Approval of the 2017 Village of Deerfield Zoning Map Chairperson Oppenheim commented that the Commissioners needed to approve the 2017 Zoning Map for all of the changes made throughout the 2016 calendar year, from January 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2016. All of the changes over the last year now have to be put into the Zoning Map in order for the changes to be official. Commissioner Bromberg motioned to approve the 2017 Village of Deerfield Zoning Map. Commissioner Jacoby seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Ayes: (4) Bromberg, Jacoby, Moyer, Oppenheim Nays: (0) None The motion passed and will be on the March 6th Village Board of Trustees meeting agenda. There being no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Glowacz