Planning and Zoning Commission

VILLAGE OF HOMEWOOD MEETING MINUTES DATE OF MEETING: June 13, 2024 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Village Hall Board Room 7:00 pm 2020 Chestnut Street Homewood, IL 60430 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Pro Tem Bransky called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: In attendance were Members Alfonso, Cap, Johnson, O’Brien, and Chair Pro Tem Bransky. Member Castaneda and Chair Sierzega were absent. Present from the Village was Director of Economic and Community Development Angela Mesaros (serving as Staff Liaison), Assistant Director of Economic & Community Development Noah Schumerth and Building Department Secretary Darlene Leonard. There were three members of the public in the audience. The public was able to watch and listen to the meeting via Zoom webinar. There was one audience members present via Zoom. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked about changes to the minutes from the May 23, 2024 meeting. Member O’Brien stated on page 6 in the fourth paragraph from the bottom, to add “estimates were received in the amount of $65,000”. In the next paragraph add “$300,000 of so was the estimated total cost of the project”, and in the last sentence of the following paragraph change “comment” to “engage”. Also, on page 8 in the first paragraph, remove “perfectly” from the end of the first sentence. Motion made to approve the minutes as corrected made by Member Cap; second by Member O’Brien. AYES: Members Johnson, O’Brien, and Chair Pro Tem Bransky NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: Members Alfonso and Cap ABSENT: Member Castaneda and Chair Sierzega REGULAR BUSINESS: CASE 24-11: Special Use Permit for Indoor Commercial Place of Assembly at 17811 Bretz Drive Chair Pro Tem Bransky introduced the case, state it was being continued to the June 27, 2024 meeting, and asked if there were any public comments. Meeting Minutes | June 13, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Assistant Director Schumerth stated there were no public comments for this case of Case 24-15. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated it was published as a special use and discovered that a variance will be needed and the case will be continued to the next meeting, but it can still be discussed. Member Johnson asked if a vote would occur and Staff Liaison Mesaros stated no, the vote will occur at the next meeting. Chair Pro Tem Bransky introduced and swore in the applicant, Arnell Newman from 19035 Crawford in Flossmoor. Mr. Newman stated the location on Bretz Drive will be a full production site and it works well because of the height of the unit. There will be a 25x13 LED wall and a recording facility upstairs and would show students how to run the board and production stage and have shows open to the public. Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked where the students would be from with Mr. Newman stating from the surrounding area including HF. Member O’Brien asked what the business is, if Mr. Newman is a teacher, if audiences will be on site, be presentations. Mr. Newman stated he is an executive producer, not a teacher, there will be boot camps to train people, and there will be audiences and presentations. Member Cap stated there is potential for the business being a studio with an audience and asked how the parking consideration will be impacted and how many people can be accommodated in the audience. Mr. Newman stated 80 people. Member Cap stated parking would have to be looked at and Assistant Director Schumerth stated that there are some things that will be looked at in the with the text amendment. Member Cap asked about the seating and Mr. Newman stated everything, including the seating is modular and movable. Member Cap asked the size of the unit. Mr. Newman stated 3,000 square feet total for 2 units. Member cap stated that is 10 spaces, but 20 might be needed. Assistant Director Schumerth stated he is not sure and he would have to look into it. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated currently 10 spaces are needed and asked Mr. Newman how many spaces are allocated to the business. Mr. Newman said 8 spaces. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated that a parking variance would also be needed then. Assistant Director Schumerth stated that there are 15 tenant spaces, 145 parking spaces and 1 planned building was never built and the location is over-parked. Meeting Minutes | May 23, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked if it’s 8 spaces per unit or 8 spaces total. Mr. Newman said it is 8 spaces per unit. Member Alfonso asked how many employees. Mr. Newman stated it would be about 4, himself, 1 engineer, and the band. Member Johnson asked staff if there are any similar type spaces around to compare it to. Assistant Director Schumerth stated the space is kind of unique. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated they didn’t find anything that similar. Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked if it would be a live band producing and recoding or filming a video with a live audience or more like a show at the House of Blues and recording it. And asked if it would a full show or just a few tracks. Mr. Newman stated it would depend on the artist or band and how they feel more comfortable to record and stated that one band liked to have an audience when recording in studio because that was how their music would be played. Mr. Newman stated it would depend on the artist on how much was played. Chair Pro Tem Branksy stated that the applicant is not setting up a House of Blues type of location and recording it but it is a production studio with a live audience. Member O’Brien asked what the maximum number of people in the building would be when a production is occurring. Mr. Newman stated he thinks it would be 80, but that it excessive. Member O’Brien asked what would be done for parking in that situation as that is well beyond the parking accommodations. Mr. Newman stated they would shut down by 1 am, the format would be limited, and they would put a limit on parking and capacity. Assistant Director Schumerth stated the information would be in the final packet with the hours. Staff Liaison Mesaros asked if there was a plan to accommodate 80 people. Mr. Newman stated they would have to schedule when the other businesses are closed and stated the brewery gave the okay to use their spaces on Saturday afternoons. Member Cap asked is they would lease or own the location and if they had spoken to the HOA. Mr. Newman said it is a purchase and they have spoken to the HOA. Member Cap asked if the by-laws govern the use of spaces and the Commission might need to impose something similar or strongly suggest guidelines for parking. Meeting Minutes | May 23, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Staff Liaison Mesaros stated it can be done and it has been done in the past and have limited capacity because of the lack of parking. Member Cap stated a condition of approval might be an inclusion of parking. Staff Liaison Mesaros asked Mr. Newman how the parking worked. Mr. Newman stated there are 8 spots in front and 8 in the back. Assistant Director Schumerth stated the spaces are not marked and the lot is shared. Member Cap made a motion to continue to the meeting on June 27, 2024; Member O’Brien seconded. AYES: Members Alfonso, Cap, Johnson, O’Brien, and Chair Pro Tem Bransky NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Member Castaneda and Chair Sierzega CASE 24-15: Text Amendment to allow Indoor commercial places of Assembly in M-1 Limited Manufacturing Zoning District; Amend Parking Standards for Places of Assembly Uses Chair Pro Tem Bransky presented the case and stated it was being continued to the June 27, 2024 meeting and asked if there were any comments. Assistant Director Schumerth stated there were no public comments. Member O’Brien stated on page 28 in non-commercial indoor clubs or lodges are listed and in outdoor commercial fraternal/civic organizations are listed; it should be consistent. Member O’Brien stated that by using Saint John Neumann Church as an example the Church, the School, and the Priory as examples for the parking as each one has a different requirement for parking. Member O’Brien asked how the new ordinance approaches the parking to be calculated because the seating is movable. Char Pro Tem Bransky asked if the parking is determined by the building, the site, or the use. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated the old code calculated it by site, the new code is by square footage which is very different and the number of parking spaces required is much lower, when using churches as an example. Assistant Director Schumerth stated that Homewood isn’t the only community that combines into use categories; it is a hybrid approach. They do not do a separate calculation for each use as in the old code. Chair Pro Tem Bransky stated is might be helpful to have sample calculations of the typical uses. Member Cap stated in a previous conversation with Assistant Director Schumerth regarding expanding the consideration that schools could be places of assembly and they should be considered in this as well. Meeting Minutes | May 23, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Member Johnson said they could be added, but they are exempt. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated schools are exempt from building, but must comply with zoning. They are in a separate category and there is a different definition for schools. Member Cap stated schools may need to be considered because they have functions that are not school related outside of school hours. Chair Pro Tem Bransky requested to refine the list of what is and isn’t included in the definition to see how it would be applied. Assistant Director Schumerth stated the table is what is in the Code currently, but more examples can be provided. Member Cap said modifications to some definitions may be needed. Member O’Brien asked if day cares are considered schools. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated that child care centers are in their own category in the code and are not part of this. Member Johnson stated the definitions for schools and day cares may need to be looked at. Member O’Brien made a motion to continue to the meeting on June 27, 2024; seconded by Member Cap. AYES: Members Cap, Johnson, O’Brien, and Chair Pro Tem Bransky NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Member Castaneda and Chair Sierzega CASE 24-14: Special Use Permit for massage Therapy Establishment at 930 W. 175th Street Chair Pro Tem Bransky present the case, swore in the applicant, Erica Washington from 930 175th St. Homewood, and asked if there were any public comments. Assistant Director Schumerth stated they had one request for information, but no comments. Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked if it was just to add massage to an existing business. Ms. Washington stated that she operates a wellness center and believes that massage is a part of wellness. She currently offers mental health counseling and have a nurse practitioner for medication management, etc. Ms. Washington stated they would do an assessment and all therapists are licensed by the State. Ms. Washington stated she already offers reiki and stated that the massage therapists would be coming to the existing space and no additional work would be done. Meeting Minutes | May 23, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Member O’Brien asked if another suite was being taken over and asked if the square footage on the application is the total of both suites. Ms. Washington stated yes, and she is in process to get a business license for it and has been in business for a year, and she was unsure about the square footage. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated yes, that is how the square footage was obtained. Member Cap asked about the hours and days of operations. Ms. Washington stated she extended the hours to 8pm. Member Cap asked if the hours would be 8 am to 8 pm, and if there are peak hours. Ms. Washington stated yes, and that they don’t really have peak hours because everything is by appointment only and a lot is done virtually. As most 3-4 are in the suites at a time usually in the evenings from 5-8. Member Alfonso stated that adding massage makes a lot of sense, it compliments each other, and people would benefit from it. Member Alfonso asked if reiki needed a special use. Ms. Washington stated that she was told it did not need one, and that she initially included massage on her application, but removed it. Staff Liaison Mesaros stated that massage has been a separate category and that requires a special use. Member Alfonso asked if massage would be offered to children. Ms. Washington stated she doesn’t have anyone to do it now, but wants to offer it. Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked if there are any special requirements to do massage on kids. Ms. Washington stated no, just be trained and licensed. Chair Pro Tem Bransky asked if there were any comments from the public. Mose Curry from the Board for the Gardens of Homewood and they were concerned and wanted more information. Ms. Washington stated she has been there since February 2023 and the business provides counseling and reiki and they are in the process pf being paralleled with Medicare. Member Cap made a motion to approve with the added Findings of Facts #7 amending the hours of operation to be 8 am – 8 pm; seconded by Member O’Brien. AYES: Members Cap, Johnson, O’Brien, and Chair Pro Tem Bransky NAYS: None Meeting Minutes | May 23, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Member Castaneda and Chair Sierzega OLD BUSINESS: Member O’Brien asked about the Casino and he delay in the time line and Staff Liaison Mesaros stated the EIFIS is coming from Italy and is delayed and the casino is expecting to open in November, but not the hotel. NEW BUSINESS: None ADJOURN: Member Alfonso made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Member Cap. The meeting adjourned at 8:06pm. Respectfully submitted, Noah Schumerth Assistant Director of Economic and Community Development Meeting Minutes | May 23, 2024 Q:\Planning and Zoning Commission\MEETINGS\2024\4. MINUTES\FINAL\2024-6-13 PZC Minutes.final.docx Last Revised: 07/08/2024