Planning and Zoning Commission

VILLAGE OF HOMEWOOD MEETING MINUTES DATE OF MEETING: July 11, 2024 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Village Hall Board Room 7:00 pm 2020 Chestnut Street Homewood, IL 60430 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Sierzega called the meeting to order at 6:59 pm ROLL CALL: In attendance were Members Alfonso, Bransky, Cap, Chair Sierzega, O’Brien, Johnson, and Chair Sierzega. Member Castaneda was absent. Present from the Village was Director of Economic and Community Development Angela Mesaros (serving as Staff Liaison), and Assistant Director of Economic & Community Development Noah Schumerth. There were four members of the public in attendance in person. The public was able to watch and listen to the meeting via Zoom webinar. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Chairman Sierzega asked for any proposed changes to the minutes from the June 27, 2024 meeting. Member O’Brien stated that one addition was needed that was not included “Chairman Sierzega asked if Case 24-11 would be discussed in this meeting and was told No with that the applicant then left the meeting”. Motion made to approve the minutes with one addition made by Member O’Brien; second by Member Johnson. AYES: Members Bransky, Cap, O’Brien, Johnson, Chairman Sierzega NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: Member Alfonso ABSENT: Member Castaneda PUBLIC COMMENT: N/A REGULAR BUSINESS: CASE 24-16: Special Use for Massage Therapy, 18719 Dixie Hwy Chairman Sierzega read a description of the case and asked staff if there were any comments received from neighboring properties. Noah Schumerth replied no comments were received Meeting Minutes | July 11, 2024 C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser9\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp7105.tmp Last Revised: 09/30/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Applicant Fei Li was sworn in by Chairman Sierzega Chairman Sierzega read a brief description of the business plan that was presented with the business application. He asked Ms. Li to explain her business plan. Thomas Frixman was sworn in by Chairman Sierzega to assist Fei Li in the explanation of her business. The Board asked the following questions throughout the review of the case:  Chairman Sierzega asked, “How many customers will she have at one time?”  Hard to predict due to the business being new  Member Johnson asked are the massages by appointment.  its best to call and make an appointment  Member Johnson asked what went into coming up with the hours of operation.  The hours are standard for this type of business  Member Johnson asked what is the role of Thomas Frixman pertaining to the business since he’s speaking for the Applicant for the business?  an advisor/friend to the business owner that would assist when needed  Member Johnson asked if there is only one employee working and Fei is with another customer who will be working at the front desk.  There will be a bell for customers to ring to alert the owner someone is there and then they will have a seat until they are serviced. Eventually it will be two people working as time go on  Member Johnson stated that it looks like six rooms on the diagram for the business and asked for the assignment of each room.  There are a total of four rooms- three single massage rooms and one couple’s massage room and there is a waiting area for customers  Member O’Brien asked, for staff to provide the correct number of parking spaces for the property.  80 parking spaces  Member O’Brien asked to correct a comment on pg. 10 stating “The business is not adjacent to or in direct vicinity of a similar use. But on pg.11 is states the nearest similar use is Tokyo Nail Spa located within the same shopping center.  Member O’Brien asked what is the downside of Fei being the only person working in the business and she is not proficient in English.  Thomas stated that Fei was able to speak English well enough to conduct business and she has an App on her phone with Google translate Meeting Minutes | July 11, 2024 C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser9\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp7105.tmp Last Revised: 09/30/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood  Member Cap asked is there any special licensing required by the State for the different techniques of massages.  Yes the State of Illinois require anyone to work there doing massages to have a license  Member Cap asked is the business intended to be a part of a physical therapy program?  No, the business is only for personal use not intended for programs billed through insurance  Member Alfonso asked how one employee will handle the service of a couple’s massage.  Not sure how that would be handled Thomas Frixman explained how he knows Fei Li and his relationship to her and the business. He also provided a detailed description of what her plans are for opening the business which is as follows:  1 employee to start with the opening of the business  Hours of operation will be 10am to 9pm Monday thru Sunday  Hiring 2 additional employees as business progress  Total of four rooms for massage services (3 single rooms and 1 couple’s room)  Washer/Dryer and shower accommodations provided for customers  Physical price list will be posted for customers  Fei Li is licensed with the State of Illinois for massages Kevin Stampley was sworn in by Chair Sierzega to explain how the business works when is pertains to the difference between the business being therapeutic and being required for physical therapy. Member Bransky made a motion to approve the Special Use permit for the Relax Massage with the conditions that all licenses and certifications are provided prior to the issuance of the Business operations certificate and with the minor correction of the number of parking spaces from 84 to 80. Member O’Brien seconded the motion to approve the Special use permit for the Relax Massage Salon. AYES: Members Alfonso, Bransky, Cap, O’Brien, Johnson, Chair Sierzega NAYS: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Member Castaneda CASE 24-11/Case 24-19: Special Use Permit for Indoor Commercial Place of Assembly and Variance for location of the Indoor Commercial Place of Assembly Chairman Sierzega asked for the Applicant to state his name. The Applicant stated his name to be Arnell Newman. The case was previously presented to the Board and Mr. Newman was presenting the changes to his business plan. Mr. Newman knew there were concerns regarding parking in the area of the business and he did a survey of the parking lot area for several weeks during business hours for the neighboring businesses to audit how parking is handled with the current businesses. Meeting Minutes | July 11, 2024 C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser9\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp7105.tmp Last Revised: 09/30/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Mr. Newman decided to address those concerns with the following solutions:  Parking passes provided for attendees for special events  Parking attendant to manage the parking during private events  Special events will be invite only  Limit the number of parking spaces to 40 Members Alfonso, Bransky, and Johnson were pleased with Mr. Newman being proactive to correct the parking concerns by coming up with solutions and communicating with neighboring businesses. Member Alfonso asked how many special events will be held and how often?  1 time every other month because we do not want to identify as an venue Member Cap asked if there was any wording in the condo association documents that presumes that any open spaces can be used by Mr. Newman’s business.  The condo association stated that the spaces has always been opened and were never assigned Member Cap asked Mr. Newman what type of events he is anticipating to have.  We host fundraising events and artist release events Member O’Brien asked staff about the number of parking spaces and where the difference could be considering that he physically counted 142 spaces after walking the property twice and it’s documented that there’s 145 spaces. Member O’Brien asked how many employees will be on staff? How many employees are on staff when there is a larger production vs. a smaller production? Mr. Newman stated the following:  4 employees to start  4-6 employees with a smaller production crew  9-12 employees with a larger production crew Member O’Brien asked staff for clarification on the statement stated on pg. 27 when it states if events exceed site capacity limited options are available due to the lack of street parking on Bretz Drive. Member O’Brien concerns regarding this case are the following:  Parking  Traffic  Occupancy  Safety Meeting Minutes | July 11, 2024 C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser9\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp7105.tmp Last Revised: 09/30/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Chairman Sierzega had questions pertaining to hours of operation for weekdays and weekends.  7 Days a week 10am -2am  Production team hours 10am-7pm weekdays  peak hours 11am -3pm excluding special events (primarily for intensive work) Member Cap asked if the site location for the business is the headquarters for the business and if so, is this where all activities that’s sponsored by Soulistic 360 will be held.  Yes, just as similar as to the fundraiser event that was previously described that was sponsored by Soulistic Member O’Brien asked staff to add the wording indoor for the type of Variance requested. Member O’Brien asked for clarification regarding the statement on pg. 29 referencing standing room and it being conflicting with the stated maximum occupancy of 80 people. Chairman Sierzega stated the approval of the proposed special use is contingent on the approval to permit indoor commercial places of assembly in an M1 limited manufacturing zone. This amendment was recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission for approval by the Village Board. The amendment will be considered by the Village Board in July’s board meeting. Member Bransky made a motion to approve the special use permit for indoor commercial place of assembly and a variance for location of indoor commercial of assembly use as well as incorporate the findings of fact to modify item #6 to be corrected to read 142 marked parking spaces which exceeds the number of parking spaces required. Member Alfonso seconded the motion.  AYES: Members Alfonso, Bransky, Cap, Johnson, Chair Sierzega  NAYS: Member O’Brien  ABSTENTIONS:  ABSENT: Member Castaneda OLD BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS: None. ADJOURN: Member Johnson made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Member O’Brien. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. Meeting Minutes | July 11, 2024 C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser9\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp7105.tmp Last Revised: 09/30/2024  Planning & Zoning Commission Village of Homewood Respectfully submitted, Charise L Campbell Charise Campbell Building Division Permit Clerk Meeting Minutes | July 11, 2024 C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser9\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp7105.tmp Last Revised: 09/30/2024