D. Committee of the Whole

APPROVED SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING VILLAGE OF LAKE ZURICH BOARD OF TRUSTEES FEBRUARY 27, 2008 1. ROLL CALL AND CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 7:06 pm. Present were Village President Tolomei, Trustees Branding, Callahan, Johnson, Poynton and Taylor. Also present was Village Administrator Vitas, Village Planner Gadde and Building/Zoning Director Peterson. Trustee McAvoy was excused. 2. PRESENTATION FROM EQUITY SERVICES GROUP, LLC FOR DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL Village President Tolomei introduced Mr. David Smith, Equity Services Group. Mr. Smith has shown an interest in Lake Zurich’s downtown redevelopment and has had many conversations with President Tolomei over the past year. Mr. Smith introduced two team members on hand to make a presentation on their process of creating a new downtown for the Village of Lake Zurich; John Francis Torti, President of Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc., and Rick Jolson, Owners Architectural Representative. Mr. Torti described his company as architects, landscape architects, planners and design firm that specializes in new urbanism, making old towns “today”. Their slide show, “The DNA of a Small Town”, displayed drawings and photos of previous projects similar in size to downtown Lake Zurich. The majority of their projects are designed through the Charette process – bringing together a group of people who are led through a short, focused study to intensively brainstorm possibilities and create visual designs of the ideas they generate. The design team feels the three most important things needed to make a plan/neighborhood work is public realm, mix, and connections. 3. DISCUSSION RELATED TO THE PROPOSAL Upon completion of the presentation, the Board was allowed time to give their comments and ask questions. Trustee Poynton questioned whether the Master Plan needed to be totally redesigned or improved upon. Mr. Torti stated the Master Plan is a solid one and just needs improvement with much greater detail, the standards so detailed any developer could build a phase and keep within the guidelines.  Special Committee of the Whole meeting minutes, February 27, 2008 2 Trustee Taylor questioned how do we begin in updating the vision for redeveloping downtown Lake Zurich and Trustee Callahan wondered how soon things could begin. First the terms of agreement and financing would need to be agreed to between the Village and Mr. Smith. They explained the planning stage is a three step process that could begin as early as April. First a pre-Charette meeting would be held to gather as much information as possible about the area. The boundary area would also need to be determined. A workshop would be held to gather input from the residents, department heads and Village officials to begin developing a vision. Finally, the creative design team will begin preparing a book of guidelines so a concept plan could eventually be developed and approved. This three step process could take approximately 1-1/2 to 2 months to complete. The Equity Services Group feels downtown Lake Zurich is very special and hope they are given the opportunity to share visions and create a concept plan. President Tolomei thanked them for coming and giving their presentation. 4. ADJOURNMENT MOTION was made by Trustee Taylor, seconded by Trustee Johnson, to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm. Respectfully submitted: Gloria M. Palmblad, Village Clerk Approved by: ____________________________________________3/24/08 President John G. Tolomei