Architectural Control Commission

1 APPROVED 2 3 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL COMMISSION 4 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 5 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 6 January 16, 2013 7 8 9 Commissioners Present (6) 10 Alan Schwall, Chairperson 11 F. Dirk Heidbrink 12 Lori Jordison 13 Robert Katz 14 David Menn 15 Cliff Town 16 17 Commissioner Absent (1) 18 Mike Rubenstein 19 20 Village Staff Present 21 Lynne Coleman, Building Official and Licensed Architect 22 Nick Desario, Assistant Director/Building and Development, Development and Planning Services 23 Corey Friedman, Electrical and Mechanical Inspector 24 Tom Poupard, Director, Development and Planning Services 25 William Reupert, Certified Plumbing Inspector 26 Stacy Seiden, Recorder 27 28 Additional Attendees 29 David “Woody”Aberson, project manager for the residence at 2110 Mallard Drive 30 Gary Cless, property owner at 2110 Mallard Drive 31 Walid Hindo, property owner at 1243 Church Street 32 Abgar Maloul, acquaintance of the property owner at 1243 Church Street 33 Ted Mavrakis, property owner at 4095 Sunset Lane 34 Adam Shaf, building contractor for the residence at 3310 Sunset Trail 35 Vance Shaf, building contractor for the residence at 4095 Sunset Lane 36 Jingjie Shen, property owner at 4095 Sunset Lane 37 38 1. Call to Order 39 Chairman Schwall called the meeting to order in the Development and Planning Services Conference 40 Room of Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane, at 5:40 PM. A quorum was present. 41 42 2. Public Comments 43 There were no comments from the public. 44 45 3. Review of Minutes 46 Commissioner Town moved, seconded by Commissioner Menn, to approve the minutes of the 47 November 14 and December 13, 2012 Architectural Control Commission (ACC) meetings without 48 corrections. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried.  Page 2 Minutes of the January 16, 2013 Architectural Control Commission Meeting 1 4. Building Permit Extension Requests 2 a. 4095 Sunset Lane – Permit extension request for a new single family home (Permit # 07-G- 3 058) 4 5 Assistant Director Desario presented the request. The building permit for 4095 Sunset Lane expired on 6 August 27, 2008. At the May 12, 2011 ACC meeting, commissioners granted the property owner at that 7 time a six-month extension. However, to date, the final building and engineering inspections had yet to 8 be completed. The as-built also had not been submitted. At this meeting, the current owners, Messrs. 9 Mavrakis and Shen, initially requested an additional six months to finish the remainder of the work. 10 11 Mr. Shaf reported that 99% of the home had been completed. He attributed prior construction delays 12 primarily to financial issues. According to Mr. Shaf, only health- and safety-related items, such as placing 13 railings around window wells, and appliance installation remained to be done. He suggested that the 14 remaining work could be finished in 30-45 days. 15 16 Mr. Mavrakis confirmed that he retained Mr. Shaf to complete this project and Mr. Mavrakis requested 17 a 90-day extension, given the current, colder weather conditions. Accordingly, Commissioner Town 18 moved, seconded by Commissioner Katz, to grant a permit extension through April 16, 2013 for the 19 property at 4095 Sunset Lane. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 20 21 b. 2110 Mallard Drive – Permit extension request for a new single family home (Permit # 10-G- 22 170) 23 24 Assistant Director Desario presented the request. The original building permit for 2110 Mallard expired 25 on February 24, 2012. At the August 9, 2012 ACC meeting, commissioners granted the property owner, 26 Mr. Cless, an extension through December 1, 2012. However, to date, the fire sprinkler, final building, 27 final grading, and final engineering inspections had yet to be completed. The as-built also had not been 28 submitted. At this meeting, Mr. Cless initially requested an extension through April 2013 to complete 29 the remainder of the work. 30 31 Chairperson Schwall inquired about the progress on the exterior of the home, to which Mr. Aberson 32 responded that the limestone façade and driveway should be completed during the next “warm spell.” 33 Mr. Cless noted that while he hired a landscape architect, he expected landscaping to occur through the 34 summer because of the extensive work involved. The ACC discussed whether or not the proposed 35 permit extension should include landscaping, or whether site work should be considered under a 36 separate permit. 37 38 Assistant Director Desario clarified that grass must be growing on the site (i.e., final grading) to obtain a 39 certificate of occupancy. He also suggested that the ACC avoid a situation where Mr. Cless must return 40 to the commission with another extension request. Chairman Schwall asked whether the building work 41 could be finished by the end of April, to which Mr. Aberson responded affirmatively. However, he noted 42 that weather could be a factor. Mr. Cless commented that extending the permit another month beyond 43 his initial request might be prudent. Accordingly, Commissioner Menn moved, seconded by 44 Commissioner Town, to grant a permit extension through May 31, 2013 to complete the building work 45 and through September 30, 2013 to complete the site work for the property at 2110 Mallard Drive. On a 46 voice vote, the motion unanimously carried.  Page 3 Minutes of the January 16, 2013 Architectural Control Commission Meeting 1 c. 3310 Sunset Trail – Permit extension request for a new single family home (Permit # 10-G-202) 2 3 Assistant Director Desario presented the request. The original building permit for 3310 Sunset Trail 4 expired on April 13, 2012 and the ACC subsequently granted the property owners a permit extension 5 through December 13, 2012. However, to date, the fire sprinkler, final building, and final engineering 6 inspections had yet to be completed. The as-built also had not been submitted. At this meeting, the 7 property owners requested an additional 60 days to complete the remainder of the work. 8 9 Mr. Shaf explained that while the exterior of the home was finished, he was waiting for mahogany 10 custom trim to arrive on backorder from South America. While Mr. Shaf hoped that a 60-day extension 11 would be sufficient, he continued not to have the necessary wood trim. Commissioner Katz then moved, 12 seconded by Commissioner Town, to grant a permit extension through April 16, 2013 for the property at 13 3310 Sunset Trail. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 14 15 d. 3240 Sunset Trail – Permit extension request for a new single family home (Permit # 10-G-123) 16 17 Assistant Director Desario presented the request. The original building permit for 3240 Sunset Trail 18 expired on December 29, 2011. At the September 13, 2012 ACC meeting, commissioners granted the 19 property owner an extension through November 1, 2012 towards the final site grading and January 15, 20 2013 towards the interior of the home. However, to date, final building and engineering inspections had 21 yet to be completed. The as-built also had not been submitted. At this meeting, the property owner 22 requested an additional 90 days to complete the remainder of the work. 23 24 While the building contractor for 3240 Sunset Trail was unable to attend this meeting, Assistant Director 25 Desario reported that the exterior of the home was “essentially complete.” Assistant Director Desario 26 anticipated that the as-built would be submitted next week and that the home was nearing final 27 inspection. Accordingly, Commissioner Heidbrink moved, seconded by Commissioner Menn, to grant a 28 permit extension through April 15, 2013 for the property at 3240 Sunset Trail. On a voice vote, the 29 motion unanimously carried. 30 31 e. 1243 Church Street – Request for a permit extension for a new single family residence (Permit 32 # 10-G-213) 33 34 As a former architect and general contractor for 1243 Church, Commissioner Town recused himself from 35 discussing and voting on this agenda item. Assistant Director Desario presented the request. The original 36 building permit for 1243 Church expired on April 22, 2012. At the July 12, 2012 ACC meeting, 37 commissioners granted the property owner, Dr. Hindo, an extension through December 31, 2012. 38 However, to date, the fire sprinkler, final building, final grading, and final engineering inspections had 39 yet to be completed. The as-built also had not been submitted. At this meeting, Dr. Hindo requested an 40 additional six months to complete the remainder of the work. 41 42 Assistant Director Desario reported that the front yard of 1243 Church was “final graded and sodded,” 43 the side yard was “final graded but not yet sodded,” and the rear yard was still in a “rough stage.” The 44 back of the property was being used for construction purposes. There was limited ACC discussion 45 regarding access through the Village to copyrighted design plans. However, Assistant Director Desario 46 and Chairperson Schwall reminded the commission that their charge was restricted to determining 47 whether or not to grant Dr. Hindo another permit extension.  Page 4 Minutes of the January 16, 2013 Architectural Control Commission Meeting 1 Several commissioners inquired as to whether the exterior could be completed in six months time, 2 particularly given the current, colder weather conditions, to which Dr. Hindo responded affirmatively. 3 Accordingly, Commissioner Menn moved, seconded by Commissioner Katz, to grant a permit extension 4 through July 1, 2013 for the property at 1243 Church Street. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously 5 carried. 6 7 5. 1921 Raymond Update 8 Director Poupard reported that the business occupying 1921 Raymond paid the required $8,000 penalty 9 fee and subsequently received the necessary certificate of occupancy. 10 11 6. 8 Hickory Lane Update 12 Director Poupard reported that the Village Board of Trustees determined that staff appropriately issued 13 a tree removal permit for 8 Hickory Lane. 14 15 7. Continued Review of 2012 International Residential Code and Possible Local Amendments 16 The ACC reviewed Chapters 4 through 16 of the 2012 International Residential Code and possible local 17 amendments. Specific ACC recommendations and comments were as follows. 18 19 Chapter 4 – Foundations 20 21 R403.1 General 22 Wood foundations are no longer used in this geographic area and the remainder of the local 23 amendment is too prescriptive, as well as unnecessary when using a design professional. 24 Therefore, the local amendment should be deleted. 25 26 R404.1 Concrete and masonry foundation walls 27 The local amendment is implicit in the code itself and, therefore, should be deleted. 28 29 Table R404.1.1(1) Plain Masonry Foundation Walls 30 The local amendment should be deleted because this issue is “hardly seen” in the field and is the 31 responsibility of the design professional. The table should remain “as is.” 32 33 Chapter 5 – Floors 34 35 R502.7.1 Bridging 36 The local amendment should be deleted because the amendment is no longer necessary. 37 38 R502.10 Framing of openings 39 The local amendment should be deleted because the amendment is too limiting and is no longer 40 necessary. 41 42 Table R503.1 Minimum Thickness of Lumber Floor Sheathing 43 The local amendment should be deleted to provide greater flexibility. Three-fourths tongue and 44 groove also is customarily used and the thickness of lumber floor sheathing does not pose an 45 issue in the field.  Page 5 Minutes of the January 16, 2013 Architectural Control Commission Meeting 1 Table R503.2.1.1(2) Allowable Spans for Sanded Plywood Combination Subfloor Underlayment 2 The local amendment should be deleted because the amendment is no longer necessary. 3 4 Section R504 Pressure Preservatively Treated-Wood Floors (On Ground) 5 The local amendment continues to be relevant and, therefore, should be retained. 6 7 Section R506.1 Concrete Floors (On Ground) 8 The local amendment continues to be relevant and may have safety implications. Therefore, the 9 amendment should be retained. 10 11 R506.2.2 Base 12 The local amendment should be deleted as it was unclear why the exception was deleted in the 13 first place. 14 15 Chapter 6 – Wall Construction 16 17 Tables R602.10.1 Wall bracing and R602.10.6 Minimum widths and tie down forces of alternate braced 18 wall panels 19 The code already addresses these issues and, therefore, the local amendments should be 20 deleted. 21 22 R613.8 Anchorage methods 23 The local amendment should be deleted because architectural drawings should address this 24 issue and, in any case, the issue is unenforceable. 25 26 Chapter 7 – Wall Covering 27 28 R703.2 Water-resistive barrier 29 The local amendment should be deleted because the amendment is no longer necessary. 30 31 Table R703.4 Weather-resistant siding attachment and minimum thickness 32 The local amendment should be deleted as this issue is unenforceable. 33 34 R703.7.4.1 Size and spacing 35 The local amendment should be deleted because the amendment is no longer necessary. 36 37 Chapter 8 – Roof-Ceiling Construction 38 39 Table R803.1 Minimum thickness of lumber roof sheathing 40 Delete the local amendment and consider moving the amended table to a different section 41 pertaining to plywood. 42 43 Chapter 10 – Chimneys and Fireplaces 44 Staff will contact the Village of Wilmette to determine its experience requiring indoor blower 45 door tests.  Page 6 Minutes of the January 16, 2013 Architectural Control Commission Meeting 1 Table R1001.1 Summary of requirements for masonry fireplaces and chimneys 2 The local amendment is not accurate and, therefore, should be deleted. 3 4 Chapter 14 – Heating and Cooling Equipment and Appliances 5 6 M1401.6 Space heating systems 7 The local amendment is addressed in another section of the code and, therefore, should be 8 deleted. 9 10 M1411.3.1 Auxiliary and secondary drain systems 11 Staff will tweak the local amendment language to make the amendment clearer. 12 13 Chapter 16 – Duct Systems 14 15 M1601.1.1 Above-ground duct systems 16 Above-ground duct systems raise quality/cleanliness issues and the Fire Department would 17 oppose deletion of the local amendment. Therefore, the amendment should be retained. 18 19 Looking ahead, Director Poupard noted that the ACC will assess sprinkler system standards, which the 20 International Fire Code also addresses. Additionally, staff will recommend adoption of several 21 appendices associated with the IRC. Mr. Friedman observed problems with fire alarms during 22 inspections, specifically when a home has multiple alarm systems. He asked the commission to provide 23 future direction on this important safety-issue. 24 25 Mr. Poupard noted that the ACC will next look at the International Building Code, which should not be as 26 extensive a review. 27 28 8. New Business 29 The ACC discussed the possibility of progressively increasing the permit extension fee to encourage the 30 timely completion of building construction. Chairman Schwall suggested that the fee might be 31 structured in such a way as to cover the staff time associated with processing permit extension requests. 32 Commissioner Katz noted that the Village of Deerfield charged a prorated portion of the original fee. 33 Director Poupard responded that staff would further explore this issue, including researching what 34 measures surrounding communities may have taken to expedite construction, and report back to the 35 ACC. 36 37 9. Old Business 38 There was no old business. 39 40 10. Adjournment 41 There being no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. On a voice 42 vote, the motion unanimously carried. Chairman Schwall adjourned the meeting at 9:10 PM. 43 Respectfully submitted, 44 45 /s/ Stacy J. Seiden 46 Recorder