Architectural Control Commission

APPROVED 1 MINUTES OF A JOINT MEETING 2 ARCHITECTURAL CONTROL COMMISSION 3 AND 4 ELECTRICAL COMMISSION 5 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 6 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 7 April 13, 2017 8 9 ACC Commissioners Present (5): 10 Alan Schwall, Chairman 11 David Menn 12 Christopher Urbanczyk 13 F. Dirk Heidbrink 14 Robert Katz (arrived 5:40 p.m.) 15 Members Absent (2): 16 Cliff Town 17 Lori Jordison 18 19 Electric Commissioners Present (3): 20 Richard Jamerson, Chairman 21 Robert Boiko 22 Bernard Petchenik 23 Members Absent (2): 24 Dennis Lauer 25 Chief Torres, NBK Fire Department 26 27 Village Staff Present: 28 Thomas Poupard, DPS Director 29 Jackie Clawson, DPS Building Official 30 Nick Desario, DPS Assistant Director 31 Bill Reupert, Plumbing Inspector 32 Colleen Brunner, Recorder 33 34 Additional Present: 35 Greg Pardue, Deery-Pardue & Associates 36 David Rintz, Mc Shane Construction 37 Dale Stroud, Uponor, Inc. 38 Ralph Green, Finger Companies 39 Alison Gorham, Mc Shane Construction 40 Harry Ohde, Intech 41 Bryan Kniffe, Tree & Timber Inc. 42 Robert Brolin, Pappageorge Haymes Partners 43 Robert Wasserman, The Jacobs Companies 44 Barry Nekritz, Attorney 45 Cal Bernstein, Samueli & Bernstein 46 1  APPROVED 1 Call to Order 2 Chairman Schwall called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane at 3 5:35 p.m. 4 5 Roll Call 6 7 Roll was called. There was a quorum for both commissions. 8 9 Review of Minutes 10 On a motion made and seconded, the minutes from the March 9, 2017 ACC meeting were approved as 11 presented. 12 13 On a motion made and seconded, the minutes from the June 30, 2016 Electrical meeting were approved 14 as presented. 15 16 Request to Use Alternative Building Materials- Finger Companies/ 1000 Skokie Blvd. Apartments 17 Mr. Poupard introduced the topic and noted that we have convened a joint meeting of the Architectural 18 Control Commission and Electrical Commission to review a request by the Finger Companies to use 19 plumbing and electrical materials that are not currently allowed in Northbrook due to our local 20 amendments. The plumbing and electrical materials would both be allowed but for the adoption of 21 local amendments to our building codes. The ACC has purview over the request to use the plumbing 22 materials and the electrical commission has purview over the electrical components. We thought it 23 would be most efficient to have the developer make a single presentation to both groups rather than 24 have separate meetings. 25 26 We have conferred with the Village Attorney and determined that both commissions are asked to make 27 a recommendation concerning the requests. The ultimate decision would be made by the Board of 28 Trustees. As the two commissions look at the requests, we suggest the issue of whether a general code 29 amendment is warranted to allow the use of the materials – perhaps for buildings other than single 30 family dwellings, or if an exception should be made in this particular case because the develop r is 31 proposing a narrow use of the products and providing special safeguards that would address the 32 concerns associated with using the material in an unrestricted fashion. 33 34 Plumbing Material 35 Mr. Poupard noted that Finger Companies, the developers of the proposed apartment building on 36 Skokie Boulevard, is requesting permission to use crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) for water distribution 37 piping in the individual units only. These materials are authorized in the State of Illinois Plumbing Code, 38 but are currently prohibited in Northbrook as part of our local amendment to the Illinois Plumbing Code. 39 Poupard stated the commissions could make a motion to amend our current code or allow its use under 40 a certain scope. 41 42 Greg Pardue from Uponor, Inc. is the manufacturer of the proposed material. He stated that this 43 material is now used in 30% of the residential plumbing jobs in the United States, but is fairly new to 44 Illinois. He showed the material and explained it has a shape memory which allows it to be formed 45 easily and reduce soldering and leakage. 46 2  APPROVED 1 Dale Stroud, also of Uponor stated the product has a 25 yr. warranty, R value is almost 1 which allows 2 for thinner insulation, is UL approved, supported every 30 “, non- toxic if it comes in contact with flames 3 and snaps into place for tight seal. Uponor is different than other PEX products as this has shape 4 memory and a solid history of 25 years in business. 5 6 Electrical Commission Member Boiko asked to address the group and presented a series of safety 7 concerns in relation to tap water quality in regards to contaminants and odor from the material found in 8 the water systems. He also cited numerous federal lawsuits that have been filed. He handed the 9 materials to the Chairman of the ACC and asked that they be made part of the record of the meeting. 10 11 Dale Stroud responded that there have been some industry suits filed prior to the conversion from 12 yellow brass to lead free brass, but he is not aware of any lawsuits filed against his company that have 13 been successful . He feels the product is safe. The product has been used in similar projects in 14 Wheeling, Elmhurst and Lincolnwood. 15 16 Inspector Reupert explained that PEX was used in the construction of the 770 Skokie building by 17 Morningside. Morningside also asked permission to use the material but it was not accepted by the 18 ACC. Later, the 2014 Illinois Plumbing Code was implements and that nullified all local amendments that 19 were in place. The 2014 State Code allowed its use. Morningside was able to use the product, as it was 20 allowed by the State Plumbing Code. Since that time, the Village amended our local code and requires 21 copper material to be used for domestic water. 22 23 Electrical Commission Member Jamerson stated that Fingers’ request is written to use any PEX product 24 and it is not specific enough. Mr. Poupard explained that if the commission is open to the use of the 25 products presented that the recommendation could be limited to a specific material. 26 27 When asked about timing, Mr. Poupard noted the earliest this could go to Board would be the second 28 meeting in May. We understand they are hoping to start construction in July. 29 30 Member Schwall would like to have it run by the Village attorney and additional information before 31 making a decision. 32 33 Member Katz stated he would like to do more research on the product. 34 35 Member Urbanczyk feels the product is nice but then is torn by the studies presented by member Boiko. 36 37 In general, it was agreed to study the information presented and to reconvene and make a formal 38 recommendation to the Board of Trustees. 39 40 Electrical 41 42 Finger Companies is requesting to use a flex metal conduit or armor lite cable for the individual unit. This 43 would be 20 amps. service for plugs, switches and fixtures with a 12” or smaller wire. Northbrook’s 44 electrical code requires hard conduit. 45 46 Chairman Jamerson recognized the fact that there members of the public present and asked if they had 47 comments. 3  APPROVED 1 2 Mr. Harry Ohde stated that he has concerns with the incidents of electrical fires of hard conduit versus 3 flexible. He stated Waukegan recently went through a similar discussion when they were considering 4 code amendments. He distributed materials he had presented to the City of Waukegan. Statistics show 5 fewer fires with hard conduit. Additional discussion occurred over the merits of MC Armor conduit 6 between Finger Companies and Mr. Odhe. 7 8 Chairman Jamerson took issue on how repairs could be made to the flexible pipe in the future as it 9 cannot be pulled through. Walls and ceilings would have to be opened up for repairs. 10 11 Chairman Jamerson said he felt uncomfortable making a recommendation on this with two members 12 absent, particularly with one being Chief Torres. He also said the Village’s Electrical Inspector, Corey 13 Friedman, could not attend tonight’s meeting. 14 15 In general, the members had concerns with the aluminum cables and will continue the discussion at a 16 later meeting. 17 18 Public Comments Regarding Items Not on the Agenda 19 There were none. 20 21 Adjournment of the Joint Meeting at 7:10 p.m. and continuation of the ACC meeting. 22 Following a motion and voice vote, Chairman Jamerson adjourned the meeting of the Electrical 23 Commission. 24 25 Chairman Schwall thanked the Electrical Commission for attending and continued with the Architectural 26 Control Commission meeting. 27 28 Review of Final Plans & Elevations – Gateway Townhomes by Jacobs Companies (PC Docket 16-18) 29 30 Mr. Poupard presented an overview of the project stating that the Board, Plan Commission and the ACC 31 approved a concept plan where the general building designs were established, number of units has been 32 reduced, setbacks adjusted and final engineering being done. The concern for the ACC is to look at the 33 final plan and landscape design. Changes that have been made include no A/C units in front of the units; 34 the three bldg. fronts look different, addition of on street parking and two through lanes with a center 35 island on Shermer Rd. 36 37 Robert Brolin of Pappageorge Haymes Partners, architects for the development, stated there are a total 38 of 12 buildings but the units have been reduced from 72 down to 68 and they have moved buildings 2, 3 39 and 4 back 6 ft. off of Shermer. Some buildings will be a combination of brick and cast stone and some 40 will have a gabled roof. The D units that are 2 stories have eliminated the front decks but are enclosed 41 as part of the building. The gravel path has been changed to asphalt. The awnings on the doorways will 42 be wood clad in metal. There are decks on all rear units. The stairs have been lowered on building 5. All 43 A/C units will be screened and the lighting complies with the CBD requirements. 44 45 Bryan Kniffe, of Tree & Timber Inc., the landscape designer told members that all the arborvitae are 46 being replaced with pines and firs that can handle snow and salt better. The sides of the units will have a 47 variety of low landscaping for visual interest. The retaining wall will be unilock brick of 3 colors with a 4  APPROVED 1 brick cap. The central area will have seating. Various low walls will be scattered throughout the site to 2 accommodate grade changes. 3 4 Member Urbanczyk likes the project overall; however, he has issues with the monotony of the buildings 5 along Shermer Rd. He stated would like to see changes from building to building in the height, materials 6 used and windows. 7 8 Member Katz stated that when this was reviewed at the concept plan stage he had asked that the 9 buildings along Shermer be broken up so there is not a wall of homes along Shermer Road, but that 10 change was not made. 11 12 A motion was made and seconded to approve the revisions on Gateways Townhomes landscaping 13 materials and colors as submitted. A voice vote of 3-1-1 occurred, with Member Urbanczyk voting no 14 and Member Katz abstaining. The motion carried. 15 16 New Single Family Home Elevations 17 18 Member Katz made a motion to approve the elevations for 1320 Brookside Lane, 869 Cedar Lane and 19 3470 Sorrel Drive. It was seconded and all were in favor. 20 21 In a motion, that was seconded, it was recommended that staff make the decision but to look closely at 22 the elevation, attic space and FAR at 1536 Orchard Lane. There were 4 ayes and 1 abstain. 23 24 New Business -None 25 26 Old Business 27 28 After the Gateway vote, discussion continued with the ACC’s frustration that projects are often “a done 29 deal” by the time they weigh in with their opinions. 30 31 Member Katz in concerned about the elevations along Shermer Rd. It creates a 160 foot wall along a 32 pedestrian street and he would like to see some additional space between the buildings. The mass of it 33 needs to be broken up. This is a very important project for the downtown area. The landscaping is nice 34 and the colors are pleasing. He is unhappy with the ACC’s power. The Board and Plan Commission 35 makes a decision and then it comes back to the ACC to only weigh in on minor changes such as 36 landscaping and colors. This is why he abstained. 37 38 Member Heidbrink stated he also would like to see visual differences between the buildings. 39 Poupard reminded members that the Board did approve the Plan and the number of units. 40 41 Member Schwall stated the needs the members to speak up and say what they are thinking so the 42 others can sway one another or to send a message to the Board how they feel about a project. 43 44 Member Katz suggested that Plan Commission and Board come to the ACC meetings to listen to their 45 views. 46 47 Adjourn 5  APPROVED 1 There being no further business, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. On a voice 2 vote, the motion unanimously carried and the meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. 3 4 6  APPROVED 1 Respectfully submitted, 2 3 Colleen Brunner 4 Recording Secretary 7