Economic Development Committee

1 APPROVED 2 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 3 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 4 5 Village Hall Terrace Room 6 October 15, 2014 7 8 Members Present: Chairman James Kahan, Edwin Feld, Jay Glaubinger, Josh Prober, Joel Taub, 9 Karen Roloff, Harley Korman, Tensley Garris, Mike Gold, Michael Ziering, 10 Dr. Larry Hewitt, Hillarie Siena, Chad Raymond, Ann Roth, Sally Larmore, Chris 11 Young, & Judy Hughes 12 13 Staff Present: David Schoon, Gale Cerabona 14 15 16 Call to Order & Introductions 17 18 Chairman Kahan called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall at 7:31 a.m. Everyone 19 introduced themselves. 20 21 Review of Minutes 22 23 A motion was made by Member Roloff to approve the minutes of the July 9, 2014, EDC Meeting as 24 presented. Member Siena seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 25 26 Public Comment – Hear from the Audience 27 28 There were no public comments from the audience. 29 30 Presentation Regarding Current Development Activity in the Village 31 32 Coordinator Schoon provided updates on the following projects: 33  North Shore 770 Currently under construction 34  Marathon, 430 Dundee Project is moving ahead; Village is interested in acquiring left 35 turn lanes. 36  1000 Skokie Lifetime Fitness has entire 15 acres & will be the major 37 developer; will partner with other developers (12 acres); 1/3 of 38 land will consist of residential developers, others would be 39 commercial developers. Concept plan is forthcoming with 40 potentially a preliminary application. 41  Waterway, 2370 Waukegan Gas station was approved 42  Village Green Center Expansion Approved for retail space & residential apartments 43  Walters & Lorenz Another property owner has the rest of the block; 44 application has been withdrawn at this time 45  Cell Towers Plan Commission will recommend then to City for approval. 46 Member Ziering inquired further & Coordinator Schoon advised 47 that the Cell Tower requires a Special Permit; AT&T is placing 1  EDC Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 1 two towers. 2  60 Revere Drive – Rezoning 3 from Industrial Designation 4 to Commercial Use Neighbors are opposed due to future activity. Approval was 5 given. Will be presented to Village Board in November. 6  2775 Dundee Plan Commission will review next week. 7  2990 Dundee Wish to develop with small office building 8  2121 Shermer, Self-Storage Still under review by staff 9  1131 Techny, Lurie Children’s Village Board approved 10  Village Square Shopping Center Building permit was received for Off Broadway Shoe 11 Warehouse & then fell through. DSW is now slated in the 12 Loehmann’s space. 13  100 Pointe Drive Assisted Living community with 69 memory-care residences. 14 Neighbors support this use. J Alexander’s opposes the project 15 due to parking issues, ambulance traffic; not synergistic with an 16 assisted living community. Revisions to plans have been made 17 to address concerns. 18  Timber’s Edge Concept plan approved; final plans forthcoming 19  Pulte Homes Was 24 units, now 18; still under staff review 20  Anetsberger Property A 38 single-family detached development; awaiting applicant to 21 submit application 22  Founder’s Drive – The Lodge 1st, 2d, & 3d phases approved; 4th & 5th stages forthcoming. 8-10 23 Assisting Living residences; 150 residences in total. Application 24 forthcoming. 25  C1 Properties, Shermer Road Under contract for multi-family buildings mixed with 26 townhomes; submission by end of 2014 27  Mission Hills, Red Seal County ZBA recommended. County Board sent petition back to 28 County ZBA. Village Board to consider a resolution 29 recommending County not approve this as it is not in concert 30 with Northbrook’s Comprehensive Plan. Village Board can 31 comment on zoning only. 32  Downtown Village Board is not moving forward with regional stormwater 33 detention plan. Downtown Zoning Committee currently 34 reviewing proposed downtown zoning regulations. 35  ICDC (August-October) Met & received presentations from: 36  Fire Department – regarding inspections, process 37  Business Survey – forthcoming in person via 38 Commissioners 39  Improving Mass Transit Options – TMA of Lake Cook 40 presented information on the new PACE Shuttle Bug 41 route between Braeside Metra station and Sky Harbor. 42 43 Chairman Kahan asked if there were any questions & inquired to Coordinator Schoon about positive 44 trends. Coordinator Schoon advised that retail & other businesses are doing better than the region. He 45 stated that the office market is struggling, retail sales are slightly down, & the fiscal year is positive. 46 Coordinator Schoon reported that, overall, things seem steady, & the Village is in good financial 47 standing. 2  EDC Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 1 2 Member Garris inquired as to the turnaround time for permits. Coordinator Schoon responded that 3 contractual assistance has been brought in citing North Shore 770 as a huge project to review with 4 inspections forthcoming. He advised there are now 3 full-time inspectors. 5 6 Role of Economic Development Commission 7 8 Chairman Kahan referred to Coordinator Schoon’s memo regarding vision & mission statements. 9 Chairman Kahan asked the commission if the EDC is raising community awareness on economic 10 development; is there appropriate interaction with the ICDC? 11 12 Member Roloff commented on the mission statement stating she would like to see a better job 13 providing forums & the exchange of information as well as promoting economic development policies. 14 15 Member Korman advised he wishes to change the name of the commission. He stated the EDC is a 16 vehicle for taxing bodies to share information, not to drive economic development. He advised the 17 commission is comprised mainly of taxing bodies & would like to see more meetings & more information 18 sharing. He agrees that the current information received is crucial however he is not sure what the true 19 mission is. Member Roloff responded that the title of the commission is historical; background on the 20 commission was shared. 21 22 Member Feld referred to Member Korman’s suggestion about meeting more often. Member Korman 23 expounded that he’d like to know what the districts are doing on a regular basis. 24 25 Member Siena reminded that semi-annual meetings took place in the past; however, meetings reverted 26 back to being quarterly. She agreed the information is critical. On behalf of school districts, she asked 27 what members want to hear. Member Korman responded – things that are dynamic i.e. enrollment; 28 crucial information. He reiterated this commission is not driving economic development but rather 29 sharing information. 30 31 Member Ziering discussed referendums and stated he would like to see this in a friendly forum and 32 meet more often. 33 34 Member Feld asked what members should do after meeting and about sharing information to the 35 respective boards. He asked if this commission should have an effect on the community; he noted the 36 Commission’s mission is still vague. 37 38 Chairman Kahan provided the history of the commission stating various parts of the community were 39 not attentive to the issue of economic development. He stated that, over time, the EDC has raised 40 awareness (to be considered with other economic development decisions). He continued that in various 41 parts of the community, there is a perceived resistance. For development projects, there will be those 42 who oppose. He reminded that people change over time and maybe there is an ongoing need to 43 continue sharing information. Member Roloff concurred that the information has inherent value. 44 45 Member Feld asked if there’s something more the commission should be doing. Member Hughes replied 46 that as an elected official, information should be brought back to constituents in the community; a 47 benefit for everyone. 3  EDC Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 1 2 Member Gold asked if this development activity presentation is given to the ICDC as well (to streamline 3 time). Coordinator Schoon reminded the annual joint meeting is in January. He shared that the ICDC 4 wishes to remain independent as they discuss certain items things at length such as fire inspections, 5 which members of the EDC may not have an interest). He added that the annual joint meeting could be 6 structured differently. 7 8 Member Siena advised there has been valuable work with incentives, building site visits. She stated 9 there is no commission like this on the Glenview side. She believes the Village Board listens to the EDC’s 10 opinions. Chairman Kahan concurred. Member Hewitt referred commissioners to the first sentence in 11 the mission statement. 12 13 Chairman Kahan raised the current issue of the Red Seal’s Mission Hills project as one maybe the 14 Committee should gather more information about in terms of its impact on the various taxing entities. 15 He advised that the concern is the acquisition of the land. He stated maybe we’re not being sensitive to 16 economic development vitality. Member Korman concurred that there is no input as to if each district 17 supports projects or not. Member Roloff identified that the recommendations are the purview of the 18 ICDC. 19 20 Member Feld asked if the EDC should have done something with the Red Seal development. Member 21 Ziering stated he would be reticent on giving input based on the present authority given and his non- 22 expertise. Member Hewitt stated there is an inherent interest as it generates revenue. Chairman Kahan 23 raised pros and cons on projects having economic impact or not – i.e. Walmart, Lifetime Fitness; there 24 could be cost issues for the schools. 25 26 Chairman Kahan stated he appreciates all feedback and highlighted the title of the commission, what to 27 do with the information, outreach, etc. He stated perhaps meeting more frequently offers opportunities 28 to raise issues. 29 30 Updates from Each Taxing District 31 32  School District #30 Continues to have a strong financial position; a surplus. Improvements 33 on heating, air conditioning, & roofs are upcoming (& budgeted). 34  School District #28 Still working on the addition; will be completed by the end of 2014. 35 Working through co-op; will save $250,000/year by taking it over. 36 Greenbrier is now the largest elementary school. All are focusing on 37 Senate Bill 16 & stand to lose $675,000/year; will impact every 38 suburban community. Continue to work on curriculum & development; 39 typing skills. 40  School District #27 The property on Lake Cook Road will go to other districts; will receive a 41 $55,000 impact fee. Fund balance & enrollments are increasing. There 42 are 3 openings on the school board. 43  Park District Restoring the former Anets property to a pristine state. Finances are 44 good. Attendance at the Fall Festival was 1,600; town demographics are 45 changing; the Five Seasons project was a difficult process. 46  School District #225 Enrollment for Glenbrook North was off by 1 student. Glenbrook 47 South’s long-range projections look better. The big issue is finding a 4  EDC Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 1 replacement for Dr. Pryma, Principal for Glenbrook North. Target date 2 to recommend new candidates is February, 2015. 3  Library Completion date for construction is late March, 2015. As a result, 4 circulation & usage is down. The library may close due to floor 5 replacement. Chad Raymond is retiring; a replacement is being sought. 6  School District #31 Blended pre-paid program is 100% filled. Other initiatives are still being 7 worked on. Have a balanced budget. 8 9 Member Korman asked if grammar school enrollments are higher. Consensus is that they are steady. 10 Member Ziering stated he discovered there a shocking lack of understanding of taxing (levies) in the 11 community. Member Hughes concurred and highlighted how each taxing body operates/taxes. 12 Chairman Kahan agreed stating it’s an extremely complex issue. He stated the challenge is to get the 13 average homeowner motivated to understand. Member Hughes cited ongoing discussions about 14 development, taxes. Member Feld shared that their school district’s web site has a great narrative on 15 this subject however he stated it is likely not getting read. 16 17 Audience member/resident stated Northbrook is vital but the average resident is unaware. Coordinator 18 Schoon noted the Village newsletter highlights developments. He advised that the press may or may 19 not report same. Member Hughes suggested sending press releases. 20 21 Old Business 22 23 There was no old business. 24 25 New Business 26 27 It was stated that Member Larmore is retiring. Member Young stated School District #30 is seeking a 28 new Superintendent. 29 30 Next scheduled EDC meeting will be Wednesday, January 14, 2015. 31 32 Adjourn - 33 A motion was made by Member Roloff to adjourn the meeting at 9:02 p.m. Member Hughes seconded 34 the motion. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 35 36 37 Respectfully Submitted, 38 Gale Cerabona 5