Industrial & Commercial Development Commission

1 APPROVED 2 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 3 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 4 5 Village Hall Board Room 6 August 26, 2014 7 8 Members Present: Chairman Patrick Lederer, David Gottlieb, Richard Rushkewicz, Dick Leopold, Brian Lee, 9 Thomas Washburn, Mark Freeman and Larry Herskovitz. 10 11 Staff Present: David Schoon and Colleen Brunner. 12 13 Review of Minutes: 14 On a motion made and seconded, the minutes from the June 24, 2014 ICDC meeting were approved as 15 presented. 16 17 Public Comment- Hear from the Audience-None 18 19 Community Planning & Economic Development Coordinator Report 20 Schoon provided updates regarding; 1) NorthShore 770 has broken ground and is doing site work, 2) the 21 Village is assisting to facilitate the land swap between 430 Dundee Marathon Station and the Rehab Inst. as 22 the Village needs ROW for Dundee/Skokie intersection improvements, 3) Board approved Waterway project 23 at 2370 Waukegan, 4) Board approved the Village Green Center expansion and building permits have been 24 submitted, 5) issues related to proposed cell tower at 2705 Techny are proximity to the YMCA building and 25 adequate usage for other cell providers, 6) 60 Revere rezoning change from I1 to O2 will go to Plan 26 Commission 9/16/14, 7) revised plans have been submitted for the proposed Dunkin Donuts at 2775 Dundee 27 which staff are reviewing, 8) no new updates from the applicant pursuing a 7500 sf project at 2990 Dundee for 28 an office complex. This project will require text amendments, 9) staff has received a formal application for a 29 proposed Metro Storage at 2121 Shermer, 10) Lurie Children’s Pediatric clinic at 1131 Techny Road received 30 special permit approval. Site work has started, 12) Public hearing is set for 9/16/14 for a 69 bed senior living 31 facility at 100 Pointe Dr., 13) Pulte Homes located at Landwehr/Willow has resubmitted a formal application 32 for 18 units. There are some storm water concerns, 14) the Board has reviewed the preliminary application for 33 the Anetsberger property located at Voltz/Waukegan, which is Zoned R4, but there are density issues, 15) C1 34 properties on Shermer Rd. have selected Jacob Homes as the developer. This is a 4.2 acre site with mulit-family 35 homes proposed, 16) The Board discussed downtown development at the July 15 COW meeting. The 36 Shermerville concept was determined to be too costly. Board had budgeted money for a parking study but has 37 decided not to pursue the study. Lastly, staff asked if the Board would like to conduct a market study for the 38 downtown area. The Board decided to let the market decide, 17) there have been inquiries regarding 1000 39 Skokie property, 18) activity at Village Square Shopping Center with relocations. Building permits have been 40 approved, 19) Plan Commission has recommended allowing medical marijuana dispensary in the Village. Board 41 does have concerns as to where it would be located, in commercial or office district. It is going to the Planning 42 and Zoning Committee, 20) the Board approved the concept plan for 21 units located at 3845-55 Dundee Rd., 43 21) the County Zoning Board of Appeals heard public comments in July related to the proposed development 44 at Mission Hills. The Village can weigh in as pertains to our subdivision code, 22) Schoon attended the 45 Chamber of Commerce Business expo in July, will attend ICSC Chicago Deal Makers in October, working on 46 sending business newsletter, scheduling stormwater presentation for a Nov. or later ICDC meeting and working 47 on holiday Shop Northbrook campaign. 48 Discussion Regarding Business Outreach Efforts  ICDC Meeting Minutes August 26, 2014 1 Schoon shared the information regarding Highland Park’s business forum, and the Commission discussed the 2 idea of the Village of Northbrook holding a similar forum for Northbrook businesses. A couple of Commission 3 members who either own property or businesses in Highland Park stated that they believe conducting business 4 in Highland Park is very challenging and that the City of Highland Park needs to reach out to its business 5 community to identify ways to improve its processes and relationship with the business community. 6 7 The same members also stated that the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce is “light years ahead” of the 8 Highland Park Chamber of Commerce in terms of programming for and support of its business community. 9 That the relationship between the Village of Northbrook and the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce provides 10 for a much better working relationship between the local municipal government and chamber than what exists 11 in Highland Park. The community, through the Chamber, already has programs (e.g. State of the Village, 12 Chamber Annual Dinner) that are similar in nature to what is covered in the upcoming Highland Park business 13 forum. 14 15 Though the Commission concluded that there is not a need for a general community-wide business forum as 16 what Highland Park is having, the Commission felt there may be opportunities in the future to hold specific 17 business forums like we have done in the past in Sky Harbor. 18 19 The Commission discussed the idea of a business survey conducted by the Village to determine businesses’ 20 concerns. The general consensus was that the survey would ask more general questions to start identifying 21 issues and then to follow up with issues of concern with either additional surveys or focus groups. 22 Commission members stated if we are going to do a survey we must be prepared to follow up on issues. 23 Commission members started to identify issues they know would be of interest, such as infrastructure, 24 parking, transportation, road construction, utility services and community services. Staff will continue to work 25 on the steps to conduct the survey. 26 27 Discussion Regarding Ways to Improve Mass Transit Accessibility to Commercial, Office and Industrial Areas 28 In addition to the packet of materials, Schoon recapped the RTA’s Shuttle Bug program and routes. In July, 29 Village staff received a request by a property owner on Skokie Boulevard to add a route on Skokie Blvd to the 30 train station. There are many small businesses on the corridor but not one large employer such as Astellas or 31 Walgreens. Therefore it may be difficult to provide a Shuttle Bug. 32 33 David will contact the TMA of Lake Cook to discuss the possibility of such a route. He noted that a Shuttlebug 34 route will start soon running from the Braeside station in Highland Park to UL and Walgreens. 35 36 Old Business - None 37 38 New Business- 39 Some members/business owners expressed issue with recent fire inspections. The Commission requested that 40 the Fire Chief and/or the Fire Prevention Officer attend a future meeting to explain procedures and 41 requirements. 42 43 The Chamber of Commerce food packing event was August 28, 2014. 44 45 Adjourn - 46 On motion made and seconded, the joint meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m. 47 48 Respectfully Submitted – Colleen Brunner