Plan Commission Meeting

September 18, 2014 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING URBANA PLAN COMMISSION APPROVED DATE: September 18, 2014 TIME: 7:30 P.M. PLACE: Urbana City Building Council Chambers 400 South Vine Street Urbana, IL 61801 MEMBER PRESENT: Maria Byndom, Andrew Fell, Tyler Fitch, Lew Hopkins, Bernadine Stake, David Trail MEMBERS EXCUSED: Dannie Otto STAFF PRESENT: Jeff Engstrom, Interim Planning Manager; Kevin Garcia, Planner II; Teri Andel, Planning Administrative Assistant; Scott Tess, Environmental Sustainability Manager OTHERS PRESENT: Richard Guerard, Tom Kirk, Carol McKusick, Patrick Moone, Susan Taylor 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Chair Fitch called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The roll was called, and he declared that there was a quorum of the members present. 2. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA There were none. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the September 4, 2014 meeting was presented to the Plan Commission for approval. Mr. Fell moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Hopkins seconded the motion. The minutes were then approved by unanimous voice vote as presented. 4. COMMUNICATIONS  Plan Case Nos. 2240-SU-14 and 2241-SU-14 Updated Staff Recommendations Page 1  September 18, 2014 5. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS Plan Case No. 2240-SU-14: A request by Henson Disposal, Inc. for a Special Use Permit to establish a construction and demolition debris recycling center at 910 West Saline Court in the IN-2, Heavy Industrial Zoning District. Plan Case No. 2241-SU-14: A request by Southwind RAS, LLC for a modification of an approved Special Use Permit for a recycling center at 910 and 1000 West Saline Court in the IN-2, Heavy Industrial Zoning District. Chair Fitch reopened the two cases to be reviewed simultaneously. He reviewed the procedures for a public hearing. Kevin Garcia, Planner II, gave the City staff presentation on the proposed two Special Use Permit requests. He began by reviewing the original special use permit that was previously approved in 2013 for Southwind RAS, LLC at 910 and 1000 West Saline Court and noting the intent for each of the proposed special use permit requests. He described the two subject properties and the surrounding adjacent properties by noting the zoning, existing land uses and the future land use designations of each. He talked about the proposed uses for each site. Referring to Exhibits C-3a and C-3b, he explained how trucks would enter the sites to be weighed and processed. He discussed the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed bill, HB 4606, which would exempt construction and demolition debris recycling centers from having to get permits from local authorities. Since the Governor vetoed the bill on August 18, 2014, legislature will need to vote on the Governor’s changes. Until the bill is approved or if legislature fails to act on the Governor’s changes, Henson Disposal will need to obtain a local siting permit from the City of Urbana. He reviewed the requirements for a special use permit according to Section VII-4.A of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance and read the options of the Plan Commission. He, then, presented the updated City staff recommendation for each case, which is for approval of each proposed special use permit. Chair Fitch asked the Plan Commission if they had any questions for City staff. Chair Fitch asked for verification on the two requests. Henson Disposal is requesting a special use permit to allow the use of a construction waste recycling facility and Southwind is asking for approval of an amendment to their approved special use permit to allow them to move the entrance and scales further north on the site. Mr. Garcia said that was correct. Mr. Fell asked if City staff is okay with whatever runoff comes off the waste and runs into the City’s storm sewer. Mr. Garcia replied that the City Engineer has reviewed the plans and approved them. Scott Tess, Environmental Sustainability Manager, added that the proposed industrial development has a regional retention pond that was developed along with the road to Page 2  September 18, 2014 handle the stormwater for all the properties. Any runoff will settle in the pond and not travel further. With no further questions from the Plan Commission for City staff, Chair Fitch opened the hearing for public input. Rich Guerard, Attorney for Henson Disposal and Southwind, and Tom Kirk, Principal of Henson Disposal, approached the Plan Commission. Mr. Guerard pointed out that Pat Moone, of Farnsworth Group, prepared the Site Plan for both cases and was also available to answer any questions. Mr. Guerard stated that Mr. Garcia gave a complete report of the site and of the operation. So, they would like to only add a couple overall comments. They are complying with all of the ordinances. There will be no variances. The two developments will be located in the heavy industrial zoning district with compatible uses adjacent to them. He noted that this will be a green technology for both uses. The recycled asphalt shingles has now been approved for use. It is an additive that is used in IDOT, the Tollway Authority, the City of Chicago and most of the counties. It is a green technology that recycles 99% of the asphalt shingles that goes into an asphalt product that improves the mix rather than going into the landfills. It is a similar operation with construction and demolition debris. Instead of filling up the landfills, the products are sorted and recycled. Companies who are trying to qualify for LEED or green buildings, they have to have a place to go to have materials recycled. With regards to the water runoff, he stated that neither site would accept hazardous materials. Southwind RAS has already applied and received its NPDES permit. They have already submitted a plan for BMPs (Best Management Practices) for drainage and such. It has been approved by the state and by the City Engineer. Also, the asphalt shingles are the same shingles that people have on their homes, so there is not any type of petroleum in them. Mr. Trail asked if they planned to use water for dust control. He wondered how much water the process would require. Mr. Guerard responded saying that with regards to recycling of asphalt shingles, they use grinding equipment that will grind the shingles into a granular material. Inside the grinding equipment are spray bars, and they spray just enough to keep the dust down. Tom Kirk, of Henson Disposal, stated that they have spray bars and dust control inside the building. Their facility in Bloomington has the same kind of grinding equipment as the one that Southwind RAS will use. It only uses about 1/3 of a gallon of water per minute. There is not really any runoff water because the materials soak up most of the water. They try to use as little water as possible because they get charged by weight. Water is heavy. Ms. Stake wondered about glass materials. Mr. Kirk explained that they do not recycle glass. Glass materials are used as Alternate Daily Cover (ADC) in the landfill to cover the garbage to cut down on the smell. Household products that are sold in glass containers can be recycled and turned into colored glass. Henson Disposal applies to construction waste; not household waste. Carol McKusick approached the Plan Commission. She asked if the location of the entrance was within 400 feet of the property at 910 West Saline Court. Mr. Engstrom said that since both uses Page 3  September 18, 2014 are basically using one site, there will only be one entrance for the two uses. It really does not matter. Ms. McKusick said it might matter because Henson Disposal is dependent on EPA regulations. Will there be a certain amount of mixture to the loads going in for the asphalt shingles? Southwind RAS will be going forward with their development because they have all of their permits in place. Will they be only accepting shingles? Mr. Engstrom stated that Southwind RAS does have all of their permits from the EPA. Those permits are based on the Site Plan; however, he did not feel that the changes to the Site Plan were important to the permits. So, the permits for Southwind RAS are still valid, and Henson Disposal will be applying for their permits once they get approval for the zoning. Ms. McKusick wondered when the two companies planned to begin their operations. Mr. Fitch stated that the written staff reports say May to June of 2015. Ms. McKusick suggested that the City post the EPA number on the internet so people will know where to find it. With no further comments or questions from the audience, Chair Fitch closed the public input portion of the hearing. He, then, opened the hearing up for Plan Commission discussion and/or motion(s). Mr. Fell commented that as an architect, he has more clients trying to get LEED certified for their buildings. It is easy to get the lowest level of LEED certification on a building because you can get that with transportation corridors, etc. To get the highest level of LEED certification is really difficult because it is hard to find a location for your waste. If they have to the waste a long way, it gets very cost prohibitive. He feels the two uses would be beneficial to the community. Mr. Hopkins moved that the Plan Commission forward Plan Case No. 2240-SU-14 and Plan Case No. 2241-SU-14 to the City Council with a recommendation for approval subject to the conditions listed in the revised staff recommendations. Mr. Fell seconded the motion. Roll call on the motion was as follows: Mr. Fell - Yes Mr. Fitch - Yes Mr. Hopkins - Yes Ms. Stake - Yes Mr. Trail - Yes Ms. Byndom - Yes The motion was passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Garcia explained that these two cases would be forwarded to the City Council on October 6, 2014. 6. OLD BUSINESS There was none. 7. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS There were none. Page 4  September 18, 2014 8. NEW BUSINESS There was none. 9. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Carol McKusick talked about the following:  Board of Government Information could make access to the boards and commissions efficient and very accessible. A Board of Government Information could be a board of experts could figure out a range between the State of Illinois Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information laws and each City board and commission bylaws. There is a lot of intricacy to the ordinances for each board and commission. The Plan Commission is supposed to review their bylaws once a year. This process was started in March of 2013 and has yet to be completed a year and a half later. Mr. Fitch stated that the Plan Commission does not have any purview over a Board of Government Information. He believed this would need to be presented to City Council. He suggested that she talk to her Alderperson. 10. STAFF REPORT There was none. NOTE: Ms. Stake was excused at 8:17 p.m. 11. STUDY SESSION Presentation on the Urbana Climate Action Plan Phase 2 Scott Tess, Environmental Sustainability Manager, gave a presentation on the following:  Background  2012 – Climate Action Plan Phase 1 completed  Climate Action Plan Phase 2 Document  2015-2020 time frame  What it includes  A Few Acronyms  GHG = Greenhouse Gases  MT or MTCO2e = Metric tons of CO2 equivalent  Phase 1 Accomplishments  Our Goals  Where we are at  2007 and 2013  Modeling  6 Goal Areas: 23 Actions Page 5  September 18, 2014  Reduce emissions from building energy consumption  Reduce emissions from gasoline consumption  Increase renewable energy purchasing and installation  Adapt to climate change impacts  Partner to enhance local participation in existing programs  Monitor progress towards climate action plan goals Mr. Trail wondered how much effort is going into the adaptation versus how much reduction of greenhouse gases. Mr. Tess referred to the Home Energy Performance Program to use as an example. To sweeten the deal on Ameren’s Home Energy Efficiency Incentives, the City did a lot of promotions around this in addition to Ameren’s Act on Energy and spent around $74,000 over a year to year and a half. Per dollar it was very effective and cheap way to get greenhouse gashouse reductions. If the City were to restart that program, it would be around $60,000 to $70,000 per year. Adaptation strategies are hard to generalize. Mr. Trail wondered what the basic ratio would be. Mr. Tess stated the four actions of Adapting to Climate Change Impacts. Many of the strategies involve changing how we do. There are not a lot of cost implications. Mr. Trail wondered how urgent does the City perceive adaptation to be. Mr. Tess stated that we have to do both adaptation and greenhouse reduction. The City Arbor Division has been working towards diversifying the species list for years. The Climate Action Plan would only be codifying it and setting numerical targets. Representatives from the water company, utility company, Public Health came and talked with City staff about what a changing climate would mean for their work. One conclusion they came to is that many strategies are outside of the City government. So many of the items on the top ten list are not within the City’s purview. Another conclusion they came to regarding the climate adaptation strategies is that they would not being doing new things, just doing more of what we are already doing. The last conclusion is to plan to re-assess frequently. Mr. Fell commented on Goal #1 by saying that it would be bad to REQUIRE new commercial buildings to achieve LEED certification and it would affect development in the City. Developers will look at it as a penalty because it is expensive to do and not always within their economic interest to do. Incentives are very good and do encourage developers to try for LEED certification. Mr. Fitch added that he read an article about cities increasing the FAR on a project if the developer achieves LEED certification. There may be other bonus points for doing other things. He agreed with Mr. Fell. Mr. Engstrom pointed out that City staff is working on an amendment to incorporate LEED for neighborhood design standards into the PUD section of the Zoning Ordinance. Staff have not looked into offering incentives as mentioned by Mr. Fell and Mr. Fitch, but could definitely research it. Mr. Tess replied that it could also include tax abatements. Chair Fitch believed this is a great study and is glad to see the success that the City is having. Page 6  September 18, 2014 12. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________ Jeff Engstrom, Secretary Urbana Plan Commission Page 7