City Council Planning Sessions

MEMORANDUM TO: Record FROM: Susan Bishel, Public Relations Coordinator SUBJECT: April 24, 2017 City Council Planning Session Minutes DATE: April 25, 2017 CC: Mayor and City Council, City Manager, City Clerk, Department Heads The Planning Session took place in the Council Chambers, Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley St., Wheaton, Illinois. Those attending the Planning Session included: Mayor Gresk, Councilwoman Fitch, Councilman Prendiville, Councilman Rutledge, Councilman Saline, Councilman Scalzo and Councilman Suess. Also in attendance were City Manager Dzugan, Assistant City Manager Duguay, Director of Planning & Economic Development Kozik, Director of Finance Lehnhardt, Director of Engineering Redman, Senior Project Engineer Lagvankar and Public Relations Coordinator Bishel. The session began at 7:00 p.m. and concluded at 7:58 p.m. The following items were discussed: I. Call to Order The Wheaton City Council Planning Session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Gresk. II. Approval of Minutes — April 10 The Council approved the April 10, 2017 Planning Session Minutes. III. Public Comment There were no public comments. IV. Downtown Streetscape Status Update Assistant City Manager Duguay stated we have reached the first established checkpoint in Phase 1 of the Downtown Streetscape project, and representatives from Design Workshop, Primera Engineering and CCS International will review the schematic designs for Front Street from West to Cross streets. The City held a public meeting in early April to review the schematic design and solicit feedback from the downtown business community. Assistant City Manager Duguay stated attendees expressed questions or concerns regarding the proposed design’s narrowing of the segment of Front street between Hale and Main streets, availability of parking, and continuity of business during construction. Jon Brooke of Design Workshop reviewed the project goals, which include providing greater amenity value for the downtown streetscape. He stated the project would improve the downtown by making sidewalks and crossings ADA-compliant; provide wider sidewalks to give businesses areas for outdoor seating and other features; reduce the length of crosswalks for pedestrians; provide an improved tree canopy; improve downtown infrastructure and lighting; and provide updated wayfinding. He stated the project plan as presented had a net increase of parking spaces, as some parking would be reconfigured. In the segment of Front Street from West to Wheaton, Mr. Brooke showed the schematic design, which would maintain two lanes of traffic, change angled parking to parallel parking spaces, and increase the sidewalk width and tree canopy. In response to Council questions, Mr. Brooke stated one of the driveways to a former gas station property would be closed, but even if the property were redeveloped, there is another access point to the parking lot. Mr. Brooke stated based on business owners’ feedback, the plan was revised to maintain driveway access for Carlson’s Glass and Holstein’s Garage. In response to Council questions, Mr. Brooke stated parallel parking spaces would be 2 feet longer than the City of Chicago’s average parking space measurements, which would allow drivers to park more easily. Mr. Brooke outlined where the ADA-compliant parking spaces would be located. Mr. Brooke reviewed the schematic design for Front Street between Wheaton Avenue and Hale, which increases the sidewalk width and changes parking from angled to parallel parking spaces to accommodate wider sidewalks. For the block of Front Street from Hale to Main streets, Mr. Brooke reviewed the existing conditions, including angled parking that is not striped and a significant grade change that creates accessibility issues. Due to the grade, the project has been revised to regrade the area and make it ADA-compliant. The original plan was also revised to provide a wider driving lane, and there will be a retaining wall or guard rail between the sidewalk and street on the south side of this block because the street would be higher than the sidewalk. In response to Council questions about how trains would affect altered traffic lane configurations, Chad Dillavou of Primera Engineering said the team had studied traffic patterns based on information provided by the City’s Engineering Department, but not specifically traffic patterns during/after a train. He stated the team will look into this. 4/24/17 Planning Session 2 Mr. Brooke stated there are two proposed schematic designs for the area of Martin Plaza, as the fountains are at the end of their useful life and need replacing. Either the plaza could remain in the same location and be renovated, or the roadway could be configured to move the plaza to the north side of Front Street, closer to local businesses and farther from the train tracks. The design of the plaza was not part of the original project but could be made into a gathering area with decorative lighting and flush curbs. For the Front Street segment between Main and Cross, Mr. Brooke stated the schematic design proposes replacing angled parking on the south side of the street with parallel parking, which would allow for wider sidewalks. The number of ADA parking spaces would comply with federal requirements. Mr. Brooke reviewed the soil strategy and use of permeable pavers around trees, which would allow for a greater tree canopy and better growing conditions than what exists currently. Marc Rogers with CCS International provided an overview of the projected costs for Phase 1 of the project. Some portions of the project are estimated to be higher than originally planned due to the need to regrade part of Front Street and additional work to make intersections and some parking spaces ADA-compliant. In response to Council questions, Mr. Rogers stated relocating the plaza would cost approximately $170,000 more than renovating it in its current location. In response to a Council question about the use of materials around trees, Sara Egan stated while there would be permeable pavers around the trees, the design would maintain a 6-foot accessible walking path adjacent to the pavers to ensure accessibility for wheelchairs. In response to questions about the amount of trees the plan proposes planting, Mr. Brooke stated the proposed number of trees is necessary to increase the tree canopy. However, the number of trees is not significantly contributing to costs because the structure for the soil will run the entire length of the block, and reducing the amount of trees would not provide significant savings. Assistant City Manager Duguay stated in the next couple months City staff will be working with the project team on value engineering to determine the most cost-effective improvements. City Manager Dzugan stated at the next checkpoint, which will be in June, staff will also have additional information about funding options for this project. V. City Council/Staff Comments There were no City Council/staff comments. 4/24/17 Planning Session 3 VII. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m. 4/24/17 Planning Session 4