Planning & Zoning Board

September 12, 2017 WHEATON PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL VOTE Chair Weller called the September 12, 2017 Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley Street. Upon roll call, the following were: Roll Call Vote Present: Nicole Aranas Christopher Dabovich Bob Gudmundson Cecilia Horejs Mark Plunkett Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Absent: None City Staff Present: Tracy Jones, Staff Planner II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - AUGUST 22, 2017 The minutes were approved as presented. III. PUBLIC COMMENT There was none. IV. OLD BUSINESS ZA # 17-21/ PUD/ 703 CHILDS STREET/ WOLLAN Chair Weller reconvened the public hearing on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 and asked the applicant to provide the additional information requested by the Board at the previous meeting. Ms. Wollan stated the she reviewed her finances and she is prepared to install the fence, artificial grass and hire overnight staff immediately once the special use permit is approved. She reviewed her timeline with the Board and stated that she would like to open at her new location in early to mid-November but the site improvements are dependent on weather. Chair Weller questioned the quality of the existing windows. Ms. Wollan stated that the existing windows are double pane and much better quality then the windows at her existing location. Mr. Greenberg stated that he still has reservations about daytime noise when the dogs are outside. Ms. Wollan stated that she would take the dogs out in smaller groups and keep loud dogs inside to reduce daytime noise when the dogs are outside. Mr. Dabovich moved and then Mr. Wanzung seconded the motion to close the public hearing. On a voice vote, all voted aye. The Board decided to vote this evening.  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board September 12, 2017 Page 2 of 3 Mr. Gudmundson moved and then Mr. Dabovich seconded the motion to approve ZA #17-21, subject to the following condition: 1. The six foot tall wood privacy fence and the artificial grass shall be installed within six months from the date the site development permit is issued. Roll Call Vote Ayes: Nicole Aranas Christopher Dabovich Bob Gudmundson Cecilia Horejs Mark Plunkett Dan Wanzung Scott Weller Nays: None Absent: None Motion Passed Unanimously V. NEW BUSINESS ZA #17-22/ PUD AMENDMENT/ 100 W. GENEVA ROAD/ CIRCLE K HEARTLAND Pursuant to notice duly published on August 25, 2017 and letters mailed to neighboring property owners on August 23, 2017, Chair Weller called to order the September 12, 2017 public hearing requesting a PUD amendment to revise the existing signage plan for the Circle K convenience filling station located at 100 W. Geneva Road. The applicant is requesting approval to increase the height of the existing ground sign to 13 feet and to increase the size of the existing ground sign to 64 square feet. The applicant is further requesting approval to add a second ground sign at the north entrance off of Geneva Road with a height of 7 feet and a size of 48 square feet. An email from Jan Kay was incorporated into the record. Mark Stinson, 550 Warrenville Road, Lisle was sworn in. Mr. Stinson stated that he was representing the applicant and they are requesting approval to increase the height of the existing ground sign to 13 feet and to increase the size of the existing ground sign to 64 square feet. This sign is identified as Sign 1 on the attached site plan. He added that they need a taller sign to increase visibility at the corner. Staff Planner Jones stated that staff does agree with the applicant that the existing sign is too short but does not feel the carwash and polar pop panels are necessary on the proposed ground sign. Staff recommends the height of the existing ground sign be increased to 11 feet (with the omission of the carwash and polar pop panels) and the size of the existing ground sign remain 48 square feet. Staff Planner Jones stated that there are newly planted parkway trees on either side of the existing sign. By keeping the height of the proposed ground sign slightly lower at 11 feet, the ground sign would be more visible under the tree canopy of the existing parkway trees as they mature. Mr. Stinson stated that they are further requesting approval to add a second ground sign at the north entrance off of Geneva Road with a height of 7 feet and a size of 48 square feet. This sign is identified as Sign 2 on the attached site plan.  Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board September 12, 2017 Page 3 of 3 Staff Planner Jones stated that while code does allow the applicant to have one ground sign at each entrance, staff does not feel this sign is necessary since the existing ground sign and the 160-foot long fuel canopy already provide substantial commercial exposure along the north property line. Mr. Stinson stated that the additional signage was necessary to make the gas prices more visible. Payman Homayouni, 400 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago was sworn in. Mr. Homayouni stated that he was the engineer working on the project. He addressed the special use permit standards for a planned unit development as required by the Wheaton Zoning Ordinance. He stated that the proposed PUD Amendment would not be detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience, or general welfare of the neighboring property owners. Jan Kay, 1319 Irving Avenue, Wheaton was sworn in. Ms. Kay stated that she liked the minimal ground signage that was currently on the site. She added that while she understood the visibility issue, she hoped that a compromise could be reached to keep the signage as minimal as possible. The Board stated that while they understood the visibility issue at the corner of Geneva Road and Main Street, they were not supportive of increasing the height of the existing monument sign to 13 feet. The Board wasn’t even sure they were comfortable with increasing the height of the existing monument sign to 11 feet as recommended by staff, since it would be taller than other signs recently approved for similar projects. They suggested that the applicant consider other options, including the possibility of having a 7 foot tall monument sign near both entrances and then eliminating the sign at the corner. Ms. Horejs moved and then Ms. Aranas seconded the motion to continue the public hearing until the Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 to give the applicant time to modify their sign request. On a voice vote, all voted aye. VI. MISCELLANEOUS Staff Planner Jones reminded the Planning and Zoning Board of their training scheduled for Tuesday, September 26, 2017 starting at 6:30 pm. VII. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Wanzung moved and then Mr. Gudmundson seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. On a voice vote, all voted aye. Respectfully submitted, Tracy L. Jones, Staff Planner