City of Wheaton Planning & Zoning Board met Feb. 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL VOTE
Chair Weller called the February 12, 2019 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: Jim Kozik, Director of Planning and Economic
Development
Tracy Jones, Staff Planner
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - JANUARY 23, 2019
The minutes were approved as presented.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
IV. OLD BUSINESS
EAST ROOSEVELT ROAD STUDY/ DRAFT LAND USE AND ZONING RECOMMENDATIONS WORKSHOP/ CAMIROS
Pursuant to letters being mailed to property owners, Chair Weller called to order the February 12, 2019 public meeting for the East Roosevelt Road Study. Chair Weller stated that the purpose of this workshop was to review the draft land use and zoning recommendations. He added that this meeting was the third of several meetings that would be held by the City.
Chris Jennette, 411 S. Wells Street, Chicago introduced himself. Mr. Jennette stated that he worked for Camiros, one of the firms hired to conduct the East Roosevelt Road Study. He stated that the purpose of this workshop was to review the draft document including the land use and zoning recommendations with the Board.
Mr. Jennette stated that Camiros has identified the following “Big Opportunities” for the East Roosevelt Road Corridor: Reconsider the mix of permitted and special uses along the East Roosevelt Road Corridor; add flexibility for shallow or narrow lots along the Roosevelt Road Corridor; reduce setbacks (street, side, rear), height, buffer requirements; accommodate additional housing options along the corridor; create a commercial focus area, leveraging new investment and development opportunities to encourage a more urban, walkable character; and prioritize the creation of a unified streetscape along the corridor.
Mr. Jennette stated that Camiros has identified the following “Vision and Guiding Principles” for the East Roosevelt Road Corridor: Protect existing neighborhoods; scale is critical; encourage a mix of uses, encourage redevelopment of converted single-family homes; maintain existing affordable housing; and balance parking requirements.
To help move the City toward its desired land use and development vision, Mr. Jennette stated that Camiros has developed two primary strategies: First, a major update to the City’s land use policy for the East Roosevelt Road Corridor is proposed, including the delineation of character areas that acknowledge the varying conditions along the corridor, strengthening existing development patterns or facilitating change where desired and second, the implementation of this updated policy through creation of an overlay district that aligns the City’s development vision and land use policy with corridor-specific development regulations tied to the identified East Roosevelt Road character areas.
In re-envisioning the future of the corridor, Mr. Jennette stated that Camiros has developed a series of places, or character areas, to guide future development. The intent of each of these character areas is to provide a greater variety of redevelopment potential along the East Roosevelt Road Corridor that respects existing developed character, facilitates change where desired, and implements the City’s vision for the future of Roosevelt Road. These character areas are established based upon existing physical development patterns, as well as identified areas of opportunity or desired change. They include (from east to west): A transition zone, from the City limits to Lorraine Road; a mixed-use flexible zone, from Lorraine Road to President Street; a commercial core zone, from President Street to West Street/ Warrenville Road and a horizontal mixed-use zone, from West Street/ Warrenville Road to Carlton Avenue.
Jim Pesavento, 222 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton provided comment. Mr. Pesavento questioned if the Roosevelt Road Comprehensive Plan Amendment would include changes to existing signage limits for office properties.
Director Kozik stated that an evaluation of the existing signage limits could be incorporated into the amendment.
Tony Stefancic, 1417 N. Main Street, Wheaton provided comment. Mr. Stefancic stated that he was a local realtor and he was not supportive of single-family structures on Roosevelt Road. He added that the City should streamline the zoning process to encourage development.
Pat Turley, 417 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton provided comment. Mr. Turley stated that the O-R District was a thing of the past. He added that the shallow lot depths on the north side of Roosevelt Road hinder the type and size of development.
Jeff Levant, 1501 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton provided comment. Mr. Levant stated that he owns a hair salon on the north side of Roosevelt Road and he has had trouble selling it to other users. He added that many of the properties adjacent to his are in various states of disrepair.
Tesh Patel, 430 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton provided comment. Mr. Patel stated that he owns several office properties on Roosevelt Road, and they all have high vacancy rates.
Prior to their next discussion on this item, the Board requested the following changes/ additions to the draft document including the land use and zoning recommendations: Incorporate pictures/ illustrations into the draft report; clarify items with zero lot widths; provide parking ratios from other communities; clarify substantial improvement language; define transparency requirements for residential dwellings; incorporate signage requirements; and list multi-family dwellings as a permitted use on the matrix when located on other than the main floor.
The Board concluded the draft land use and zoning recommendations workshop. Staff informed the property owners that additional notices would be sent out for the next meeting that would most likely be held by the Planning and Zoning Board in March.
V. MISCELLANEOUS There was none.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Plunkett moved and then Mr. Gudmundson seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:03 p.m. On a voice vote, all voted aye.
https://www.wheaton.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02122019-1104
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