City of Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board met Oct. 27.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL VOTE
Chair Weller called the Wheaton Planning and Zoning Board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. Upon roll call, the following were:
Roll Call Vote
Present: Christopher Dabovich
Bob Gudmundson
Cecilia Horejs
Scott Weller
Absent: Nicole Aranas
Mark Plunkett
Dan Wanzung
City Staff Present: Tracy Jones, Staff Planner
Joseph Tebrugge, Director of Engineering
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - OCTOBER 13, 2020 The minutes were approved as presented.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
IV. OLD BUSINESS
ZA #20-08/ TEXT AMENDMENT AND SPECIAL USE/ 122 N. MAIN STREET/ THE MOMENT ON MAIN
Chair Weller reconvened the public hearing on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. He stated that the public hearing was called to order on October 13, 2020 but was continued until October 27, 2020 to give the applicant and staff time to provide additional information on parking, traffic flow and valet services.
Mr. Wiley stated that since the last meeting they had submitted a copy of a parking study that was completed in January 2020 and amended in February 2020 that shows parking availability in the downtown area.
The Board stated that they were already familiar with this parking study and while it does show parking availability in the downtown area, it has some shortcomings. First, it was completed for the property at the northwest corner of Wesley and Hale Streets and not the subject property. Second, the parking counts were completed during a week of extremely poor weather conditions.
Mr. Wiley stated that since the last meeting they had consulted with several parking consultants but all of the parking consultants felt that a new parking study should not be completed for the subject property at this time, since current parking demands in the downtown area are not at normal levels due to the pandemic.
Mr. Wiley stated that since the last meeting they had identified 8 parking areas with a total of 830 parking spaces that may be available through shared parking agreements. Per the Board’s recommendation, he added that all of these parking areas were located east of Main Street and north of Wesley Street. He provided a location map and the number of parking spaces for each of the 8 parking areas.
Mr. Wiley stated that a rear handicapped accessible entrance would be difficult since a ramp would need to be constructed on City property and may block a portion of the entrance for Dry City. He identified a section of City of Wheaton Parking Lot #2 as a possible smoking area.
The Board suggested the applicant consider an interior ramp for accessibility. They added that the caterers may find an interior ramp useful for their carts as well.
Staff Planner Jones stated that while guest drop-off/ valet areas do not require a permit, they do require approval prior to implementation. Requests for guest drop-off/ valet areas are reviewed jointly by planning staff, engineering staff, the police department, and the Downtown Wheaton Association to ensure that its operation will function efficiently and not impact traffic or negatively affect adjacent businesses.
Staff Planner Jones stated that an updated downtown parking analysis was not completed this year. While the City had intended to conduct the downtown parking analysis this year, the project has been delayed due to COVID-19. Since current parking demands in the downtown area are not at normal levels due to the pandemic, the City thought it would be best to complete this analysis post COVID-19.
The Board discussed the additional information submitted but felt they still needed more concrete plans for parking and traffic flow before making a recommendation. Specifically, the Board requested the applicant provide documentation from the businesses willing to consider shared parking agreements with them and proposed traffic flow charts based on the day, time and type of event. The Board also decided that staff should modify the draft recommendation in the next staff memo to include a condition that there be no valet stand on Main Street.
Mr. Dabovich moved and then Mr. Gudmundson seconded the motion to continue the public hearing until November 10, 2020 to give the applicant time to provide documentation from the businesses willing to consider shared parking agreements with them and proposed traffic flow charts based on the day, time and type of event. The Board also asked staff to modify the draft recommendation in the next staff memo to include a condition that there be no valet stand on Main Street.
V. MISCELLANEOUS There was none.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
https://www.wheaton.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10272020-1490
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