The Village Clerk called the roll with President Hayes and the following Trustees responding: Rosenberg, Blackwood, Sidor, Farwell, Glasgow, Tinaglia and LaBedz.

Trustee Scaletta was absent.

Also present were Village Manger Bill Dixon, Assistant to the Village Manager Diana Mikula, Assistant Village Attorney Robin Ward, Director of Planning and Economic Development Charles Perkins, Public Works Director Scott Shirley, Building & Health Services Director James McCalister, Engineering Director Jim Massarelli and Village Clerk Becky Hume.

Mr. Dixon said the Building Code Review Board (BCRB) met September 18, 2013 and unanimously recommended approval of a modification to section 23-302 R309.1 of the Municipal Code.  In addition, upon review of the BCRB’s action, staff suggested some clarifying language to the motion.  The members of the BCRB reviewed the language, were independently polled and they concurred with the language refinements.  Mr. McCalister explained that the minimums are for newly constructed garages only not to existing garages. 

Trustee Tinaglia said this will truly assist residents looking to improve their existing garages.  These structures may not meet new garage standards; often all the resident wants to do is add on to an existing garage. It is an appreciated change as now they will not have to ask for a zoning variation.

Trustee Glasgow said the reasoning was sound. 

Trustee Rosenberg asked if a resident could put up a second garage on their property in in addition to their existing garage. Mr. McCalister said that the new garage would have to meet all the applicable sections of code because it would be new construction.  A resident would be able to build it, but would have to meet the setbacks and the minimum garage dimensions required for new construction in the Code.

Trustee LaBedz said she was glad staff added the additional language in regards to the interior dimensions as it helped clarify the issue.

Nick Papanicholas, George Demarakis and Steve Corcoran were present on behalf of the development. Mr. Papanicholas said that safety was an issue at the 2020 E. Northwest Highway development that opened a year and a half ago.  There is internal congestion which, they believe, is causing a safety problem.  They are requesting and additional entrance/exit on Waterman to alleviate the circulation problem. Mr. Corcoran, the traffic engineer, said that the original project was built without access to Waterman but people keep driving down the alley behind the project thinking it’s an entrance, even though there is a large sign saying that the alley is not an entrance.  People pull in and out of the alley. This is negatively affecting the neighbors.  People want to enter the shopping center off of Waterman. The way the situation is today, more traffic is flowing onto Waterman than is necessary as people drive around the block to get into the center. 

Trustee Glasgow said he is concerned with allowing a Waterman entrance when the Northwest Highway project is not yet complete.  He said the area will look completely different once the road work is finished and noted that the traffic counts will change.  He said he would like a traffic study completed before changing the entrances.  He said he does not want to create unforeseen problems and said he doesn’t have enough information to make a decision yet. He noted the escrowed monies for a traffic light at the intersection and said he would like to see if a light is needed before another access is granted.

Mr. Papanicholas said he was truly worried about safety, he further explained the current traffic flow issues.  He noted the speed at which cars are traveling coming off of Northwest Highway as other cars are trying to get into the right hand lane to exit the complex.  He said because of the swim school, children are in the lot.  He said with winter coming, snow and ice will only make the problem worse. He reiterated his request for relief on the traffic circulation problem. He said he was trying to be proactive.

Mr. Corcoran said a left turn lane will come into the Shopping Center off of Northwest Highway after road construction is complete and showed the new traffic flow of the area whereby Gregory will be closed off to cars trying to turn left from Northwest Highway.

Trustee Tinaglia said the site is very uncomfortable because of the narrowness.  He said the main entrance should be at least 36’ wide and it is only 24’ wide. He noted that people are already turning down Waterman expecting to get in, the traffic is already going there and it’s a natural idea that an access would be there.  He said a driveway off Waterman is a good idea and should have been there in the beginning.  He suggested that the entrance move as far north on the property as is possible to improve traffic flow through the drive through. The dumpster could be relocated.  He said he was in support of the change.

Trustee LaBedz said she was also in support of the added entrance.  She said intuitively, there should be an entrance on Waterman and that even though she knew it wasn’t there, she wanted to enter at that point on a recent visit.  The sign can be missed as it will be dark a dinnertime in the winter.  She said more traffic counts or more time might not make a difference as to how people use the site.  She noted that in looking at the full site plan there is too much crossing of paths and that it would be much easier and safer to exit on Waterman. She asked for clarification on the authority of the potential stop light. Mr. Dixon complemented the developer on transforming the property into this shopping center and for their ability to get it occupied. He explained said that the State controls the road and that certain numbers and standards (warrants) must be met for a light to go in.  Trustee LaBedz said she supported making the change.

Trustee Rosenberg clarified that the proposed access on Waterman would have full access without limitations. He asked Mr. Massarelli to explain what the roads will look like when Northwest Highway is complete.  Mr. Massarelli said that there will be left hand turn lanes for the shopping center and onto Waterman.  The double yellow lines that are there now will go away.  Trustee Rosenberg asked if the intersection will have enough demand for a traffic light.  Mr. Massarelli said that the area may generate additional traffic at Waterman that would help to achieve that goal.  He suggested waiting until spring to perform the traffic analysis as it takes a while for traffic to adjust to new situations.  Summer poses a different traffic scenario as school is not in session, but the outdoor pool next to the shopping center will be open. He said he is unsure which scenario would generate more traffic.  To merit a light, the State considers traffic counts and accident history. 

Trustee Blackwood concurred with Trustee Tinaglia saying that the widening of the Northwest Highway entrance should be increased to 36’ wide.  She also agreed that the dumpster location should be changed to accommodate the entrance on Waterman to be as close to the northern property line as is feasible.  She said that the signage should be very clear how to get to the drive-thru. 

President Hayes said he was concerned that an entrance too close to the alley would be confusing.  Mr. Papanicholas agreed saying it isn’t good to have two driveways next to each other. The entrance and alley should be very distinct. Mr. Papanicholas said he understood the traffic light issue, but it is not within their control. He said he wanted to focus on the safety issue now.   

Trustee Blackwood said she encouraged the move of the dumpster. The driveway may not be exactly adjacent to the alley, but should be as close as is reasonable.  Mr. Papanicholas said some of the landscaping might be compromised, but they would work with staff to find a solution.

Trustee Sidor asked for the developers to be mindful of confusion regarding the entrance of the drive-thru as people might inadvertently end up in the drive-thru lane when they actually want to park and dine in the restaurant. He asked for clear signage to delineate directions to customers.

Trustee Glasgow said he attended a meeting with ComEd regarding the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and the reliability of electrical service. He said that many dead trees are on private property.  Falling branches on power lines during storms can affect power service.  He said that ComEd trims trees every 4 years to encourage growth away from power lines, but it is property owners’ responsibility to remove dead trees.  Until the smart meters are installed in in 2015/2016, ComEd cannot tell if individual homes have a power outage.  He encouraged residents to link their phone numbers to their power account on the ComEd website www.comed.com/customer-service/outage-information so residents can send ComEd power outage information.  This action gets ComEd the information faster so they can fix outages more quickly.  He also recommended residents check www.comed.com/customer-service/service-request/trees-powerlines in regards to tree trimming and other power outage issues.

Trustee Farwell said the Village Board will be attending training for elected officials in addition to their three Committee-of-the-Whole meetings and two Village Board meetings this month.  He also noted that Bisto Chen on 10 East Miner (the former site of Chins) is open, and offers a dim sum Sunday brunch created by a chef specially hired for this purpose.

President Hayes thanked the Special Events Commission for putting on a quality family event, the Autumn Harvest, this past Saturday.  He thanked all the dedicated volunteers for their hard work in planning and executing events that increase the quality of life in the Village.