McHenry Times

City of McHenry Planning & Zoning Commission met May 18.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Chairwoman Rockweiler called the regular meeting of the City of McHenry Planning and Zoning Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. In attendance were the following: Bremer, Davis, Riley, Rockweiler, Smale, and Lehman. Absent: Sobotta. Also in attendance were City Planner Cody Sheriff, Community Development Director Polerecky and Deputy City Clerk Johnson.

Approval of the Agenda:

Motion by Bremer and seconded by Smale to approve the agenda as presented.

Voice Vote: 6-ayes: Commissioners Bremer, Davis, Riley, Rockweiler, Smale, and Lehman. 0- nay; 0-abstained; 1-absent: Sobotta. Motion Carried.

Public Input

No members of the public offered any public input.

Approval of Minutes:

Consideration of the April 20, 2022, regular meeting minutes as presented. Motion by Smale and seconded by Riley for approval. Commissioner Bremer noted that her name was misspelled in the previous set of minutes, and the Deputy Clerk will fix the error.

Voice Vote: 6-ayes: Commissioners Bremer, Davis, Riley, Rockweiler, Smale, and Lehman. 0- nay; 0-abstained; 1-absent: Sobotta. Motion Carried.

File No. Z-2022-09

Petitioner: Cunat Inc, of 5400 W Elm Street, McHenry, IL 60050

Zoning Map Amendment to RM-2 High-Density Multifamily Residential District, a Conditional Use Permit for a Preliminary Planned Unit Development, and Preliminary Plat of Subdivision for the Residences of Fox Meadows Multifamily Development on the northeast corner of IL-31 and Veterans Parkway

Chairwoman Rockweiler called the hearing to order at 7:05 p.m. City Planner Cody Sheriff reported that all legal posting requirements have been met.

Brian Cunat, President of Cunat Inc, was present and sworn in. He explained that they have been in business since 1976. They are lifelong members of McHenry and are proud of this town. They employ 110 -time employees who enjoy a stable work environment. The property is zoned industrial and is next to industrial on two sides. They were approached by the current property owners for doing a multi-family project. They have done over 20,000 units and manage over 4,00 apartments. They are thrilled for this opportunity.

They have met with City staff and made this plan to maximize the potential for the property. On the east side they would border single-family that is currently undeveloped. A majority of the eastern border is with the former Family Service office, which now houses an autism school. Cunat believes that this multi-family development would be a nice buffer from the industrial area to the single-family area. The closest residents would be to the southeast, and that is a neighborhood with townhomes. The project is well laid out and they have been working with Staff to address their concerns. The 540-unit project will have a full clubhouse, indoor & outdoor pool, exercise area, meeting space, tennis courts, child play areas, and a dog park. It is well lit, safe and secure, and has security to enter each of the common areas for all buildings.

City Planner Cody Sheriff reviewed his staff report. The site was annexed to the City in 2003. There are site restrictions that all public improvements must be made for the project to be completed. The site is currently zoned BP Business Park and semi-approved for multi-family. Future land use recommends commercial development but high density residential is an accepted practice and common for this type of an area.

A traffic impact analysis was completed, and it does not trigger a traffic signal requirement for the State highway. A multi-use path is planned to connect to the existing multi-use path. There are no other recreational amenities within walking distance of the project. The density, parking space requirements, and recreational space requirements are all within acceptable limits.

A site plan analysis with setbacks show the new right-of-way lines for the highway expansion and the closest point of the project would be a garage within 10 feet of the right-of-way line. The developers are proposing a 6-foot-high privacy fence, and the City is recommending 4-6 foot tall landscaping screening. On the north side the plan does not show if the existing trees would remain. It is recommended to keep the trees or put in new landscaping to be in compliance. On the east property line, a landscaping buffer would be required by ordinance. Staff also recommends a landscaping buffer for the garages or removing some of the garages. A landscaping architect should be used to handle the landscaping issues that have been pointed out by Staff.

Chairwoman Rockweiler asked the developers if they were open to following all of the landscaping recommendations by Planner Sheriff, and if they would be willing to hire a landscape architect. Mr. Cunat stated that the are willing to follow all recommendations from Staff. He also clarified that they have no intention of removing any of the existing trees on the north side of the property. They plan to save all of the good trees and only replace the bad trees that need replaced throughout the entire project. Chairwoman Rockweiler asked the developers if they would be willing to move the playground areas closer to the center so they would be more centrally located, and Mr. Cunat explained that they tried to break up the activities and they believed they were already located in good areas. She also asked if it were possible to get to the play areas without walking on the streets, and he explained that the sidewalks or walking paths should be connected so that you should be able to use those to get anywhere within the development.

Chairwoman Rockweiler stated that the nice development pictures that were presented could be misleading because garages aren’t shown, but on the layout it appears that some would be in the middle of the development. She fears that this could give it an industrial look. Mr. Cunat advised the Commission that they could see developments in Woodstock that are already built that are similar to this proposed development. Willowbrook in Woodstock has more garages than this proposed development, and next to it is Walnut Ridge, which can also give you an idea of how this would look.

Chairwoman Rockweiler asked about the park amenities and if they are open to having a revised or more clear depiction of what will go in each play area. Mr. Cunat explained that they have made the areas quite large and are happy to work with the City to get what the City wants placed there.

Commissioner Bremer asked what phases the development would occur in and what the timeframe was. Mr. Cunat explained that the clubhouse would go in immediately along with the first building. The clubhouse would need to be open at the beginning with the leasing agent. The other amenities would be built in the order that they appear on the map as the development moves along. Leasing staff would be available from 9-5 and there would be longer pool hours with pool attendants. The indoor exercise room would also be left open longer than when the management facility would be on site. Planner Sheriff asked if the clubhouse would be open for the community or to outside groups, and it was explained that the meeting room could be leased or used by a non-for-profit, but no other amenities would be available to non residents.

Chairwoman Rockweiler opened the public hearing portion of the meeting at 7:43 p.m. Jack Jablonski asked the developer if the waling path that would be installed would be useable. He stated that the path at Patriot Estates is bad and old people can’t walk on it. Mr. Cunat stated that they would develop the sidewalks and path based on City standards and their requirements. He also complained that the swimming pool in Patriot Estates is not open when it should be for his neighborhood, and that hopefully this pool would be more available. Chairwoman Rockweiler stopped the questioning from Mr. Jablonski as it had no relation to the development in question.

Chairwoman Rockweiler opened the public comments portion of the hearing. Brigid Sterwerf was sworn in and stated that she was concerned about the impact this would have on the Alexander Leigh Center for Autism. Concerns included: students could be impacted by construction and noise, runoff and the retention pond, maintenance and liability expenses incurred with the additional influx to the retention pond, troubles busses might have getting though the construction, traffic congestion, and safety at the retention pond with more people in that area.

Kelly Weaver was sworn in, and she explained she had concerns related to the autism school as well. There are unique students at that school with special needs. There could be an increase in students and staff in the next couple of years. She is concerned about the landscaping, the driveways and entrances near their entrance, and keeping people from that subdivision off of their property. She is concerned about noise, trespassing, and the retention pond as well.

Commissioner Rockweiler closed the public hearing portion of the meeting at 7:55 p.m.

Mr. Cunat responded to Chairwoman Rockweiler’s comments about the play areas. Cunat plans to have the exact layout of the child play areas for Staff to review and approve. He showed on the map all of the green spaces throughout the project. Mr. Cunat also stated that he is happy to work with the schools to handle all of their concerns. He recognizes that there will be noise with construction but wants to do what he can to be good neighbors.

Commissioner Lehman asked what the length of the project would be. Mr. Cunat stated that the project would be broken into two chunks. The initial 270 apartments would take about 3 years to build, and then they would assess demand to see how soon they should complete the second phase. Commissioner Lehman asked bout how the trash enclosures worked. Mr. Cunat explained that they will be using compactors, which are more efficient and cleaner than the dumpsters. This also keeps the trash company from having to drive into the neighborhood as often. The compactors are enclosed and there are areas for recycling at those locations as well.

Commissioner Bremer stated that she was in favor of the project as long as the City’s requests for landscaping were met. Commissioners Riley and Smale agreed with Commissioner Bremmer, and both are in favor of the project.

Commissioner Davis was concerned about the entrance for trucks for the construction, and it was explained that this development will not use the same road as the entrance for the autism school. They would also be willing to build a fence near the school either during construction or as a permanent fence depending on what was being requested of them. Mr. Davis was concerned about the water runoff and the detention pond. Director Polerecky and HR Green Engineer Chad Pieper explained that the retention pond is more than adequate to handle the water that would be introduced as part of the project. Commissioner Davis also expressed concern for traffic getting onto Route 31 with the increase of traffic following development. It was explained that the City wants to put a stop light at that location, but is unable to do so without permission from the State of Illinois Department of Transportation.

Chairwoman Rockweiler referenced the staff report that mentions the building code and the amount of brick façade required. Planner Sheriff stated that this development would have the same percentage of brick as that of the Behr Development and other recent developments in the City. He believes that 75% brick does not make the project better, and that anything near 50% should be substantial enough. He also mentioned that the final plan needs to show matching brick on the garages instead of all vinyl. Planner Sheriff recommends continuing the hearing until the next meeting so that all discussion items and issues can be met in a revised written plan.

Chairwoman Rockweiler stated that she did not like the layout as presented and was hopeful that Cunat would consider moving buildings around so that the play areas could all be centrally located. John Cunat, VP of Cunat Inc was sworn in. He stated that the roads and underground infrastructure was already in place in regards to sewer, water, and storm. Moving buildings from the presented plan would be a big challenge and not feasible. Although the size of the project looks overwhelming, the distance people would have to walk to get to the recreation areas is not that far. A discussion ensued regarding the types of play structures and if the tennis court could be taken out of the development and something be put in its place. Cunat will work with Staff to determine the appropriate playground types that should be constructed.

A motion was made by Commissioner Lehman and seconded by Commissioner Bremer to continue the hearing until the June 15, 2022, meeting. Roll Call Vote: 6-ayes: Commissioners Bremer, Davis, Riley, Rockweiler, Smale, and Lehman. 0-nay; 0-abstained; 1-absent: Sobotta. Motion Carried.

Open Discussion:

There was no open discussion.

Staff Report: The next meeting is Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Planner Sheriff explained that there are some new items that will be coming forward. There is a potential buyer for the K-Mart site, and possible development of the outlots as well. Munson is moving forward to update their conditional use. An updated comprehensive plan is also on the horizon. Chairwoman Rockweiler asked if there was any movement on the former bank property on Crystal Lake Road. Director Polerecky stated that they have been approved to move forward but have not begun that process yet. He also explained that the City has taken ownership of the former roller rink property and that it will be cleared off and will be sold for a development.

Adjourn: Motion by Smale and seconded by Bremer to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m.

Roll Call Vote: 6-ayes: Commissioners Bremer, Davis, Riley, Rockweiler, Smale, and Lehman. 0-nay; 0-abstained; 1-absent: Sobotta. Motion Carried.

https://cms8.revize.com/revize/mchenryil/Document_Center/BoardDocs/Planning%20&%20Zoning/P&Z%20Minutes%205-18-22.pdf