Village of Flossmoor Plan Commission met April 21.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
Chair Mitchell called the regular Meeting of the Plan Commission to order at 7:34PM
1. ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Chair Mitchell, Commissioners Maddox, Martin, McCarthy and Yast
ABSENT: Commissioners Matthys
ALSO PRESENT:
Scott Bugner, Zoning Administrator; Doug Boehm, Petitioner; Debbie Kopas, Petitioner; Frank Parisi, Architect
2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF MARCH 17, 2022
Chair Mitchell asked if there were comments or changes for the minutes of the March 17, 2022 meeting. Acting Chair Mitchell provided some corrections and asked for a motion and a second to approve the minutes as amended.
Commissioner Martin motioned to accept the minutes of the March 17, 2022 meeting as amended. Commissioner Maddox seconded the motion which passed by roll call vote.
AYES: Chair Mitchell, Commissioners Maddox, Martin, McCarthy, and Yast
NAYS: None
3. PUBLIC HEARING OF A REQUEST FOR AN AMENDMENT TO A SPECIAL USE – 777 KEDZIE AVENUE - ADDITION
Chair Mitchell opened the Public Hearing and asked Mr. Bugner for a review of the petition. Mr. Bugner read aloud his staff memo as follows:
“We have received a request for an Amendment to the Special Use Permit for the Homewood Flossmoor Park District Ice Arena, located at 777 Kedzie Ave. The request has been submitted by the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District, owner of the subject property. The facts in the matter are as follows:
The subject property is an interior lot located along the east side of Kedzie Ave. approximately 334 ft. south of the intersection of Monterey Dr. and Kedzie Ave. The Ice Arena building is approximately 37,800 sq. ft. in size situated on an approximately 4.35 acre irregularly shaped parcel.
The petitioner proposes to construct a new addition to the on the southeast corner of the property to house a new ice refrigeration system. In addition, new dehumidification units would be located on grade on the north side of the building adjacent to the locker room and on the east side of the building adjacent to the studio ice rink and a new chiller unit would be located at grade to the east of the new addition. The proposed grade mounted dehumidification units and chiller would be enclosed by chain link fencing with privacy slats. The proposed addition housing the new ice refrigeration system would be approximately 2,390 sq. ft.
The proposed addition would encroach into the 25-foot setback requirement under Section 285-13-4 of the Zoning Ordinance, however the Plan Commission may recommend and the Board of Trustees may approve exceptions to site and structure requirements and other regulations in accordance with the standards for special uses provided under Section 285-26-9 of the Zoning Ordinance. A similar exception was granted in 1998 when the locker room addition was added.
The necessity for this addition is due to the fact that the new refrigeration system cannot be housed in the same location as the existing system which is no longer functional due to current building and fire code requirements.
Public Works, Police and Fire Department staff have reviewed the plans and did not have any questions, comments or concerns.”
Chair Mitchell asked the petitioners for a summary of their request.
Doug Boehm with the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District introduced Executive Director Debbie Kopas and Architect Frank Parise.
Mr. Boehm provided a history of what is going on at the ice arena, advising that sometime last November, the old R22 refrigeration system went out and could no longer be repaired which facilitated the need for this project which entails replacing the old system with a new modern system. He advised that this involves removing the old piping system, the sand and stone under the main rink and in the small rink, the removal of the existing concrete to replace that system. He stated that R22 is very difficult to get and is very expensive if available and that a decision was made to go with an ammonia based system. He stated that their hope is that they can be opened back up by November or December of this year if everything goes well.
Chair Mitchell asked Commissioner Yast for any questions. Commissioner Yast asked if the north setback would be the area that would be encroached upon. Mr. Bugner advised that the setback encroachment would be on the southeast side of the lot which abuts the high school property. Commissioner Yast advised that if the encroachment is on the east side of the lot then he does not have any issues.
Chair Mitchell asked Commissioner McCarthy for any questions. Commissioner McCarthy had no questions.
Commissioner Yast advised that he was surprised that chiller unit needed to be so tall. Frank Parisi advised the reason was a technical aspect in that the way the ice chiller works is that it pushes the refrigerant to the top of the condenser which has to be at the highest portion of the unit and which has a gravity feed that comes back down to the ice arena.
Chair Mitchell asked Commissioner Maddox for any questions. Commissioner Maddox advised that the plan looked good and that he was aware that this has been planned for some time. Commissioner Maddox asked about the ammonia system and whether it was high pressure and what volume. Mr. Parisi advised that the ammonia system is a totally closed system and contained within the addition which has all of the security measures in case there is an ammonia leak. He advised that he did not have an exact answer on the volume of the system.
Chair Mitchell asked Commissioner Martin for any questions. Commissioner Martin had no questions and advised that she would be excited to see when it is finished.
Chair Mitchell asked about the timeline for completion and if the project was going to take about a year to complete and whether the project area would be fenced off. Commissioner Yast advised that arena has already been down for about 6 months. Mr. Boehm advised that they were currently working on interior demolition and the there would be temporary fencing put up when the exterior work begins and added that they hope to be completed with the project by this coming November or December. Mr. Parisi added that they have a construction manager on board that they have worked with in the past and that they fence everything off. Chair Mitchell advised that he didn’t have any other issues and that his grandsons can’t wait for it open back up.
Chair Mitchell asked for a motion to recommend that the petition be approved as submitted.
Commissioner Yast motioned to approve the petition as submitted for an amendment to the Special Use. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion which passed by roll call vote.
AYES: Chair Mitchell, Commissioners Maddox, Martin, McCarthy and Yast.
NAYS: None
4. OTHER BUSINESS
A. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS – 777 KEDZIE AVENUE ADDITION
The Commission reviewed the Findings and Recommendations and Chair Mitchell asked for a motion to approve the Findings and Recommendations as drafted.
Commissioner Martin motioned to approve the Findings and Recommendations. Commissioner Maddox seconded the motion which passed by roll call vote.
AYES: Chair Mitchell, Commissioners Maddox, Martin, McCarthy and Yast.
NAYS: None
5. NEW BUSINESS
None
6. STAFF REPORTS
Mr. Bugner advised that everybody should have received an email to renew their Economic Statements of Interest and that they are due to be completed by May 1st. Mr. Bugner also advised that Commissioner McCarthy is resigning from the Commission and that Mayor Nelson does have someone in mind to fill the vacancy. Mr. Bugner and the Commissioners thanked Commissioner McCarthy for all of his years of service to the Plan Commission.
Chair Mitchell asked Mr. Bugner if the previous petitioner for the apartment building has come back. Mr. Bugner advised that he had heard from them and that they were seeking some information about the CVS property site plan.
Mr. Bugner advised that a petition from Oasis Hospice would be on the agenda for consideration of an annexation, rezoning, preliminary plan and a special use. Commissioner Martin asked where the property was located. Mr. Bugner advised that it was located at the corner of 198th and Governors Highway north of Tamarac and south of the Executive Center.
Mr. Bugner also advised that there would be an amendment to the zoning ordinance up for consideration to change the minimum area for zoning districts which would present an opportunity to rezone the property at the northeast corner of Dixie Highway and Vollmer Road.
Commissioner Martin asked how the Dunkin Donuts was doing and whether there had been any complaints from the neighbors. Mr. Bugner advised that it has been busy and that we had not received any complaints from the neighbors.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Mitchell asked for a motion to adjourn.
Commissioner McCarthy motioned to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion which passed by roll call vote.
AYES: Acting Chair Mitchell, Commissioners Maddox, Matthys, Mitchell and Yast
NAYS: None
http://www.flossmoor.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04212022-559
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