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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 3/16/2010 - Community Development Committee COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING `-- Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Aldermen's Conference Room, 7:00 p.m. In Attendance: Committee Members: Chairman Alderman Condon and Alderman Santi. Absent: Alderman Glab. Also in Attendance: Deputy City Administrator Martin, Alderman Peterson and City Clerk Jones. Also in Attendance: Dave Miller 1208 North Riverside Drive, McHenry Chairman Alderman Condon informed those in attendance that she received a telephone call from Alderman Santi indicating he had been detained, but would arrive at the meeting as soon as possible. Alderman Petei•son arrived at 7:20 p.m. A brief discussion ensued regarding whether the meeting should be postponed due to lack of a quorum. Alderman Santi arrived at 7:21 p.m. Chairman Alderman Condon called the meeting to order at 7:21 p.m. She announced that since Alderman Peterson was in attendance for the discussion regarding the revised Administrative �, Adjudication Ordinance that the agenda would be revised and that topic would be discussed following the Public Input Session. Public Innut Session Chairman Alderman Condon recognized Dave Miller. Mr. Miller informed the Committee that he has been attempting over a number of years to get the City to address a continuing issue regarding the snow removal from sidewalks, property owner liability and the City's current snow removal ordinance. Mr. Miller provided the Committee with copies of various House Bills and statutes, which he has accumulated, suggesting that some of the data contained might be applied to the City's current ordinance in an effort to address his ongoing concerns regarding property owners and snow removal from sidewalks. Mr. Miller requested clarification regarding the City's ordinance regarding liability of the property owner. Deputy City Administrator Martin assured Mr. Miller he would look into the matter and provide him with clarification. Chairman Alderman Condon requested Staff confer with the City Attorney regarding immunity to residential, commercial and municipal property owners regarding sidewalk snow removal. Discussion Re�ardin� Revised Administrative Adiudication Ordinance � Deputy City Administrator Martin informed the Committee that the City established the Code Hearing Department in 2002 for the purpose of expediting the prosecution and correction of City Code violations. He stated that Administrative Adjudication, as it is commonly referred to, has become a me:�ns for local units of government to streamline building code, property Community Development Committee Meeting March 16, 201O Page 2 � maintenance, zoning and non-moving vehicular violations. The City Attorney has informed Staff that since the City recently obtained Home Rule Status the Ordinance needs to be updated. Deputy City Administrator Martin stated that Staff from the Construction and Neighborhood Service Department and representatives from the Police Department have met with the City Attorney to review the current ordinance and recommended changes. Deputy City ��dministrator Martin noted that the revised Ordinance mirrors the statutory requirements. Additionally, Staff is proposing to formalize the Administrative Adjudication process, whereby property maintenance, and building and zoning code violations would be processed in acldition to police non-moving violations. All hearings would be presided over by an administrative law judge, who is required to be an attorney. Staff has attended this type of formal hearing recently in other parts of the county in an effort to understand the procedures, how the hearings are held and to observe the different administrative law judges the other municipalities are currently utilizing. He noted that members of the Police Department have expressed support regarding the administrative adjudication process. The hearings would be used as a tool to bring individuals into compliance. Staff is requesting the Committee review the proposed amendments to the Ordinance. Responding to an inquiry from the Committee, Deputy City Administrator Martin stated that the Judge would be a subcontractor hired by the City. Staff is negotiating in an effort to have the �, Judge bill on a per case or per session basis rather than an hourly rate. Chairman Alderman Condon opined that the process appears to be a good one. She noted that she believes at Chapter 7.50 on Page 8 the word should be Prima Facia Evidence, rather than Prima Facie Evidence. Deputy City Administrator Martin assured he would look into the correct wording and correct it as necessary. Responding to an inquiry from Alderman Santi, Deputy City Administrator Martin stated that Staff is planning on scheduling the hearings on a set day, at a set time, once a month initially. Should it become necessary to schedule the hearings more frequently it will be addressed at a later date. Motion by Santi, seconded by Condon, to direct Staff to present the Ordinance repealing Municipal Code Chapter 7.50 in its entirety and replacing it with an ordinance in compliance with State statutes and the City's Home Rule status for full Council consideration. Aye: Condon, Santi. Nay: None. Absent: Glab. Motion carried. Continued Discussion Re�ardin�Historic Nei�hborhoods Deputy City Administrator Martin reiterated to the Committee that at the January meeting of the � Community Development Committee, the Committee and members in attendance from the Landmark Commission discussed creating historic neighborhoods within the City of McHenry, specifically for Green Street, Main Street, Riverside Drive and the adjacent blocks. Community Df�velopment Committee Meeting March 16, 201�) Page 3 `" The historic nc�ighborhood concept, as proposed, would not create a legalized Historic District but would allcw homeowners and/or business owners to voluntarily landmark their homes or businesses witii the hope that as people observe what surrounding neighbors are doing others may wish to fo Ilow. The Landmar}: Commission also encouraged displaying historic signage to indentify the neighborhoods by their original identity. Green Street would be known as Centerville, Main Street as Gagetown and Riverside Drive as Water Street. Deputy City A3ministrator Martin noted that at the January meeting some concerns were raised regarding the construction of oversized homes in an established older area of the City, where the larger home could cause disruption to the neighborhood physically and aesthetically. Staff was directed to investigate the current teardown ordinance, which was adopted by the Council in 2005 and associated Design Guidelines for Residential Teardowns and Infill Parcels to see if this concern would be fully addressed by what the City already has in place. Staff has ascertained that the teardown ordinance applies not only to sites with residential homes but also to vacant and underutilized infill parcels. All proposed teardowns would be reviewed by a teardown committee, as detailed in the ordinance. Staff believes the ordinances does address the concerns expressed by the Community Development Committee in terms of building layout, design guidelines and requirements for compatibility with the architecture and character of the surrounding elements. � Staff recommends no further action be taken on this issue at this time. The Landmark Commission is currently investigating ideas which were discussed at the January meeting of the Community De�velopment Committee regarding historic signage, but also will be looking into historic neighborhood banners. More information will be provided to the Committee once the Landmark Commission has determined how they would like to proceed regarding these issues. Alderman Santi opined that he is pleased that individuals are not being forced to do anything specific regarding their homes. Alderman Peterson concurred with Alderman Santi and stated that he liked thc; choice of whether or not a property is plaqued is voluntary. Discussion Re�ardin� Commercial Vehicle Re�ulations Deputy City Administrator Martin informed the Committee that following the discussion and proposed regulations for recreational vehicles, Staff has been re-evaluating the definition and regulations for placement and storage of commercial vehicles based on the difficulties experienced by the Construction and Neighborhood Services Department in enforcing the current regulations. Deputy City Administrator Martin indicated that the existing definition for Commercial Vehicles is vague and severely limits what constitutes a commercial vehicle. Staff is recommending the following definition for commercial vehicles: � Commercial Vehicle: A motorized vehicle other than a passenger car, passenger van, or recreational vehicle (as defined herein) used by a household for non- commercial personal or family transportation, van pooling or ride-sharing use. Community Dc�velopment Committee Meeting March 16, 201�) Page 4 �' Deputy City Administrator Martin provided the Committee with existing regulations for the parking of commercial vehicles found in the City zoning ordinance on Page 170. He stated that the existing regulations for the parking of commercial vehicles in residential districts is very restrictive and does not take into account that many people have jobs where they are permitted to bring their wol�k vehicle home. Under these regulations no commercial vehicles can be parked outside in a residential zoning district overnight. Staff recommends regarding commercial vehicles in business districts, changing the heading from business ��istricts to non-residential districts. Staff has not experienced any problems with commercial ve�iicles in non-residential areas and does not want to make any substantive changes to the current regulations. Staff indicated that they were more concerned, at this time, with updating the re;ulations for commercial vehicles in residential districts. The provisions proposed to replace the existing requirements for having a commercial vehicle in residential districts are as follows: • No commercial vehicle, as defined herein, exceeding 9 feet in height and 25 feet in length may be parked and/or stored in a residential zoning district. Exterior ladders and any appurtenances on top of the vehicle shall be excluded from the height calculation. The following commercial vehicles are expressly prohibited from being parked and/or stored in a residential zoning district: stake bed trucks, box trucks, dump trucks, `— boom trucks, earth-moving equipment, tow trucks, step-vans, semi-tractor trailers with or without a trailer, and any vehicle in excess of 10,000 pounds. • "I'wo commercial vehicles, as defined herein, that do not exceed 9 feet in lieight and 25 feet in length may be parked and/or stored on a lot in a residential zoning district in accordance with the regulations for parking and/or storing of vehicles in a residential zoning district contained in the -r.oning ordinance. Staff provided the Committee with photographs depicting proposed permitted and prohibited commercial vehicles in residential zoning districts. Staff verified that the vehicles depicted as permitted do meet the proposed height and length requirements under the terms of the new ordinance. Staff has verified that most of the commercial vehicles driven home on a daily basis and which are kept overnight in a residential zoning district would be permitted to do so under the proposed terms of the new ordinance. Several vehicles were measured to verify this. Additionally, Staff verified the maYimum weight of a large residential-type pick-up truck and this does not exceed the 10,000 pound maximum weight restriction. Staff believes that a one-year amortization time frame be established following the passage of the �... ordinance by the City Council. This one year amortization would allow those residents that currently do not meet the new regulations ample opportunity to come into compliance. Staff will educate residem:s during the ensuing one-year amortization period regarding the newly adopted regulations. Community Development Committee Meeting March 16, 201(1 Page 5 �"' Chairman Alderman Condon opined that a one-year amortization period is ample time to comply with the new regulations. Motion by Santi, seconded by Condon, to direct Staff to proceed with the proposed changes and present the revised Ordinance to full Council for direction to present the matter befare the Plan-zing and Zoning Commission at a Public Hearing. Aye: Condon, Santi. Nay: None. Absent: Glab. Motion carried. Discussion Re�arding Rental Properties Chairman Alderman Condon requested that this discussion be postponed to a later date. She stated she would like Officer John Adams, who had presented "Crime Free Neighborhoods" to Council, to be present for this discussion. Chairman Alderman Condon opined that she felt Officer Adams could add valuable insight and information to the discussion. It was the consensus of the Committee to postpone the discussion regarding rental properties. Other Business Chairman Alderman Condon announced that the next meeting of the Community Development Committee will take place on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Alderman Conference �-- Room. Some of the topics for consideration are: • Issues with Drive Through; • Discussion Regarding Temporary Uses; and • Rental Property Issues and Concerns. Chairman Alderman Condon announced that due to the City's financial constraints and lack of funds to implement any projects, as Chairman of the Community Development Committee she has determined that the number of ineetings of the Community Development Committee can be reduced. She stated that she and Deputy City Administrator Martin have discussed the matter and a list of the new meetings scheduled will be provided in the Friday Report as follows: • May � August • October Deputy City Administrator Martin informed the Committee that the McDonald's on Route 120 has requested their Building Permit. Deputy City Administrator Martin informed the Committee that Chipotle Grill has completed all the necessary reviews and is awaiting Health Department approval to proceed with their project on the north side of the City. Deputy City Administrator Martin informed the Committee that a store dealing in the sale of `- eyeglasses would be opening in one of the available spaces in the out lot in front of the Meijer's store. Community Development Committee Meeting March 16, 201(► Page 6 �'" Chairman Ald��rman Condon stated that she seems to recall hearing something about an employee-ownf�d grocery store going into the old Dominick's facility. Deputy City Administrator P�Iartin indicated he does not recall hearing any information regarding that matter, however, he h.�s a list of all vacant commercial buildings in the City and will provide the information to �he Committee at the next meeting of the Community Development Committee. Adiournment Motion by Santi, seconded by Condon, to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Aye: Condon, Santi. Nay: None. Absent: Glab. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, . ������ Geri Condon, C'hairman � �..