HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 10/18/2012 - Planning and Zoning CommissionCity of McHenry
Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes
October 18, 2012
Chairman Schepler called the October 18, 2012 regularly scheduled meeting of the City of McHenry
Planning and Zoning Commission to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were the following: Buhrman,
Doherty, Morck, Nadeau, Schepler, Strach, and Thacker. Absent: None. Also in attendance were:
Deputy City Administrator Martin and Planning and Zoning Secretary Wolf.
Approval of Minutes
Motion by Buhrman, seconded by Strach, to approve the minutes of the Planning and Zoning
Commission Meeting as presented:
September 6, 2012 special meeting.
September 20, 2012 regularly scheduled meeting.
Voting Aye: Buhrman, Doherty, Morck, Nadeau, and Strach.
Voting Nay: None.
Not Voting: None.
Abstaining: Schepler, Thacker.
Absent: None.
Motion carried 5-0.
Public Hearing: Robert and Kimberly Dellutri
File No. Z-803
4310-4400 W. Elm Street
Conditional Use Permit and Variance
Chairman Schepler called the Public Hearing to order at 7:30 p.m. regarding File No Z-803, an application
for a conditional use permit to allow a tavern with video gaming terminals and a variance from off-street
parking and loading requirements as submitted by Robert and Kimberly Dellutri for the property located
at 4400 W. Elm Street Unit M.
Chairman Schepler stated Notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Northwest Herald on
September 29, 2012. Notices were mailed to all abutting property owners of record as required by
ordinance. The subject property was posted. A Certificate of Publication and Affidavit of Compliance
with notice requirements are on file in the City Clerk’s Office.
In attendance were Robert and Kimberly Dellutri, 2593 Wydown Lane, Aurora IL 60502, who were sworn
in by Chairman Schepler.
Mr. Dellutri provided a summary of the request before the Commission at this Hearing stating they are
hoping to get approval for a beer and wine license to open a café serving gourmet coffee, pastries,
desserts, beer and wine and to allow video gaming. The business will be tailored to people not wanting
to go to loud bars and will have more of a Starbucks atmosphere but with the addition of beer and wine.
There will not actually be a bar, just counter service where guests will take drinks to their tables or have
them brought to them. The Dellutri’s passed around photos depicting an establishment with a warm
atmosphere.
Planning and Zoning Commission
October 18, 2012
Page 2
Deputy City Administrator Martin provided the Commission with the Staff Report regarding this matter
stating the applicant is seeking a conditional use permit to allow a tavern and would like to open a
pub/café featuring video gaming terminals, beer and wine, coffee and soft drinks and packaged snacks.
The target audience is people who like video gaming but do not want to go to a traditional bar or casino.
In order to offer video gaming to customers, state requirements require businesses to have a liquor
license enabling them to pour on-premise. The applicant will be seeking a beer and wine only liquor
license, and although the intent of the business model is not to operate a traditional tavern, zoning
requires a conditional use permit for a tavern since that is the primary land use on the property. The
unit proposed to be utilized for the tavern is Unit M, which is directly north of Meineke and south of the
Coin Laundry in the space that was formerly occupied by a Dry Cleaning business. The hours of the
facility will be congruent with those of serving alcohol, which is generally prohibited from 1:00 a.m. to
6:00 a.m. Monday thru Friday, 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and between 2:00 a.m. an 10:00 a.m.
on Sunday.
If the conditional use permit for the tavern is approved, as well as the liquor license, the City must issue
the licenses for video gaming terminals up to a maximum of five in accordance with state law. The State
of Illinois Gaming Board is charged with issuing state video gaming licenses, and inspecting the premises
and enforcing video gaming regulations. The City has no involvement, other than issuing permits-
building, electrical, etc. Staff is supportive of the proposed concept because the proposed use is located
in the midst of a shopping center with many types of uses where people could patronize the proposed
use along with other businesses in the center and the proposed location is two units south of the Grand
Buffet restaurant, which draws a significant amount of traffic intermittently throughout the day. Staff
believes the tavern use would complement the buffet which does not have a liquor license.
The proposed tavern use requires 10 spaces/1,000 of net floor area or a total of 17 parking spaces. Staff
believes the center has much more parking than is actually used on different days and different times
mainly because it’s a center with a diversity of businesses and clientele, and peak hours vary from
business to business. As the shopping center sits today, a total of 610 parking spaces would be required
by ordinance, but 421 parking spaces actually exist. Parking space variances were granted previously
and the base parking requirement for a shopping center of this size is 4 parking spaces/1,000 square
feet of building area plus additional spaces for the three restaurant uses on the property (Tacos El
Norte, Little Caesars and Grand Buffet). Due to that base requirement, Unit M was allocated 7 spaces as
part of the overall requirement for the center; therefore a 10 parking space variance is required.
Staff is not concerned about the loss of parking and believes a number of factors over many years
contributed to the development of this shopping center, which also impacted the amount of parking.
The result is a hardship placed on the property owner but not caused by the property owner. There is
no room to expand the parking lot and employee parking for the proposed unit is available immediately
west of the building. Many of the uses in the shopping center are complimentary to each other and
many will close in the early evening. Staff does not believe there will be a shortage of parking in the
general vicinity of the unit in question at any one time.
Chairman Schepler invited questions and/or comments from the Commission.
Commissioner Thacker inquired as to the hours of operation, number of employees and whether there
would be a tap for beer service. Mr. Dellutri responded they hoped to operate from around 8 a.m. until
10 p.m. and there would be no tap – beer would only be poured from bottles. He also stated they will
Planning and Zoning Commission
October 18, 2012
Page 3
adhere to whatever state law requires on training, etc. and hope to hire about 6 mature part-time
employees. Commissioner Thacker asked why the Dellutri’s chose McHenry, particularly this location,
for the business. Mr. Dellutri stated he manages and does the leasing for the shopping center, thinks it
is a good location and is familiar with the other tenants in the shopping center. Mr. Dellutri also stated
that liquor license/service is necessary by state requirement to have video gaming terminals; if it was
not required, they would not necessarily want beer and wine service. He further stated it is their intent
to strictly enforce a 4-drink maximum. Mrs. Dellutri commented she has been in the bar business for
years and has children so she understands concerns which might be felt by neighbors but believes many
concerns will be alleviated by the 4-drink maximum being enforced along with the knowledge they are
planning to operate the establishment in more of a casual relaxing coffee shop atmosphere rather than
like a typical tavern.
Commissioner Buhrman asked several questions regarding security, inspections, and gaming board
inspection reports. Glenn Leonard, speaking on behalf of the applicants, replied there will be video
cameras in the establishment and sporadic unannounced surprise inspections are usually held over time.
He stated video gaming establishment requirements are entirely enforced by the state and are highly
monitored with no local enforcement involvement. He did, however, state that the gaming board does
check past history on establishments with local authorities as part of their standard procedures so most
establishments strive to stay in the good graces of the gaming board. Deputy City Administrator Martin
stated the planning and zoning commission is a recommending body only and although this is a public
hearing, the final decision will be made by City Council.
Commissioner Nadeau asked what the applicants expected the capacity of the establishment to be and
how they intended to monitor the 4-drink maximum they were proposing. Mr. Dellutri stated they do
not expect more than a dozen patrons at a time and would follow requirements of the fire marshal. As
far as monitoring the drink minimum, Mr. Dellutri said no pitchers will be served and they are expecting
very small numbers at any one time which will allow it to be very easy to keep track ma nually of the
number of drinks being served.
Commissioner Doherty asked Deputy City Administrator Martin if there is any cap on the number of
liquor licenses approved. Deputy City Administrator Martin stated there is no cap. He further stated
that based on state guidelines there is a potential for about 40 establishments to technically be allowed
to have video gaming if they all applied and were approved. At the present time, the Gambler is the
only establishment that has been given full approval. Deputy City Administrator Martin reiterated that if
the state issues a video gaming license to an establishment, the City must issue one as well. He also
stated gaming regulations require patrons to be 21 and over in gaming establishments or the gaming
must be in an area with restricted visibility from areas outside of the business and in a separate location
restricted only for patrons that are 21 and over.
Commissioner Morck asked if the Dellutri’s owned any similar businesses or have restaurant experience.
Mr. Dellutri stated they do not own any similar establishments but he does have restaurant experience.
Chairman Schepler opened the floor to questions and comments from the audience. The following were
sworn in by Chairman Schepler prior to their addressing the Commission:
Glenn Leonard, 6N024 Foxwood Ct., St. Charles, IL (Goldrush Amusements) – stated that no specific
security requirements are required by the state but state gaming inspectors do ask questions about
Planning and Zoning Commission
October 18, 2012
Page 4
security when they come out and their approval can be based on the security that is proposed to be in
place. All of the devices have security features built in with extensive locking systems.
Arthur Tiffany and Charlene Tiffany, 4411 Home Ave., McHenry. Mr. Tiffany stated he was in the
vending business for 30 years and Mr. Leonard only addressed security of the machines, not for the
patrons of the business or the business itself. The shopping center is family-oriented and a tavern with
video gaming in this shopping center would be detrimental to the community. Mrs. Tiffany stated she
obtained 3 pages of signatures from neighbors who do not want the proposed establishment in the
shopping center. They are not opposed to the business in general, they are just opposed to this facility
being able to serve alcohol being located in this shopping center since there are many other locations in
town that don’t abut residential areas.
Ronald Creutz, 4601 W. Home Ave, McHenry has lived in the neighborhood since 1968 and asked the
commission to consider a no vote. It is his personal feeling this is a family area and there will not be
enough parking spaces so the proposed use and the activity that may accompany it are not needed in
this location.
Curt Rehberg, Attorney for Mr. and Mrs. Tiffany, asked if a condition could be put on the establishment
regarding hours of operation and requiring it to be a service bar only with no bar stools. Deputy City
Administrator Martin stated the commission could recommend with conditions if it is a valid condition
for zoning. He also stated liquor licenses are issued separately and have their own requirements which
are an outside issue from this hearing. The type of liquor license being requested is for a service bar
only and the conditional use would be attached to the property, not to this particular owner of the
establishment. Attorney Rehberg asked if ownership changed hands could new owners remove the 4 -
drink minimum requirement proposed by the applicants. Deputy City Administrator Martin responded
yes, that is correct and not something that can be controlled by the planning and zoning commission.
Attorney Rehberg asked for the 3-page petition of signatures to be put into the public record.
Chairman Schepler closed the public comment portion of the hearing at 8:05 p.m.
Commissioner Thacker asked Mr. and Mrs. Tiffany if their objection is strictly in regard to the service of
alcohol or if they were objecting to the video gaming as well. Mr. and Mrs. Tiffany responded they are
only objecting to the tavern service of alcohol at that location.
Motion by Nadeau, seconded by Buhrman, to recommend to the City Council with regard to File No. Z-
803, an application for a conditional use permit to allow a tavern with video gaming terminals and a 10
space parking variance from off-street parking and loading requirements on the property located at
4400 W. Elm Street Unit M by applicant Robert and Kimberly Dellutri, with the following conditions, as
amended:
1. A liquor license is for a service bar only with beer and wine only;
2. Customers must be 21 and over to enter the pub/cafe; and
3. The conditional use and parking variance are tied together; either both are approved or both are
denied
be granted, and that Table 31 and Table 32, of the Zoning Ordinance, have been met.
Voting Aye: Buhrman, Morck, Nadeau, Strach, and Thacker.
Planning and Zoning Commission
October 18, 2012
Page 5
Voting Nay: Doherty, Schepler.
Not Voting: None.
Abstaining: None.
Absent: None.
Motion carried 5-2.
Discussion:
Commissioner Schepler stated the proposed location is in his neighborhood and he believes it is a good
business idea but not a good location for the business.
Commissioner Thacker stated he talked to neighboring businesses and they were not upset about the
proposal and he does not believe it will impact parking in or around the neighborhood. He remembers
similar issues being brought forward when Applebee’s was moving into town and there have been no
problems there either. He stated he has not heard a good reason for voting no on this issue.
Commissioner Buhrman stated it will bring good revenue to the city and the applicant appears to be an
upstanding person willing to follow all the requirements necessary to run a good business in town.
Commissioner Doherty stated he would like to see video gaming establishment approval taken a little
more slowly.
Chairman Schepler closed the Public Hearing regarding File No. Z-803 at 8:15 p.m.
Staff Report
There is nothing scheduled for November at this time. There is one item scheduled for the December
hearing and Deputy City Administrator Martin will bring a 2013 proposed meeting schedule to the
December meeting for approval.
Adjournment
Motion by Nadeau, seconded by Thacker, to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m.
Voting Aye: Buhrman, Doherty, Morck, Nadeau, Schepler, Strach and Thacker.
Voting Nay: None.
Not Voting: None.
Abstaining: None.
Absent: None.
Motion carried 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________________
Dorothy M. Wolf, Planning & Zoning Secretary
City of McHenry