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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinances - ORD-06-1314 - 04/03/2006 - AMEND COMP PLAN INCLUDE CRYSTAL LAKE RD SUB-AREAAN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY OF MCHENRY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES TO INCLUDE THE CRYSTAL LAKE ROAD SUB -AREA PLAN WHEREAS, a petition has been filed by the City of McHenry requesting an amendment to the City of McHenry Comprehensive Plan to include a Sub -Area Plan for Crystal Lake Road; and WHEREAS, a public hearing on said petition was held before the Planning and Zoning Commission on March 16, 2006, in the manner prescribed by ordinance and statute, and as a result of said hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission made a motion to recommendation that the Sub -Area Plan be approved, however the vote was tied at 3 ayes and 3 nays, resulting in a negative recommendation to the City Council; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the evidence and recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission and finds that the approval of the Crystal Lake Road Sub -Area Plan currently requested and approved by this ordinance is consistent with the objectives of the City of McHenry Comprehensive Plan and Development Policies to be pro -active rather than reactive to problems, opportunities and challenges. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MCHENRY, MCHENRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: That the Plan entitled, "Crystal Lake Road Sub -Area Plan," attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, is hereby approved and shall be added to the City of McHenry Comprehensive Plan and Development Policies. SECTION 2: All Ordinances or parts thereof in conflict with the terms and provisions hereof are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. SECTION 3: This Ordinance shall be published in pamphlet form by and under the authority of the corporate authorities of the City of McHenry, McHenry County, Illinois. SECTION 4: This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect and after its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form as provided by law. PASSED THIS 3RD DAY OF APRI L , 2006 AYES: SANTI, SCHAEFER, MURGATROYD, WIMMER, CONDON NAYS: GLAB, PETERSON. ABSTAINED: NONE ABSENT: NONE APPROVED THIS 3RD DAY OF APRI L , 2006 ATTEST: XALYOR (� �C=_ 1 CIT CL C Crystal Lake Road Sub -Area Plan Prepared by: The City of McHenry 2006 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose and Intent 3 Planning Process 3 Comprehensive Plan Compliance 4 Hierarchy of Sub -Area Plan 4 History 5 Sub -Area Boundary 5 Comprehensive Plan Designation 6 Existing McHenry County Zoning 6 Existing City of McHenry Zoning 7 Previous Zoning Requests 7 Crystal Lake Road 10 Cold Springs Park 10 Plan Guidelines I 1 Implementation of the Plan 11 Overall Goal 11 Transportation Objective 1 1 Land Use Objective 11 Transportation Planning 12 Land Use Planning 13 Recommendations 14 List of Exhibits EXHIBIT A (existing transportation conditions) EXHIBIT B (existing land uses) EXHIBIT C (final transportation and land use recommendation) 2 INTRODUCTION Purpose and Intent A Sub -Area Plan provides a vision for future development. This Sub -Area Plan has identified the Crystal Lake Road Corridor between Hanley Street and Dartmoor Drive as a unique; area in need of more specific planning. Currently, the majority of this area is under McHenry County's jurisdiction and the City has not been involved in the review and approval process of development applications. New development will require annexation into the City's jurisdiction in order to tie into the City's utilities. In order to be prepared for the time when the properties annex and develop, this plan will provide guiding rules to ensure compatibility with the surrounding neighborhoods. The City previously conducted a study of this area, the Crystal Lake Road -Corridor Planning Study, which was presented to the City Council in January of 2001. This study focused primarily on transportation issues and outlined 16 recommendations to make the area safer and less congested. The Community Development Committee prioritized these recommendations and several have since been implemented. Unfortunately, these recommendations did not focus on planning activities in the area, including land uses and internal circulation. The intent of this Plan is to ensure compatibility of land uses and provide safe and efficient internal circulation. The area has evolved over the years from a predominantly residential area, to a diverse, heavily used transportation corridor in the City creating the desire from the property owners to convert quaint residential properties into home businesses or general retail properties. As the area further evolves, the City would like to be in a position to better plan for and control new development and redevelopment of the area. Property owners and developers will be better able to work with the City when they plan for improvement of the property. This Plan will give the City the tools and guidance to retain and enhance existing uses, guide future development to appropriate areas, limit undesirable development and create a well-rounded environment. Planning Process In May of 2005, the Community Development Committee first discussed the Crystal Lake Road Sub -Area. The first question asked was why prepare a plan for this area. City Staff and the Committee determined that there were three primary reasons for preparing this plan. First, the area is primarily unincorporated, which gives the City little if any say in how the area develops. The Sub -Area Plan allows the City to implement a strict set of guiding principles for future development, with an appropriate list of acceptable land uses and internal connections between properties. The uses that will be permitted in the commercial and office areas will be more compatible with the neighboring school and residents than typical commercial and office areas. Second, the multitude of curb cuts on Crystal Lake Road compromises safety in the area. The Sub -Area Plan will adopt access control standards to consolidate future access points and reduce curb cuts onto Crystal Lake Road. This is the main reason commercial and office zoning is being suggested, to allow development to occur on multiple lots and reduce unwarranted curb cuts improving the traffic circulation of the area. Third, access to Cold Springs Park is severely limited and should be enhanced. Another access into the park is planned along the north side near Ponca and Maryetta, as shown in this plan. The Committee, over the course of several months, established the Boundaries of the Sub - Area, defined the overall goal of the plan, and a developed a list of policies and objectives. Several alternate land use and transportation scenarios were discussed, and the following pages are the result of those discussions. The Sub -Area Plan shall be adopted by the City Council and be used by staff to distribute to the general public to help guide future development. Comprehensive Plan Compliance The City's Comprehensive Plan recommends adopting Sub -Area Plans for certain unique areas within our planning jurisdiction. A portion of Crystal Lake Road is identified in the Bull -Valley Corridor Sub -Area, but the City believes that this area needs additional attention. The Plan will still follow the already established Bull -Valley Corridor Goal, which states: The Overall Goal is to identify land uses, corridor design standards and access criteria which will guide development so that: • The capacity and safety of the corridor in serving its transportation function are enhanced; • The integrity of residential neighborhoods is respected and, through or short cutting traffic is discouraged although street connections between residential neighborhoods are desired; • The environmental and aesthetic character of the corridor is enhanced. Hierarchy of Sub -Area Plan The Zoning Ordinance provides the specific criteria for development; such as; setbacks, height limitations and Zoning Ordinance The Sub -Area Plan provides a more specific guiding vision for an area. Sub -Area Plan The General Plan provides a future guiding / vision for development across the City. General Plan El HISTORY Sub -Area Boundary The Crystal Lake Road Sub -Area is defined as starting from Hanley on the north to Dartmoor Drive on the south, including the uses on both sides of Crystal Lake Road, east over to Cold Springs Park and including the homes southwest of Lillian Street. This exhibit shows an aerial view of the surrounding vicinity with is current development. At the far north end is Hanley Street, where the development is predominately residential. Further south, at the intersection of Crystal Lake Road and Royal Drive and circled in red, are commercial land uses, such as: Ace Hardware, First Midwest Bank and the Post Office. South of Royal Drive is the Marathon Gas Station and Alden Terrace, a nursing home and rehabilitation facility adjacent to the McHenry High School West Campus. Across from the High School are a variety of single-family residences and retail or office businesses. It is important to note that many of these single-family homes contain home -based businesses as indicated by the asterisk. Behind these lots is Cold Springs Park, a natural wetland area to be preserved as passive open space. The remaining surrounding area is predominately residential. City Comprehensive Plan Designation The Comprehensive Plan designates this area as Low -Density Residential to coincide with McHenry County's A-1 agriculture zoning designation. The City believes that this designation is no longer appropriate due to the changing environment of the area. A revised Comprehensive Land Use Map with the new designation of Commercial and Office along the Crystal Lake Road frontage has been presented to the City Council for consideration. This Sub -Area Plan is in conformance with the revised Comprehensive Plan Land Use Maps, Existing McHenry County Zoning For the portions of the sub -area still within the County's jurisdiction this map depicts the zoning categories. The County's primary designation for this area is A-1 Agriculture, although there have been several rezoning applications, which include requests for R-2 two- family residential, A-1-C a conditional use request, and R-1-V a variation to single-family residential. Several of the properties have home -based businesses with commercial signage out front although they have not made a request to change the zoning nor are the current business uses permitted in the A-1 zoning. 2 Existing City of McHenry Zoning For the portions of the sub -area which have already been annexed and developed under the City of McHenry's jurisdiction, the following zoning map shows the current designations. The City has several zoning designations in this area. The Cooney Heights subdivision is zoned RS-4, high -density single-family residential. Along Crystal Lake Road there is one parcel on the east side zoned 0-1, local office for a dentist's office. Further south the Park Ridge Estates Subdivision and Cold Springs Park are zoned RS-2, medium -density single- family residential. On the west side of Crystal Lake Road there is 0-2, office park, C-2, neighborhood commercial and C-3, community commercial zoned property for the office complex, bank, Ace Hardware, and post office. Alden Terrace, the high school and the adjacent residential are zoned RS-3. Previous Zoning Requests Several zoning request have been made for development in this Sub -Area. The cases are listed below: Z-58 Lee and Carol Cooney Crystal Lake Road 7 Zoning Change from R-3 to R-4 Multi -Family Requesting 16 Units Denied Z-84 McHenry State Bank Trust #281 (Horn) Crystal Lake Road Zoning Change R-4 to R-4 Multi -Family Request change from 8 apartment building to 2 buildings One building to have 12 units with 1 bedroom One building to have 12 units with 2 bedrooms Denied Z-146 Jacob Farkas, Ronald Horwitz, Dorthy Kerr Crystal Lake Road and Front Royal Special Use Permit for Nursing Home with 312 beds (compatible with comp plan) Approved 0-76-82.75 Z-157 William and Vivian Richards 807 Lillian Street Re-classification from R-2 Single Family to R-4 Multi -Family Request to build a duplex. Approved 0-77-101.5 Z-158 Leonard Smith, Judith Smith, Leonard Molenda 4301 Sioux Lane Eliminate restrictions on number of units R-4 to R-4 Denied Z-183 George F. Cone 701 Lillian Rezone —Variance R-1 to R-3 Single Family Approved 0-78-177 Z-235 LaSalle National Bank Trust #104444 Bertram Miner & Lloyd Berhoff 803 Front Royal Amend zoning for special use 312 Bed Nursing home, amend for 1 story, 50-bed addition Approved 0-84-330 �3 Z-251 Boro, Bien, Zielke 4725 Crystal Lake Road Annex and rezone from County A-1 to R-4 Multi -Family Total 18 Units Denied Z-272 McHenry State Bank Trust #3243 Bjorkman West side of Crystal Lake Road Re -zone from C-2 to C-3 to allow a hardware Approved 0-87-436 Z-397 School District 156 4724 Crystal Lake Road Zoning Amendment, Conditional Use and Variance To construct second structure on school property Approved 0-95-709 Z-412 Bjorkman Ace Hardware 4520 Crystal Lake Road Use Variance for outside sales of landscape materials Approved 0-96-796 Z-426 Dr. Kevin G. & Beverly S. Wegrzyn 4811 Crystal Lake Road, McHenry Zoning Map Amendment to C-3 Community Commercial upon Annexation Variance to the minimum lot width along Arterial Street Variance to Side Yard Setback adjacent to Residential To allow a dentist's office Approved Z-427 William S. and Diane M. Weyde 4813 Crystal Lake Road, McHenry Zoning Map Amendment to C-3 Community Commercial upon Annexation Variance to the minimum lot width along Arterial Street Variance to allow multiple buildings on a zoning lot To allow mini -storage Approved M Z-600 Bjorkman for Ace Hardware 4520 Crystal Lake Road, McHenry Conditional Use Permit To allow bulk fuel storage on site. Approved Crystal Lake Road Crystal Lake Road has become a heavily traveled major corridor in and out of the City. Approximately 16,000 Average Daily Trips occur on this portion of Crystal Lake Road, which is similar to counts on Illinois Route 31 and Bull Valley Road. The heavy traffic volume and noise levels make this area more suitable for commercial and office development rather than low -density residential. This is evident with the number of home -based businesses and rezoning applications through the County. The City believes that this area will continue to develop in this manner and planning for office and commercial uses will be the most responsible action. Future development will be required to dedicate right-of-way to assure Crystal Lake Road is a minimum of 60-feet wide from the center line of right-of-way. In additional a 10-foot municipal utility easement (M.U.E.) including sidewalk and bike path will be needed. A separate public utility easement to be negotiated with the private utility companies may also need to be provided outside of the right-of-way and MUE. When the properties annex there will be discussion at that time regarding payment by the developer for roadway improvements and the relocation of existing overhead utilities underground. This corridor is heavily traveled resulting in the need to limit the number of points of ingress and egress to improve the traffic flow. The City believes that future development of the properties will continue to toward office and retail uses, thus creating multiple lot office and commercial project, in turn reducing the number of driveways. The City has provided the recommended traffic conditions on Exhibit C. The limited number of access points requires developers to work together to create a cohesive project rather than piece meal development. Cold Springs Park Cold Springs Park is reserved as a passive recreation area with minimal walking paths. This plan allows for a possible second vehicular access off Maryette Boulevard and pedestrian access off Kelter Street. The vehicular access is planned off Maryetta on the north side of the park because the soils are adequate to handle the construction of an access road and parking lot in this location. The lack of active recreational opportunities in Cold Springs Park is due to the fact that the majority of the area is wetlands. This plan will be coordinated with the Master Plan prepared by the Parks and Recreation Department. 10 PLAN GUIDELINES Implementation of the Plan This plan shall be used by the City to guide future develop. The Goal and Objectives of this Plan shall be used to ensure new development's conformance to the City's standards and compatibility with the surrounding area. New development should be consistent with the guidelines established in this plan in regards to land use, transportation, permitted uses and bulk standards. Overall Goal This Plan will guide future development and re -development through the establishment of appropriate land uses and limitations on: the types of users, bulk and development standards and restructuring internal circulation and access onto Crystal Lake Road to reduce roadway congestion. Transportation Objectives The Plan shall: • Reduce curb cuts along Crystal Lake Road • Maintain access to all properties • Provide secondary access to relieve Lillian Street Traffic • Provide additional access to Cold Springs Park • Provide better internal access between parcels • Vacate unneeded rights -of -way • Require dedication of new rights -of -way • Require adequate right-of-way and improvements for Crystal Lake Road Land Use Objectives The Plan shall: • Provide for compatible uses to existing adjacent residences • Limit land uses to be appropriate for the area • Allow for larger users, to reduce driveways onto Crystal Lake Road • Preserve integrity of Cold Springs Park • Preserve trees and high -quality open areas 11 Transportation planning The existing transportation conditions are shown on EXHIBIT A. The existing number of driveways, as indicated by the arrows, creates a hazardous and congested traffic condition. When this property redevelops, driveways must be consolidated to improve traffic flow .along Crystal Lake Road. A future Roadway layout was proposed after several meetings with the Community Development Committee. The layout shows an internal "orange" street that bi-sects the long parcels, which provides more efficient internal circulation, allowing residential uses to be maintained adjacent to Cold Springs Park and office or retail uses along the Crystal Lake Road frontage. Staff also proposed the "green" street to relieve the current traffic along Lillian Street. The existing Kelter Street right-of-way would remain to allow a second access into the new development. Building on this preliminary roadway layout, Staff has proposed final roadway and land use recommendations. EXHIBIT C This map depicts the proposed "orange" street which bisects the long parcels. It also shows the "green" street which creates a 4-way intersection at Royal Drive and Crystal Lake Road and a connection to Lillian Street to relieve some of the current traffic. A second connection across from Lillian Street to Garden Quarter, "pink" street, is proposed. Preliminary land uses are also indicated. 12 Land Use planning The existing land use conditions are shown on EXHIBIT B. Most of the area is designated as residential either medium density single-family residential or large lot residential. Although this area is currently zoned residential, many lots have developed to home -based business and retail uses. This has created a leap -frog of commercial and residential properties. The interspersed commercial development has created an impact on the traffic conditions in the area and on the remaining adjacent residences. This Sub -Area Plan will provide some consistency to the area and help regulate the uses to ensure proper development. Although this area is developing towards retail and office uses it is important to remember the existing surrounding land uses. The high school is located on the west side of Crystal Lake Road. It is a closed campus so uses like fast food restaurants and liquor stores that might jeopardize the school's policies or the safety of the students shall be prohibited. On the east side, Cooney Heights, Park Ridge Estates and Cold Springs Park will be more compatible with residential uses. Also to not affect the existing character of the area new development must be light commercial and light office. Due to the sensitive nature of this site being surrounded by residential uses, Cold Springs Park and the High School's West Campus, Staff is recommending limited uses in both the office and commercial zoning districts. In addition, bulk and other development restrictions should be placed on these uses to attract non -intrusive "light" development, which will be more compatible with the surrounding land uses. Each proposed use within the sub -area will be analyzed and reviewed on a case -by -case basis, in accordance with the land use, bulk standards and development restrictions. Office Uses • Professional Offices (attorney, real estate, engineer, architect, tax preparer or similar) • Government Offices • Educational Uses (school, tutoring, administrative) • Dental offices (including surgery) • Institutional Uses Retail Uses General neighborhood retail uses, generally in accordance with the C-1 and C-2 zoning, district classifications, such as but not limited to: general retail and sales, including: dry cleaners, hair salon, nail salon, barber or similar, gift, stationary, art supply sales, hobby shop or craft store, video store, grocery, clothing store, optician retail sales and limited restaurant uses. Other similar uses may be considered if it is determined that they will fit harmoniously with the surrounding uses. Child care can be considered, but would still require a Conditional Use Permit application. The following uses would be prohibited. Prohibited Uses • Pawn shop • Tattoo Parlor • Gas Station or fuel storage 13 • Outdoor storage • Financial institutions • Currency exchanges/Check cashing establishments • Liquor stores • Fast-food restaurants • Automobile laundries • Adult businesses of any kind • Mini -warehouses • Motor vehicle repair and body shops • Transient housing • Hotels/motels The following bulk restrictions are proposed and will be considered when each of the parcels develops. Bulk Restrictions • Height -limited to 2 stories • Increased landscape setback along Crystal Lake Road required and increased buffer adjacent to proposed residential/Cold Springs Park -to preserve integrity of this natural area • Lighting restrictions • Noise restrictions • Odor restrictions • Restricted hours of operation. Offices shall maintain hours of operation between lam and 6pm. Retail shall maintain hours of operation including loading and unloading between 8am and 9pm. Recommendations City Staff has prepared final Transportation and Land Use concepts as shown on EXHIBIT C. Although this is the final recommendation this is a dynamic and evolving plan, in terms that it may be modified as actual development occurs and land use and transportation needs evolve over time. This Sub -Area Plan establishes the foundation for development of the area. The final recommendation for land use designations are office zoning along the majority of the Crystal Lake Road frontage, across from the High School's West Campus and commercial at the corner of Royal Drive and Crystal Lake Road. Office zoning will permit low intensity uses to preserve the transition from the residences to the commercial area. The office uses will be limited to those listed in this plan. Commercial zoning is appropriate at the intersection of Royal Drive and Crystal Lake Road to create a commercial node with the existing commercial development currently at that intersection on the west side of Crystal Lake Road. The commercial uses will also be limited to those listed in this plan. The rear portion of the existing residential lots is planned for residential development. The current configuration of the lots with the extended depth would allow the rear portion of the lot to be divided into two lots with one lot backing to the office or commercial and the other backing 14 up to Cold Springs Park with a local road between them for access, as shown on Exhibit C. The residential zoning will allow a preservation of residential adjacent to existing residential. It also allows for the lowest impact on Cold Springs Park. The final recommendation for the roadway circulation is depicted by gray lines with arrows. This plan shows 5 connections to Crystal Lake Road; two driveways opposite the High School's existing drives, Kelter Street right-of-way, a new roadway as a continuation of Royal Drive to continue along the existing residences where it will meet up with Lillian Street near the railroad tracks and a drive opposite the combined Ace Hardware and Post Office driveway. In addition, an internal street is proposed to bi-sect the residential properties which would be accessed by Kelter Street. This new roadway provides an access for the residences separate from the office or commercial development. The plan also allows the ability for the office or commercial properties to provide cross -access to each other by a frontage road since an increased setback is required from Crystal Lake Road. The planned internal circulation will reduce nearly all of the existing curb cuts onto Crystal Lake Road, requiring development to combine several lots, or for smaller projects to share parking and driveways with the cross - access agreements. The proposed land uses will offer needed services to the surrounding residences and provide a buffer from the noise and congestion of Crystal Lake Road to the residential properties. The list of uses and the bulk development regulations will provide assurance to the residents of the area that any development will be compatible with the existing and newly proposed residential development. This plan will provide the needed guidance for future development for the Crystal Lake Road corridor. 15 I , v V IVO — V W y G cd T � R cd A L y b C G ti W C � iY ti m Lon C 00 ti O CWl1' A � � V A 0 'C C W. r1w 0 0