Will County Gazette

City of Lockport Plan & Zoning Commission met March 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

REGULAR MEETING of the Plan and Zoning Commission of the City of Lockport, Illinois was held on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 7:00 pm in the 3rd Floor Board Room, Central Square, 222 E. Ninth Street, Lockport, Illinois.

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Chairman, Dave Oxley

Commissioner, Bill Molony

Commissioner, Janine Wheeler

Commissioner, Matt Garland

Commissioner, Scott Likins

Commissioner, Aaron Peters

Commissioner, Kyle Quinn

ABSENT: NONE

ALSO PRESENT: Director of Community & Economic Development, Lance Thies

Cathy Wilker, LCTV

City Attorney, Sonni Choi Williams

City Clerk, Kathy Gentile

Independent Engineering Consultant, Bob Schmude

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

MOTION TO APPROVE THE PLAN AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 13, 2024 AS PRESENTED. MOTION MADE BY PETERS, SECONDED BY LIKINS. MOTION CARRIED BY VOICE VOTE.

PUBLIC HEARING

PZC 2024 - 001 Special Use Permit for a Planned (Residential) Development, Final Plat of Subdivision, and Final Development Plan Review for the Property located north of 151st Street and west of I-355 (Oak Valley)

MOTION TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING. MOTION MADE BY GARLAND, SECONDED BY WHEELER. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES: Chairman, Dave Oxley

Commissioner, Janine Wheeler

Commissioner, Bill Molony

Commissioner, Matt Garland

Commissioner, Scott Likins

Commissioner, Aaron Peters

Commissioner, Kyle Quinn

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None

NAYS: None

Director of Community & Economic Development, Lance Thies, presented the Staff Report. Staff finds that the proposed development is a cohesive unified project. The subject property was rezoned by Lockport Investments, LLC from O2 General Office to R2 Single Family Residential in 2017. This occurred during the time that Prologis Business Park was being considered. The owner had agreed to rezone the vacant land south of the creek to residential to assure the residents (south of the Prologis Business Park) that future development would be compatible with the existing residential community. Staff has struggled with certain aspects of how to regulate townhomes, especially lot coverage and rear yards because of the platting and will be proposing a revision to our bulk standards in the near future. The City has requirements for maximum lot coverage, rear yard setback, open space, and minimum landscape area. The Staff has identified platting issues with the definitions of maximum lot coverage and rear yard setback for the proposal for Oak Valley.

Presentation included review of:

∙ Final Plat of Subdivision

∙ Final Site Plan

∙ Elevations

∙ Final Landscape Plan

∙ Engineering

Applicant representatives in attendance, presented to the Commission:

∙ John McFarland, Entitlements Manager, Lennar Home Builders, 1700 E Gulf Road, Schaumburg

∙ Ryan Martin, Kimley Horn Civil Engineering

∙ Rich Olson, Gary R. Weber Associates, 402 W Liberty, Wheaton

The proposed townhome units are designed to be 1700-1800 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths. Lennar has several developments

PUBLIC COMMENTS

1. Patrick McDonald, 520 Amy Court, resident of Lockport – raised concern about (1) the amount of space for street parking available for units that are in the corner (Lots 3 and 4, S. Hillside Drive, on the Site Plan), (2) concern about the layouts of the rear yard sizes, recommending offset.

a. Clarification on the lot layouts: there is 45 feet between the backyards.

b. Developer response: The setback from the building to the property line is 65 feet; within the 65 feet is a landscaped berm. There is a 20 foot driveway in the southwest corner of the property which should provide adequate space for the 4 units in question.

2. Larry Cunat, 15015 S. Hillside Drive, Lot 30 in Creekside Estates, the adjacent subdivision – raised concern about the distance between his home and the proposed townhomes, whether the property will include Section 8 housing, and the ingress/egress. Raised a question and concern

a. Developer response: Lennar does not plan for these units to be rental properties. Ease of access will be from the 2 proposed access points on 151st; the project will include road improvements, increasing the road to 3 lanes.

b. City Attorney, Sonni Choi Williams, responded to a citizen’s request that the developer restrict the number or percentage of the residential units be available to renters using Section 8 vouchers. The City Attorney pointed out that the State recently passed a law that developer or owner of property cannot discriminate against renters based on their source of income. Therefore, it would be unlawful for the City to force a developer or an owner to discriminate against source of income for the rent which includes section 8 vouchers.

3. Michael Bonomo, 16650 W. Meadow Hill Lane – raised concern about the need for a traffic study, the potential increase in traffic, traffic lights, concern about the potential of trucks to drive thru the neighborhood, recommending a roundabout. Asked a question about the trucks accessing the project area to control the traffic.

a. Lockport can only control the traffic thru the roads that are within the City of Lockport. b. City Attorney, Sonni Choi Williams, recommended that any discussion be germane and relevant to the special use permit presented to the Commission. Any question about the bus traffic and truck traffic is outside the scope of this agenda item.

Question raised by Commissioner Garland regarding HOA guidelines related to investors purchasing units and later renting them. The expectation is that these townhomes will be owner-occupied.

Question raised by Commissioner Molony regarding 151st Street load limit and truck traffic. The road is currently a 7 ton weight limit. The Builder has planned a significant roadway improvement.

Question raised by Commissioner Peters regarding the lot coverage. Raised question about the width of the street and if one side of the street could be used for parking.

Question raised by Commissioner Quinn regarding side yard setbacks. City code requires minimum side yard setback of 6’. The distance between buildings on the plat is minimum of 20 feet between buildings.

Question raised by Chairman Oxley regarding the rear patios. The proposed patios are 7x10. The design of the development proposes 14 off-site parking spots. The units only provide room for 2 cars in the garage, space for 2 cars in the driveway. For the building elevations, Oxley recommends shutters on the second story of the buildings facing 151st street. All windows will have decorative window trim. Raised a question about the water flow; the plan is to replace the old water main and connect to other water mains, altogether this will increase water flow.

MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. MOTION MADE BY WHEELER, SECONDED BY LIKINS. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES: Chairman, Dave Oxley

Commissioner, Janine Wheeler

Commissioner, Bill Molony

Commissioner, Matt Garland

Commissioner, Scott Likins

Commissioner, Aaron Peters

Commissioner, Kyle Quinn

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None

NAYS: None

MOTION TO ADOPT STAFF’S FINDINGS AND RECOMMEND APPROVAL SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A PLANNED (RESIDENTIAL) DEVELOPMENT TO ALLOW A 148 UNIT TOWNHOME DEVELOPMENT AND MOTION TO APPROVE THE FINAL PLAT OF SUBDIVISION AND FINAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN IN-ONE STEP. MOTION MADE BY LIKINS, SECONDED BY PETERS. PRIOR TO THE VOTE, COMMISSIONER GARLAND SUGGESTED TO THE DEVELOPER TO PUT IN A SPEED BUMP IN THE INTERNAL ROAD NEAR THE PARK AREA. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES: Commissioner, Janine Wheeler

Commissioner, Bill Molony

Commissioner, Matt Garland

Commissioner, Scott Likins

Commissioner, Aaron Peters

Commissioner, Kyle Quinn

ABSENT: None

ABSTAIN: None

NAYS: Chairman, Dave Oxley

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION TO ADJOURN WAS MADE BY WHEELER, SECONDED BY QUINN, AT 7:58 PM. MOTION CARRIED BY VOICE VOTE.

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