Will County Gazette

Village of Frankfort Plan Commission / Zoning Board of Appeals met Sept. 26.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Call to Order: Chair Schaeffer called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM

Commissioners Present: Nichole Schaeffer (Chair), Brian James, Johnny Morris, Jessica Jakubowski, Dan Knieriem, David Hogan

Commissioners Absent: Will Markunas

Staff Present: Community & Economic Development Director Mike Schwarz, Administrative Assistant Lisa Paulus

Elected Officials Present: Trustee Adam Borrelli

A. Approval of the Minutes from September 12, 2024

Chair Schaeffer asked for questions or comments regarding the minutes. There were none. Motion (#1): To approve the minutes from September 12, 2024.

Motion by: James Seconded by: Morris

Approved: (4 - 0 - 2) Abstained: Hogan, Jakubowski

Chair Schaeffer asked members of the audience to raise their hands if they intend to provide testimony during any of the public hearings this evening.

B. Public Hearing: 10850 W. Laraway Road – Patriot Center parking lot expansion (Ref. 107) Mike Schwarz presented the staff report.

Ronald Vari, the project architect for the Patriot Center, approached the podium. He stated he and the owners were looking forward to improving the parcel. Mr. Vari stated they’ve received many compliments from residents on improving the site since they have taken over ownership of the property. Mr. Vari explained there was a parking issue created by previous ownership, and patrons of the Patriot Center have been parking their vehicles on Heritage Drive. He explained it is in everyone’s interest to fix the parking issue and to accommodate any requests.

Commissioner Knieriem asked Mr. Vari if there were any other reasons for expansions, such as any new businesses in the property. He asked if there would be any additional renters in the empty units, or if any vacant units would be demolished and added to the Patriot Center’s space.

Mr. Vari explained that tournaments will be coming to the Patriot Center beginning this fall and the owners would like to remedy the parking as to avoid any spill over onto the residential streets as soon as possible. He stated there is an overall idea of expanding the building but there are currently no definitive plans; all efforts have been put into the parking lot due to it being September.

Commissioner Jakubowski asked Mr. Vari if this parking lot expansion will address a large part of the parking problem even though there is still a deficiency. Mr. Vari replied yes, there will be 49 additional parking spaces with this addition.

Chair Schaeffer advised Mr. Vari that the trash enclosure materials need to be stated as part of the requirement.

Mr. Vari stated he believes the trash enclosure will be a concrete block wall and an opaque gate that rolls away and will match the current building. He added the trash enclosure will encroach 8 feet into the 32 feet drive isle to ensure enough space for emergency vehicles.

Robert McKay, a resident of Heritage Knolls, approached the podium. He thanked the commission for doing their work well and for the staff’s thorough report. Mr. McKay stated the light poles at the Patriot Center are currently 40-feet tall and were constructed in 1994 with incandescent light poles. He explained that now with the 40-feet light poles containing LED lights, the lights have become a beacon of light and can be seen from the train tracks. He asked the Commission and Mr. Vari to please remedy the lighting. He stated lowering the light poles to 20-feet as in the Village of Frankfort ordinance would improve the current standards for the families which live there every day. The second issue Mr. McKay addressed waslandscaping. He stated he was proud to live in Frankfort because of the attractive landscaping throughout to shield various buildings. He insisted that enforcing the current landscape ordinance is important. He was concerned that addressing the landscaping in different phases can be prevented or even postponed. He stated previous owners of the Patriot Center had neglected the landscaping for years. Mr. McKay mentioned residents of Heritage Knolls including himself have planted their own landscaping to help with the Patriot Center’s landscaping deficiency. He would encourage the Commission to keep the residents’ interests at heart and fulfill the landscape requirement.

John Carl, a resident in Heritage Knolls for 32 years, approached the podium. He sated he has been in front of the Board several times for this property. He was in agreement with Mr. McKay. He was concerned about the dumpster behind the property. He stated it was placed close to the residential area, and his home is the closest residential lot to the Patriot Center. He said he has viewed the dumpster for the past 30 years and has been susceptible to the vermin and whatever the dumpster attracts. He was thankful for the enclosure that would now be required but would like the dumpster to be possibly moved to a different location further from the residences.

Jim Macinrow, a resident at 10797 Ashford Avenue, approached the podium. He stated Mr. McKay stated all his concerns but wanted to address the parking behind the Patriot Center. He stated a fire truck would not be able to access the back of the building due to many cars parking behind the building. He agreed the LED lights from the property’s 40- feet light poles have been a problem for some time now.

Jeff Jakubowski, a resident on Summerset, approached the podium. He stated traffic is a major issue and added the intersection was difficult to use. He requested information for the amount of car accidents at the intersection of Heritage Drive and Laraway Road. He expressed his concern for proactively fixing the issue before an accident happens, and stated he often sees T-boned or rear-ended vehicles.

Mr. McKay approached the podium and asked the Commission to please hold a workshop to better work together as a community organization should future phases of the Patriot Center ever arise.

Michael See, the owner of the Patriot Center, approached the podium. He thanked the Commission for their time and service to put into this community. He stated he has been a member of the community since 1977. He acknowledged the center has been hard for the residents over the years and thanked them for their understanding. He offered that he is always available to the residents, and to please come in and speak to him. He mentioned he is a disabled veteran, and the center provides a place for them.

Betty McEnroe, a resident, approached the podium. She stated the berm behind her house has always been an issue. She explained the previous owners of the Patriot Center did not maintain the berm, and the new owners have cut the grass but left the berm untouched. She expressed concern for a large evergreen tree growing into their yard and how a storm could possibly damage her fence. She requested trimming the trees of the berm would be helpful before they potentially damage any personal property.

Larenzo Nash, a resident, approached the podium. He stated he was concerned about the after-hours activity of the parking lot. He stated he like to have a positive environment in our area and would like avoid people in our area overnight.

Bill Carlson, a resident for 34 years in Heritage Knolls, approached the podium. He asked the Commission if a temporary traffic light had been addressed and if someone could speak to Jeff at Will County. Mike Schwarz replied he was unsure of the status of the engineering design for Laraway Road improvements as that is a future Will County Department of Transportation project. He stated the Village can approach the County to see if there is anything that they can do temporarily as far as additional intersection lighting. Mike Schwarz also mentioned he could speak with Terry Kestel, the Village’s Superintendent of Public Works.

Chair Schaeffer informed Mr. Vari the Commission needed a photometric plan to show light flowing to residents. She stated the light poles are grandfathered in at 40-feet high and asked Mr. Vari to discuss orientation of light.

Mr. Vari replied he would like to work with the residents as much as he reasonably can. He suggested he can place a light guard or half cone on the North portion of the light heads. He also mentioned he would investigate lowering the light poles within their budget. He stated with the light poles being grandfathered in would allow the business to save on budget.

Chair Schaeffer stated the landscaping plan didn’t have the required plant units.

Mr. Vari stated he will be complying with all Village ordinance requirements. He believed the Patriot Center had an abundance of green space and would rather have more parking.

Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari if he was amenable to conditioning the Major Change to the PUD to ensure that the landscaping will happen at some point. Mike Schwarz stated the landscaping condition that was presented in the staff report is more stringent, requiring the landscape to be compliant. He stated if the Commission wanted to amend the condition for a later date of service, they could.

Commissioner Hogan explained as seeing that most of the concerns are lighting and landscape, the Commission could be amenable to fixing the lighting now and then working landscape into compliance. He expressed his understanding as a business owner himself, it is cash out and an improvement but is done to address the community. He stated it’s a balance that can be met. He asked Mr. Vari if that was an option.

Mr. Vari replied yes, as long as it’s not a budgeting nightmare. He stated he could try starting tomorrow, September 13th.

Commissioner Morris asked Mr. Vari if he had found any other photometric solutions besides the cones covering the existing lights. Mr. Vari replied no, but assured staff he will be pursuing further photometric information.

Commissioner Jakubowski stated she would like to see the lights come into compliance as soon as possible for the Heritage Knolls residents. She mentioned she was leaning towards stricter landscaping.

Commissioner Knieriem agreed to address the lighting and offered to extend a grace period on the plantings.

Mr. Vari stated if they could receive a building permit this year, they could begin planting. He stressed the importance of creating a parking lot in the 2024 calendar year to aide in their businesses’ success.

Mr. McKay approached the podium again and wished to remind the applicant that the 40- foot light poles were meant to shine down. He stated that the LED lights currently shine over the building. He explained that by lowering the light poles, the light would get condensed, and the light would flood properly. He stated the 40-foot light poles with an LED were incredibly bright, and lowering the light poles would help improve the night sky.

Mr. Vari thanked the residents for their comments and stated he will drive past the Patriot Center tonight. He confirmed he will work on the photometric plan.

Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari if the owner would be amenable to looking at maintenance for the berm. The owner, Mike See, replied yes. He stated they recently had some trees that had blown down and he had responded immediately to the homeowners. He assured the Commission he will walk the land and announced if someone wanted to come into tomorrow and speak, he will be available. He assured the residents he would like to make this amenable for them.

Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari to address the turning radius for emergency vehicles. Mr. Vari stated he has not yet done the measurements in AutoTURN™. He believed Mr. Gruba and the someone from the Frankfort Fire Protection District visited the site.

Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari to address the comment about after-hours activity.

Mr. Vari stated the business has not had issues with any after-hours activity. Mike See stated the business is normally closed by 9:30 p.m. He mentioned most of the parents live in the community, and they pick up and leave. He had never seen anyone loitering, he stated he would immediately address it if it ever became an issue. He stated he does see people walking their dogs behind the building, but it is not a hinderance.

Mr. Vari mentioned they would love to see another egress and stated there was another curb cut on Laraway. Mike Schwarz displayed the existing curb cuts from the staff report on the overhead screen. He stated that Will County has jurisdiction regarding any potential additional curb cuts and access to Laraway Road.

Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari to address the trash enclosure placement.

Mr. Vari stated the trash enclosure can slide anywhere along the back wall with the exception of the ComEd transformer location.

John Karl approached the podium. He stated as a resident, there is a huge expanse on the back property. He requested the trash enclosure be shifted further from the residents on Heritage Drive as possible.

Commissioner Jakubowski stated the Commission needed to see the required plans with proper screening for the trash enclosure like all new applicants.

Jeff Jakubowski approached the podium to address possible traffic control. He explained there is multiple athletic practices every hour with vehicles entering and exiting at the same time for that shift. He was concerned the parking lot and street could not hold all the traffic in order for traffic to move safely. He stated there was a massive amount of people waiting, leaving their cars running, and rushing. He would like to see an egress and a traffic light.

Mr. Vari replied that this site has been functioning as such for quite a long time. The applicants are the first group ever to focus on improving this site. He stated he can only do so much, and the fact that is prosperous is a benefit to all of us. He said it was not that bad because it had been functioning forever like this.

There were several unsolicited comments from the audience members in response to Mr. Vari’s statement.

Rob Tamara, a resident who lives on Heritage, approached the podium. He stated he was alright until he heard Mr. Vari’s previous comment. He clarified that there are times the residents of Heritage Knolls are waiting 20 to 30 minutes to come out of their residences because of this business. He stated the only way you can get into the Patriot Center parking lot is through Heritage Knolls. If there is a tournament, over 100 cars are trying to leave at the same time with only one exit. If all these changes are being made with new owners, he thinks all the ordinances should be met.

Mike See stated he is listening to every word that is being said and his son had died from a terrible car accident and never wanted to see that happen. He explained when the tournaments are over, they leave in small groups as they get through playing. He stated the Patriot Center staffs the parking lot with staff outside in the parking lot to help with the movement of traffic. He believed a light was going to be put in.

Mr. Vari urged to bring the discussion back to why they were here tonight. He stated they would like to enhance the traffic flow, but the words “new ordinance” should not be the focus.

Chair Shaeffer stated this case tonight is regarding the Major Change to the PUD for the additional parking, and the Commission was not looking at the access and the egress and that the topic would be more involved than the discussion tonight. The topic of traffic includes the Will County Department of Transportation. She assured the residents they were being heard and the traffic is a concern, and staff will be talking to Will County.

Motion (#2): Motion to close the public hearing

Motion by: Jakubowski Seconded by: Morris

Chair Schaeffer thanked everyone in the public for coming. She stated it was nice to see so many concerned residents.

Chair Schaeffer referenced the site plan and stated there is multiple special uses in this area. She asked staff if they were amenable to reducing the number of required parking spaces. Mike See stated 40-50 parking spaces are used during the weeknights, and 200- 210 spaces are used during tournaments. Commissioner James asked if other businesses in the building were open during tournaments. Mike See stated the tenants at State Farm are

usually 1-2 people, and he does not see the Marial Arts tenants on the weekends, especially on a Sunday, and the acupuncture business is one person at a time.

Mike Schwarz stated that the proposed parking expansion results in a net increase of parking. The applicants wanted more parking, but anything larger than a 25,000 square foot land disturbance would trigger the requirement for on-site stormwater detention. The request is an acknowledgement that the requirement is deficient by 29 spaces, but the applicants would like to come in later with another phase. Commissioner Jakubowski stated she was willing to overlook the 29-space deficiency because it increases safety. The Commission agreed on the requested parking adjustment.

There was a discussion about landscaping around the trash enclosure and shielding the view.

Mike Schwarz asked the Commission if they were in agreement with the location of the dumpster or would they prefer to shift the trash enclosure to the other end of the building. Commissioner Knieriem mentioned the garbage truck’s mobility and ease of placement to grab the dumpster. Mr. Vari agreed with consulting with Homewood Disposal, and that the trash enclosure is tucked away as best as it can but still be accessible and not an issue for the fire truck turning. The Commission agreed and stated they will rely on staff.

There was a discussion of the retaining wall. Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari about the construction of the retaining wall. She mentioned the detail in the plans mentions it will be a block wall, but asked if there would be any rebar or reinforcement. Mr. Vari stated he has to consult with the civil engineer. He believed the retention wall was landscape blocks with rebar and sand. He stated the Patriot Center was also entertaining the idea of using 6’ x 6’ wood timbers.

Chair Schaeffer stated the Commission would have wanted to know what that is for the Public Hearing and that the Commission does not know the structural integrity or lifespan of wood timbers.

Mr. Vari asked what would happen if they were to divide the proposed retaining wall into sections. Mike Schwarz stated that would be a legal and/or Zoning Ordinance interpretation question. The height and length would be a Commission question. Chair Schaeffer stated that by looking at the fall of the land itself, it did not look that big and asked if a retaining wall was needed. Mr. Vari stated the subject came up when speaking with Robinson Engineering. Commissioner Knieriem preferred a standard slope. He stated retaining walls typically do not last more than 8-10 years and take maintenance. Chair Schaeffer suggested the applicant could look into grading the slope to make it work, but then the applicant would be returning to the Commission.

Commissioner Jakubowski preferred to rely on the engineers and thought a retaining wall would not have been suggested had it not been in fact needed. Chair Schaeffer asked Mr. Vari what type of blocks would be used for the retaining wall, and if they needed rebar. She was unsure if the retaining wall would need to be stabilizing and stated there was a lot of unknowns. Commissioner Jakubowski stated Mr. Vari would need a sample. Mike Schwarz stated sometimes the Commission can condition if one item is missing but was ultimately up to the comfort level of the Commission on whether or not to move this application forward to the Village Board.

Commissioner Hogan stated there were a lot of question marks for this project that are usually answered prior to the Village Board Meeting. He understood the applicant wants to expedite the project, but if it is brought to the Village Board and gets kicked back, it will set the applicant back even further.

Commissioner Morris stated there was too many unknowns with this project. Chair Schaeffer agreed and was not comfortable with the lights, the retaining wall, or the trash enclosure. Commissioner Knieriem suggested Mr. Vari slow down and get things in proper order, or the Commission would be conditioning 6 things. He suggested the applicant come back with a concrete plan so the Commission could approve with confidence. He stated this was turning into a workshop and the Commission was not used to this.

Mr. Vari asked what the projected timeline would be if they postponed. Mike Schwarz stated the Public Hearing can be kept open and they could return to the Commission in 2 weeks with proper plans submitted a week before the meeting for appropriate review time.

Mr. Vari stated he thought he would move forward with the lighting cone and would update the proposal within 7 days. He expressed a need to submit a permit application to the building department for a 25,000 square-foot parking area to get the building permit going because of the timeline getting close to not pouring asphalt in 2024. Mike Schwarz replied if the parking lot is going to shift a bit, the Site Plan and engineering plans will need to change.

Chair Schaeffer stated she thought there were too many loose ends.

Commissioner Knieriem informed Mr. Vari it would be helpful to address the lights over the next week by applying the cones to see if they provided a difference in reduced lighting for the residents.

Mike See assured the Commission he would answer all questions, and the Commission would be pleased in 2 weeks’ time.

Chair Schaeffer informed the applicant the Commission needs to know what the trash enclosure will look like, including the materials, its placement, screening and landscape. It should be in the least obtrusive position and be still safe for fire trucks and Homewood Disposal. It was strongly suggested the applicant get a letter from Homewood Disposal.

Chair Schaeffer asked for specific details regarding the retaining wall. She advised the applicant to talk with the engineer to confirm if the slope can be smoothed out instead of having a retaining wall. If not, the applicant needs to come back to the Commission with the materials, including if it will match, if it will be reinforced, to help show the Commission what the retaining wall will be built as.

The Commission agreed with keeping the berm as well as providing needed maintenance to the berm. The Commission was in agreement of planting the required landscaping within 12 months of board approval. The full required number of plants shall be phased in within 12 months, which was amenable to the owner.

Mr. Vari was insistent on submitting for a building permit to the Village of Frankfort Building Department. Mike Schwarz replied they could if they wanted, but if they were to make any changes to the Site Plan, they would be resubmitting plans which could further delay the project.

Motion (#3): Motion to reopen the public hearing and continue to October 10, 2024. Motion by: Jakubowski Seconded by: James

C. Public Comments

There were no public comments.

D. Village Board & Committee Updates

There were no Village Board and Committee updates.

Other Business

There was no other business.

E. Attendance Confirmation (October 10, 2024)

Chair Schaeffer asked Commissioners to please let staff know if they cannot attend the next meeting. Commissioner Hogan will not be attending the next meeting. Commissioners Jakubowski, Morris, Knieriem, James, and Chair Shaeffer will be attending.

Motion (#4): Adjournment 8:53 P.M.

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