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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-06-25 - PZB Special Meeting MinutesDES PLAINES PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD MEETING June 25, 2024 MINUTES The Des Plaines Planning and Zoning Board held a special meeting on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 102 of the Des Plaines Civic Center. Chair Szabo called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and a roll call was established. PRESENT: Fowler, Saletnik (arrived at 6:43 p.m.), Veremis, Catalano, Szabo ABSENT: Weaver ALSO PRESENT: Samantha Redman, Senior Planner Jeff Rogers, AICP, CED Director Ryan Johnson, Assistant CED Director A quorum was present. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEM There was no public comment. Chairman Szabo introduced the only case on the agenda. Public Workshop: 1.Address: 10 W. Algonquin Road Case Number: N/A The petitioner has requested a public workshop to solicit community feedback for a proposed development to be located at the approximately 17.44-acre site at the northwest corner of Algonquin Road and Mt. Prospect Road. This site is currently improved with three vacant commercial office buildings, surface parking lots, underground parking, and open space. PINs: 08-24-201-052-0000 & 08-24-201-053-0000 Project Description: The applicant will be providing information regarding a concept development plan for the property before answering questions and collecting feedback relating to a proposed office/manufacturing building comprised of approximately 150,000 square feet. Page 1 of 8 Mr. Tom Kikta, Legat Architects, introduced the project and a representative from Vetter. Dr. Susanne Lemaine provided background information regarding Vetter and their primary role as a service provider for other pharmaceutical providers. Primarily they fill medical devices with medicines and return the finished product back to the manufacturer. This site here in Des Plaines will not be a commercial site but it will be a development site. They will fill for clinical Phase I and II. Dr. Susanne Lemaine goes through the process of filling the drug and shipping it off to the customer. Mr. Kikta continues with the presentation... The three existing buildings will be maintained as well as most of the existing parking lots. Those buildings will remain largely unoccupied. This new facility will be at the north end of the site. Existing access from Mt. Prospect will be exclusively used by trucks, positioned as far as possible from existing residential. The entrance from Algonquin Road would be used by employees. Stacking queue area for 6-7 vehicles will be provided after the existing gate is relocated. A driveway would be added at the northeast corner of the site exclusively for visitor access. There is a drive that goes around the north side of the site, primarily a fire lane with occasional deliveries with smaller trucks. There will be a sound wall that will go in between the drive and residential properties. An acoustic wall is proposed at the north end of the property to mitigate noise originating from box trucks that navigate to the northwest corner of the property. The proposed building components would be two stories in height. A proposed main north/south corridor would provide interior access to the various building areas. The parking lot will remain as is. A new fence is proposed around the entire site in addition to landscaping. A tree preservation & removal plan was presented. Mr. Kikta identified proposed areas where trees would be removed to accommodate new underground utilities and new building improvements. Stormwater detention will be directed to the south and released to Algonquin Road. The proposed fence would be a style that would not comply with the requirements of the zoning ordinance for an opaque design. The proposed fence would be a transparent decorative faux wrought iron and is a response to comments heard previously regarding neighbor preference for open sightlines into the property. Stormwater would be managed to ensure it was retained on the property, and existing stormwater that flows from the neighborhood to the site would be received and maintained. Member Saletnik joined at 6:43 p.m. 140 staff are proposed during the business shift of up to two proposed shifts. No overnight or weekend shifts are proposed. The impact of staff coming on to the site is pretty low. Traffic will not be disrupted. A representative from the project traffic engineering firm, KLOA, is available to answer any questions that may relate to traffic. Page 2 of 8 The proposed building elevations were presented. Mr. Kikta identified the various building areas including the offices, loading docks & logistics areas, and manufacturing and mechanical areas including a catwalk to provide access for maintenance. The proposed building materials would include metal panels including semi-reflective finishes higher on the proposed elevations. The manufacturing area would be 50 feet in height. The office would be 38 feet. The lower mechanical area at the northwest of the proposed building would be 22 feet in height. Proposed window glazing would include “bird glass” which includes UV spectrum stripes to try to prevent bird strikes. The proposed shadows cast by the proposed building would be prevalent in the early morning beginning in September. For most of the year and most of the day, shadows would not extend beyond the lot lines. Several renderings were presented demonstrating the existing and proposed landscaping and views from the adjacent properties to the west (along Leahy Cir) & north (along Walnut). The proposed landscaping plan would include new landscaping adjacent to Mt. Prospect Road in the attempt to try to screen the loading dock area from view from the public right-of-way. Craig Weiss, 86 Dover Dr, will the work be done in a clean room or sterile room? Dr. Lemaine stated they do sterile filling therefore it will be a sterile filling “clean room” The room will be decontaminated with H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide). The clean room, sterilization, and incineration process was discussed by Dr. Lemaine. Mike Spire, 98 King Lane, prior plan was warehouse distribution with minimal manufacturing? Dr. Lemaine: product manufacturing was proposed previously but the current proposal is a different type of manufacturing, specifically filling injectable containers with medicines which are used in trials or sold as products by their customers. It will be a development service. Mr. Spire inquired about particulate matter, odor, & noise. Dr. Lemaine clarified that the proposed operations would be comprised of filling of pharmaceuticals as a service for other pharmaceutical companies. The drug substance will not be manufactured at the facility. It will be a service provider. There will be small labs just for testing. Mr. Kikta summarized potential noise originating from air filtration systems: Waste water from the operations will result from use of purified water excess from the process. The acoustical wall would be provided to ensure noises would not affect the adjacent property owners. Page 3 of 8 Mr. Spire inquired about the frequency of vehicle traffic around the north and west sides of the building. Mr. Kikta confirmed that deliveries would be infrequent, only for minor deliveries for mechanical equipment. Mr. Spire inquired about future use of the 3 vacant buildings: Mr. Kikta confirmed that the existing buildings would not be able to facilitate the proposed operations. Dr. Lemaine confirmed that Vetter occupies several existing offices on one floor of the building. Mr. Spire inquired whether the City had inquired about impacts with Skokie neighbors. Dr. Lemaine confirmed that the location in Skokie is in a science & technology park. Ken Ivaska, 75 W Algonquin Road. What will happen with the existing building? Will occupancy be part of a future phase? The existing light elements on the existing building and along the west lot line are too bright. What type of lighting is proposed? Mr. Kikta confirmed that several new lights will be proposed around the fire lane but these would face into the sight and would include shrouds on the residential side. Mr. Ivaska noted that the current lighting is replacement lighting which replaced prior lighting which was less intrusive. Chairman Szabo inquired about the approximate timeline for the installation of the current lights: Mr. Kikta confirmed that the current light elements were replaced by Vetter after they acquired the property. Ellen Alde, 63 Westfield Lane, inquired about incineration of cleaning materials: Dr. Lemaine confirmed waste materials will be collected and shipped for incineration off-site. Director Rogers read some questions from the public comment cards... There was a concern with sterilization and agents being used, and this was confirmed that Hydrogen Peroxide will be used and all waste material will be collected and shipped off-site for incineration. Dr. Rogers: Will Vetter be using Ethylene Oxide? The answer is no, H2O2 will be used. Number of employees employed? Dr. Lemaine confirmed the employee traffic and hours of operation. Page 4 of 8 Hours of operation will be from 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. 20-30 people will work on the earliest and latest shifts. Office hours will be 8am-5pm. Visitors typically represent their customers to monitor operations. There will be about 140 employees. Director Rogers: Will the existing fence remain? There is a plan to remove the fence and replace it. Mr. Kikta: The proposed fence would be a style that would be mostly open so that neighbors could enjoy views of landscaping. Director Rogers: Are there any measures residents should take to avoid construction hazards? Mr. Levi Whitworth, Evans General Contractors, noted that they proposed to set-up a dedicated phone number to receive calls regarding construction concerns. They will control dust and dirt. The proposed fence removal will likely affect neighbors but there will be a construction fence. Construction will take two years to complete from start to finish. Construction will occur from 7am to 7pm or otherwise in accordance with City construction hours. Director Rogers read if there is a Tax Break requested? Mr. Kikta noted that Vetter does not anticipate applying for a tax break for the current scope of work. Director Rogers read another question: Impacts on noise and wildlife in the rear yards of residences? Where will employees enter & park? Mr. Kikta answered: Employees would enter from Algonquin and park in the existing parking lot, would not affect traffic. Traffic at Mt. Prospect Road entrance will be a nightmare, should not be affected either. This entrance is for visitors. Minimal number of visitors. Traffic will be separated between employees, visitors, and trucks. Director Rogers: How tall is the acoustic wall and what is it made of? Mr. Kikta: Acoustic wall will be 12-14 feet high on the access roadside with a berm behind. The proposed wall would be comprised of concrete subject to additional review by an acoustical engineer. Dr. Lemaine commented: Filling of drug products is what is delivered from the customer and send back. Donna Diamond, formerly 120 Kincaid Court, how will stormwater be managed with a proposed berm and acoustic wall. Page 5 of 8 Mr. Kikta confirmed that a drainage swale and stormwater structures would be installed between the residential property and the proposed berm and wall. Ms. Diamond also asked where will the loading docks be located? Mr. Kikta confirmed: they will be off of Mt Prospect Rd. Mr. Scott Rowan, 91 W. Walnut. What will happen while fences are being removed and replaced? How long will this take? Mr. Whitworth stated that he will coordinate with the neighbors, and put a temporary fence on the inside of the existing fence. Replace with a new fence and take down the temporary one. Ken Ivaska inquired about future use of the existing office buildings. How will occupants of these buildings affect traffic? Mr. Kikta clarified: There are no current plans and buildings will not be rented out at this time. Market will dictate any potential future plans. Cheryl Dusenbery, 1051 Leahy Circle E, will any of the adjacent roads be improved associated with this project. Mr. Kikta clarified: The only work in the roadway would be associated with utility improvements and striping of turn lanes on Mt Prospect Rd. Ms. Dusenbery: What type of communication is planned for residents at various phases? Mr. Whitworth noted that the construction team would notify neighbors and set-up a phone number for them to relay concerns to the construction team. Mr. Whitworth would be open to other possible methods of communication. Ms. Dusenberry inquired about utility interruption: Mr. Whitworth stated no utility interruption is anticipated. Mr. Mike McMahon, 998 Leahy Circle, inquired about setbacks. Mr. Kikta confirmed the proposed west setback is 90 feet, the north setback would be 80 feet, and the east setback is 180 feet. Mr. McMahon inquired about volume of truck traffic: Dr. Lemaine clarified that approximately 5 trucks visit the property per day, some trucks are intended for the property and some trucks have loads with only portions of which are intended for this property. Mr. Nam Nyguen, 1061 Leahy Circle East, would construction occur on weekends? Mr. Whitworth confirmed most activity would occur on Weekdays with some work on Saturdays. Mr. Nyguen inquired about anticipated construction noise. Mr. Whitworth noted that construction noise would be prevalent during the earlier phases of construction and would be less prevalent after the building shell was complete. Page 6 of 8 Mr. Whiteworth confirmed construction would be continuous after work was initiated until the project was complete. Ms. Sue Spire, 98 King Lane inquired about potential noise. Dr. Lemaine confirmed the operations at the existing location in Skokie has a shared heating, ventilation, & air conditioning system with other tenants of the office park. Noise comes from the Hvac system. Mr. Kikta explained that anticipated noise would be evaluated and more information would be provided at a later date. Member Fowler inquired about the type of workers and traffic impact. Dr. Lemaine confirmed that the proposed office spaces would be occupied primarily by sales workers. Approximately 50 employees would be involved in manufacturing. Approximately one- third of the total 140 employees would work from home at least 2 days per week. The proposed operations in Skokie would be maintained for the time being while the proposed operations would comprise a new, separate occupancy which would double current capacity but future decisions regarding operations would be dependent upon demand. Proposed jobs would range from entry level visual inspection to higher level technical jobs. Member Veremis inquired whether proposed operations would generate more traffic than the prior office occupancy by Salvation Army. Answer is uncertain but possibly 500. Mr Kikta added the existing parking lot has 308 parking stalls which will be more than needed. Chairman declared a recess to allow additional discussion between the project professionals and the public at 7:45 p.m. Chairman Szabo reconvened the meeting at 8:04 p.m. Further discussion from the Planning & Zoning Board. Member Saletnik requested additional information be included with any future submittal regarding the building mechanical units and expected noise levels. Chairman Szabo requested further information regarding the proposed building elevations and the specific composition of the sound wall. There were no other comments from the Planning & Zoning Board members. ADJOURNMENT The next regularly scheduled Planning & Zoning Board meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Page 7 of 8 A motion was made by Board Member Saletnik, seconded by Board Member Veremis to adjourn the special meeting. AYES: Fowler, Saletnik, Veremis, Catalano, Szabo NAYS: None ABSENT: Weaver ABSTAIN: None ***MOTION CARRIED*** Chairman Szabo adjourned the meeting at 8:07 p.m. Page 8 of 8