Village of Gurnee Planning and Zoning Board met March 4.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m.
Planning and Zoning Board Members Present: Chairman James Sula, Brian Baugh, Tim Garrity, Edwin Paff, Josh Pejsach, and Laura Reilly
Planning and Zoning Members Absent: David Nordentoft
Other Officials Present: David Ziegler, Community Development Director; Tracy Velkover, Planning Manager; Clara Gable, Associate Planner; and Bryan Winter, Village Attorney
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Approval of PZB’s February 5, 2020 Meeting Minutes
Mr. Sula stated that a statement that he made on Page 10 of the minutes needs amendment, as a word or phrase is missing. Paragraph 4 reads “Mr. Sula stated that just because it’s hard to enforce a code as justification for prohibiting a type of home occupation”. Staff suggested the following, “Mr. Sula stated that just because it’s difficult to enforce a code does not justify prohibiting a type of home occupation.” The PZB members were in agreement to the suggested amendment.
Mr. Garrity motioned, seconded by Mr. Paff, to approve the February 5, 2020 meeting minutes, as amended.
Voice vote:
All "Ayes,” no "Nays," none abstaining
Motion carried: 6-0-0
4. Public Hearing: Petition by Papo’s Express Inc. for a Zoning Map Amendment and Special Use Permit for a Car Wash at 6498, 16962, and 16944 West Washington Street)
Papo’s Express Inc., represented by Mr. Joe Stone, is seeking to rezone approximately 1.9 acres located at the northeast corner of Washington Street and Hunt Club Road (6498, 16962 and 16944 West Washington Street) to C-2, Community Commercial. In addition, a Special Use Permit is requested to allow the establishment and operation of a car wash.
Ms. Gable stated that Papo’s Express Inc., represented by Mr. Joe Stone, is seeking to rezone approximately 1.9 acres located at the northeast corner of Washington Street and Hunt Club Road, consisting of 6498, 16962 and 16944 West Washington Street, to C-2, Community Commercial. The property is currently zoned R-1, Single Family Residential in the Village of Gurnee, and E, Estate in unincorporated Lake County. The subject property is surrounded by R- 5 PUD, Multi-Family Residential as a PUD to the north, C-2, Community Commercial District to the south and west, and E, Estate in unincorporated Lake County to the east. The existing comprehensive land use plan shows “Office-Service” for the subject property and the draft comprehensive land use plan shows “Commercial”. In addition, a Special Use Permit is requested to allow the establishment and operation of a car wash. As with all Zoning Map Amendment and Special Use Permit petitions, the Planning and Zoning Board will make a recommendation that will be forwarded to the Village Board for their determination. The petitioner and his representatives are in attendance to present their plans and answer any questions the board may have.
As this was a Public Hearing, Mr. Sula asked that anyone wishing to speak on this matter be sworn in. Mr. Winter, Village Attorney, conducted the swearing-in.
Mr. Joe Stone complimented staff on their professionalism with him through this process. He noted that Papo’s Express is a family owned and operated business with over 35 years of experience. He introduced the 3 other owners, besides himself: his father-in-law Russ Garcia, Mr. Garcia’s brother, and Mr. Garcia’s brother’s son-in-law. They own and operate 9 carwash locations (5 in Chicago, 1 in Round Lake, 1 in Oak Lawn, 1 in Hoffman Estates, and 1 in Round Lake Beach). They hope that this will be their 10th facility. He noted that they pride themselves in putting their customer first and their goal is to be the best in the industry. He stated that a car wash is a luxury, so their corporate philosophy is to “Provide our customers with an everyday affordable luxury.”
Mr. Stone noted that the proposed location, at the northeast corner of Hunt Club Road and Washington Street, is partially in the Village and partially in unincorporated Lake County. He noted that they are seeking C-2, Community Commercial zoning, and will also need to process annexation of the unincorporated property. They believe that this area of Gurnee is underserved in the express soft cloth carwash industry, which services a completely different customer than the touchless carwash industry. He stated that their facilities provide state-of- the-art building design with a goal to make the Village and surrounding residences proud of having this business as their neighbor.
Mr. Stone presented the following specifics of the project:
• Exterior of the building is a combination of stone, brick, ACM panel and glass.
• Black cloth awnings are proposed over the windows and a metal accent panel was added to the east and west elevations, near the top, to provide additional interest.
• The inside of the facility has white bright walls and flooring (epoxy and not bare concrete) that are power washed nightly.
• Bathrooms have tiled floors and walls.
• Colored wash and wax applications are provided to make the experience a little more entertaining for children.
• Landscaping meets code including the following number plant materials:
o South setback (6 shade trees, 3 ornamental trees, and 86 large shrubs)
o West setback (4 shade trees, 3 ornamental trees, and 47 large shrubs)
o North setback (16 evergreen trees, 6 shade trees, and 91 large shrubs)
o East setback (12 evergreen trees, 5 shade trees, and 57 large shrubs)
o Internal Parking Lot (8 shade trees and 3,929 sq. ft. of ground cover)
o They provided over 1,100 additional annuals to their Round Lake facility and plan annuals for this location also.
• An 8-foot tall stone imaged fence will be located along the north and east property lines.
• Access will be via one right-in/right-out from Washington Street and one right-in/right-out from Hunt Club Road.
• 28 vacuum stations are provided immediately north of the building.
• The motor for the vacuum stations is located inside the fully enclosed building.
• There will be 7 on-site directional signs (non-illuminated) to help direct traffic on-site.
However, the site is easy to navigate and should not have a steep learning curve.
• Cars enter the site from either access point and can either que in the car wash lanes along the west side of the site or circulate into the vacuum stations before exiting and entering into the car wash stacking area.
• A total of 45 queuing spaces for the car wash exists as follows:
o 21 in the three stacking lanes that provide stacking for 7 vehicles per lane o 21 in the lane along the very east and north side of the site
o 3 space after the pay station area
• The site provides a total of 6 employee parking space to the west of the storm water detention area.
• Storm water detention is provided north of the vacuum stations.
• Lighting is designed to throw no light off their site. They photometric plan shows that code is met internal to the site and at all property lines.
• Lighting after hours dims to security levels.
• Acoustic Associates (Dr. Tom Thunder) conducted an acoustic study for their car wash blowers, since sound from the vacuum station motor in controlled by placing the motor interior to the building.
o He reviewed the proposed blower (Stealth Quiet Drying System) and conducted ambient noise level testing on-site.
o Per Dr. Thunder, if the dB level is limited to no more than 5 dB above the ambient noise, then the noise would pose no impact.
o Current dB conditions: average ambient levels: 6 p.m. is 59, 7 p.m. is 57, and 8 p.m. is 56.
o He compared the decibel readings generated by the proposed blower at the distance the blower is from the residential property lines (north and east), including information on the ambient noise level, and found that the sound level generated by the blower would pose no impact (defined as no more than 5 dB above ambient noise).
o At the Thomas Place property line the dB level is 54 and at the east property line the dB is 59 (3 dB above the hourly ambient level of 56, but within the 5 dB criterion) and would pose no significant impact.
o Dr. Thunder’s report indicates that the blower will not exceed the Village’s or State of Illinois’ noise ordinance.
• KLOA was hired to complete a traffic study of the proposed development. Their conclusion is as follows:
o The proposed care wash will not generate a significant amount of traffic, which will be reduced due to pass-by traffic.
o The intersection of Washington and Hunt Club Road will continue to operate at an acceptable level of service under future conditions.
o The proposed access drives will be adequate in accommodating the traffic projected to be generated by the proposed facility. Widening of Washington Street or Hunt Club Road to provide right-turn lanes at either driveway will not be warranted.
o The site plan provides for efficient circulation and adequate stacking.
Mr. Garcia stated that the motors for the vacuum stations are fully enclosed within the walls of the building, which are 8-9” thick. He also noted that the facility in Round Lake, which has been open for almost 2 years, has homes much closer than at this location and they have never had a noise complaint. Finally, he pointed out that the technological advances over the past 2 years have resulted in better/quieter blowers.
Mr. Garrity asked for more detail on the noise study conducted for the use. Specifically, he expressed concern about the noise for 28 vacuum stations and the blower at the exit to the car wash and where/how the 5 dB threshold above ambient noise levels was being maintained.
Mr. Stone stated that they are using a new blower system called the Stealth Quiet Drying System, which they saw at the International Car Wash Show and were impressed by how little noise is generated by the blower. He also noted that it was utilized at the auto show and they were able to have a conversation underneath it when it was blowing at capacity. As for how the dB readings were calculated, he stated that they provided Dr. Thunder with the specs on the Stealth Quiet Drying System. Dr. Thunder also came out to the site and conducted ambient noise readings throughout the day. To project the car wash sound levels to the adjacent residential properties, Dr. Thunder then modeled the noise at the adjacent residential property lines based upon the location of the blowers and the tested sound emissions levels for the blower system (as noise propagates outward the sound level drops off due to wave divergence). As for noise from the vacuum stations, the motor for the vacuums is contained entirely within the car wash building, behind solid concrete walls that are a minimum of 8-9” thick. The motor generates a majority of the noise associated with the vacuums.
Mr. Paff asked whether the traffic study that was conducted factored in the roadway improvements proposed by LCDOT.
Mr. Brendan May, Traffic Engineer with KLOA, stated that the findings in the KLOA study are based upon the current intersection geometry with the projected traffic volumes from the addition of the car wash. He also noted that the traffic volume numbers also take into account an ambient growth factor. KLOA did run the traffic numbers after the proposed LCDOT improvements and the capacity analysis showed that intersection would operate better than existing.
Mr. Paff stated that one of his concerns is that cars exiting the car wash (building and site) onto Washington Street may not be able to exit because cars back up past the curb cut location almost all the time.
Mr. Sula stated that the forum that LCDOT held regarding the intersection improvements reflect a new right turn lane for westbound Washington Street onto Hunt Club Road.
Mr. Paff asked if those improvements will be done prior to car wash opening.
Mr. Stone stated that the intersection improvements would be completed after the car wash is open.
Mr. Paff asked if the creation of a right-turn lane would cut into the applicant’s property.
Ms. Velkover noted that the applicant is dedicating 30 feet along both the property’s Washington Street and Hunt Club Road frontage to the County to allow for these improvements.
Mr. Sula asked if there was going to be an extra lane on Hunt Club too.
Mr. Ziegler indicated that a second southbound left turn lane from Hunt Club onto Washington Street is also in the improvement plan. He also noted that a second right turn lane would be installed on westbound Washington Street to Hunt Club Road.
Mr. Sula asked if LCDOT has reviewed the applicant’s plans and signed off on the access type (right-in/right-out) and locations.
Mr. Ziegler stated that the applicant has been working closely with the County on their plans, including the amount of ROW dedication and access type and location.
Mr. Baugh stated that in the applicant’s testimony they indicated that an 8-foot tall fence would be located along both the north and east property lines. However, the plans reflect a 6-foot tall fence along the north property line.
Mr. Stone stated that he must have printed an old version of the plan, but that they will be installing an 8-foot tall fence along both property lines.
Mr. Baugh asked if there is any landscaping on the back side (residential side) of the proposed fence. He expressed concern about what appears to be a lack of vegetation on the residential side.
Mr. Stone stated that the fence will be placed in close proximity to their property line and therefore, all landscaping will be toward the commercial side of the fence. He noted that there is vegetation on the residential properties that is not noted on their plans as this is off-site.
Mr. Baugh asked about their hours of operation, specifically if they varied at all and what they typically did on holidays.
Mr. Stone indicated that they do not vary their hours. If a car wash has not been paid for by 9 p.m., payment will not be accepted for any additional washes. He noted that if it is raining or snowing, they may not open or use the day as a maintenance day. As for holidays, they post in advance what their holiday schedule is going to be. He noted that it fluctuates; they may be closed (usually Christmas) or open part of the day (usually Thanksgiving). Their holiday schedule is the same for all of their locations. He noted that they want to go to security lighting levels as soon as possible for the adjacent residents.
Mr. Sula clarified that the applicant is only requesting a zoning map amendment and a special use permit for the car wash and that no other special uses or variances are requested for signage, lighting, setbacks, landscaping, etc.
Ms. Reilly stated that there are 21 stacking spaces. She noted that her concern is someone heading north on Hunt Club not being able to get into the site and blocking traffic on Hunt Club if stacking gets to be over that amount.
Mr. Stone stated that, in the unlikely event that they stack to that depth, they have employees on site that will monitor the stacking depth and that if it gets to about 80% capacity, they will post an employee to direct entering traffic to stack in the drive lanes elsewhere on site (i.e., the lane along the east and north property line, as well as in front of the employee parking area). Not including any stacking in front of the employee parking area or vacuum stations, they have at least a 45 car stacking capacity. During their busy times they would at least 5 employees on site to work the pay station and direct traffic (if needed).
Mr. Sula asked what the cycle time is for a wash; how many cars can be processed.
Mr. Stone stated that they could wash a lot more cars per hour than they do, but they don’t crank the wash cycle up to capacity because they care more about quality than quantity. Their conveyor could probably crank out about 140 cars an hour, but they typically only do between 90 and 100 cars an hour on a busy day.
Mr. Sula asked staff if there was any concern about the grade of the property, since it sits lower than the roadways.
Mr. Ziegler stated that the grading of the property has been accounted for with the LCDOT widening project. He stated that this property sits a few feet lower, but they can still get everything to drain to the detention pond and then out of the site.
Mr. Sula opened the floor to the public.
Mr. Bob Shambaugh, 16894 W. Washington Street, stated concern for the people in Thomas Place, which is a 3-story building. Residents will be able to look down from their windows or balconies into this site. He expressed concern about the impact of their property values with this development. He also noted concern for his neighbor to the west, which is directly east of the subject site. He asked where the house was in relation to the building, fencing, and landscaping. Finally, he expressed concern about noise and lighting levels for the residents to the north and east.
Mr. Sula closed the floor to the public.
Mr. Stone stated that their building is approximately 75 feet west of the east property line. The fence is to be located on their property line, with landscaping to the south and west of the fence. As far as lighting, the lenses are all shielded so that light does not trespass from their property, in accordance with code. Their photometric plans reflect this. They also will drop down to security lighting levels after close of business. As far as the noise and traveling over the top of the fence, the blower that they are proposing is quiet with almost no noise going to the north. As for noise to the east the acoustic study shows compliance with State and local codes and less than the 5 dB increase that Dr. Thunder notes will pose no impact.
Ms. Velkover noted that the car wash building is, as Mr. Stone stated, approximately 75 feet west of their east property line. The home to the east is located close to the car wash’s east property line, however, the home is setback a substantial distance to the north of the car wash building. She also noted that the owners of the property to the east came into the Village Hall on Friday and reviewed the plans and materials with staff. She noted that although they had some concerns, they appeared to recognize that something was going to develop on the property eventually. They indicated to staff that they may or may not attend the meeting based upon what they saw.
Mr. Sula asked if the fence was an enhancement to provide additional sound buffering. Ms. Velkover indicated that is the case.
Mr. Sula asked if staff had any experience with the fence material.
Mr. Ziegler stated that staff has no experience with this specific fence, but did have experience with the type of fence. It is a durable product and as long as there are no gaps or spaces in the fence (i.e., tight to the ground), it will provide additional sound buffering, per his conversations with Dr. Thunder.
Mr. Stone indicated that he has a letter from Dr. Thunder clarifying that the fence that they are installing meets the criteria for sound dampening.
Mr. Bob Shambaugh stated that the board hasn’t addressed his concern about the impact of the development on property values.
Mr. Ziegler stated that, as a reminder, Thomas Place is an apartment complex, so the units are rented and not owned. Any property value impact would be to the property owner as a whole (the landlord). They were noticed and have not expressed any concern to staff. He noted that this location, the intersection of two County Highways, is commercial corridor area, as can be seen with the Amoco Station across the street, and two bank and medical office buildings on the other corners. This site has always been designated as either office/service or commercial on the Village’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan and multi-family residential is not inappropriate adjacent to such a designation.
Mr. Garrity stated that he came into the meeting on the fence, specifically concerned with the Special Use Standard of “the establishment, maintenance, and operation of the proposed special use will not endanger the public health, safety, or welfare”. The applicant has addressed his concerns with the acoustic study, traffic study, and photometric plans. He was interested in whether anyone would come to personally voice concerns over the project, but the one gentleman who spoke of concerns was expressing concerns for other property owners and not himself.
Mr. Sula asked if Bill Grieve reviewed the proposal.
Mr. Ziegler stated that he reviewed the interior traffic flow in the initial stages and made recommendations to plan changes that are incorporated into the plan before the board tonight. He also reviewed KLOA’s traffic study and had no issues.
Mr. Pejsach stated that the board was asked to look at a rezoning petition. He noted that the commercial zoning requested is consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, so he doesn’t have any concerns with this petition request. In regards to the Special Use Permit, he noted that when looking at the approval standards for a Special Use Permit, the petition request meets the standards.
Staff confirmed that the petition is only for the zoning map amendment and special use permit. All other aspects of the plans conform to the Village’s codes and ordinances.
Mr. Garrity motioned, seconded by Mr. Pejsach, to forward a favorable recommendation on the petition of Papo’s Express Inc., for a Zoning Map Amendment to rezone the subject property from R-1, Single-Family Residential, and E, Estate, to C-2, Community Commercial.
Mr. Sula asked if there was any discussion on the motion; as there was not, a vote was taken.
Roll Call Vote:
Ayes: Baugh, Garrity, Paff, Pejsach, Reilly, and Sula
Nays: None
Abstain: None
Motion Approved: 6-0-0
Mr. Garrity motioned, seconded by Mr. Paff, to forward a favorable recommendation on
the petition of Papo’s Express Inc., for a Special Use Permit to allow the establishment and operation of a car wash on the subject property, in substantial conformance with the plans provided to the PZB on March 4, 2020, with the stipulation that the fence height along the north property line be 8-feet in height.
Mr. Sula asked if there was any discussion on the motion; as there was not, a vote was taken.
Roll Call Vote:
Ayes: Baugh, Garrity, Paff, Pejsach, Reilly, and Sula
Nays: None
Abstain: None
Motion Approved: 6-0-0
5. Next Meeting Date: March 18, 2020
Staff indicated that there are several public hearings scheduled for the March 18th meeting.
6. Public Comment
There were no public comments.
7. Adjournment
Mr. Baugh motioned, seconded by Mr. Pejsach, to adjourn the meeting.
Voice vote:
All "Ayes,” no "Nays," None abstaining Motion carried: 6-0-0
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
https://www.gurnee.il.us/docs/default-source/meetings/pzb/minutes/2020-03-04_pzb_minutes.pdf?sfvrsn=2
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