VILLAGE of SUGAR GROVE

Commission/ZBA Chairman Irv Ochsenschlager called the special meeting of the Sugar Grove Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Village Board Room.

ROLL CALL

Plan Commission/ZBA members present:

Steve Benesch, Bob Dray, Irv Ochsenschlager, Ryan Reuland, Ed Saloga, Brian Schiber

Absent: Andy Konovodoff. Quorum present.

Also present:

Scott Buening, Community Development Director, Mike Ferencak, Planner, Steven Andersson, Village Attorney, Dave Burroughs, Consulting Engineer, Jim Brown, Planning Consultant Teska Associates, Nancy Zak, Recording Secretary.

*Note: After the meeting, Commissioner Saloga called attention to a correction that needed to be made to the minutes. Page 4, paragraph 3 should be corrected to read "Saloga and Lunn both responded to this question, saying the permit fees run from $2,000.00 $22,000.00 to $4,000.00 $24,000.00 per home."

Annexation, Subdivision, Rezoning to Planned Development District (PDD)

Kimball Hill Homes

To create a Planned Development District (PDD)

Village of Sugar Grove Petition

Opening of Public Hearings

Chairman Ochsenschlater opened the public hearings, both to be heard simultaneously, at 7:04 p.m. Quorum present as at roll call.

The Petitioner's, Kimball Hill Homes, request was for:

Zoning changes from Kane County F-Farming District to Village of Sugar Grove zoning Planned Development District (a new zoning category for the Village) after annexation.

Approval of a preliminary plat of subdivision and preliminary engineering for the north portion of the development (535 acres) and approval of concept plan for the southern portion of the development (752 acres).

The Petitioner, The Village of Sugar Grove's, request for a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to create a Planned Development District and establish the Plan Council.

Chairman Ochsenschlager then proceeded to explain to the public in the audience the purpose of the pubic hearing, the process the petitions would go through and the Plan Commission/ZBA's responsibilities in the process.

Richard Young, Director of Land Acquisition and Land Entitlement for Kimball Hill Homes, began the presentation. Young stated there were a series of consultants present working in concert with the Settlers Ridge project. Each would make a presentation of their specific discipline regarding the development.

Young began by stating Kimball Hill Homes has been in business since 1939. It is one of the top 25 largest home building companies in the country in ten different markets across the United States. Kimball Hill Homes originated in Chicago and takes pride in that fact. They have developed outstanding communities in and around the Chicagoland area. Young then led into the slide presentation.

Young defined the location of the proposed Settlers Ridge development as being bounded by Route 56 on the north and Galena Boulevard on the northeast; Gordon Road as it comes down to Prairie Street on the east where it terminates and goes along Prairie Street into Aurora (a future right-of-way for Gordon Road in this location is expected to extend further to the south to Jericho Road and would ultimately meet Route 30); the southern boundary; the western boundary runs along Mallard Point Subdivision and then runs north of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks.

Young went on to say the subject property is in the ownership of two different entities, one family and Dolan and Murphy Realty. There is a smaller section in the northeast area that Kimball Hill Homes would own in the near future. Kimball Hill Homes is under contract with the Alexander family for the balance of the property. An annexation is requested for the tract, as is the Village's request for the text amendment to create a Planned Development District. The PDD would grant Kimball Hill Homes the zoning that's outlined in the illustrative plan. The plan depicts traditional, conventional, contemporary, mixed-use neighborhoods and commercial areas. In the mixed use sites there would be some mix of commercial and office space, with possibly condos on the second or third level. Commercial is designated at the corner at Galena Boulevard and Gordon Road. There is also a residential zoning district with a slightly lower density that would be the Riverside community.

Young stated the Preliminary Plat for the northern portion includes 535 acres and approximately 950 units. There is a mixture of different lot sizes and land uses. The developer, in reviewing the Village's land use plan and it's land use plan update, tried to be compatible with the existing and surrounding uses, as well as the history of the property. The developer is maintaining some of the existing structures on the property and looking for adaptive reuse of these structures, recognizing that there is a strong history in the community and of the original families.

Young said they believe the projected land use meets with the Village Comprehensive Plan currently in place, and also with the Comprehensive Plan update. The development of the subject property will involve major capital improvements, i.e. road and water improvements that will benefit the development, enhancing not only the Settlers Ridge community, but the greater region and the eastern region of Sugar Grove as well.

Chuck Hanlon, of Land Vision, Inc., Land Planners, then took the floor to continue the presentation by covering land use. Hanlon said the plan was developed with two basic design philosophies in mind. One being a conservation design that provides for 44% open space with a variety of treatments and functions, both formal and naturalized.

The other being the residential and commercial areas developed to create a pedestrian friendly atmosphere. There would be landmarks throughout the project.

Hanlon went on to say there are 14 different lot types within the plan and with the mixed use areas there could be 15 or more different types of residential products to offer. The housing types are not always segregated within each block within each neighborhood. Many of these housing products would be mixed together.

A slide showing the concept plan came up on the screen, one that the Plan Commission/ZBA did not see beforehand. The Plan Commission/ZBA had seen a predecessor to it. Subsequent meetings with the Village Board brought up modifications and suggestions that led to a revised concept plan (that also appeared on the screen).

Hanlon then focused on the eastern portion of the plan and pointed out the changes that had been made. The church site was relocated to another portion of the plan. The commercial site was increased to 23.5 acres. Starting from the north along Gordon Road.

The open space was widened out and the width greatly increased along Gordon Road up to the first lot. The first entryway and Gordon Road were modified so that the front facades of the residential units now are presented, rather than the backs. From Gordon the view is through a significant area of landscaping, which was a great improvement.

The area immediately to the south of the commercial site is anticipated to be the row area of the model homes that would be on display for the public.

In one of the land use areas of the eastern portion, there will be rear lanes behind the housing units for rear access garages. The more conventional development would have the typical front loaded lots. There would be a number of different sizes and shaped neighborhood parks distributed throughout the area.

There is a 2-acre fire station site adjacent to Gordon Road.

Hanlon then moved to the central section of the project, pointing out some of the changes made. Above the northeast portion of the large park, a 2.78-acre mixed-use area was inserted. Both the Plan Commission/ZBA, Staff and the Village Board suggested this use in the center of the development. This mixed-use area would have some office space, retail components and day care, as well as a few housing units. As would any other mixed use area in the plan, it would come back through the Village process, including the Plan Commission/ZBA with a detailed plan of how the area would be executed.

The church site relocation site was to the area on the south side of the central section. Additionally some modifications to improve the road system have been made. At the request of the Village Board, the total number of attached single family townhomes was reduced as well as redistributed in the site in such a manner that there wasn't as large a group clustered together.

Hanlon said the western portion of the plan did not change much. The housing types are all detached single family. The lot sizes on the west are the same as those that are adjacent to the existing neighborhoods. The homes are contemporary in style, similar to the status quo of those existing neighborhoods.

There have been some minor improvements to the road plan. There now is a definition of the school site of 8 acres. In working with the School District, that is the site location and size they are looking for. One of the reasons the 8 acres will be sufficient for them is that they will be adjacent to the large public park. This is the one large park Village officials anticipate would come into the jurisdiction of the Sugar Grove Park District and become a public park for all residents within the Village.

All the existing roads on the west have been connected to the Settlers Ridge development making access to the school and park site easy from where residents live.

Addressing the architectural plan, Hanlon stated Kimball Hill Home's mission statement regarding the architectural aspect of the plan was, "Satisfying connections to nature, people and the broader community are the basis for good living. The architecture of Settlers Ridge is designed to inspire connections on many levels". Hanlon stated they were not just concerned about the physical design of the plan, but the way the buildings relate to the plan, the streetscapes having an impact on how people live and socialized and how people would be able to live and enjoy the development.

Kimball Hill Homes has established an internal review process for creating an architectural committee. Kimball Hill Homes will build the majority of homes, but there will be guest builders participating in constructing and selling homes. Kimball Hill Homes will go through a process of review of its own and guest builders. This will include reviewing site plans, landscaping, materials, color samples and other details associated with the architectural design prior to application for a building permit with the Village.

Javier Millan, Senior Consultant with Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc (KLOA)

presented the traffic study for the Kimball Hill Homes development. The study analyzed existing traffic conditions and evaluated future traffic conditions as a result of the traffic that will be generated by the proposed development as well as future increases in traffic resulting from other planned developments and growth in the area. Peak period (7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.) counts were done at different intersections. An example of those intersections were: Illinois Route 47 with west alignment with Prairie Street, Illinois Route 47 and Prairie Street on Main, Illinois Route 47 with Chelsea and Cross Streets, Illinois Route 47 and Galena Boulevard. Counts were also conducted on Galena Boulevard with the Illinois Route 56 ramps. Also included in the counts were Galena Boulevard and Densmore Road, Galena and Hankes Road, Forest Road, Canterbury Drive, Prairie Street with Orchard Road and Prairie Street with Gordon Road.

Once that information was gathered his company proceeded to estimate traffic that could be developed by the northern part as well as the southern part of the Settlers Ridge development. In addition, included were several planned developments in the area. On top of that a growth factor of 2% per year was added to account for additional growth that might happen in the area.

Once all of that was taken into account an analysis was done of the area. Access to the proposed development will be provided from Galena Boulevard, Gordon Road and Prairie Street. Access to and from Illinois 47 will be provided by way of connections to the existing residential area west of the site. In communicating with the State, the State indicated that no access will be permitted off of Illinois Route 56. It is a limited access, high-speed regional roadway. The distance between the ramps is about a mile, so there is no way good engineering could be designed to provide a good deceleration lane off entrance ramps. However, there is a study currently being conducted by IDOT to determine the feasibility of providing s half diamond interchange at Hankes Road and Illinois 56.

The roadway connections to the existing western subdivision are important for traffic movement, and for emergency access.

Millan said they concluded that the recommended improvements for traffic flow were as follows:

North Parcel:

Gordon Road should be widened (900' south of Galena Boulevard) to provide an exclusive left-turn lane into the site. The access road should provide one inbound and two outbound lanes with outbound movements under stop sign control. No exclusive right-turn lane into the site is needed at this location. This access road will also provide access to the commercial parcel.

Gordon Road/Southerly Access Road. This full ingress/egress access road will be located 1,500 feet south of the northerly access road and will serve the general and medical office buildings and the residential area. Gordon Road should be widened at this location to provide an exclusive left-turn lane and an exclusive right-turn lane into the site. The access road should provide one inbound and two outbound lanes with outbound movements under stop sign control.

Gordon Road/Right-In/Right-Out Access Drives. Two right-in/right-out drives will serve the development on Gordon Road. One would serve the commercial parcel and the second will serve the mixed- use parcel. Outbound movement at these two driveways should be under stop sign control.

Galena Boulevard/Right-In/Right-Out Access Drive. Galena Boulevard should be widened at this location to provide an exclusive right-turn lane into the site. Discussions should be held with IDOT to determine if a right-in/right-out access drive at this location will be allowed.

Prairie Street/Middle Access Road (North and South parcels). Prairie Street should be widened at this location to provide an exclusive left-turn lane and an exclusive right-turn lane on both approaches.

South Parcel:

Prairie Street/South Parcel Easterly Access Road. Prairie Street should be widened at this location to provide an exclusive left-turn lane and an exclusive right turn lane into the site. The access road should provide one inbound and two outbound lanes with outbound movements under stop sign control.

Prairie Street/Easterly Access Road/Potential Metra Station Access Drive

Prairie Street should be widened at this location to provide an exclusive left-turn lane and an exclusive right-turn lane on both approaches.

Geometric requirements and traffic control needs at external intersections:

Illinois 47 with Galena Boulevard. This intersection is under signal control. The intersection will continue operating at acceptable levels of service with the addition of background traffic, site traffic and future developments in the area.

Illinois 47 with Cross Street. This intersection is currently under signal control. Exclusive right-turn lanes should be provided on the north, south, and east approach of the intersection. Further study of this area should be conducted to determine the impact of the recommended roadway improvements on the accessibility to Terry Drive and business drives close to 47.

Illinois 47 with Chelsea Avenue. No improvements to this intersection are necessary other than the widening of Illinois 47 to continue providing two lanes in each direction.

Illinois Route 47 with Prairie Street. It is currently non-signalized. As part of the Neumann Homes development, Prairie Street at Illinois 47 was identified to be realigned to eliminate the offset and provide better flow of traffic on Prairie Street. It will also have to be signalized. Periodical traffic counts in the area should be conducted to determine when a traffic signal is warranted. Prairie Street should provide an exclusive left-turn lane, a through lane and an exclusive right-turn lane on the east and west approach. The north and south approach should be widened to provide a second through lane and an exclusive right-turn lane on both approaches.

Illinois 47 with Rolling Oak Drive/Neumann Homes Access Road.

This intersection is under stop sign control. The only improvements needed to this intersection are the provision of an exclusive left-turn lane and an exclusive right-turn lane into the Neumann Homes site.

Galena Boulevard with Gordon Road.

This intersection should be signalized. Galena Boulevard should be widened at this location to provide an exclusive left-turn land and an exclusive right turn lane into Gordon Road. Gordon Road will have to be widened to provide an exclusive right turn lane and dual left-turn lanes.

Galena Boulevard with Densmore Road.

Galena Boulevard should be widened to provide an exclusive left-turn lane into Densmore Road.

Galena Boulevard with Barnes Road/hankes Roat with Densmore Road/Orachrd Road with Prairie Street/ Galena Boulevard with Hankes Road.

No improvements to these intersections are necessary.

Galena Boulevard with Illinois 56 easterly and westerly ramps.

Both of the ramp's intersections with Galena are under stop sign control. No improvements are necessary.

Orchard Road with Galena Boulevard.

Kane Count DOT will be widening and making other improvements to Orchard Road from Prairie Street to Indian Trail Road to provide a five-lane cross-section. No other improvements are necessary.

Prairie Street with Gordon Road.

Prairie Street will be realigned to eliminate the offset with Gordon Road. Gordon Road will be grade separated at its intersection with the railroad tracks and be extended to the south. Periodical monitoring of this intersection should be conducted to determine if and when a traffic signal will be warranted.

Bob Gudmundson, of Cowhey, Gudmundson and Leder presented the civil engineering portion of the Settlers Ridge development.

The north parcel drainage conveys quite a bit of tributary acreage from other portions of properties in the region. Northwest of the site there are 337 acres that drain in a southeasterly direction towards the Settler Ridge site. A small portion of that comes through a culvert on Route 56 into the development site. That is a factor that must be dealt with.

From the west of the property, the existing subdivision, Chelsea Meadows and others, there is 120 acres that moves from west to east draining into the development site. Some of which goes through an existing detention basin in the Chelsea Meadows subdivision before it discharges in the Settlers Ridge direction.

To the south of the site, the area north of the ridgeline, there are 123 acres of the Settlers Ridge property that drains north from the south parcel under Prairie Street, across the railroad, through culverts and again to the north parcel continuing further to the north.

On the east side of the site, on the east side of Gordon Avenue, there are 57 acres that drains in a westerly direction across Gordon Road and enters into the Settler Ridge system. All this drainage converges at the north end of the site and enters into the state system.

With this amount of drainage a Basic Flood Elevation Study (BFE) must be done. It is a study that determines what kind of storage might exist on the property at present that would be maintained as the property is developed, in addition to the normal detention that will be provided. The study has been done and it was determined there are 44 acre feet of compensatory storage that needs to be addressed in the stormwater management plan for the site.

There also is an existing drainage condition in the form of a series of a half dozen small-farmed wetlands. They are primarily within the low areas on the property, totaling 17-1/2  acres. They have been inspected by the NRCS and the Army Corps of Engineers and have been determined by the Corps to be non-jurisdictional and will be dealt with under the guidance of the Kane County Stormwater Development Ordinance and the Village Ordinances.

The slide then presented depicted the stormwater management plan for the project. It incorporates both proposed and existing conditions and employs a number of best management practices so the water quality can be improved and the run-off be reduced that would otherwise be generated from the development of the property.

The site would be serviced with nine regional stormwater detention basins. They have been designed to flow along the same draw area that occurs across the site. They will all be wet bottom ponds and most will be constructed at a depth capable of supporting fish population. It will be both functional and recreational in nature. In one pond, it is anticipated there would be the ability for boating and fishing.

Basin No. 1 will be the lowest basin in water surface elevation from which all the drainage will exit through the interchange and continue on to Blackberry Creek. Stepping up through the site, the pond elevations will rise and create a stepped effect of one lake draining into another. Each of the lakes would have a regulated release of stormwater and provide detention required for the development. It will also provide all of the 44 feet acre compensatory storage.

Basins 5 and 6 look small in terms of water surface area. They are deliberately done in that manner because the developer intends to provide an enhanced mitigated wetland facility that will compensate for the farmed wetlands. Once established, this will be an improvement over what is out there at present in regard to wetland conditions.

Gudmundson went on to say, the pond shorelines would incorporate safety shelves on the sides closest to residential units. Along Route 56 there would be a zero depth design approach, which is akin to a regional park district swimming pool, where as you walk in to the water, it gets deeper in a slow manner. This allows creative planting to be installed along those edges that move into the water. It would be a naturalistic approach and amenity for these basins.

The total stormwater storage incorporated in the project would be in excess of 237-acre feet of detention.

The storm sewers are conventional in nature. They would either discharge directly to the ponds or would discharge into a series of bioswales. Bioswales being the best management practice. Bioswales are shallow, gently sloped conveyance channels that allow run off to be sent through a turf of hydric plant material planted area. That would serve to filter out pollutants and increases absorption of runoff into the ground.

By locating the discharge points into the stormwater management basins, the basins themselves act as a sediment trap and allow any kind of sediment flow carried in the run off water to be discharged and filtered down to the bottom of the basin producing a cleaner facility and effluent flow off the site.

Gudmundson then talked about the sanitary and water facilities planned for the development.

The property will be fully served with sanitary sewer and watermain and provide enhancements to the existing Village system. A Fox Metro interceptor sewer goes through some of the stormwater management facilities on the site. It will be rerouted around the perimeter of the property's upstream tributary and the Settlers Ridge Development.

That particular system will take the effluent from about half the site. Everything to the west tributary to the trunk sewer, and the entire eastern portion of the development would be tributary to the new outfall sanitary sewer depicted that the developer will have to construct crossing Route 56, following across the property, north of Route 56, crossing Galena Boulevard and then going up and off the site up to the Sugar Grove pump station, which is a Fox Metro facility, nearer to Blackberry Creek. That outfall sanitary sewer will be sized to convey not only the development's discharge, but also the tributary areas from the property both north and south of Galena, and again, up on the north side of Galena Boulevard.

All the property in the south parcel will be served by a future trunk interceptor sanitary sewer, which would be constructed over the next several years by Fox Metro, which would be coming up from the south and east.

The development would have a complete watermain network. The lines would be sized and oversized in a number of areas so the proper conveyance across the site can be provided. They will be interconnected to the existing system along the west perimeter of the property. There would also be provided a future extension across Route 56 and to the south at the railroad at our grade crossing and along Gordon Road. There would be an immediate construction of a two million-gallon water storage facility located in the northwest corner of the commercial area. It will not only be a water storage facility, but there would be a deep well there for a source of water and a treatment building for treating that water prior to its being put into the tank. Upon completion, it will be connected with the watermain system to the west so the Village would see an immediate benefit to their existing shortfall of storage.

Gudmundson continued. The Settlers Ridge development, both the north and south parcels, when full developed would have a demand in terms of water storage of about 1.3 million gallons. By starting with a 2 million-gallon facility, even when the project is fully built out, there will be 700,000 gallons of additional storage capacity. This would benefit the existing development and the Village and other development in the area.

Tim Ball of Hitchcock Design Group, Landscape Designer, then took the floor to present the proposed landscape design for Settlers Ridge. Ball said the Settlers Ridge project has an abundance of open space. There will be in excess of 200 open space acres of the 534 acres in the north portion of the site. The open space areas are broken down in three basic categories.

There would be two conservation areas the developer would develop and maintain. One along Route 56 and along Gordon Road. These would be prairies with a variety of seasonal colors and plantings essential to the water features in the civil portion with edges having planted qualities that help with the water quality issues important to the development. The area along Route 56 will be bermed 3 to 8' in height, topped with trees and evergreens.

There would also be green areas that are more maintained. There would be manicured public spaces with landmarks that will help to distinguish neighborhoods one from another.

Ball said there would be eight opportunities to develop those landmarks on significant open spaces within the different neighborhoods. A 19-acre central park would be dedicated to the Sugar Grove Park District. This land would support sports fields and would work in conjunction with the school site. The area to the left of that park is the wetland environment.

A trail system would be created that provides links between all the neighborhood parks and open spaces. Two would be paved trails within public right-of-way, typically adjacent to public streets. There would be a basic sidewalk configuration on both sides of streets in rights-of-way. The widths would expand to accommodate more pedestrians as they collect and are drawn towards key features within the development.

There are four trail systems that are within the conservation area. In portions, there would be 10' wide asphalt trails, in others a crushed stone surface further to the south and east side of the development along the railroad tracks. All would allow for bicycles and walking. The trails must meet certain standards for a multiuse path system. There would be a wetland area with a boardwalk system that will also transverse through the wetland to experience it as an educational environment that could be worked in association with the school and park district systems. Ball stated in talking with the school and park district, they indicated they would like to eventually take responsibility for maintaining these trails.

In addition there would be a conservation area that would allow access to the full circulation around the stormwater areas.

Ball then focused upon the key areas within the development for which preliminary designs have been developed. The history of the site and qualities of Settlers Ridge were used as a theme and in naming the parks.

Along Gordon Road is a conservation area where a lot of native plant materials are used with a trail meandering through. The Gordon Road frontage has been expanded and there would be rolling hills with earthforms along it. There will be a trail going through it connecting the entry to other points within the community. The approach would be a settlement statement, a monumental gateway, with the same material and form repeating itself throughout the development. There would be a main column and a smaller column with a fence meandering.

Moving into the site along the main drive Pioneer Park will appear. It is a commemorative landmark that would be built right at the beginning of the project. This park would be the home of a statue that would be custom designed reflecting the history behind the land and people.

Further down the main drive there is a green space. The land may hold a tot lot. It has an environment on the south side for a trail system that is not in the public right-of-way. It meanders through the green space and connects back with the intersections and with the landscaping in the parkways that would be common through the development. Adjacent to that, there is another landmark that would be a sculpture in a small plaza area. Along this path edge, there may also be a retaining wall and on that wall it may tell some history of the community and the settlement.

Ball continued on saying to help create environments that families want to come back to and spend their day, they plan to follow a theme of a frontier by adding materials and activities designed around that frontier theme. There may be a fort and a slide on a hill out of it. In the more active parks, where the homestead theme is being used, the improvements might include a covered wagon play structure, a climbing structure that goes into a shelter that resemble a farmstead. A fence would surround the farm. There would be silos and a barnlike structures so a feel of being in a homestead is cultivated. The design is focused on education as well as entertaining.

Important in the design, Ball said, was to enforce public health, safety and welfare for the citizens. The design meets national standards.

Further to the north in the development, there is Settlers Park, which is more of a passive, formal environment with a commemoration plaza and pavilion on the corner. The remainder of the land is left open, which could be passive or active.

The Crossroads Park on the south side would be improved with a pavilion and an architectural landmark.

The Central Park would be improved with a clubhouse. Boulevard Park is located centrally within the development and would be tree lined with a path through it. There would be some pavilions.

John Philipchuck, Attorney with the firm of Dommermuth, Brestael, Cobine and West, discussed the Planned Development District petitioned for by the Village of Sugar Grove, the Annexation Agreement not being within the purview of the

Plan Commission/ZBA. He said the Village would like to create a new zoning classification for master planning for larger tract developments allowing more flexibility. The Settlers Ridge property is now zoned agricultural. The Developer would like upon annexation to be rezoned to a PDD classification and Phillipchuck thought this was a good time in history to make that change. The PDD would allow uses more suitable to the proposed development than the present uses allowed. The PDD would provide maximum flexibility for a broad mix of residential use types and commercial uses, without the necessity of otherwise voluminous variations from normal zoning classifications. Phillipchuck indicated the land plan created would maintain a semi rural atmosphere. He asked that the Plan Commission/ZBA recommend approval of the Zoning Ordinance text amendment creating a PDD applicable to the Settlers Ridge development

With the presentation concluded Chairman Ochsenschlager opened the floor for questions for the audience.

Debbie Schelonzek, of Brookhaven Circle, asked who would pay for the new wells? She was concerned because her water bill has increased $100. Per month. Young said the Developer is working with the Village Engineer and Village Board in formulating an agreement in the construction of the water tower. He said the Developer would be responsible for the 1.3 million-gallon tower for their development and they would be credited by the Village for tap on fees to fund the tank.

John Magerko, of 138 Neal Road, had questions and concerns about the parcel of land owned by the Village adjacent to the west end of the Settlers Ridge development between Mona and Neal. He wanted to know what would happen to the drainage in this area? Currently, he said the water sits and puddles and gets dammed up. The parcel is overgrown, the Village did not take care of it, and he wanted to know what the Village planned to do with the land? Buening stated the Village has no plans for the land except to keep it as open space. Phillipchuck responded to Magerko's comments, stating the developer would work with the Village and perhaps put a catch basin in that area. Buening said when the final engineering on the development comes forward that area will have to be reviewed and possibly the Village would cooperate with the Developer in correcting the grading problems. Magerko then asked what was going to happen to the sewer line in the field currently that follows the flow of the land? Young referred to a slide shown earlier that indicated how the developer was going to reroute that sewer. That sewer would be rerouted from this current condition to a condition that wraps around the development detention ponds and follows the backs of the development lots, comes forward and backs up to make a connection to the existing sewer. It will be addressed and the developer has been working with Fox Metro.

Magerko recalled the heavy rains occurring in 1996 when his area was surrounded by water. His neighbor had sewage back up in his basement. Gudmundson responded saying that line has been worked on by Fox Metro themselves. The design of that line now is 18" and telescopes up. It will be a larger diameter pipe when it is reinstalled.

Lee Drendel, of 142 Joy, wanted to know how close the lots in Settlers Ridge on the west end would come to his house? Young responded by saying there would be a 95' wide lot that would be directly adjacent to his eastern property line. Drendel then questioned the easement that runs north and south of the sewer itself. Young stated that easement would have to be maintained at that current location or it could be rerouted to go east and then north.

John Becker, of 173 Arbor asked, in how many phases the development would the development take place? He questioned what the Village would do to ease the construction traffic going through the existing neighborhoods. There are many children in this area. Young said there would be no construction traffic passing by way of existing streets. All of the construction access would be off of Gordon Road and then possibly ultimately off of the new at grade railroad crossing. None of the construction traffic will come from west to east. Young stated the developer plans to build out in two-and-a-half to three years in three phases. The construction would move from the east to the west. Becker asked about the development of the school site. Young stated the school site could be available about midway within the three-year time frame. The Developer, as a part of the donation requirements, will provide the 8-acre school site that would be graded. Then it would be up to the School District in terms of building.

Dick Collen , living next door to John Magerko, had question about the streets that would continue through Chelsea Meadows, Arbor and Ivy. He wondered if those were necessary. He had concerns the Settlers Ridge development would increase the traffic in that area where it is currently bad. He asked if it would be more feasible to direct the traffic from Prairie? Young told him the traffic was planned to be disbursed through a number of different means of ingress and egress. There would be a new crossing coming across the Burlington Northern which will not only help our residents but help his area as well. The principal locations for the development are off of Gordon Road and just south of Galena Boulevard. Young went into further details regarding ingress/egress and traffic flow through and around the development. In addition the developer will not be marketing off the existing neighborhood area. These connections are more for emergency services.

Some discussion took place regarding which Fire Station would be servicing the neighborhood adjacent to Settlers Ridge. Buening interjected, although he does not work for the Fire Protection District, it is feasible that it is possible that the new fire station built in the Settlers Ridge development could service the eastern part of the Village. So they could potentially go through this subdivision to get to the existing part of the Village.

Deb Paluch, questioned how soon would traffic lights be put in place at Prairie and Gordon? She also asked if it was realistic to predict that traffic will be increasing by 12%

a year? In addition, she asked what the cost of the houses would be in the development and how would it impact the existing homes as far as evaluation. Molan said they had historical data on how traffic has increased. The calculation is an increase

of 2% per year growth. Paluch asked if the study was measured recently or if it went back ten or twenty years? Molan told her the maps are revised every four years. The numbers he used were taken from 1998 to 2002 maps.

Millan stated, regarding the traffic light, the State is reviewing their traffic study. The traffic in the area will in all likelihood warrant a signal at Prairie and 47. He said he didn't know how soon the signal would be installed. The State is aware of the problem.

Young, said in terms of housing prices, at this point in time they don't have specific numbers, but given the 14 or 15 different products the price range would generally be from $200,000 up to $500,000.

Someone from the audience asked if the parks would be owned by Kimball Hill Homes or the Park District? Young answered it would be a combination of both. The Park District would own and maintain the large park site next to the school site. The Developer has asked the Park District to consider taking over the wetland complex and boardwalk area as an interpretative areas. The other parks would be developed and maintained by Kimball Hill Homes and then turned over to the Homeowners Association.

A question from the audience came asking when construction would start if the Village approved the developer's petitions. Young answered they would anticipate starting on underground utilities next spring.

Shelonzek asked about having the speed limit reduced down Prairie going west to 47. She said the currently speeds are unbelievable. Young said he didn't know about that. That was an issue that the Settlers Ridge development could not face because Prairie is a Township road. Buening said it is currently a township road. Once the property is annexed it would become a Village road. Once the road becomes a Village road a traffic study can be done to determine whether or not the speed is appropriate. Now, it is an non-posted road so the speed limit is 55 miles per hour. He doubted that Mallard Point subdivision would have enough traffic to warrant a stop sign though.

Shelonzek questioned how Prairie Street would be realigned. Buening said the plan is to reroute it so that section that is east of Route 47 extends west across Route 47 and have a loop that would line it back to the existing Prairie Street. The section that is west of 47 would then be abandoned.

Paluch asked if the information regarding the development would be available to the public over and above what was presented at the public hearing? Buening invited her and the public to view the documents and exhibits submitted by the developer at the Village Hall. The public will also continue to have the opportunity for input should the Public Hearing be continued.

Schiber said he had a number of questions. However, he preferred to write them down rather than go through them and take up time.

Dray asked if there was any consideration given to an underpass at Gordon and Prairie. Why was an overpass decided upon instead of an underpass, similar to the underpass at Orchard and Prairie? Young said they have had a number of meetings over the past year with Burlington Northern Railroad. He didn't know how it evolved, but it was probably more of a convenience for the railroad and an avoidance of rerouting of the rail during construction of an overpass. The developer plans to submit for matching grant monies to help fund the construction. Young thought it was doubtful that an underpass would be considered. It's an overpass the railroad prefers.

Dray's other question was regarding transportation, specifically the bottleneck at Cross Street and the stop sign at the post office. He asked that plans for this intersection be explained in further detail. Gudmundson responded that they had looked specifically at Route 47 and Cross and how they could make it work better. Molan added that in the new revision of the traffic plan a closer look would be given to Cross Street to determine how traffic flow could be accommodated.

Benesch asked what type of school the school site would be used for? Dray said that size site would accommodate an elementary school. Young stated in talking with the School District, that was the preferred size because they wanted to receive not only the land from the development, but also cash in lieu of land. Dray then asked Young what amount of land was calculated that must be donated to the school site. Young said approximately 90 acres for the entire 1200 acres. Benesch, in concern for the children, questioned if there would be any issue with the school being so close to the lake. Dray said there are water basins at other schools and the issue has been dealt with by the use of fences and other deterrents.

Schiber asked Buening if Staff could put together an executive summary of why the Village Zoning Ordinance as it stands currently would not allow Settlers Ridge the flexibility its looking for or how it varies from certain standards. Buening stated instead of getting into the minutia of the details of how many things would require variances, the PDD retains the spirit of the current ordinance. Often zoning ordinances are very strict and don't allow for a lot of flexibility and uses in certain locations. Schiber asked who would make the determination if the variations were minutia. Would it be a Staff or Board decision? Buening stated Staff would make a review and make a recommendation, but it would be the Plan Commission/ZBA's responsibility to make recommendation to the Village Board. Schiber clarified that the PDD would not exclude further review for other variances. Buening said the Settlers Ridge development would be looked upon as a whole and determined if the elements of a certain lot or the development is acceptable as a whole, knowing that it is probably going to deviate from R-2 or R-3 District requirements.

Dray had concern about the general size of the Park District site. He asked if the Village would have any control over how the site was improved? Young said the Park District wants ball and soccer fields and the school would like to incorporate playgrounds. Dray asked if the ball fields would be lighted, which could cause problems for the neighborhood? Young suggested he speak to the Park District about that.

Schiber asked if the Plan Commission/ZBA could have some input into the pre-annexation agreement. Buening responded that the Annexation Agreement wasn't a matter the Plan Commission/ZBA would review. However, if the Plan Commission/ZBA has specific comments they can forward those comments to Staff. Attorney Andersson said a draft has been put together by the developer, but he was waiting to hear what the Plan Commission/ZBA and the public had to say before drafting a response.

Benesch had a question on the lakes and wondered if there was going to be underground transfer or some spillway. Gudmundson responded that an at-grade transfer was preferred. Some of the stone material can be introduced on the downstream side of the culvert to get that ripple.

Dray asked if the parks, beside the clubhouse, would be public parks open to Village residents? Young told him other than the Park District site, the other parks would be maintained by the Homeowners Association. They are technically private, but the general public will have access to them.

Saloga complimented the developer on the architectural design and the landscaping plan. His question was in regard to the guidelines. He asked for assurance there would be no aluminum or vinyl siding in the whole project. Young answered there would not be any aluminum or vinyl siding. Saloga said he did not see anything addressing exterior fireplace chases. Young responded that all of the marquis homes fireplaces would be of brick/masonry. In other homes where there are internal flues, those would not be of a masonry type.

Schiber had a general comment urging the Village Board not to consider waiving any tap on fees for the Settlers Ridge development. Oswego did not waive tap on fees and the developers paid full for well towers. If consideration is given to any waiving of fees, the Village may want to only reduce them. The Village is dependent upon that income and should not completely waive those tap on fees.

Buening told the Plan Commission/ZBA members that if they had additional comments, to forward them to him. He would in turn give them to the Petitioner and they could be ready with answers at the next meeting.

With no further comment or questions, a motion was in order.

Hannaford Farm Phase I - Final Plat

Staff is working through procedure. The item will be on the Village Board Committee of a Whole meeting October 5.

Mailbox Changes

Staff is still working through some details on requirements with some of the elected officials. It's not certain when the matter will come back before the Village Board, possibly at the end of October.

Nickels Division

Staff is working through the annexation agreement. The matter will probably be on the Committee of the Whole agenda October 5^th or 19^th for consideration. The annexation would take place two weeks later. This Division was rejected by the Plan Commission/ZBA at an earlier date.

Sugar Grove Center - Jewel/Osco

The Jewel/Osco was approved by the Village Board at its last regular meeting. The PUD and zoning were approved. Work is taking place on getting all the exhibits compiled so the documents can be recorded. A ground-breaking date has not as yet been set. Buening expected the project would be moving along quickly because the Village Board gave them a short time frame to get the project going.

Stillwater

Stillwater has been approved by the Village Board the same night as Jewel/Osco. Work is taking place with the petitioner on getting the documents completed. They are looking to start grading in the not too distant future.

Bank Text Amendment

Staff had direction from the Village Board approving of the Special Use for banks in all business districts. That item will be on the October 5^th Village Board meeting.

75 Railroad Street Cellular Antenna Special Use

The Special Use and lease were approved by the Village Board at its last regular meeting. The cellular company has been in for building permits. The Village will realize some additional revenue coming in because of that lease.

Commission Books

Ferencak told the Commissioners that the book "Sensible Tools for Healthy Communities" was now available for them to pick up. Also, he had mail that had come to Village Hall for the Chairman and another Commissioner.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Zak, Recording Secretary