VILLAGE OF BARRINGTON HILLS PLAN COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 2005 The regular meeting of the Village of Barrington Hills Plan Commission was called to order by Chairman Bosworth at 7:20 p.m. Commission Members Present: Kenneth Bosworth, Chairman Peter Grande Patrick Hennelly Lou Anne Majewski James O’Donnell Michael Schmechtig David M. Stieper Absent: Joseph Messer Thomas Roeser The Attendance Sheet is attached and made part of these Minutes. PREVIOUS MINUTES: Commissioner Majewski made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Stieper, to approve the October 12th Minutes. Motion carried. Commissioner Stieper made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Majewski, to approve the October 20th Minutes. Motion carried. Commissioner Schmechtig made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Stieper, to approve the November 2nd Minutes. Motion carried. Commissioner Schmechtig made the motion, seconded by Commissioner O’Donnell, to approve the November 7th Minutes. Motion carried. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT: Lee Brown of Teska Associates, Inc. presented the latest draft of the Comprehensive Plan amendment, which addressed the concerns expressed by the Plan Commission at previous meetings. He discussed some of those issues, which included an emphatic reiteration of the interalliance between Barrington Hills and the BACOG communities. Chairman Bosworth said he was concerned that the amendment appeared to include the possibility of too much deviation from five acre zoning. Some of the other Commissioners expressed similar concerns. Mr. Brown responded that the Plan Commission does not have the authority to approve changes in zoning, rather that action is the responsibility of the Zoning Board based on the administration of the Zoning Code. He did point out, however, that after approved rezoning, the possibility of subdividing would use the Practices as identified for that density in the Plan. He believed the use of those Practices gave the Village the necessary tools to accommodate parcels on its periphery. Trustee Knoop was also concerned about references deviating from residential landuse density other than five acre zoning, though believed the final decision will be made by the Village Board. Special Counsel Gerald Callaghan added that it is always better to have a Comprehensive Plan that would support a plan that was being advocated, but advised not to put something in the Plan that they did not want to do; it should contain policies and guidelines acceptable to the Village. After further debate on this topic, Mr. Brown suggested the following be included in the Conservation Design Practices covering paragraph, replacing the 2nd sentence with: “As it looks at these few properties, the Village is not intending to deviate from the existing pattern of single family detached dwellings in a way which would encourage townhomes, condominiums, multi-family dwellings, zero lot line homes or other deviations from that single family detached pattern.” Chairman Bosworth also asked that the emphasis on minimum five acre lots be included in Policy Framework / Vision. Trustee Knoop believed that it could also be included in other sections, such as ground water, septic and equestrian, as a complimentary theme throughout the Plan. At Trustee Knoop’s suggestion, on Page 21 under A Context for Planning / Overall Concept, Item 6 was changed, deleting “allowing for the departure from the five acre lot pattern of those exceptional properties” and replacing it with “preserve the five acre lot pattern, with the unique exception of properties on the Village periphery…” It was also agreed to delete in its entirety Practice 9 / Walkways as a conservation design principle. Motion: Commissioner Majewski made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Schmechtig, to recommend submitting the amended Comprehensive Plan to the Village Board for their consideration. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Mr. Brown was asked to look at the Subdivision Ordinance to determine if there are parts that do not correspond with the amended Comprehensive Plan. COUNTRY CREEK SUBDIVISION – PRELIMINARY PLAT: Special Counsel Gerald Callaghan said that this parcel was before the Plan Commission at their March 14, 2005 meeting, at which time the Commission recommended one of the three proposed sketch plans. The parcel, consisting of 150 acres located at the northeast corner of Haeger’s Bend and Chapel Road in unincorporated McHenry County, is proposed to be subdivided into 48 single family lots ranging in size from 1.7 to 5.5 acres with the average lot size of approximately 2.85 acres. In July, the Village Board authorized the Village President to sign an agreement for annexation of this property into Barrington Hills. That agreement cannot be finalized by the developer until he is the owner. Further, the Village Board has advised that they would approve the proposed site plan after annexation, but it would first be necessary to demonstrate that all lots meet Village requirements and that they have legal access. Prior to consideration of the preliminary plat, it would be zoned for three different lot sizes. Access was proposed onto Chapel Road or Haeger’s Bend Road. Attorney Dan Curran said there was already access onto Chapel Road, which he would strive to have legally established once his client buys the property. Sam Grill, President of Forum Development, reviewed the site plan. He advised that the only change made since sketch plan was to combine two lots into one 3-1/2 acre lot. He felt assured that all the requirements of the Village and McHenry County had been met in the proposal. He also said that all of the issues in Village Engineer Todd Gordon’s November 9th letter to Chairman Bosworth would be satisfactorily addressed at final plat. Mr. Gordon indicated the need for approval letters from McHenry County on both septic design and stormwater management. Commissioner Schmechtig questioned Mr. Gordon about Item #4 in his letter. Mr. Gordon said that area was being filled in, which would help drainage. He added that septic field locations could not be in any of the filled-in areas. Len Kleinjan, President of Haeger Engineering, spoke about drainage and the continued use of existing ponds for temporary retention. He also stated that the culverts to the northeast would aid in drainage and actually reduce runoff from the property. When questioned about the amount of sewer piping for stormwater runoff, both Messrs Grill and Kleinjan said there is a limited need because of the use of open ditches and the ponds. Commissioner Majewski was concerned that some fill was being put in the pond just south of the barn off Haeger’s Bend. Mr. Grill said they had no control over the property now, but would check into that once his client owns the property. Mr. Grill said there will be equestrian trails around the perimeter, with those easements included in the annexation agreement. Commissioner Schmechtig was concerned about the possible need for retaining walls on the driveways with steep slopes. Mr. Kleinjan said he was aware of the 8% maximum slope and assured the Commission that the homes would only have retaining walls where absolutely necessary and that they would be very customized by the builder. Mr. Grill said it was intended to have a few spec homes, some private. The development will be done in phases, most likely with the first phase having the most variety of lot sizes from which to choose. Mr. Grill didn’t believe a tree survey was required, adding that the number of trees removed would be determined by which access was designated. No further action was taken on the plat at presented. TRUSTEE’S REPORT: There was no report. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. after being so moved and seconded. Respectfully submitted, Lou Anne Majewski Recording Secretary Plan Commission Meeting November 14, 2005 Page 4