Chambana Sun

City of Urbana MOR Development Review Board met January 25.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

1. Call To Order, Roll Call, And Declaration Of Quorum

In the absence of Chair Poss, Mr. Rusch moved that Scott Kunkel serve as Acting Chairperson. Ms. Smith seconded the motion. Voice vote was taken and the motion was approved unanimously.

Acting Chair Kunkel called the meeting to order at 5:46 p.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum was declared present.

2. Changes To The Agenda

There were none.

3. Approval Of The Minutes

The minutes from the January 12, 2017 meeting were presented for approval. Mr. Rusch moved to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Smith seconded the motion. The minutes were then approved by unanimous voice vote.

4. Communications

▪ Email from akhomann@charter.net regarding Case No. DRB-2017-03

5. Continued Public Hearings

There were none.

6. Old Business

There was none.

7. New Public Hearings

Case No. DRB-2017-03 – A request by Andrew Fell Architecture for site plan approval of a residential development in the MOR, Mixed Office Residential Zoning District at 408 West Green Street.

Acting Chair Kunkel opened the public hearing for this item on the agenda. Kevin Garcia, Planner II, presented this case to the MOR Development Review Board. He explained that the site plan review was for a five-unit apartment building and that the plans meet all of the zoning requirements. He reviewed how the proposed site plan relates to the criteria stated in the Urbana Zoning Ordinance for compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood, parking and access, screening and landscaping, and site details. In addition, the proposed site plan must be in general conformance with the MOR Design Guidelines for Façade Zone, Building Orientation and Patterns, Massing and Scale, Openings, Outdoor Living Space, Materials, Parking Areas and Landscaping. He stated that a public informational meeting was held at which time there were no objections to the proposed site plan. He read the options of the MOR Development Review Board and presented City staff’s recommendation for approval.

Acting Chair Kunkel asked if the Board members had any questions for Planning staff.

Mr. Weisskopf asked if the alleyway would be paved. Mr. Garcia replied yes, it would be paved from McCullough Street to the eastern property line of the subject property. He believed there would be a cost share between the City of Urbana and the applicant.

Mr. Rusch inquired about the quality of the building material, EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish System). Mr. Garcia stated that when it was first introduced in the 1970s and 1980s, the material did not last long; however, building technology can improve over time. He did not know about EIFS has done recently.

With no further questions for City staff, Acting Chair Kunkel invited the petitioner up to speak about their proposal.

Andrew Fell and Adrienne Strum of Andrew Fell Architecture approached the MOR Development Review Board to speak in favor of the proposed Site Plan. They began by showing a 3-D video of what the proposed development would look like. One change in the design is that they would like to put the condensers on the roof. They would answer any questions the Board members had.

Acting Chair Kunkel asked the applicants to speak about the quality of the EIFS building material. Mr. Fell stated that they have been using this material in several projects. The problem EIFS had was with it not being installed correctly, and then it would leak and create problems. There are a couple of ways to install EIFS. One is to install a rain guard behind the EIFS material, which allows water to drain.

Mr. Rusch wondered what the advantage would be of using the EIFS material over the traditional stucco. Mr. Fell said mostly cost. In addition, it is hard to find someone who know how to install stucco nowadays. They passed around samples of the different textures of EIFS and mentioned that they want to use the smoother texture.

Ms. Smith inquired about the color of the metal roof. Mr. Fell stated that it would be a dark grey.

Ms. Smith asked about the existing fence. Mr. Fell stated that the fence belongs to the neighbor. Ms. Smith wondered if the existing fence would be an issue for screening the parking. Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager, stated that this was addressed in the Zoning Ordinance, which allows the neighbor’s fence to serve as screening.

Acting Chair Kunkel inquired about the color of the wood sample that had been passed around. Mr. Fell explained that it had been sitting outside and got wet. He did not anticipate the wood siding would be that dark. It would be similar to the rendering in the packet.

Acting Chair Kunkel asked Mr. Fell to talk about the alley conditions and future paving of. Mr. Fell began by saying that no one knows how much pavement currently exists because it has been in its current condition for quite some time now. The owner has the understanding that the cost to reinstate the alley would be shared with the City of Urbana.

Acting Chair Kunkel asked if the cost would be shared with other property owners as well whose properties border the alley. Mr. Fell said that the details had not been finalized.

Mr. Rusch wondered how close the parking lot of the neighboring property would be to the proposed parking lot. Would there be a solid divider between the two parking lots? Mr. Fell said that the survey they recently received shows that the neighboring parking lot is paved about two and a half feet into the proposed site. They were intending to construct a sidewalk there so they would need to speak with the owner of the neighboring property. They may have to cut the asphalt along the property line in order to install the sidewalk. Their sidewalk and parking lot would be flush with the neighboring parking lot so as there would not be a trip hazard. Mr. Rusch had concern that residents from the proposed property might try to use access from the neighboring property to enter the parking lot on the subject site. Chair Kunkel stated that from the proposed Site Plan, it did not appear that a car would be able to get from one property to the next.

Jinju Lee approached the MOR Development Review Board to speak in opposition to the proposed development. She recently purchased 410 West Green Street on December 15, 2017, so she was not aware of the public informational meeting that was held on December 14, 2017. She felt the proposed design would drastically change the integrity of the neighborhood. Her tenants would experience noise and parking issues, which would cause stress on their newly developing relationship. Is there anything she can do to delay the Board making a decision at this meeting? She did not feel prepared to speak in opposition. Mr. Rusch stated that was the purpose of the public hearing at this meeting was to hear testimony from people in favor and in opposition of the proposed Site Plan designs.

Ms. Ouedraogo asked if Ms. Lee felt that the seller concealed the proposed plans from her. Ms. Lee replied yes. He also concealed two sub-leasing agreements until after she purchased her property.

Mr. Weisskopf questioned if Ms. Lee knew that the subject property was for sale when she considered buying her property. Ms. Lee said yes.

With no further comments from the audience, Acting Chair Kunkel closed the public input portion of the hearing and opened it for the Board’s additional questions for City staff, discussion and/or motion(s).

Ms. Ouedraogo wondered if the angles of the shed roof were comparable. Mr. Garcia noted that Exhibit C in the packet shows images of structures on other properties in the area, so it would be a good resource to look at to see how the proposed roof would compare. Mr. Fell stated that the pitch of the shed roof would be about 6 and 12.

Ms. Smith asked if 407 West Elm Street was a single-family home. Mr. Garcia stated that it was labelled as “SFR – Single Family Residential” on Exhibit A; however, he did not know if it was a rental property.

Mr. Rusch moved since the proposed petition meets the findings of fact and the requirements for building in the MOR Zoning District that the MOR Development Review Board approve Case No. DRB-2017-03 with the option that the designer and/or owner construct the proposed apartment building as proposed or with the option to relocate the condensers to the roof with the proper modifications that would meet building code. Mr. Cho seconded the motion. Roll call was as follows:

Mr. Cho - Yes Mr. Kunkel - Yes

Ms. Ouedraogo - Yes Mr. Rusch - Yes

Ms. Smith - Yes Mr. Weisskopf – Yes

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

8. New Business

There was none.

9. Audience Participations

There was none.

10. Staff Report

Update on MOR Development Review Board Administratively-Approved Cases in 2017

Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager, reported that there were two cases administratively reviewed and approved. The first one was to install solar panels on the flat roof part of the Unitarian Church at 309 West Green Street. The second case was to convert a sunroom into a four-season room at 311 West Elm Street.

11. Study Session

There was none.

12. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 6:44 p.m.

https://www.urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/02%20-%20APPROVED%20Minutes%20-Special%20Meeting%20-%2001-25-2018.pdf