Title/Name/Summary
AN ORDINANCE REZONING PROPERTY AND GRANTING VARIATIONS (PARK CORNERS II)
Body
WHEREAS, a petition seeking rezoning and variations for certain real estate, as set forth below, has been filed with the Village Clerk of this Village and has been referred to the Plan Commission of this and has been processed in accordance with the Orland Park Land Development Code, as amended; and
WHEREAS, the Plan Commission of this Village held a public hearing on July 24, 2007, properly continued to August 14, 2007, on whether the requested rezoning and variations should be approved, at which time all persons present were afforded an opportunity to be heard; and
WHEREAS, public notice, in the form required by law, was given of said July 24, 2007 public hearing by publication not more than thirty (30) days nor less than fifteen (15) days prior to said hearing in The Orland Park Star and The Daily Southtown, newspapers of general circulation in this Village, there being no newspaper published in this Village; and
WHEREAS, the Plan Commission of this Village has filed its report of findings and recommendations that the rezoning site plan and variations be approved with this President and Board of Trustees, and this Board of Trustees has duly considered said reports, findings and recommendations;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, Cook and Will Counties, Illinois, as follows:
SECTION 1
The report of the Plan Commission of this Village is herein incorporated by reference, as completely as if fully recited herein at length. Also, all exhibits submitted at the public hearings held by the Plan Commission are hereby incorporated by reference as fully as if attached hereto. This Board of Trustees further finds that the proposed rezoning and variations are in the public good and in the best interests of the Village and its residents and are consistent with and foster the purposes and spirit of the Land Development Code of the Village of Orland Park as set forth in Section 1-102 thereof.
SECTION 2
In addition to the findings set forth in Section 1 hereof, this Board of Trustees further finds in relation to the proposed rezoning and variations as follows:
a. The Subject Property is approximately 1 acre in area and is located at 135th Street and LaGrange Road, Orland Park, Illinois. The site is zoned R-2 Single Family Residential District in the Village of Orland Park.
b. Petitioner seeks a rezoning of the Subject Property to BIZ to allow for construction of an office building and variations to allow parking between the proposed building and LaGrange Road and between the building and 135th Street and to vary certain landscape requirements.
c. Specifically, Petitioner requests landscape variations as follows:
1. To reduce the landscape bufferyard width from 15 to 10 feet along LaGrange Road.
2. To reduce the foundation planting beds along LaGrange Road and 135th Street from 75% along LaGrange Road facade to 40% and from 10 feet to 5 feet wide along both facades.
3. To reduce the required number of tree/landscape islands in the parking lot from 4 to 1.
d. The Subject Property has been subject to a restrictive covenant allowing only residential development unless a majority of the homeowners in the subdivision it is a part of approved a change. In July 2007, the present developers obtained enough resident signatures to remove the restrictive covenant on the Subject Property.
e. Property like the Subject Property directly facing LaGrange Road has become undesirable for residential development over the last thirty through fifty (30-50) years. Traffic has increased dramatically in that time as the population of the Village has grown and LaGrange Road has become a gateway to Orland Park. Commercial use of property along LaGrange Road has become more common.
f. Therefore, the Petitioner has requested these last two (2) residential lots in the subdivision be rezoned from R-2 Residential District to BIZ General Business District, to allow construction of a 2-story, approximately 11,400 square foot office building on the Subject Property.
g. The proposed building will complement the existing residential character of the location while providing a buffer between the residences and the busy intersection of 135th Street and LaGrange Road. The building is designed in a neo-colonial style and has the parking between the building and LaGrange Road and 135th Street, in order to be out of view of the residences along Circle Drive.
h. While the Comprehensive Plan designates this site as low intensity population (1 DU per acre) this proposed land use is compatible with the overall character of LaGrange Road south of 131st Street and north of 143rd Street. High traffic conditions are not likely to change and market rate housing may not be appropriate. A small office building will generate lower levels of traffic than retail use and likely be closed or little used on weekends. The negative impact on residents nearby should be less than retail would be.
i. Several residents of the subdivision of which the Subject Property is a part spoke in opposition to the proposed rezoning at the public hearing. Their concerns centered on traffic on Circle Drive (the street in the subdivision) and flooding during heavy rains.
j. The Petitioner responded that they had a traffic study that concluded that impact of this office building on Circle Drive and the 135th Street intersection would not be negative. There will be a deceleration lane and then the traffic will turn almost immediately into the office building parking lot. Traffic need not go into the residential area at all. Engineering review by Design Tech showed no additional storm water would be generated by the project.
k. The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the requirements of the Land Development Code. Even as rezoned, the Subject Property has an awkward shape; it has dedicated 30 feet to LaGrange Road and it is anticipated that another 21 feet will be needed for future widening. These dedications make it nearly impossible to meet all the landscape buffer regulations.
l. The plight of the owner is due to the unique circumstances of the dimensions and topography of the parcel, its location between heavily-traveled LaGrange Road, 135th Street and a residential subdivision and the fact that since the area was subdivided, population and traffic in the area have grown greatly.
m. The variations if granted will not alter the essential character of the locality since the proposed building is residential in appearance and the parking is planned to be on the sides of the building away from the residential area.
n. The variances granted are the minimum necessary for the reasonable use of the land for the purpose proposed.
o. The denial of the requested variations would be a hardship to the Petitioner because there are few, if any, other options available for the Subject Property that allow a reasonable use of the property. Residential uses are not likely as the Subject Property has been available for such uses for fifty (50) years without being developed. Commercial uses cannot easily fit on the small parcel without variations.
p. The granting of the requested variations will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood, but will permit the construction of a well-designed subdivision and be an addition to the Village’s tax base. Granting the variations will not increase traffic in the public streets, or increase the danger of fire or endanger the public safety or impair property values within the neighborhood. The variations will not detrimentally impact neighboring properties, as stated above.
SECTION 3
The zoning map of the Village of Orland Park, as amended, is hereby further amended to rezone the property described below from R-2 Residential District to BIZ General Business District:
LOTS 37 AND 38 (EXCEPT THAT PART OF SAID LOTS 37 AND 38 CONVEYED TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION BY DOCUMENT FILED NOVEMBER 25, 1985 AS NO. LR3479161, MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 38; THENCE ON AN ASSUMED BEARING OF NORTH 89° 37’ 32” EAST ALONG THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 38 A DISTANCE OF 50.42 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 25° 31’ 53” WEST, 48.66 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 01° 51’ 30” WEST, 247.34 FEET TO THE SOUTHERLY LINE OF SAID LOT 37; THENCE SOUTH 72° 44’ 50” WEST ALONG SAID SOUTHERLY LINE, 30.63 FEET TO THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 37, SAID POINT BEING ON A 31,302.26 FOOT RADIUS CURVE, THE CENTER OF CIRCLE OF SAID CURVE AND THE WEST LINE OF SAID LOTS 37 AND 38 THROUGH A CENTRAL ANGLE OF 00° 32’ 57” TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING) IN BLOCK 4 IN ORLAND HILLS SECOND ADDITION, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF PART OF THE WEST HALF OF SECTION 3, TOWNSHIP 36 NORTH, RANGE 12 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
SECTION 4
Variances from the requirements of the Land Development Code of the Village of Orland Park are hereby granted for the Subject Property as follows, subject to the conditions below:
1. To allow the parking lot to locate between the building and the public right-of-ways along the LaGrange Road side and the 135th Street side of the building;
2. To reduce the landscape bufferyard width requirement along LaGrange Road from 15 feet to 10 feet;
3. To reduce the foundation planting bed requirements along LaGrange Road and 135th Street from 75% planting along the LaGrange Road façade to 40% and from 10 foot wide areas for foundation plantings to 5 foot wide areas along both facades;
4. To allow a reduction in the required number of tree/landscape islands in the parking lot from four (4) to one (1).
These variances shall be subject to the following conditions:
1. That development be pursuant to the preliminary site plan titled “Final Site Plan for Park Corners II”, prepared by Design Tek Engineering Inc. with McNaughton Development Inc., and dated 03-27-07, last revised 09-10-07, subject to the following conditions:
a. That the Petitioner mitigate the silver maple tree at the southeast end of the site if it is removed or damaged and include that mitigation in the landscape plan;
b. That the Petitioner submit a landscape plan within sixty (60) days of final engineering approval. The submitted landscape plan should reflect native landscaping in the bio-swales, which should take into consideration the view triangle at the 135th Street and Circle Drive intersection, and the revised grading on the preliminary engineering plan dated June 15, 2007;
c. That the Petitioner transplant or save the parkway trees and indicate this in the landscape plan.
2. That building elevations be pursuant to the building elevation plans prepared by Olson Associates Architects, Project No. 23278 dated 05.30.07, last revised 8-22-07 with the condition that staff and the developer to work with the residents to address the possible addition of columns on the eastern elevation.
SECTION 5
This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval as required by law.
SECTION 6
The Village Clerk is hereby ordered and directed to publish this Ordinance in pamphlet form, said pamphlet to be deposited in the office of the Village Clerk for general distribution.