Village of Lombard Legistar System

Renee DiDier, 645 N. Columbine, inquired on behalf of herself and her neighbors, as to

who put the signage on Route 53 for no left turn. She felt this was done too quickly. She

stated that these signs slow traffic, as traffic must go through residential neighborhoods.

She commented that it is a big headache to travel through Lombard and she felt that at

least two of those streets should be open.

President Mueller stated that he was working with York Township and IDOT to open

Madison, and upon monitoring the area, the problems that have been reported have not

been seen. He stated these signs were posted for many safety reasons and he also said

that the Village posted Charles Lane and York Township posted Harding.

Renee said at least one of the streets should be open.

President Mueller said that a solution that will work for all is being sought.

Jackie Scott, 2061 Downing Street, stated that residents on the South side of Lombard

were not happy either. Because she wanted to get the opinion of the people affected on

the four streets, she polled 52 houses in the area and found that 58% of those polled

were unhappy with the signage. She commented that the Board's decision should be

reconsidered. She said that fewer residents would be inconvenienced if Wilson was

opened from Finley to Route 53. She also mentioned that three bus routes have been

severely disrupted.

President Mueller pointed out that this decision was not made in haste, as it was in

committee for a year and discussed at various meetings. He said of the four streets

affected, Charles Lane and Harrison are under the jurisdiction of the Village and Harding

and Madison are under the jurisdiction of York Township.

Trustee Soderstrom, who chairs the Transportation and Safety Committee, stated that

during discussion of the Route 53 improvements, the bus companies said there were no

bus routes on Route 53, but have since come forward to indicate that there are three

bus routes that access Route 53.

Trustee Tross agreed that during the six months of intense public review, the Committee

was notified that bus routes were not affected. He mentioned that the pork chop done on

Harrison was a part of Special Assessment 214 and done by court order.

Village Attorney, Tom Bayer, confirmed this, and stated that to remove the pork chop

would not be in compliance with the Special Assessment.

Trustee Tross said that certain bus companies use routes that are not approved by the

school board, but use the shortest route possible. He said that he was not in favor of no

left turn for buses and he took exception to the comment that the Board acted too

quickly regarding the signage.

President Mueller said that the plans for the construction of Route 53 were slated for

2004.

Trustee Tross said that he has been in contact with Dick Schroeder, of York Township,

and he is concerned about the impact on businesses. Trustee Tross stated that the

Village is working on the problem. Both Trustee Tross and Mr. Schroeder agreed that as

Chairman of the Transportation and Safety Committee, Trustee Soderstrom should be

involved in the discussions. Trustee Tross expressed his thanks to one resident in

particular, Wade Hartkey, who came to speak with him for two hours on his birthday eve

to express his concerns.

Trustee Koenig stated that she has heard from residents via e-mail.

Trustee Tross stated that clarification of the issues are needed.

President Mueller said that this will go back to the Transportation and Safety Committee.

Trustee DeStephano commented that District One residents have been impacted since

last June, as they head South and then East. She said the signs should come down

now.

President Mueller clarified that this was not done in haste and asked Trustee Tross how

long the issue was discussed.

Trustee Tross responded that the issue was discussed for six months in public meetings

and the process took two years.

Trustee DeStephano clarified her meaning that the signs were put up in haste, not the

decision to put them up.

Trustee Tross stated that repealing the Ordinance would need to be done in Ordinance

form at another Board of Trustees meeting. He again confirmed the fact that Harrison

and Charles Lane are the only streets of the four in question that the Village has

jurisdiction over. Trustee Tross said that to remove the pork chop would incur huge

costs and that traffic could not be routed to an under improved street such as Charles

Lane. He asked for the patience of those that are unhappy with the signage.

Village Manager, William T. Lichter, mentioned that the Village bond rating was

re-reviewed, and had maintained our AA rating, the highest rating available to a

non-home rule municipality, and thanked Finance Director Len Flood, staff and the

Board for their support.

President Mueller stated that the sales tax figures for last quarter were up.

President Mueller thanked everyone who participated in welcoming New York Firefighter

Joseph Gick and wife, Maria, the previous weekend.

President Mueller mentioned the CHARACTER COUNTS! program which is in its fifth

year. He said that the Lombard CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition would receive an

Award of Merit from the Illinois State Board of Education at their awards program on

April 13th in Springfield. He also informed the Board that a Character Development

library is being established at the College of Dupage and a fall youth summit is being

planned.

President Mueller said that a special meeting of the charter members of the DuPage

Water Commission met on March 6, 2002. The meeting had been called by Mayor

Murphy of Woodridge and himself in response to the recent action of the Water

Commission not to reduce the charges for water from $1.75 to $1.65 per 1,000 gallons

as was proposed. A committee has been formed to meet with the DuPage County Board

Chairman to review action steps that can be taken.

President Mueller said that a second bus has been arranged for those planning to attend

the Mayors and Managers Annual Springfield Drive Down planned for April 10th and

11th. He urged those interested in attending to call Carol Bauer to make reservations.

President Mueller also announced the Mayors and Managers Annual Dinner and 40th

Anniversary Celebration set for May 3, 2002 at the Carlisle Restaurant in Lombard.

President Mueller then spoke of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the

Mayors and Managers that recently met with the chairperson of the Joint

County-Municipal Solid Waste Committee to discuss future funding of Solid Waste

programs. The Solid Waste Fund is projected to be out of money in five years, and

should be noted that over the years at least twelve million dollars has been withdrawn

from the tipping fee's paid by our residents and used for stormwater. He stated this

would cause an increase in fees for our residents and the matter was being watched.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 9, CHAPTER 93, SECTION 93.02 OF THE LOMBARD

VILLAGE CODE IN RELATION TO DECLARING THE CONDUCT OF ANY BUILDING

CONSTRUCTION, REPAIR, RECONSTRUCTION OR MAINTENANCE INVOLVING LOUD OR

UNUSUAL NOISE A NUISANCE DURING CERTAIN HOURS OF THE DAY

BE IT ORDAINED by the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Lombard, DuPage

County, Illinois as follows:

Section 1:That Title 9, Chapter 94, Section 93.02 of the Lombard Village Code is amended by

adding a new Subsection (B) thereto which shall read in its entirety as follows:

"(B)" It is unlawful to conduct any operations (construction, repair, reconstruction, or

maintenance), other than within a fully enclosed building or structure, or exterior property

maintenance work (including, but not limited to landscaping and landscaping maintenance work),

which involves the operation of any steam shovels, hammers (including power hammers,

pneumatic hammers and jackhammers), tractors, bulldozers, pile drivers, chain saws, graders,

riveters, earth movers, tree and stump grinders, trenchers, cement mixers, power hoists or

derricks, demolition balls, power shovels, trucks, power equipment on wheels or traction chains,

power lawnmowers, power edgers, power weed wackers or power hedge/bush trimmers,

gasoline powered pumps, directional boring machines, and generators, between the hours of

10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. at any location within the Village in relation to which the buildings

within a three hundred foot radius (300) are used exclusively for residential purposes. (The

300-foot radius is measurable to the actual structure and not the property line.) The provisions of

this subsection shall not be applicable to emergency situations where the building operations or

property maintenance work are being undertaken in response to a situation that poses an

immediate danger to the building or threat to the health, safety and welfare of the surrounding

residents or occupants. Nor does this provision apply to street openings or work performed by

the Village of Lombard's Public Works Department.

Section 2: That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for

any reason held to be invalid, such decision or decisions hall bot affect the validity of the

remaining portions of this Ordinance.

Section 3: That this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption,

approval, and publication in pamphlet as provided by law.

NOTES:

The word "building" has been removed from the lst line so that ordinance is all encompassing

and is not limited to construction noise.

Areas in bold print have been added, as per the recommendation of the Code Talkers

Committee.

Trustee DeStephano stated that there is a lot of speeding on Main Street and also asked

if the Village has the manpower to enforce the speed limit and implement these

procedures.

Deputy Chief Cuny responded by saying a community policing policy was instituted in

1995 and manpower is available to implement the procedures.

Trustee Tross expressed his appreciation for the report, although he challenged some

items, such as the 85% percentile quoted, as this would actually increase speed limits.

He agreed that a blanket speed limit of 25 MPH would not work.

Deputy Chief Cuny clarified that the theory behind the 85% percentile is that 85% of

drivers will go a reasonable and safe rate of speed.

Trustee Soderstrom said that this is not set in stone, but only a benchmark. Taken into

consideration is sight lines and the proximity to churches and schools. He felt that

Trustee Tross was taking this out of context.

Trustee Tross commented that he has seen a lot of traffic control changes that have

been done and do not meet 85% percentile. He stated that a person driving seven or

eight miles over the speed limit, if the speed limit was 30 MPH probably would not be

ticketed, but would be ticketed if the posted speed was 25 MPH.

Deputy Chief Cuny responded that it is not the intention to lower speed limits to write

more tickets, but that safety is the issue and the Police Department is making vehicle

stops and are alert.

President Mueller asked if any limits were going to be changed.

Trustee Soderstrom responded by saying each case would be considered individually,

case by case.

President Mueller felt that street by street consideration would be very confusing to

residents.

Trustee Soderstrom stated that the issue is to not artificially reduce speed limits.

Trustee Soderstrom disagreed and said that using that rationale, Madison would never

have been reduced to 25 MPH. He said special considerations need to be reviewed, that

this would be done by the Transportation and Safety Committee and recommendations

would be made.

Trustee Koenig stated that she has observed that driving habits have a local, cultural or

regional element to them. She commented that if you reduce speed limits, the actual

reduction in speed is only 25%, and in areas with a lower speed limit of 25 MPH, people

do drive slower. She would like to see a speed limit of 30 MPH happening culturally

within her own community and thought perhaps an effort should be made now, to instill a

culture that reduces speed limits over a generation.

There was further discussion among President Mueller and Trustee Tross about actual

speeds and posted speed limits.

Trustee DeStephano said that she is happy with stronger enforcement of the existing

speed limits.

A Power Point presentation was made by Jennifer Backensto of the Community

Development Department regarding Text Amendments to the Lombard Sign Ordinance,

the Zoning Ordinance and Lombard Zoning Map, PC 02-06 and PC 02-07. (See

Attached)

Enactment No: Ordinances 5093-5095

Director of Community Development, David Hulseberg, gave details of specific

properties that would have negative aesthetics under the current zoning, but with the

amendments, the Board would still have a lot of control because most re-developers

would be a planned development with aesthetic control.

Trustee Sebby thanked staff for the excellent presentation and review. He said that he

was glad to see an effort to try to bring the current businesses into conformance and

bring new business into the area. He felt that the B5A district was a move in the right

direction.

Trustee DeStephano asked if this matter was for discussion only.

Both Village Manager Lichter and President Mueller confirmed that this was for

discussion only at this point, and would come back for a vote at a later time.

Trustee Destephano stated that she had some concerns, such as the absence of a

traffic study in the area, as possibly 810 cars could be added to the area. Among her

other concerns were the lack of an opinion regarding storm water impact and the lack of

contact with the County about their studies. She felt that each property should be looked

at on a case by case basis. She expressed her concern of a four story property being

constructed when the Comprehensive Plan recommends 30 feet in height. She was also

concerned with the fact that once a precedent is set with the first building, that power

would be with staff, and not the Board. She felt that additional uses should be looked at,

as she was unaware of a study being presented. She also expressed her desire to see

what steps other communities are taking to bring in new businesses.

Director of Community Development, David Hulseberg, addressed Trustee

DeStephano's concerns. In regard to her traffic concerns, he said that any

redevelopment beyond two stories would require a conditional use and both the Plan

Commission and the Board of Trustees would review the request and could require a

traffic study. He stated that Bucher, Willis and Radcliffe said that a full blown traffic study

would be decided by the Board. He also said that if any properties in the area are

redeveloped, storm water detention would be required, therefore the area would improve

as many properties do not have any storm water detention. Mr. Hulseberg also stated

that anything more than two stories would need to be approved, staff would review and

present their findings to the Board. Addressing her comment regarding recruitment of

businesses, he reminded Trustee DeStephano that this would involve manpower issues

in our current status of unfilled positions and hiring freezes, and must be at the direction

of the Board. He expressed the fact that this was not a spot approval, as this was

addressed by the Comprehensive Plan in 1997 after much research, which involved

neighborhood meetings, the involvement of the Chamber of Commerce, and the

businesses were happy with the plan, as it would bring 90% of the businesses into

compliance of the Village Code. He disagreed with the statement that the downtown

area is not improving, and said in fact, that there are many new positive uses in the

area.

Trustee Tross complimented staff for their work on this issue, and thanked the Board for

their work on the Comprehensive Plan. Trustee Tross was concerned about the limits of

the current downtown area that do not encompass businesses that would benefit. He

expressed his belief that the B5A district should end at Washington Boulevard.

Mr. Hulseberg said that the Plan Committee minutes show that this was not appropriate

at this time, to allow some amount of transition to the area. He said that from a zoning

point of view, these village properties enjoy a dual benefit. He stated that Mr. Z's is a

large parcel that could be redeveloped several ways. Mr. Hulseberg said that if there

were issues that the Board wished to address, these issues could be returned to the

Plan Commission, but the process would need to be repeated.

President Mueller talked about the old downtown area.

Trustee Tross questioned the height limits in the B5 and B5A districts and in particular

the Blake/Lamb property.

Trustee Tross asked about the prior Blake/Lamb project height issues and stated that

the height in the B5 and B5A district should be the same.

Mr. Hulseberg stated that the Plan Commission wanted control/review of the matter due

to the closely abutting residential area.

Trustee DeStephano thanked Mr. Hulseberg for clarifying the issues, but she still

thought a traffic study should be done. She was pleased to hear that the stormwater

issue will be better. She mentioned her conversation with a constituent who is a property

owner in that area. She stated that he believes he may be able to sell his property to a

builder of a four story condo building. She again expressed her desire to see further

business recruitment in the downtown area. She would rather see things come forth on

a case by case basis.

Trustee Florey complimented staff. He stated that he disagreed with Trustee Tross. He

feels the property rights of the residents that have property that abuts the area, should

be taken into consideration. He said that the plan that is presented by staff is the one he

will support.

Trustee Tross asked if staff recommended conditional use on height variance.

Mr. Hulseberg said yes and that many of Trustee DeStephano's comments were

adopted within the Ordinance.

Trustee Koenig stated that when the current property owners bought the properties,

there was a two story limit.

Trustee Florey commented that each property owner must be responsible to their

neighbors.