VILLAGE OF NORTH AURORA
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
MARCH 20, 2006
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Hansen called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL VOTE
In attendance: Mayor John Hansen, Trustees Max Herwig, Mark Gaffino, Mike Herlihy, Dale Berman and Paul Shoemaker. Not in attendance: Trustee Linda Mitchell.
Staff in attendance: Sue McLaughlin, Bill Hannah, Jim Bibby, Mike Glock, Tom Fetzer, Mark Bozik and Atty. Kevin Drendel.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS
Jim Mitchell and Bill Wyeth spoke to the Board about their concerns regarding the Village’s riverfront property. Mitchell asked the Board to develop the Comprehensive Plan for the riverfront property. Mitchell noted the riverfront properties in St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva. Mitchell suggested a riverfront plan that would be implemented in stages. Bill distributed plans to the Board and suggested forming a committee. Herlihy said he thought the park district had control of the property. Mitchell said some of it is North Aurora land. Mayor Hansen said there are definitely opportunities that should be explored and could be discussed further at the next COW meeting.
Rich Smith, 28 Monroe Street, North Aurora – Smith addressed the Board regarding the topic of banning overnight parking on Village streets. Smith said that spot problems should be resolved instead of placing a blanket over the entire Village. Smith asked the Board to consider a way around the all night parking ban.
Keith Duff, 503 Dogwood Court, North Aurora – Mr. Duff said that, overall, he was in favor of a ban to tidy up the community by banning overnight parking, but was concerned with residents that live in dense communities that do not have enough parking or in certain situations where there are multiple cars in a family and no alternative but to park on the street. Mr. Duff also addressed the topic of Dogwood Drive opening up to Randall Road. Duff provided the Board with research information he had put together. Duff noted that if Dogwood Drive is opened to Randall it would create traffic on Dogwood Drive from 145 cars per day to more than 1,212. Duff asked the Board to consider the children and families on the streets over the convenience and businesses.
Bonnie Nelson, 807 Dogwood Drive, North Aurora – Ms. Nelson said that one of her main concerns would be getting in and out of her driveway if Dogwood Drive were to open to Randall Road. Nelson said another concern is the children in the neighborhood. Nelson asked the Board to figure another way to alleviate the traffic on Dogwood.
Vince Mancini, 526 Mallard Point Drive, North Aurora – Mr. Mancini stated that he is in favor of opening up Dogwood Drive to Randall Road. Mancini, a Plan Commissioner for the Village, reminded the Board that the Plan Commission recommended opening Dogwood Drive on the advice of Village Staff. The Village engineer, police department and fire department also recommended the opening. Mancini noted that Dogwood was intended to be open from the time the development was in place. The extent of Dogwood not opening up has resulted in traffic on Mallard Point Drive. Mancini said the stacking problem could be addressed with engineering. Dogwood will be a local entrance for the homeowners in the area. It will be a real benefit for those residents surrounding Dogwood and will be a detriment at the immediate corner, however the road was always intended to be a through street.
Rudolph Stein, 506 Dogwood Court, North Aurora – Mr. Stein said there is a strong need to implement a reduction of speed for traffic as it goes from Randall to Dogwood. Stein also noted that he is unaware of any other subdivision along Randall Road that has a street as narrow as Dogwood Drive that would have an entrance to a road as busy as Randall Road. Stein said the street should be built to accommodate the traffic. Stein said that residents who have purchased homes in Mooseheart and throughout the rest of the Willow Lakes subdivision knew of traffic conditions when they bought their homes. The Dogwood entrance was always closed. Stein suggested possibly having a right-in/right-out and control traffic with the use of speed tables. Stein said that the opening of Dogwood Drive would not be a good idea and does not benefit most of the residents. In terms of overnight parking, Stein felt it is a good idea to keep cars off streets, however, there are several ordinances that are not currently being enforced such as cars parked over sidewalks and too many cars in disrepair that are sitting over 24 hours. The biggest problem is that people already have more cars than they have parking spaces. Stein said he would like to see fines increased for parking over sidewalks in order to keep the sidewalks functional.
Sally Smith, 28 Monroe Street, North Aurora – Ms. Smith spoke regarding the parking ban. Smith said that the ban would be a hardship for someone who is mobility limited or handicapped. Another concern is parking for family members that are visiting from out of town. Smith felt the parking ban would not be a good idea.
Mike Brackett, 305 Juniper, North Aurora – Regarding the Dogwood access, Mr. Brackett referred to everything Vince Mancini mentioned. Brackett state that the Plan Commission’s position is that this entrance was always intended to be open and required to be open. The concerns stated are valid, but the residents on Juniper and Acorn have been burdened by exactly what has been mentioned up to this point. Brackett encouraged the Board to be sympathetic to all residences and not just the ones that will be impacted directly. Plan Commission has 100% confidence in Staff, fire dept., police dept. and engineering. Regarding traffic on Juniper, Brackett said there is a benefit to opening Dogwood since traffic will be going in four directions instead of two. Brackett noted that the Plan Commission encourages the opening and expects the opening of Dogwood.
There were no further audience comments.
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