VILLAGE OF NORTH AURORA
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES
Monday, November 15, 2021
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Village Board meeting was conducted live remotely
via telecommunications.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Gaffino called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
In attendance: Mayor Mark Gaffino, Trustee Mark Carroll, Trustee Laura Curtis, Trustee Mark Guethle, Trustee Mike Lowery, Trustee Todd Niedzwiedz, Trustee Carolyn Salazar
Staff in attendance: Village Administrator Steve Bosco, Community & Economic Development Director Mike Toth, Village Attorney Kevin Drendel, Public Works Director John Laskowski, Police Chief Dave Fisher.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS – See below
TRUSTEE COMMENTS – None
DISCUSSION
1. Solar Energy Panel Text Amendment
Administrator Bosco reminded the Board that the zoning ordinance for solar energy panels has gone before the board a few times, at this time the Board is open to discussing the possibility of solar collecting panels covering 100% of a home’s roof.
Director Toth explained that in 2018 the Board approved text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance eliminating the rule that no more than 25% of a resident’s roof may be covered in solar panels however panels were not permitted on the front of the home or the roof plane pitched towards the corner side yard.
Director Toth said that in his discussion with an area assessor it was stated that solar panels do not have a positive or negative impact on a property or its neighboring property(s).
A public hearing had been set for December 7, 2021 before the Plan Commission meeting for the proposed amendment to allow solar panels on 100% of a roof’s surface.
The consensus of the Board was to move ahead with proposed amendment.
2. Petition #21-10: Randall Square PUD Amendment
Director Toth explained that the Randall Square property is the development located on the southwest corner of Randall Rd and Oak Street. The property owner is proposing to subdivide Parcel 6 and develop each newly created parcel with a multi-tenant commercial and office buildings. A special use for a planned unit development amendment with deviation to the PUD and Zoning Ordinance, preliminary final plat of subdivision and site plan approval are all being requested as part of the petition. One of the deviations included as part of the PUD amendment would be a reduction in the 50 foot building and yard setback for all parcels adjacent to Oak Street and Randall Road to a 15 foot yard to allow parking and drive aisle encroachment. Another deviation would be the free standing sign, which in and of itself meets standards, the text would be larger than the 32 square feet allowed.
A public hearing was held on this petition at the November 2, 2021 Plan Commission meeting with the Plan Commission recommending approval of the petition.
Jason Doran, counsel for Randall/Oaks, LLC and Ramsey Elshafei of RE Development Solutions were on hand with a presentation regarding the proposed PUD amendments and the design of the retail and office buildings.
While the Board showed overall enthusiasm for the project, there were some questions about the lack of ornamentation of the façade of the buildings and the concerns over the possibility of being unable to fill the retail and office spaces. The developer expressed that they felt there was a good amount of interest in rental of the spaces.
3. Authorization to Purchase New Water Utility Truck
Administrator Bosco state that due to the delay of vehicle delivery, Public Works was interested in purchasing a vehicle outside of the regular procurement procedures.
Director Laskowski explained that Public Works Department has run in to trouble in regard to vehicles. A village truck has been in the shop for two months waiting on a part, the shop had decided to source a part from a junkyard to temporarily fix the vehicle while waiting on a new part from the manufacturer. The department is awaiting the delivery of three new Public Works vehicles that were ordered and one Community Development vehicle. The delivery of the vehicles are estimated to be over a year after ordering.
The Public Works department was asking for flexibility in purchasing a service truck. In the current climate, vehicles have been hard to come by and are purchased quickly. Public Works was asking for the Board to grant the Administrator the authority to make a purchase of a vehicle within a reasonable budgeted amount.
The Board was in favor of granting a resolution to allow Administrator Bosco the authority to purchase a vehicle for the Public Works Department.
4. Video Gaming Liquor Code Updates
Administrator Bosco, describing the discussions on Video Gaming within the Village as complicated, walked the Village Board through a presentation on previous Video Gaming Discussions.
At the October 18, 2021 Committee of the Whole meeting the Board reiterated that they didn’t want Video Gaming parlors in the Village. A definition of video gaming parlor was established “an establishment in which the primary purpose is video gaming and/or the service of alcohol and in which the service of feed is only complimentary or accessary to the video gaming and/or service of alcohol.”
Currently the liquor code contains seating requirements for eligible establishments to have video gaming, staff saw a need to set a standard for seating while working with the Village Attorney.
Staff worked to craft liquor code changes that will help the staff when working with potential new businesses to determine that their intent is in line with the Village Board’s vision for video gaming in the community.
Administrator Bosco explained that currently there is no requirement to indicate whether a business wants video gaming at the time of liquor license application. Not every business wants it right away but may want it later. Businesses have to follow the requirement in the liquor code. If a business indicates they want video gaming and wants confirmation they meet the Village’s standards they sometimes provide a seating chart and menu to affirm they fall in line with the Village’s code.
Current code parameters have seating standards for each of the liquor code classes of establishments. In discussions with the Village’s Chief Building Inspector and the North Aurora Fire Protection District, staff learned that capacity is defined in multiple ways. Staff felt that it was important to revisit the seating parameters of the Code and establish a capacity standard based on square footage to remove ambiguity and create a more enforceable standard.
Staff was looking for Board input on the question of how can the liquor code be clarified to give staff guidance when working with new businesses to ensure that the staff is moving forward in line with the Village Board’s vision for video gaming.
Administrator Bosco introduced an idea that capacity standard based on square footage removes ambiguity and creates a more enforceable standard while meeting the Village Board’s intent. Staff was proposing a capacity standard for video gaming to be 50 people in the dining/video gaming area using a measurement of 15 square feet per person.
Administrator Bosco also addressed the ambiguity of the requirement of an establishment to have a “full kitchen” in order to qualify for video gaming, which presents a problem for staff when issuing licenses.
Staff proposed multiple changes to address ambiguity within the current licensing requirements and procedures:
• Establish a new minimum requirement for Class A Large Restaurant based on size of establishment instead of number of chairs.
• Establish a new minimum requirement for a Class B Small Restaurant based on size of establishment instead of number of chairs
• Establish a new minimum requirement for video gaming for Class A Large Restaurant, Class B Small Restaurant, Class C Limited Restaurant, Class J-1 Brewpub and Class T Tavern of ability to have 50 people minimum in the dining/video gaming area using 15 square feet per person.
• Remove the two-year waiting requirement to have video gaming in respective liquor license classifications
• Require all future liquor licenses in liquor classifications that allow video gaming to go to the Committee of the Whole for review and consideration at the time of their initial liquor license
o Should the Village Board deem the establishment a video gaming parlor, no liquor license would need to be created or granted
The Village Board and Staff discussed the proposed parameters, the logistics of enforcing the standards as well as the safety of imposing them. Ultimately the Board agreed with the suggested changes and with the addition of creating a supplemental license specifically for video gaming, requiring applicants to appear before the Village Board for approval.
Administrator Bosco stated that he and Attorney Drendel would work on putting together a supplemental classification and bringing it back before the Village Board.
EXECUTIVE SESSION – Property Acquisitions
ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion to adjourn made by Trustee Lowery and seconded by Trustee Guethle. Roll Call Vote: Trustee Carroll – yes, Trustee Curtis –yes, Trustee Guethle – yes, Trustee Lowery – yes, Trustee Niedzwiedz – yes, Trustee Salazar – yes. Motion approved (6-0).
RETURN FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION
ROLL CALL
In attendance: Mayor Mark Gaffino, Trustee Mark Carroll, Trustee Laura Curtis, Trustee Mark Guethle, Trustee Mike Lowery, Trustee Todd Niedzwiedz, Trustee Carolyn Salazar
Staff in attendance: Village Administrator Steve Bosco, Community & Economic Development Director Mike Toth, Village Attorney Kevin Drendel.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn made by Trustee Guethle and seconded by Trustee Salazar. All in favor. Motion approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jessi Watkins
Village Clerk
