CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Receive the staff report and conduct the public hearing on the first amendment to the Annexation Agreement for Forest Meadows Apartments located at 25W462 75th Street - PZC 24-1-012 (Item 1 of 2)
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Sara Kopinski, AICP
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The subject property, commonly known as Forest Meadows Apartments, consists of approximately 1.53 acres and is zoned OCI (Office, Commercial and Institutional District) in the City of Naperville. On July 18, 2023, City Council approved the annexation of the subject property into the City and the associated annexation agreement per Ordinances 23-110 and 23-111. City Council also approved rezoning the property to OCI (Office, Commercial and Institutional District) (Ord. 23-112), and a conditional use for multi-family residential with variances to building height and residential density (Ord. 23-113).
At this time, the petitioner and property owner, Greene Valley 75, LLC, requests an amendment to the Annexation Agreement for Forest Meadows Apartments (“Annexation Agreement”) in order to revise the emergency access provisions set forth in Section S6.0 of the Annexation Agreement.
DISCUSSION:
Section S6.0 of the Annexation Agreement obligated the petitioner/property owner to construct two points of access for emergency vehicles on the site when construction begins, and to maintain said access points until the roadways are completed. The Annexation Agreement also stated that the petitioner/property owner had entered into a Reciprocal Cross Access Easement Agreement with the adjacent property owner to the west (Islamic Center of Naperville (“ICN”)) in order to provide emergency ingress and egress to and from the subject property, as well as emergency ingress and egress to and from the adjacent property.
During the initial entitlement process, ICN submitted a letter to the City indicating they agreed with the establishment of a cross-access easement between the two properties to be used for emergency purposes. However, since this initial entitlement phase, circumstances have changed, and they are no longer agreeable to establishing cross access as outlined in the attached letter to Council. In response to the change in circumstances, the petitioner proposes a modified plan that allows emergency vehicles to utilize paved areas in the northeast corner of the subject property to turn around and exit the site, thus necessitating an amendment to the Annexation Agreement. The petitioner has worked with staff to ensure required site geometries and turning radii are provided for emergency vehicles.
Proposed Amendment
The petitioner requests an amendment to the Annexation Agreement to revise the emergency access provisions set forth in Section S6.0 and to revise the driveway and parking lot configuration to allow convenient and accessible ingress and egress of emergency vehicles to the Subject Property by:
a) Creating a new fire lane area in the northeast corner of the site;
b) Moving the electric transformer to the west from its former location to provide additional paved area for the movement of emergency vehicles;
c) Defining the paved areas referenced in a) and b) with depressed curbing (as depicted in the City of Naperville’s Standard Detail B6.12 “Barrier Curb & Gutter” on the approved Final Engineering Plans), striping, and signs designating these areas as “fire lane only” areas. These areas will be designed and constructed to support the City’s emergency vehicles;
d) The drive aisle along the northern portion of the Subject Property will extend approximately 8’ 3” from the west property line to facilitate a possible cross access easement in the future if and when that connection becomes feasible; and,
e) The monument island at the front entrance of the Subject Property has been reduced by forty-four percent (44%) to allow additional room for the movement of emergency vehicles. Further, emergency access from the property located to the west of the Subject Property through the Subject Property shall be included on a plat of easement (“Plat of Easement”) to be separately recorded as provided herein. The First Amendment to the Annexation Agreement for Forest Meadows Apartments further reflects updated surety amounts and plan revision dates.
The Forest Meadows Apartments project was unanimously approved by the City Council on July 18, 2023. Apart from the emergency access issue outlined above, the Forest Meadows development has not changed regarding the approved zoning designation, number of dwelling units, number of parking spaces, building height, site design, elevations, etc. Staff does not have any concern with the proposed amendment to the Annexation Agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A