Zoning Board's 3-2 Vote for Downtown Apartments Not Enough to Recommend Approval to City Council

Wheaton's planning and zoning board will recommend denial of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for a developer planning to build Wheaton 121, a 300-unit apartment complex in downtown Wheaton. With two members absent Tuesday, the board voted 3-2 in favor of a recommendation to approve the PUD, one ‘yes’ vote short of the required four to recommend approval to City Council.

Board members Mark Sargis and Neil Pollock lauded developer Morningside Group’s plans for the $60 million project, but had concerns that kept them from supporting it. Sargis voted ‘no’ because of a reservation about the proposed height of the building. Neil Pollock voted ‘no’ because a recommended condition related to the developer’s use of green initiatives in construction of the building does not include a requirement of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or National Green Building Standard (NGBS) certification. 

Pollock, who complimented the project and its design, urged the board to “establish a basis” for what it hopes to accomplish with green initiatives in the future. “We’ve done a tremendous amount of talking about this, but we haven’t gotten anything done,” he said.

Board member Suzanne Fitch said the developer’s use of green initiatives should be voluntary. “I’m not going to require the applicant (Morningside) to do something that’s not required under the law,” she said.

Scott Day, attorney for Morningside, said while the development could not accommodate LEED certification, Morningside could seek NGBS certification. Morningside President David Strosberg said the building will meet the guidelines of NGBC, but to go through the paperwork and obtain the plaque of certification would cost $150,000.

Morningside presented plans for the development to City Council in November and requested $2.3 million through Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to assist with costs for public improvements included in the project. If the PUD were to require NGBC certification, Strosberg said Morningside would add $150,000 to its request for TIF funds from the city.

At a Jan. 24 hearing the board asked Morningside to consider adding recycling chutes to every floor, in addition to the proposed trash chutes. Day said Tuesday the developer would accommodate the request, which will cost about $25,000. He said Morningside would add the expense of the recycling chutes to its request for TIF funds from the City.

Board member Mark Sargis said he has reservations about the height of the six-story Wheaton 121 building because he hadn’t seen a rendering that showed the building in comparison to other downtown structures.

Day said the building would be the exact height of the Courthouse Square building and shorter than the First Trust building. He said he thinks the height of the building is in keeping with the direction of the city’s development. He added that the goal of the city’s TIF district is, to generate vitality in the downtown community, find uses that are synergistic with the retail uses and generate residents with disposable income. “We think we meet that,” he said.

During public comment Max Williams, manager of the Downtown Wheaton Association () said as the DWA manager, a Wheaton resident and on behalf of the DWA board, “We are all very excited, to say the least.” He added retailers, businesses and restaurants downtown are “eager” to see the project move forward.

Wheaton city staff’s recommended conditions, contingent to a PUD approval include:

• Inclusion of green initiatives in construction of the building for purposes of meeting LEED silver standards or its equivalent of NGBS, subject to City Council certification
• Final landscaping plan is subject to city approval, based on TIF funds
• Morningside shall implement recycling chutes beside trash chutes
• Morningside shall submit water flow calculations to determine whether water mains are big enough to support the development
• The city’s decorative street lighting system shall be enhanced and relocated around the entire site
• Plat of consolidation shall be submitted, including easements for storm water management and public utilities
• Subject to final determination by the Wheaton Park District: project’s exemption from about $336,000 in impact fees to the district (The Wheaton Park District Board of Commissioners voted against waiving the fees at its meeting Wednesday, Feb. 15. Patch will provide an article with more information.)

According to rules of the board, the absent board members could vote on the PUD recommendation at the Feb. 21 meeting. Board president Laura Christensen said she hopes the reasons for the 'no' votes are clearly explained in staff's report to City Council, "because I think everybody thinks this is a terrific project," she said.

Wheaton City Staff Planner Tracy Jones said City Council would consider the PUD recommendation for Morningside Monday, March 5.

CORRECTION: The planning and zoning board is recommending denial, not city staff.