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CITY COUNCIL 3-20-1997THE CITY OF LAKE FOREST COUNCIL AGENDA March 20, 1997 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Honorable Cornelius B. Waud, Mayor Samuel J. Henry, Alderman First Ward Gail T. Hodges, Alderman Third Ward John A. Andersen, Alderman First Ward Henry T. Chandler, Alderman Third Ward Abigail G. Fassnacht, Alderman Second Ward Mary Ann Pekarek, Alderman Fourth Ward Howard J Kerr, Alderman Second Ward G. Bishop Gallagher, Alderman Fourth Ward REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS 1. Comments by Mayor a. Proclamation of Lake Forest Day 1997 Lake Forest Day is traditionally held on the first Wednesday in August. This annual event is sponsored by the McKinlock Post 264 of the American Legion in an effort to bring together residents to promote civic pride and the advancement of community fellowship. The Mayor will proclaim Wednesday, August 6, 1997 as Lake Forest Day, with the theme being “Lake Forest - A Blend of Tradition and Progress.” A copy of the proclamation is attached as page 7. Recommended Action: Proclamation of August 6, 1997 as Lake Forest Day. b. Proclamation of April 25, 1997 as Arbor Day Lake Forest, with its environment of natural areas, is particularly dedicated to the observance of Arbor Day. The concern for preservation of the natural flora of Lake Forest is evident in the ordinances enacted by the City Council. Citizen groups and local institutions have actively supported preservation efforts and the renewal of natural areas through tree planting and landscape projects. The City has been named Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation for seventeen consecutive years. The Mayor will proclaim Friday, April 25, 1997 as Arbor Day and will encourage all citizens to join in the celebration ceremonies. A copy of the proclamation is attached as page 9. Recommended Action: Proclamation of April 25, 1997 as Arbor Day. c. Proclamation of National Library Week Mayor Waud will proclaim April 13 through April 19 as National Library Week with the theme, “Kids Connect @ the Library.” A copy of the proclamation is attached as page 10. Recommended Action: Proclamation of April 13-19, 1997 as National Library Week. 2. Comments by the City Manager 3. Comments by Council Members PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS APPROVAL OF MINUTES Recommended Action: Approval of the minutes of the March 3, 1997 Council meeting attached beginning on page 11. ORDINANCES 1. Consideration of Approval of an Ordinance Amending the Lake Forest Zoning Code of 1972, as Amended, Regarding Personal Wireless Communications Facilities (Second Reading) PRESENTED BY ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER MAX SLANKARD (615-4281) The City Council granted first reading approval to this ordinance at their March 3, 1997 meeting. A copy of the ordinance is attached as page 15. Two issues were raised at that meeting to be addressed by staff between the first and second readings. These issues were allowing a letter of credit for tower removal rather than a cash bond, and whether towers should be located in City parks. Section 11C of the Ordinance was amended to allow for either an irrevocable letter of credit or a cash bond. With regard to use of parks properties, the two park sites that were included in the overlay district for wireless facilities were the Northcroft Park site and the South Park site. The Northcroft site is recommended for removal based upon the existence of a covenant on the property which prohibits the use of the property for such a purpose. The South Park site is, however, included in the ordinance at this time. The portion of South Park that is included in the overlay district is a wooded area south of the entrance drive and ball field. This area is not utilized for any active park usage. Development of a tower on this site would not appear to cause any diminution of the recreational value of the park, as the area is not utilized at this point in time for active recreation. Further, there are two other policy considerations with regard to the site. First, this does represent an opportunity for the City to generate revenue. As noted in the packet, rental revenues would accrue to the City for use of the property. This rent could range from $500 to $2,000 per month for usage by a single provider. Using a figure of $1,200 per month, this represents projected revenues of $14,400 per year. Over the term of a twenty year lease, this equates to $288,000 in revenue, exclusive of any escalation in rent based on CPI. Multiple providers on one structure would increase revenues accordingly. The other policy consideration is one of control. With the City as landlord, the City Council would have to approve any lease agreement with any provider. This would allow the City a higher degree of control than that over a private site. As noted previously, there are sites immediately adjacent to the South Park property that are included in the overlay district (Barat College) upon which monopole towers would be permitted. Therefore, a tower could be constructed on that property immediately next to the proposed South Park site, and the visual impact would still occur. The question then becomes should Barat College or the City of Lake Forest be the beneficiary of the revenues. Practically, if any provider were to request the use of South Park, the matter would be referred to the Park and Recreation Board for review and consideration, and would be subject to the approval of the City Council. Financially, the monies could be earmarked for the Park and Open Land fund to fund Park and Recreational activities in the City. Recommended Action: Grant second reading of the ordinance as presented. UNFINISHED BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 1. Discussion on Yardwaste Management - Leaf Burning and Route 60 Compost Facility Presented by City Manager Robert R. Kiely, Jr. On January 20, 1997, the City Council met to discuss the future operations of the City’s compost facility and whether to ban the burning of leaves. At the conclusion of the meeting, the City Council directed staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council at its March 20 meeting on the following key issues: 1) Develop a recommendation on leaf burning in Lake Forest. 2) Consider alternatives for handling the City’s yard waste including: a) Determining if the City could utilize the Lake Bluff compost facility. b) Identifying alternative disposal sites other than the Route 60 facility. c) Implications of continuing the composting operations at the Route 60 facility under the 1996 operating guidelines. (Grass clippings during the months of May - August disposed of outside of the City.) Ban on Leaf Burning The City has been involved in a joint public/private venture for the disposal of yardwaste for the past 7 years. Residential curbside collection is provided 2x per week March - December and weekly collection January - February. Residents who utilize the program to dispose of leaves must purchase brown paper City yardwaste bags at a cost of $15 per bundle of 25. The bags may be purchased from various merchants around town or at the Municipal Services Building. An unlimited quantity of bags may be placed at the curb for collection by sanitation personnel. Collected materials are brought to the Route 60 site where it is composted at a cost of $7.90 per cubic yard. In 1996, 2,140 cubic yards of leaves were disposed of at a cost to the City of $30,700. At the January 20 meeting, the Council asked the staff to explore the feasibility of implementing a leaf vacuum system in lieu of leaf burning. This matter was reviewed extensively by the City in February, 1985 and determined not to be financially feasible or operationally desirable for the City. A copy of the report is attached beginning on page 44. For purposes of discussion, it was assumed a leaf vacuuming system would continue to utilize the Route 60 site for yardwaste disposal and provide residents two fall collection dates per leaf season. Four man collection crews would collect leaves from approximately 10 miles of City streets daily, or the entire City collected once every 12 working days. The vacuumed leaves would be deposited into 5 yard dump trucks for transport to the compost site and processed at a cost of $7.90 per cubic yard. It is estimated that 1,605 cubic yards will be collected due to a volume reduction from the vacuuming equipment. The leaf vacuum curbside collection program would cost an estimated $51,325. Attached beginning on page 79 is additional information on the City’s current leaf collection program; a leaf vac program; a draft ordinance banning leaf burning; and a letter from Dr. Michael Ankin, Director of Respiratory Care at Lake Forest Hospital, regarding the health effects of leaf burning. Based upon the obvious health considerations, the staff would recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance banning leaf burning effective September 1, 1997. A copy of the ordinance is attached as page 43. The same rationale that existed in 1985 for not implementing a leaf vac system exist today and, therefore, the staff is not recommending that we modify our current leaf collection program. The program would increase costs approximately 67%, reduce service to the residents and pose a safety hazard, particularly for the areas with narrow residential streets. As indicated at the January 20 meeting, the general consensus is that very few people currently burn in The City of Lake Forest and the ban would increase total yard waste by only 225 cubic yards. The concern was raised as to the financial impact a ban would have on senior citizens living on a fixed income. If the City felt that this was a legitimate concern, arrangements could be made with the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Senior Center to provide a discount on the price of leaf bags (i.e., 20 percent) to qualified seniors during the leaf collection period. Recommended Action: It is recommended that the City Council approve an ordinance banning leaf burning effective September 1, 1997. B. Compost Operations Following the January 20 meeting, the staff investigated the issues raised by the Council with respect to the operation of the Route 60 facility as set forth above. The City staff met with representatives of the Village of Lake Bluff regarding potentially utilizing their facility. At this time, the village is reluctant to accept the City’s yard waste because operationally they are concerned about the problems associated with significantly increasing material in a short period of time. The site is 4 acres and currently maintains approximately 3,000 cy of yardwaste/compost. Politically, with the controversy that has surrounded the Lake Forest site the Village is sensitive to how accepting Lake Forest material would received by the residents of Lake Bluff. Therefore, the Lake Bluff compost facility is not currently an alternative that would permit the City to completely discontinue composting operations at the Route 60 site. At the January 20 meeting, the question was raised as to whether City yardwaste could be taken to Waste Management’s Meadowview site in Grayslake. The operator has indicated that this facility is no longer open due to financial considerations. Those sites that are currently available to the City include the DK facility on Route 41 in North Chicago, Thelens in Antioch and Land and Lakes in Wheeling/Deerfield. A summary of each facility’s tipping fees and estimated cost increase over the Route 60 site is attached beginning on page 99. In 1996, the City modified its operations at the Route 60 facility by directing grass clippings to the DK Route 41 facility during the months of May through August. That modification, coupled with other site improvements, significantly reduced the number of odor complaints filed by adjoining properties. In 1996 the Lake County Health Department received notification of eight odor complaints as compared to 27 in 1995. The eight complaints received were from 4 individuals residing in the Dieu Foret Subdivision. Over the years the City has attempted to work with area residents and local agencies to address their concerns. At the direction of the City Council and the Ad Hoc Compost Committee, the City undertook various steps to alleviate their concerns, including undertaking a health study on bioaerosols by U.I.C., reviewing alternatives other than operating at the Route 60 site, reducing the volume of materials received at the site, and establishing quality control measures with the contractor. The City and IEPA currently disagree over the interpretations of notification requirements as they apply to the permitting process which governed the issuance of the 1993 operating permit. Rather than engage in a long and costly legal battle, the City, on advice of legal counsel, will file a new permit application with the IEPA if the Council determines that it is in the best interest of the City to continue operating a compost facility at the Route 60 site. At that time, the City will become a co-operator on the permit and subsequently become more actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the site. It is evident from the comments made by adjoining neighbors that they lack confidence in the ability of the operator to maintain a quality operation at the facility. The staff would recommend that if the facility is to remain open and operating that the City, in cooperation with the current operator, gradually assume greater responsibility in operations. The staff is recommending that the current operations be maintained and that the City immediately file for a new composting permit. The reason for the recommendation is three-fold: 1) It has, and continues to be, our position that the operation of the facility poses no health risk to adjoining properties. This position was supported by the UIC study completed in 1996. 2) Financially, it would cost the City a minimum of $60,000 to take its material to an alternative site with said cost increasing over time as tipping fees inevitably grow. 3) The City will make additional capital improvements as recommended by the Ad Hoc Compost Committee to insure a quality composting program which has minimal impact upon adjoining properties. By taking on a greater responsibility in the operation of the site, the City is confident that it can reduce the incidence of operator error and the likelihood of events causing odor complaints. The Lake Forest Compost Facility has been operating since 1989 with minimal or no effect on adjoining properties except for the one-year period (fall of 1994 to fall of 1995), due to the increased volumes received. The total material currently on site is at an all-time low and indicative of what the future normal level of material on site should be. Public education efforts are underway to minimize any potential increase due to growth or the ban on leaf burning. The opportunity for residents to drop off yard waste and pick up compost material is a very popular and widely used. With the assistance of the IEPA and Lake County Health Department, the staff is confident that it can operate a facility that provides a tremendous service to the community with minimal or no real impact on adjoining properties. Recommended Action: Direct staff to file a new permit application with the IEPA to operate a compost facility at the Route 60 site. OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURNMENT Office of the City Manager March 14, 1997 The City of Lake Forest is subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with disabilities who plan to attend this meeting and who require certain accommodations in order to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting, or who have questions regarding the accessibility of the meeting or the facilities, are required to contact City Manager Robert R. Kiely, Jr., at (847) 234-2600 promptly to allow the City to make reasonable accommodations for those persons. blue\shell Agenda Memorandum - 03/14/97 Page 6