Plan Commission Minutes 2012 02-08-12
APPROVED 3/14/12
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
PLAN COMMISSION
City Conference Room
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 7:00pm
Commission Members in Attendance:
Chairman Tom Lindblom Sandra Adams
Jeff Baker Jack Jones
James Weaver
Absent: Charles Kraupner, Jane Winninger, Art Prochaska, Michael Crouch
Other City Staff
Krysti Barksdale-Noble, Economic Development Director
Other Guests -
None
Meeting Called to Order
Chairman Tom Lindblom called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.
Roll Call
Roll call was taken and a quorum was established.
Previous Meeting Minutes -
November 9, 2011
The minutes were approved on a motion by Jeff Baker and second by Sandra Adams.
Voice vote approval.
Citizen’s Comments
None
Public Hearings
None
Old Business
None
New Business
1. Kendall County Regional Planning Commission Annual Meeting – Summary
Krysti Barksdale-Noble said the Kendall County Regional Planning Commission held
their annual meeting on Saturday, February 4, 2012. She said they gave an overview of
the 2011 projects and future projects. Some of the highlights included:
1. County trails map, will work with municipalities to include their trails
2. Implement historic preservation program
3. Update land cash ordinance (the City is currently at $101,000 per acre)
4. Promote their economic development plan, the City will approve a resolution of
support in March
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5. Discussed events in municipalities, opposition to trails (the opposition is a City policy
decision, while City staff still supports trails). Yorkville and Oswego were the only
towns present.
Mr. Baker said the County does not want taxpayers to fund trails, rather an alternative
source of funding is desired. Mr. Jones asked if the riverfront and County trails would
connect. There is an easement shortage, but eventually it is hoped the trail can connect
to Kennedy Road and to Bristol Ridge Road.
Mr. Jones stated his wife has been chairman and treasurer of the Riverfront committee.
The committee has $15,000 in their treasury and would like to see it used in conjunction
with the trails. Ms. Barksdale-Noble will talk with Laura Schraw and Lynn Dubajic to
explore ways to use that money towards the trails. She said there is an OSLAD grant that
has been applied for also. Chairman Lindblom asked if the money could be used by the
group supporting the trails, but Mr. Jones said the money is earmarked for the Riverfront
Park area.
2. Eldamain Road Extension – Traffic Noise Analysis & Anticipated Project Impact to
Future Residential Land Uses
In the past months, Ms. Barksdale-Noble said she had conversations with the County
Engineer who was hired to conduct this study. A road impact study has been done and
traffic modeling will be studied in the next phase. It was found that some of the noise
levels would not be suitable for residential, church or hospital uses and some of those
uses are included on the future uses map.
One of those areas is the Fox River Bluffs area that has already been annexed by the City
and is next to the Hoover Center. The designated residential areas have not yet been
annexed. Fox River Bluffs has a concept plan already. Mr. Baker said the developers of
Fox River Bluffs gave the City a strip of land and are well aware of the piece of land
where the road is going to cross the river. Higher density was already planned for this
particular area. Krysti said the City should consider more earthen berms and mature
plantings in this area and she said that the noise impact is greatly reduced if the berms are
wider.
The County is moving forward with plans for the Eldamain bridge and an inter-
governmental agreement was drafted last year. The County will front-fund the costs and
they will be repaid with development re-capture fees.
3. “The Year in Review” – Discussion of Previous Year’s PetitionsProposed Text
,
Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Suggestions for Planning Staff
Ms. Barksdale-Noble said there were 9 petitions in 2011 and 8 of the 9 were approved.
The one not approved was the rezoning for 312 Walter Street. In relationship to this
petition, Ms. Barksdale-Noble said she wished to discuss the appropriateness of R2
zoning in R2D zoning in the older parts of the City. She said there were changes in the
late 1990’s that created the R2D zoning which made some of the properties legally non-
conforming. She reviewed lot sizes and density for the Commissioners.
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She said none of the properties in the Walter St/Mill St. area meet the minimums for
square feet for the R2D District. Mr. Baker noted that when these duplexes were built,
there were built under the standards for that time.
In the non-conforming section of the city ordinance, if the structures sustain damage of
50% of the home value, they would have to rebuild a legal conforming property on less
than required square footage. A variance would also be needed to allow for that rebuild.
Krysti requested feedback in the event this ever occurred. She asked if it should be
addressed on a case-by-case basis, approve a blanket variance for these areas or should a
new zoning district be created.
Chairman Lindblom said the committee had discussed this already and that rebuilding of
the structure should be permitted. Commissioner Baker said an individual should be able
to replace what they had if a catastrophe occurred. He said the footprint of the building
was platted and conformed at the time of construction. Committee members agreed and
Ms. Adams suggested those situations should be grandfathered in. Mr. Baker also
suggested this be discussed by the Zoning Commission at the next meeting.
Ms. Barksdale-Noble will research options and check insurance industry standards and
bring to the April meeting.
In another matter, Ms. Barksdale-Noble discussed the idea of a shooting gallery/range in
a manufacturing district, which is currently not permitted. She said a local business had
this arrangement in their building and was seeking approval.
She also had inquiries from several citizens about receiving their Federal Firearms
License (FFL) in order to become retail dealers in their homes or in a manufacturing
district. She said she was seeking input from the Plan Commission prior to drafting
language for text amendments. She suggested that this be a special use and confined to a
manufacturing district. All committee members said this type of business should not be
in a residential district.
There are currently 4 residents registered as dealers for gun sales from their homes.
Currently the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) must notify the City after being
contacted by citizens seeking approval. This would cover both gun sales and
ammunition. Though home based businesses are allowed, there are City restrictions.
Once a permit is issued for this type of business, the City cannot later say they are not
zoned for that activity. The license/permit does not travel with an individual, they must
be licensed for their location. Ms. Barksdale-Noble will work with the Fire District in
crafting language
It was noted that sporting goods stores need a federal license to sell guns, however, they
only sell hunting guns.
This discussion will be brought back to the April meeting.
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4. Plan Commission Submittal Deadline Schedule for 2012
The following items were discussed:
Ms. Barksdale-Noble said she will be changing the memo format for the meetings and
will include images. In the future, she will include “motion language” with all details
included for ease in making motions.
There are 2 items on the agenda for next month’s Plan Commission meeting.
Chairman Lindblom said he liked the submittal schedule and that it will help applicants.
There will be a Public Hearing for the PUD ordinance that has been drafted in the Zoning
Commission.
During the Route 47 construction, Evergreen Farms will be used as a clean fill staging
area. Since this is a State project, IDOT will be responsible for insuring the fill is clean.
When the project is finished, the area will revert back to agriculture. Mr. Baker asked
about Fox Road’s condition since the truck traffic will be heavy. This will be discussed
at a later time. It was noted that Fox Road is posted for weight in the Spring.
River Road will be repaired this year and will help alleviate traffic problems. In
conjunction, Jaycee Park was discussed and it was noted that a lot of time was devoted to
this park in the past years. The City currently maintains the lake, but the Sanitary District
owns it.
Additional Business
None
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm on a motion by Jeff Baker and second by Jack
Jones.
Respectfully submitted by
Marlys Young, Minute Taker
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