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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 1 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. 2 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. 3 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 4