City of Jacksonville Plan Commission met March 1.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
Chairman Michael Oldenettel called the monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Plan Commission to order at 6:00 p.m. The agenda and petition were published with the local media and by posting at the Municipal Building.
ROLL CALL: Answering present were: Michael Oldenettel – Chairman, Casey Collins, Brad Cors, Nick Little; City Attorney Dan Beard; Deputy City Clerk Angela Salyer. Absent from the meeting were members John Heyer – Secretary, Aaron Scott, Kerris Osborn. Also in attendance was Community Development Director Brian Nyberg. A quorum was declared.
MINUTES: Motion was made by Cors, seconded by Little, to approve the February 1, 2023 Plan Commission Meeting Minutes as presented in advance. By voice vote, motion carried.
DCC Salyer read Item #3 on the agenda. Review petition to rezone property located at 311 Brookside Drive from R-2 to R-2 with Special Use, with the intent of applicant, Patricia Saxer, to use as one chair salon. DCC Salyer swore in Patricia Saxer to represent this petition. Ms. Saxer has had a hair salon in her home for many years. She recently moved and is requesting a Special Use permit for her new home that would allow her to continue operating her salon on a part time basis. Parking will be limited to the driveway with the exception of one client who prefers to park on the street to avoid backing out of the driveway.
Chair Oldenettel asked for further discussion, or if there was anyone in attendance to speak in favor of or opposition to this request and there were none. Motion was made by Collins, seconded by Cors, to approve this request based upon Zoning Ordinance Section 9.3-2 Findings of Fact; that it complies with all applicable provisions of this ordinance; at the specific location, will not adversely affect public health, safety and welfare; and will not cause substantial injury to the value of neighboring property.
ROLL CALL: 4 Yeas; 0 Nays; 3 Absent (Heyer, Scott, Osborn)
Motion carried 4-0-3.
DCC Salyer read Item #4 on the agenda. Review petition to rezone property located at 430 Oak Street from R-1 to B-4 with Special Use, with the intent of applicants, John & Cheryl Cooper, to use for automotive storage and repair. DCC Salyer swore in John Cooper to represent this petition. Mr. Cooper has purchased the lot adjacent to his home. He is planning to construct a shed to use for storage and a work area. This property is also adjacent to an M-1 zoned property to the east, and Mr. Cooper already owns the property to the west. The property across the street is zoned B-3.
Chair Oldenettel asked for further discussion, or if there was anyone in attendance to speak in favor of or opposition to this request and there were none. Motion was made by Little, seconded by Collins, to approve this request based upon Zoning Ordinance Section 9.3-2 Findings of Fact; that it complies with all applicable provisions of this ordinance; at the specific location, will not adversely affect public health, safety and welfare; and will not cause substantial injury to the value of neighboring property.
ROLL CALL: 4 Yeas; 0 Nays; 3 Absent (Heyer, Scott, Osborn)
Motion carried 4-0-3.
DCC Salyer read Item #5 on the agenda. Review petition to rezone property located at 500 West Morton Avenue from B-3 to B-3 with Special Use, with the intent of applicant, Kevin Maher, to install a digital billboard. DCC Salyer swore in Daniel Hamilton to represent this petition. Lamar Advertising would like to convert the west-facing side of the billboard located between the McDonald’s restaurant and the Perk Coffee Co. to an electronic display that will allow messages to change every eight (8) seconds. As a benefit, the City would be able to advertise every eighth flip. These signs offer a public safety enhancement that will allow for emergency messaging when needed. Digital billboards also emit less light than a typical billboard. Landscaping will eventually be done at the base of the sign. The City Council recently adopted an ordinance that would permit this conversion in both the B-3 and M-1 zoning districts. If approved, this will be the only sign of this type allowed in Jacksonville.
Chair Oldenettel asked for further discussion, or if there was anyone in attendance to speak in favor of or opposition to this request. Phil Wiegand, owner of the State Farm Insurance Agency that is adjacent to the property in question, is concerned about the sign/camera encroaching on his property. He was informed that the only thing that may overhang on his property is the camera that will be located at the base of the display, used for monitoring purposes by Lamar Advertising. If approved, CA Beard suggested having an agreement in writing that would allow the camera to overhang onto his property. Motion was made by Cors, seconded by Collins, to approve this request based upon Zoning Ordinance Section 9.3-2 Findings of Fact; that it complies with all applicable provisions of this ordinance; at the specific location, will not adversely affect public health, safety and welfare; and will not cause substantial injury to the value of neighboring property.
ROLL CALL: 4 Yeas; 0 Nays; 3 Absent (Heyer, Scott, Osborn)
Motion carried 4-0-3.
DCC Salyer read Item #6 on the agenda. Review petition to rezone properties located at 741 & 749 North Main Street; 101 West Independence Avenue; 701, 703, 715 & 717 North Main Street; 729 North Main Street; 315 & 329 West Dunlap Street and 505, 515, 523, 527, 529, 531 & 541 North Sandy Street from R-3 to R-5 with the intent of applicant, Morgan County Civic Services, to construct seven townhome style apartment buildings. DCC Salyer swore in Eric Hansen, attorney for MCCS, to represent this petition. MCCS is looking to combine several vacant lots located along Main Street in order to construct four new apartment buildings on Main Street plus three new apartment buildings behind the Downtown Commons apartments on lots already owned by MCS. Next to that will be a detention pond and a park and playground area. MCCS is waiting for a response from the Illinois Housing Development Authority regarding tax credits they have applied for. If those credits are approved, the MCCS is looking at breaking ground next Spring. These tax credit awards are very competitive. Should MCCS not be awarded credits at this time, they will continue to apply for them and do the project when they receive those credits. CA Beard suggested that the rezoning be approved contingent upon this project being funded and going through, reverting back to individual lots should funding fall through on this project.
Chair Oldenettel asked for further discussion, or if there was anyone in attendance to speak in favor of or opposition to this request. The following are comments from audience members:
♦ Bill Scott – asked for clarification on where the units will be located, and was advised that they will be between Independence Avenue and Dunlap Street; asked if the back alley will be vacated, and was advised that that is the intent; asked if the new units will encroach upon existing lots and structures, and was advised that they will not. Mr. Scott asked for improvements to Independence Avenue should this project be approved, to include new curb and gutter for better water flow and to help reduce flooding the ditches.
♦ Karla Stice – 803 N. Main – advised that she was not informed by the Community Development Department of this request due to the letter being sent to the wrong address; she is not in favor of this project because she feels this type of project is not conducive to a neighborhood type of environment; it will produce more trash and debris in the neighborhood; more damage to the street; will create more parking issues; will present a safety hazard because there will be more traffic and more children playing in the streets and ditches; and will result in more criminal activity resulting in more police presence. She feels low income housing should not be located on a main street in Jacksonville. Mr. Hansen addressed these issues. He also noted that taxes are based upon the revenue that building will generate as opposed to the assessed value of the building.
♦ Tim Noland, General Manager at Eli Bridge Co. – is concerned on how these units will affect their property as far as traffic, sidewalks, parking lots, and if there are any plans for fencing or to create some type of barrier between the two properties. Mr. Hansen explained that the plan is to have some type of buffering, whether by building berms and planting trees or other means, but that fencing is not planned. These are matters that will be address in the Site Plan.
Ms. Collins feels that this project will be a benefit to the neighborhood as long as the properties are well maintained. With no further discussion motion was made by Collins, seconded by Cors, to approve this request contingent upon MCCS receiving grant funding to move forward with the project. Should the project fall through, then these lots will revert back to their original R-3 zoning classification.
ROLL CALL: 4 Yeas; 0 Nays; 3 Absent (Heyer, Scott, Osborn)
Motion carried 4-0-3.
OTHER BUSINESS: No discussion.
PUBLIC COMMENT: No discussion.
ADJOURNMENT: With no further discussion motion was made by Cors, seconded by Little, to adjourn the meeting at 6:51 p.m.
http://cms6.revize.com/revize/jacksonvilleil/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/Plan_Commission/2023%20Minutes/PC%20Minutes%2003.01.23.pdf
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