Peoria Standard

The Peoria County Land Use and Infrastructure Committee met June 27 to review the rural transportation system.

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the committee:

Approved 7/25/2016

MINUTES

LAND USE & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

JUNE 27, 2016 @ 3:30 P.M.

ROOM 402

MEMBERS PRESENT: James Dillon - Chairperson, Sharon Williams, Carol Trumpe, Paul

Rosenbohm, Brian Elsasser

MEMBERS ABSENT: Thomas O'Neill, Rachael Parker

OTHERS PRESENT: Steve Giebelhausen & Larry Evans - State’s Attorney Office; Mark

Rothert - County Administration; Matt Wahl, Kathi Urban, Keith

Miller - Planning & Zoning; Amy McLaren - County Highway;

Eric Dubrowski - Finance; Mark Little - IT; Andy Dwyer - City

Link; Kathy Stahl, Carla Bazhenow - petitioners

Call to Order:

Mr. Dillon called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion to approve the Land Use & Infrastructure Committee regular minutes from May 23,

2016 was made by Mr. Elsasser and seconded by Mr. Rosenbohm. A vote was taken on the

motion and carried. (5-0). (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

Reports/ Other Minutes/Updates:

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission Minutes: No questions or comments.

The Greater Peoria Sanitary and Sewage Disposal District Minutes: No questions or comments.

Unsafe Structures: No questions or comments.

Rural Peoria County Transportation System:

Mr. Rothert stated that Peoria County would be hosting a Rural Transportation Technical

Assistance Center Driving Training on July 9th, which meant that drivers from all over the state

would be coming to the Peoria area. Additionally, Mr. Rothert stated that staff is continuing to

work with City Link to collaborate on providing service and acquire a new radio system. Mr.

Rothert stated that the rural transport program was supposed to receive a grant for new radios,

but it was being held up by slow processes on IDOT's end. Because the grant funds have not

been received, a new information technology system has not been purchased. Mr. Rothert stated

that this is also causing a delay with a consolidation with City Link because City Link wants to

see how the dispatching systems will work with one another for 5 months before pursuing further

action. Mr. Rothert stated that the original goal was to have a consolidation request turned into

the state at the end of this summer, but because of grant delay this will not be possible. Mr.

Rothert stated that this means consolidation will most likely not be possible until next summer

because of problems at the state level.

Mr. Rosenbohm asked if there were any new developments with bus advertising, and Mr.

Rothert responded that the County Board voted to approve the contract termination with the

previous provider meaning there is no current provider for advertising. Mr. Rothert asked Mr.

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Dwyer from City Link if they were bidding on marketing services, and Mr. Dwyer responded

that they had just recently started the process. Mr. Rosenbohm then asked how long it would be

before new radios would be received and Mr. Rothert responded that the new radios were a part

of the grant that had not been received yet.

Zoning Cases:

Case 034-16-U, Petition of Rod & Kathy Stahl:

Three Special Use requests to vary from requirements of a Major Home Occupation. 1.) A

Special Use as required in Section 20-7.3.2.3 of the Unified Development Ordinance. This

section requires that a major home occupation may employ no more than 1 person who is not a

resident of the dwelling unit. The petitioners propose that their two non-resident children be

employed. 2.) A Special Use as required in Section 20-7.3.5.1 of the Unified Development

Ordinance. This section requires that no more than 1,000 square feet of an accessory structure

may be used for storage purposes only. The petitioners propose to use 1,000 square feet of an

accessory structure as a gift shop, accessory to their Christmas Tree farm business. 3.) A

Special Use as required in Section 20-7.3.5.5 of the Unified Development Ordinance. This

section requires that a major home occupation provide landscaping to screen off-street parking

areas from the view of adjacent landowners, according to the provisions set forth in Section 7.6

("Landscaping and Bufferyards"). The petitioner does not propose to add any landscaping to the

southern property line.

Mr. Wahl stated that the petitioners plan to sell some items during the Christmas season out of an

existing accessory building on the Christmas tree farm.

Ms. Williams made a motion to approve the special use with restriction and was seconded by

Ms. Trumpe. A vote was taken and the motion passed; (5-0) (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill

absent.)

Case 039-16-U, Petition of Joseph Sieg (Tabatha Sieg, owner):

A Special Use as required in Section 20-9.1.5.1 of the Unified Development Ordinance. This

section allows for a special use in order to deem a nonconforming use or structure to be in

conformity and to be allowed to continue and expand as a lawfully exiting use or structure. The

petitioner has remodeled an existing non-conforming structure.

Mr. Wahl stated this property is located on W. Farmington Road. Mr. Wahl stated that Mr. Sieg

did some remodeling work on an existing structure that is located on a property without a

principle structure. The petitioner needs a special use to finish renovations on a nonconforming

structure.

Mr. Elsasser made a motion to approve the special use and was seconded by Mr. Rosenbohm. A

vote was taken and the motion passed; (5-0) (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

Subdivision Waivers:

W03-16, Petition of Michael Cochran, (Carla Bazhenow & The Carlton Varnes Trust, owners):

The petitioner, Michael P. Cochran (Carla Bazhenow & Carlton Varnes Family Trust, owners),

seeks approval of a waiver from Section 20-3.16.3.2.b.1 of the Unified Development Ordinance.

This section requires a minimum of 30 feet of contiguous road frontage for parcels created via

subdivision plat which are less than 10 acres. The petitioner is proposing to divide an existing

2.0 acre parcel into two (2) tracts of 1.0 acre each. Each of the proposed 1.0 acre tracts will have

0 feet of public road frontage, as they are currently accessed by Trails End Lane.

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Mr. Wahl stated that two older homes exist on a single lot and that the waiver would be to

separate the two homes onto two separate parcels.

Ms. Trumpe made a motion to approve the subdivision waiver and was seconded by Mr.

Rosenbohm. A vote was taken and the motion passed; (5-0) (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill

absent.)

Resolutions:

Multi-Township Bids for Seal Coating and Tilling:

Ms. Williams made a motion to approve the resolution and was seconded by Mr. Rosenbohm.

Ms. McLaren stated that previously, the County Highway Department had discontinued doing

seal coating work for other county agencies. Now, the Highway Department is trying to facilitate

doing this type of work for townships that are still interested. Because the work is being paid for

with Township Motor Fuel Tax funds, IDOT specifications have to be followed for the process.

Ms. McLaren stated that the packet included bid tabulations from the townships and that the

department was pleased with the result.

A vote was taken and the resolution was approved; (5-0); (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

Willow Knolls Road Resurfacing Bid Letting:

Mr. Rosenbohm made a motion to approve the resolution and was seconded by Ms. Trumpe.

Ms. McLaren stated that this project would include the portion of Willow Knolls from US Route

150 to Allen Road; however, it would not include the intersection of Allen Road and Willow

Knolls, which would be completed as a separate project at a future date. Ms. McLaren stated

that the Highway Department was pleased that bids came in under the engineer's estimate.

Ms. Trumpe asked about the time frame for the project, and Ms. McLaren stated that if it were

approved at the July County Board meeting, the project would hopefully start sometime in

August and should not take too long to complete.

Mr. Dillon asked about the possibility of any County Highway projects being impacted by the

absence of a state budget. Ms. McLaren responded that the Willow Knolls project would be

completed regardless; however, some other projects in queue could be impacted.

A vote was taken and the resolution was approved; (5-0); (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement with Midwest Engineering Associates Inc. for

Phase I & II Engineering of Lancaster Road/Pfeiffer Road Intersection:

Ms Trumpe made a motion to approve the resolution and was seconded by Mr. Rosenbohm.

Ms. McLaren stated the Highway Department was approached by the Oak Grove School District

regarding the future intent to close the Oak Grove East School and consolidate it with Oak Grove

West School. This consolidation would result in higher traffic, both for vehicles and pedestrians.

Ms. McLaren stated that the Highway Department wanted to make sure improvements were

made in advance for the increased safety of pedestrians and vehicles due to higher traffic

volumes being anticipated.

A vote was taken and the resolution was approved; (5-0); (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

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Escrow Services Bids for Unincorporated Peoria County Grant Agreement:

Mr. Rosenbohm made a motion to approve the resolution and was seconded by Mr. Elsasser.

Mr. Wahl stated that this resolution was a bid recommendation for the lowest responsible bidder

of Peoria Title, LLC for the escrow services of flood buyout properties along the Illinois River.

Once the appraisals are completed, Peoria Title, LLC will complete title searches for owners

interested in selling these properties through the flood buyout program.

A vote was taken and the resolution was approved; (5-0); (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

Escrow Services Bids for Unincorporated Peoria County Grant Agreement:

Mr. Williams made a motion to approve the resolution and was seconded by Mr. Rosenbohm.

Mr. Wahl stated that this resolution was for the same thing, only this resolution covered the

properties in Edwards.

A vote was taken and the resolution was approved; (5-0); (Ms. Parker and Mr. O'Neill absent.)

Committee Action:

Review of Executive Session Minutes:

Mr. Giebelhausen recommended that all previously held minutes continue to be held as the need

for confidentiality still exists. A motion was made by Mr. Elsasser and seconded by Mr.

Rosenbohm to accept the recommendation of the State's Attorney's Office. A vote was taken and

the motion carried; 5-0.

Discussion:

Fee Study:

Mr. Rothert stated that the efficiency study that was completed last year recommended that the

fees in Planning and Zoning be examined to determine whether or not they needed to be

changed. This was consistent with the findings from the Bellwether study completed prior to the

efficiency study. Mr. Rothert pointed out that a memo in the packet had more specific

information regarding fees and also included the findings from the Bellwether study. Mr.

Rothert also mentioned that this item was only for discussion at this time so that the committee

could give staff direction on how to proceed next.

Mr. Wahl stated that staff decided to look at development of new homes as the economic

indicator in this case. A 3,600 square foot home was used as a baseline for comparison among

different municipalities and fees, which is where the proposed fees were generated from in the

included chart. Currently, Peoria County is ranked 4th in cost from highest to lowest, with the

City of East Peoria, Washington, and Peoria being higher in cost for permits. Mr. Wahl stated

that the chart also included Woodford and McLean counties, even though they do not enforce a

building code and therefore do not have many costs associated with permitting. Mr. Wahl stated

that the chart also included a column that listed the fee recommendations from the Bellwether

study for a 3,600 square foot structure. This suggested number would increase permits for a new

3,600 square foot home by approximately $1500.00, which would move Peoria County ahead of

the City of Peoria in permit costs.

Mr. Rosenbohm asked if other fees would be lowered, and Mr. Wahl responded that Bellwether

had recommended lowering the fees for smaller projects such as sheds. Mr. Dillon stated that the

increase would be in line with the County Board's current policy to recuperate user costs through

user fees because as it currently stands, the Department of Planning and Zoning is being

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subsidized by the rest of the county. Mr. Rothert stated that the current recommendation would

not recover 100% of the costs, but it would cover approximately 80%. Mr. Dillon stated that,

unless there were any major objections, he would push for the issue to be brought forth to the

County Board for consideration. Ms. Trumpe asked if there were any concrete figures at this

time or if the item was for discussion only, and Mr. Wahl responded that staff would need to

look at the information more carefully from a budget perspective to get more concrete figures.

Mr. Dillon pointed out that Peoria County was the only group listed that charged a flat fee for

work without a permit and wondered if it were possible to look at charging this differently in the

future. Mr. Giebelhausen responded that he would have to look into how high the penalty could

be and get back to staff with an answer. Mr. Dillon pointed out that most of the other

municipalities charged double the permit fee for work without a permit. Mr. Dillon stated that he

believed that even if the county could not charge double the fee for work without a permit, they

should at least look into charging a higher flat penalty fee. Mr. Rosenbohm asked how often the

penalty is collected, and Mr. Wahl responded that it depends on the situation, but that the

administrators try to be understanding as long as the property owners are prompt to respond.

Mr. Rothert asked if staff should come back with a resolution after more researching, and Mr.

Dillon responded that he would like that to happen. Mr. Rosenbohm asked if staff could present

some options for the board to consider instead of just one recommendation, and Mr. Wahl

responded that staff could look at the study and come up with some variations within the

recommendations; however, Mr. Wahl added that they could not recommend fees beyond what

the study recommended. Mr. Wahl also asked the committee to consider when they wanted the

new fees to become effective. Mr. Dillon stated that he would recommend starting them at the

beginning of the year in January.

Mr. Elsasser stated that he could possibly support a higher fine for working without a permit, but

that he could not support raising any permit fees. Mr. Elsasser added that he felt having lower

costs initially for permits would at least encourage people to build within Peoria County and

allow the county profit long term through taxes and other services.

Mr. Giebelhausen stated that one option the board has for this issue is to amend the resolution to

approve certain fees while rejecting others. Mr. Dillon stated that he felt this issue was worth

staff looking into. Mr. Rosenbohm stated that he has never received complaints on permitting

fees for new homes, but he has received several for sheds. Mr. Rosenbohm stated that he

thought it was definitely worth looking into lowering permit costs for some of the smaller

projects like sheds.

Miscellaneous:

Ms. Trumpe stated that she was appreciative of the new culverts and resurfacing that had taken

place recently on Challacombe Road. Mr. Dillon thanked Mr. Rothert and Ms. McLaren for

their hard work on a recent presentation.

Adjournment: Mr. Dillon adjourned the meeting at 3:50 p.m.

Recorded by: Ellen Hanks, ZBA Administrative Assistant