1. Planning and zoning history in DeKalb County
   1. Agriculture as history, community character, industry and policy
   2.  DeKalb County’s first zoning ordinance - 1949
   3. DeKalb County’s first Comprehensive Plan - 1972
      -- Featured agriculture preservation: influence of Farm Bureau and farmers
      -- Growth projections faulty
   4. Watershed lawsuit loss - 1976: preservation of agricultural alone not sufficient
   5. DeKalb County’s 2nd Comprehensive Plan - 1981
      -- Scaling back projections

    F. Other justifications, 1978-1983: The costs of rural development
        1. All residences need public services (emergency, busing, snow plowing) and infrastructure (roads)
         2. Services and infrastructure paid for by property taxes
         3. Residential development does not pay for itself
         4. In-town residents end up subsidizing rural residents because they pay higher tax rates
         5. Rural subdivisions are "bad neighbors" to farming

7. L.E.S.A. and continued interest in preserving farmland
8. Major policy shift -- Discourage rural development
   1. 1991 Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance
      1. Eliminate rural zoning districts
      2. The 40-acre rule
      3. Encourage growth to annex to municipalities
      4. Make sure zoning follows planning
   2. Not a "no-growth" policy, a "controlled growth" policy
   3. 2000 Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance
      1. Strengthen policy (new subdivisions connect to utilities)
      2. Coordinate with municipalities -- (municipal planning jurisdiction and County jurisdiction overlap)
9. Regional Planning Commission -- April, 2002
   1. Increase county-to-municipality cooperation
   2. Increase municipality-to-municipality cooperation
   3. Unified Comprehensive Plan/Model UDO Project
   4. Inter-governmental agreements to mutually support comp. plans
10. MPO

2. Some Practical Issues
   1. Recognize downside to development
      1. Residences don’t pay for themselves, whether big houses or small
      2. Northern Illinois farm land should be protected (prime soils, good climate, proximity to major markets
      3. Subdivisions make bad neighbors to farming (trespassing, water, conflicts over noise, odors, dust, traffic)
      4. Other possible negative impacts: traffic congestion, stormwater runoff and flooding, ground water depletion, over-burdened schools, over-extended emergency services (police, fire, ambulance), road plowing and maintenance
   2. Develop implementation tools (zoning and subdivision regulations) at same time as comprehensive plan
   3. Enforce vision of comprehensive plan through constant reference
   4. Coordinate and cooperate with municipalities
   5. DeKalb County land use policy probably may ultimately be unsustainable -- more is needed (RPC)

    

3. Zoning Process
   1. Statutory authority for zoning: planning and zoning is backward in Illinois
   2. Zoning is a quasi-judicial process, not legislative
      1. Administrative Review Law
      2. Issue for courts is process more than decision
   3.  Purpose and conduct of public hearings
      1. All testimony under oath
      2. Cross-examination
      3. Hearing Officer findings and recommendation
      4. County Board member roll and restrictions
   4. Committee recommendation and County Board action
      1.  Decision must rely on public hearing testimony and evidence
         -- No additional input outside of hearing
         -- New info? Re-open hearing
      2. Ordinance must reference or include criteria
   5. Zoning Actions -- Map Amendments, Special Uses, Variations, Subdivisions, Planned Developments
   6. Policy changes -- through planning, not zoning actions

Paul R. Miller, AICP
DeKalb County Planning Director

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