The Planning and Regulations Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on October 27, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the DeKalb County Administration Building; Conference Room East.  In attendance were Committee Members Roger Steimel, Howard Lyle, Marlene Allen, Eileen Dubin, Vince Faivre, James MacMurdo, Steve Slack, Sally DeFauw and Pat Vary, and Staff members Paul Miller, Marcellus Anderson and Basia  Kardaras.  Audience members included: Orland McCarthy, Clem Stiely, Larry Engelsman, and Larry Anderson.

 

Mr. Steimel, Chairman of the Planning and Regulations Committee, called the meeting to order. 

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

Mr. Faivre moved to approve the minutes for the September 22, 2004 meeting of the Planning and Regulations Committee, seconded by Mr. Lyle, and the motion carried unanimously. 

 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA  

 

Mrs. Vary moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Mr. MacMurdo, and the motion carried unanimously.

 

ZONING MAP AMENDMENT -- Request of Hemac Enterprises for rezoning of a 6.5-acre parcel located on the east side of Genoa Road in Kingston Township, from A-1, Agricultural District to M-1, Manufacturing District, Petition KI-04-26.

 

Hemac Enterprises, Inc., representing Orland McCarthy, the property owner, has filed an application for a Zoning Map Amendment for property located at 32570 Genoa Road in Kingston Township.  The 6.5-acre property is currently zoned A-1, Agricultural District and contains American Cylinder Testing, Inc., a business that re-certifies industrial cylinders.  The proposal is to rezone the entire property to the M-1, Manufacturing District to make the zoning consistent with the use and allow improvements to the property.

 

Mr. Miller explained that the subject property contains a 45,000 square foot building that has been used for manufacturing and other non-agricultural uses since its construction in 1955. The facility currently houses American Cylinder Testing Inc., and is owned primarily by  Orland McCarthy.  Mr. McCarthy would like to make improvements to the property, including installing a fence around an outdoor storage area and constructing a parking lot on the north end of the building.  However, the property is zoned A-1.  In order to bring the site into line with the Zoning Ordinance regulations, the request is to rezone it to the M-1 District.

 

The required public hearing was conducted on September 30, 2004 by DeKalb County Hearing Officer Ron Klein.  At the hearing, the petitioner presented exhibits and testimony in support of the proposed zone change.  Staff noted that if the zone change is approved, any of the permitted uses in the M-1 District could take place on the property by right, without oversight or approval by the County Board.  Staff also pointed out that there is no adjacent M-1 zoning, and that the requested zone change would not be in compliance with the recommendations of the Unified Comprehensive Plan.  One member of the public spoke in favor of the request, and two asked questions.

 

Mrs. Vary asked if there were another way of doing this, and mentioned the difficulty in ever returning this property back to A-1, Agricultural District, due to bad soil and location.  Mrs. Vary’s main concern was  the possibility of future manufacturing uses taking place on the property, such as a distribution center, warehouse or storage facility.  Mr. Miller said there was no better way of addressing the nonconforming use and allowing the improvements.  He noted, however, that the changes being considered for the Zoning Ordinance might require any new use to go through a Special Use procedure if the current business were to cease.  He would verify if this would be the case.

 

Mrs. Allen asked for clarification on if the tanks were hauled by one semi-trailer owned by American Cylinder Co, or if multiple second-party carriers were used.  Mr. McCarthy stated that various second-party carriers are used. Mr. McCarthy also mentioned that each semi carries approximately 400 tanks, and two to three semi-trailers arrive on average per week.

 

Mr. MacMurdo mentioned the costs that would be involved in re-establishing the subject property back to the A-1  Agricultural District, and that there was no reasonable way to do so. However, he stated he was pleased to see improvements made to the property and would favor the petitioner’s request.

                                                                                                                                                                                               

Mr. Lyle also viewed the improvements of the property to be of benefit.  He stated that he works for the City of Genoa, which uses American Cylinder Testing for its cylinder, but he stated that he does not feel this represents any conflict of interest for him as a County Board member who must vote on the rezoning request.

                                                                                               

Mr. Lyle moved for approval, seconded by Mr. MacMurdo, and the motion carried unanimously.

 

Mrs. DeFauw asked Mr. Miller if he was aware of any wetlands south of the property that would be affected by manufacturing uses on the subject property.  Mrs. DeFauw also inquired about the necessity of having 62 parking spaces, as proposed by the petitioner.  Mr. Miller said that there was no regulatory floodplain on the property.  He also did not have any knowledge of  pollutants used that could cause any adverse effects.  Mr. Miller also clarified that the 62 parking spaces would exceed the minimum number required by the Zoning Ordinance for this use, but that the petitioner was within its right to build that number.

 

Mr. Steimel explained that the motion for approval would go in front of the County Board on November 17, 2004.

 

SPECIAL USE PERMIT --Request of Stiengtunt Vineyards and Winery for approval of production and sale of wine on property located at 11582 Waterman Road in Clinton Township, Petition CL-04-27.

 

Mr. Miller began by reminding the Committee that on September 19, 2001 the County Board passed Ordinance 2001-18, which granted the petitioner a temporary Special Use Permit for the production and sale at retail of wine. The Permit was granted for a period of three years. Since then, the winery has been in operation, but the Permit expired on September 19, 2004.  The petitioner is now asking for a permanent Special Use Permit in order to continue production and sale of wine on subject property. A public hearing was held on September 30, 2004 by Hearing Officer Kevin Buick.  He recommended approval with conditions, including: limiting hours of operation for the winery to12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday; a limit of not more than 50 people visiting the winery at any given time; and the submission of a signage plan and a revised site plan for compliance with sign and parking regulations set forth in the DeKalb County Zoning Ordinance.

 

Mr. Steimel and Mrs. Vary inquired about the conditions regarding signage.  Mr. Miller explained that one sign in association to the Special Use Permit could be located off of Waterman Road, and that one could be on Miller Road.  The maximum size of the signs could not exceed 32 square feet.