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PLANNING AND ZONING COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

March 24, 2010

The Planning and Zoning Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on March 24, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room East located in the DeKalb County Administration Building.  In attendance were Committee Members Ken Andersen, Larry Anderson, Ruth Anne Tobias, Marlene Allen, John Hulseberg, Michael Haines, Stephen Walt, and Pat Vary.  Also, in attendance were staff members Paul Miller, Rebecca Von Drasek, Christel Springmire, and Bob Drake. Dustin Hanson and Mike Hey were also present.

Ken Andersen, Planning and Zoning Committee Chair, called the meeting to order, and noted that all members were present.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Mr. Walt  moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Ms. Vary, and the motion carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Ms. Tobias moved to approve the minutes of the March 4, 2010  meeting of the Planning and Zoning Committee, seconded by Mr. Hulseberg, and the motion carried unanimously.

TEXT AMENDMENT & SPECIAL USE PERMIT -- Tomkins Bed & Breakfast

Mr. Ken Andersen read a letter submitted by the applicant requesting that the issue be tabled to allow the applicant time to consider the implications of the Building and Fire Code compliance requirements.

Mr. Larry Anderson moved to table the agenda item, seconded by Ms. Allen, and the motion carried unanimously.

SPECIAL USE PERMIT – Hanson

Mr. Miller explained to the Committee that Dustin Hanson  filed a petition for approval of a Special Use Permit to allow a landscaping business on property at 3772 East Sandwich Road in Sandwich Township.  The six-acre subject property is located approximately 3,750 feet north of the intersection of East Sandwich and Wagner Road, and is zoned A-1, Agricultural District.  The property is zoned A-1, Agricultural District, and a landscaping business requires a Special Use Permit.

Mr. Miller informed the Committee that the required public hearing was held on March 4, 2010 by DeKalb County Hearing Officer Ron Klein.  The petitioner provided testimony and exhibits in support of the requested Special Use, including that the landscaping business would employ a maximum of 15 persons and that there is adequate existing hard-surface on the six-acre property to accommodate parking.  All material and equipment would be stored within existing buildings, and that there is no proposal to store piles of mulch or landscaping materials on the site.  Staff noted that adequate sanitary facilities, per the requirements of the Health Department, would need to be provided for employees, and a finalized parking plan, including landscaping, would need to be reviewed and approved prior to commencement of the business.  No members of the public spoke in favor of or in opposition to the request.  The Hearing Officer has submitted his findings, and recommends approval of the Special Use Permit.  Mr. Miller concluded by reminding the Committee that if it recommends approval, it should do so with the condition that the operations be in substantial accordance with the application.

Ms. Allen noted that previous clients were happy with the applicant’s work.

Mr.Hulseberg asked the applicant how many snow plows would be coming and going from the property  Mr. Hanson responded that many of the plows are stored at the client’s site to be ready for snow removal, therefore only 2-3 trucks with plows would be on the subject property.

Mr. Haines stated that he thought this was a good use of the property.

Ms. Vary clarified that the maximum number of employees was set at 15.  Mr. Ken Andersen questioned as to why there was a recommended limit to the number of employees.  Mr. Miller explained that this information is needed to determined the scale and scope of the proposed business.  He explained that a business may or may not be appropriate for a given property depending on the size, and that without limits on the maximum number of employees, there is no restriction to how large the business might grow.  The site in question might be suitable for an operation with 15 employees, but not for one employing 30 persons. The recommendation to allow up to 15 employees came from the applicants discussion with the Hearing Officer.  Mr. Miller observed that if the operations increase beyond the scope of the original Special Use Permit that the applicant can seek to amend an existing ordinance. Mr. Miller also noted that this issue had never been pointed to as an impediment to any Special Use application.

Ms. Vary moved to recommend approval of the Special Use Permit with the condition that the business be in accordance with the application, seconded by Mr. Larry Anderson, and the motion carried unanimously.

LANDFILL LICENSE ANNUAL RENEWAL

Mr. Ken Andersen introduced the annual landfill license renewal by explaining that the Committee was not considering the recently proposed expansion of the landfill, but rather only the operating license for the existing landfill.  In order to avoid violating the ex parte restriction, no representative from Waste Management would be speaking to the Committee tonight.  Anyone wishing to speak about the landfill expansion could still submit written comments, which would be forwarded to the Hearing Officer.

Mr. Miller explained that Waste Management of Illinois has filed an application for renewal of a County license to operate the DeKalb County Sanitary Landfill.  The County has been requiring such an annual license since 1964.  The landfill is located east of Somonauk Road, immediately south of the I-88 Tollway, in unincorporated Cortland Township.  The property is zoned A-1, agricultural, with a Special Use for the operation of a landfill.  The authority for the County to annually license garbage disposal areas, and establish a fee for such license, is set forth in the Illinois Compiled Statutes, 55 ILCS 5/5-8002 and 8003.  As operator of the landfill, Waste Management annually applies for renewal of the County license.  The period for the requested license renewal is May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011.

Brief discussion followed regarding the annual license.

Mr. Walt moved to recommend renewal of the license, seconded by Ms. Allen, and the motion carried unanimously.

RECYCLING ANNUAL REPORT

Christel Springmire, DeKalb County Health Department appeared before the Committee to answer any questions regarding the 2009 Solid Waste Annual Report. She noted that there had been a reduction in the rate of recycling and that this coincided with the reduction in the total tonnage of trash generated in the County.  Ms. Springmire hypothesized that these reductions were related to the economic downturn.

Ms. Vary voiced her concern over the reduction in recycling, and asked about the outcome of the program to introduce recycling in multi-unit buildings.  Ms. Springmire explained that the County had a pilot program that ran for about four months which included tenant education and providing a recycling dumpster for each of the test buildings. Ms. Springmire explained that four test building were chosen with different population demographics (i.e. students, seniors, section eight, one additional apartment building). She noted that the recycling rates had been low and that the program had been concluded.

Mr. Haines asked the Health Department staff about the rural recycling centers.  Bob Drake, DeKalb County Health Department, responded that the Simmons Ave recycling center had been reopened on weekends. Mr. Drake went on to explain that he was negotiating with a property owner in the northern part of the County to secure a location which can be a monitored northern drop-off site. He also said that the County was looking at Victor or Clinton Townships for possible locations for a southern center site.

Ms. Vary asked if the links were accessible in the “Go Green” section of the County’s web site to find out the when, what, and where recycling can take place within the County.  Ms. Springmire noted that the recycling information was available on the Go Green web page.

The Committee briefly discussed methods to encourage increases in recycling Countywide.  Ms. Springmire noted that many multi-unit landowners within municipalities were required to provide a trash dumpster for anything over four units but that they would have to pay additional for recycling service which is not mandated. Ms. Vary asked if incentives could be offered to encourage recycling. Mr. Ken Andersen offered to bring the issue to the attention of the Regional Planning Commission members.  Ms. Springmire observed that encouraging the purchase of products made out of recycled materials would make the recycled waste more valuable.

Mr. Ken Andersen asked about the varying rates of garbage generated over the years. Ms. Springmire noted that other than the economy, events such as floods could also increase the amount of trash generated in a given year.

Mr. Andersen and the Committee thanked the Health Department staff for their efforts and the report.

MONTHLY REPORT

Mr. Larry Anderson asked why there were 13 open Site Development Permits for the Lee-DeKalb Wind Farm project.  Staff explained that although the majority of grading work had been completed staff felt it prudent to hold a portion to the grading bond until the spring to confirm that seeding and stabilization methods had been successful.

ADJOURNMENT

The Planning and Zoning Committee is next scheduled to meet April 28, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room East.

Ms. Vary moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Larry Anderson, and the motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth Andersen

Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman

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