Zoning map up for public inspection
Stephen DiBenedetto/City Editor
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: News
The City Council did not pull any surprises Tuesday night and opted to put updates to the zoning map, comprehensive plan and Unified Development Code on file for public inspection.
The Council granted the layover period by a 4-0 vote, with Mayor John Inyart absent.
Councilmember Larry Rennels said the committee that worked on the updates spent three years reviewing each item.
He said the code contained zoning districts not specified in the zoning map.
The code was adopted in 2003, and the map was adopted in 1969.
"Probably the majority of the committee's work was to look at every parcel of land," Rennels said.
With the zoning map, the council unanimously granted the layover period with an amendment to the map.
Rennels said the update classified a small portion of the east side of Division Street, from Lincoln Avenue to Grant Avenue, as a two-family duplex district.
Rennels said it did not make sense to have a small area labeled differently from the surrounding area, which is classified as a multi-family district.
City Planner Steve Pamperin said a few rental homes are located on that portion of Division Street.
The comprehensive plan was adopted in 1999 and contains long-range plans for the city. The updates include changes in goals and objectives for the city.
The shorthanded council also unanimously approved the two measures related to the development of a new retirement home along Polk Avenue and Cougill Drive.
The council first approved the separation of one large parcel of land into two smaller parcels of land. The move allows Heritage Woods to build another retirement home on the land. Heritage Woods already operates an existing retirement home on the parcel.
The council then approved Heritage Woods' variance request to build a larger facility than what current code permits.
Rennels said the request was also needed because the Unified Development Code only allows for five employees per shift to operate a facility within that zoning district. Heritage Woods needed 18 employees per shift to operate the new facility, Rennels said.
During public comments, resident Jim Ellison, who lives near the corner of Polk Avenue and Cougill Drive, said he was concerned about increased traffic to the area once the home is built along with how trash would be handled.
Ellison said a garbage dump used to exist where the retirement home is slated to go.
Don Yost, a developer with Heritage Woods, said the company projects that people within a 30-mile radius of Charleston will occupy the new retirement home. He said increased traffic should not be a problem for neighboring residents once the facility is operational.
"We will do everything we can in our capacity to be sensitive to neighbor's concerns," Yost said.
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or
sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
The Council granted the layover period by a 4-0 vote, with Mayor John Inyart absent.
Councilmember Larry Rennels said the committee that worked on the updates spent three years reviewing each item.
He said the code contained zoning districts not specified in the zoning map.
The code was adopted in 2003, and the map was adopted in 1969.
"Probably the majority of the committee's work was to look at every parcel of land," Rennels said.
With the zoning map, the council unanimously granted the layover period with an amendment to the map.
Rennels said the update classified a small portion of the east side of Division Street, from Lincoln Avenue to Grant Avenue, as a two-family duplex district.
Rennels said it did not make sense to have a small area labeled differently from the surrounding area, which is classified as a multi-family district.
City Planner Steve Pamperin said a few rental homes are located on that portion of Division Street.
The comprehensive plan was adopted in 1999 and contains long-range plans for the city. The updates include changes in goals and objectives for the city.
The shorthanded council also unanimously approved the two measures related to the development of a new retirement home along Polk Avenue and Cougill Drive.
The council first approved the separation of one large parcel of land into two smaller parcels of land. The move allows Heritage Woods to build another retirement home on the land. Heritage Woods already operates an existing retirement home on the parcel.
The council then approved Heritage Woods' variance request to build a larger facility than what current code permits.
Rennels said the request was also needed because the Unified Development Code only allows for five employees per shift to operate a facility within that zoning district. Heritage Woods needed 18 employees per shift to operate the new facility, Rennels said.
During public comments, resident Jim Ellison, who lives near the corner of Polk Avenue and Cougill Drive, said he was concerned about increased traffic to the area once the home is built along with how trash would be handled.
Ellison said a garbage dump used to exist where the retirement home is slated to go.
Don Yost, a developer with Heritage Woods, said the company projects that people within a 30-mile radius of Charleston will occupy the new retirement home. He said increased traffic should not be a problem for neighboring residents once the facility is operational.
"We will do everything we can in our capacity to be sensitive to neighbor's concerns," Yost said.
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or
sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
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