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Plan Commission Minutes

CALL TO ORDER – 7:00 pm
Co-chairman Duncan called the meeting to order.

ROLL CALL
In attendance: Co-Chairman Jennifer Duncan, Commissioners Connie Holbrook, Mark Bozik, Tom Lenkart, Mark Rivecco, Ed Sweeney, Aaron Anderson, Mark Caroll (arrived @ 7:12 pm). 

Staff in attendance: Pete Iosue of Teska Associates, Village Clerk Lori Murray.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Approval of Plan Commission Minutes dated August 7, 2012
Motion for approval made by Commissioner Rivecco and seconded by Commissioner Sweeney. All in favor. Motion approved.

PUBLIC HEARING
1. Rezoning of various properties on Dee Road from the existing R-2 Single Family
Residence District to R-4 General Residence District

Co-chairman Jennifer Duncan opened the public hearing and swore in those who would be speaking at the hearing. 

Amy Hermann, 117 Dee Road – Ms. Hermann said she has been at her residence for 23 years and requested the rezoning remain as is. Hermann asked the Village why the property was being rezoned. Pete Iosue of Teska said that the Village has been in the process of updating the zoning ordinance and that existing land uses doe not match the zoning map. Hermann asked how the building was originally allowed to be built. Iosue said that the 4-unit building was built in 1959 and that he did not know what the zoning was at that time and that it might have complied at the time it was built. 

Sue Passalaqua, 115 Dee Road – Ms. Passalaqua asked how the rezoning would affect property taxes and the value of homes. Iosue said the rezoning should not have an affect. Passalaqua stated that she was totally against the rezoning.

Sheila Bangs 108 Dee Road – Ms. Bangs provided a petition signed by a number of residents that were against the rezoning. The concern of the residents was property values. Bangs also stated that there is a lot of traffic down Dee Road and problems with existing housing at the end of the road. The street is very narrow and is unable to accommodate a car traveling down the road if there is a car parked on each side of the street. Bangs suggested leaving the zoning as is and that there is no need for more multi-family zoning. 

(Commissioner Carroll arrived)
Margaret Richter, 106 Dee Road – Ms. Richter stated she was against the rezoning. Richter added that if someone were to purchase the duplex or quadplex, they could possibly build a 3-1/2 story complex. Richter said it is not the fault of the residents that the problem with noncomformance was not caught beforehand. Richter asked the Commission to vote no. 

KellyLandorf, 119 Dee Road – Landorf said that her home has been in the family since it was originally built and did not think the area should be rezoned. Landorf said she was concerned about traffic and problems with the apartments up the street. 

Jeffrey Mack, 123/125 Dee Road and 300/302 Hill Ave – Mr. Mack, owner of the 4-unit building said that he has owned the property since February of 2003 and has done a number of capital improvements over the last 10 years in amount of $22,000. He said he has made an effort to be a good neighbor and is careful with the tenants he brings in. Mack said he would like to continue to operate the property as a four-unit building, but if something were to happen to damage it, he would not be able to rebuild as a four unit building due to current zoning. 

Esther Bevan, 217 N. River Road – Ms. Bevan noted her concerns about rezoning the property. Bevan said she called the Village on August 20th and spoke with Scott Buening and was told that this was all initiated by one of the property owners due to an insurance issue that they could not rebuild as is. Bevan said this should be the residents’ problem and that the owners should know how it is zoned. The insurance company and you have to figure out.

Bevan said that the areas zoned for R4 have the highest crime rate and the property values go down because people do not want to live by apartments. Bevan said she was against the rezoning. 

Brenda Werner, 219 Hill Avenue – Ms. Werner said that she did not receive a letter regarding the public hearing for rezoning. Werner said she was not in favor of the rezoning and was concerned about the affect to the value of the homes currently in the area if the area was rezoned. 

Roman Martyn 203 Dee Road – Mr. Martyn stated that he has lived at his residence for over 30 years. The crime has increased as well as the traffic. Martyn also stated that there is a safety issue in regard to the width of the road. Martyn said he was against the rezoning. 

Lilia Martyn, 203 Dee Road – opposed to rezoning.

Joe Barber, 203 Anna Street – Mr. Barbara said he has lived at his residence for 30 years. He asked about consequences if the zoning is not changed. Pete Iosue said the consequence is to the current property owners of the multi-family building. If something were to happen to the property such as a fire or natural disaster, the owner could not rebuild the property as is since it would have to comply with current zoning. Currently the 4-unit building is zoned R1 and would have to be rebuilt as a single family home. Refinancing is not possible since the property does not match the current zoning. Iosue stated that he understood the concern of the neighbors, but wanted to make clear that no one is proposing to build or change anything at this time. For the neighbors, do understand the concern….no one is proposing to build or change anything. The only thing on the table is to match the zoning to the current use.
Barber asked if there are any tax consequences or benefits to the Village. Iosue said no. Taxes are based on the building that is built. Unless there was some new development, tax rates would be unaffected. 

Greg Nies, 200 Anna Street – Mr. Nies noted his concern regarding problems with traffic. Nies said that if there are any more residents, the emergency vehicles will not be able to drive down the street. Nies suggested keeping the zoning as is. 

Chuck Noyes, 199 Anna Street – Mr. Noyes suggested rezoning the property of the person requesting the zoning change and keep zoning as is for the other properties. 

Iosue said that the Commission can recommend rezoning all parcels, one of the parcels or none. Iosue noted that the Village has shied away from doing spot zoning. In terms of the 4-unit building, the only thing that will bring that into compliance is an R4 zoning. 

Jeremy Neidel, 107 Dee Rd – Mr. Neidel said he felt bad that the property owner made a bad business deal, but that it should not result in the properties being zoned R4. 

Peter Rome, 103 N. River Road – Mr. Rome said he has lived in North Aurora for 51 years. He stated that he was against rezoning on Dee Road. Rome added that most of the multi-dwellings have created a blight in the community. To keep the status of the Village, Rome said he would like to see any rezoning east of the river, to bring more quality of life. If there is rezoning, would like to see more single family. Traffic was also a concern. Rome added that the decision made should be about the people, the children and the community we create. Rome asked the Commission to recommend a no vote.

Jeffrey Mack – Mr. Mack stated that renting is the only option for some people who have lost their homes. 

There were no further questions or comments. Co-chairman Duncan closed the public hearing.

PLAN COMMISSION COMMENTS
Commissioner Holbrook asked about the current zoning. Iosue said that the 4-unit building is currently zoned R1 and the remainder of the lots are R2. Holbrook suggested leaving the R2 and rezoning the R1 to R4. Iosue said that R1 and R2 are single family and R3 and R4 are multi-family.

Commissioner Anderson asked if there is a 10,000 s.f. lot. Iosue said that one of the single family lots is 12,000 s.f. and the other 4 are all under 9,000 s.f. 

Commissioner Carroll said that one R4 in a residential does not make sense. If this was zoned R1, the owner should have known when he purchased the property. If the building were to burn down, the property could be split and rebuilt into 8 single family lots.

Commissioner Lenkart said that spot zoning is not allowed and the Village is trying to clean up the inconsistencies throughout the village now that the zoning ordinance is rewritten. 
Commissioner Carroll said that all of the properties should be zoned R1 in order to match what is existing. 

Commissioner Bozik said he agreed that the best use of the lots is single family, but unfortunately there are already buildings there. If the building is destroyed, the owner cannot rebuild as is. He is having trouble financing. That is part of the community and has been there since the 50s or 60s. Bozik said that the Village has an obligation to try to assist the current property owner that has the issue. Bozik also agreed with residents that it shouldn’t be at the expense of the existing property owners. The dilemma is that the Village cannot have a dual or spot zoning. 

(Commissioner Lenkart left the meeting at 7:58 p.m.)

Commissioner Rivecco said that the attempt by the Village was to clean up the zoning map and be consistent with the new ordinance. If someone came in today to build from scratch, it would not be recommended. Rivecco suggested leaving the zoning as is and change nothing.

Commissioner Sweeney said that as dire as the potential outcome is, it is at best highly unlikely. If the properties were rezoned to R4, they would never meet the threshold of single family requirements. It would have to come to the Village first. Even though it seems like a big impact, it probably is not. 

Commissioner Anderson said he appreciated the desire of the neighbors to keep what they currently have. Anderson suggested leaving the zoning as is. 

After reviewing the findings of fact, a Motion was made by Commissioner Bozik and seconded by Commissioner Carroll to deny the zoning change as proposed. Roll Call Vote: Bozik – yes, Carroll – yes, Holbrook – yes, Rivecco – yes, Sweeney – yes, Anderson – yes. Motion approved (6-0).

ADJOURNMENT
Motion made by Commissioner Holbrook and seconded by Commissioner Bozik to adjourn the meeting. All in favor. Motion approved. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Lori J. Murray
Village Clerk

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