City of Fairbury Planning Commission met Feb. 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the commission:
The Planning Commission held a meeting at 12 Noon. Members present were Chairman Rick Wilson, Leroy McPherson, Tracy Taylor, Rebekah Fehr, Michael Blackwell, and Ron Schlipf. Also, in attendance were Mayor David Slagel, John Slagel, City Superintendent Brett Ashburn, and Planning Commission Secretary Alex Voorheis.
Leroy McPherson started the meeting off with a comment. If there is paperwork that is to be discussed during the meeting, the paperwork should be sent out to the Planning Commission prior to the meeting to provide ample time to look it over to be prepared to discuss said paperwork.
Next in order, Chairman Wilson motioned to approve the minutes from the January 15th, 2020 meeting. The motion carried unanimously.
Brett Ashburn opened the discussion explaining what is on the agenda for today’s meeting. John Slagel bought 2 parcels of land on W Pine Street which is zoned R2. John would like to have the property rezoned to commercial because his plan is to build a storage facility to store campers, RVs, boats, cars, etc., for family members. Double M Machine and the Indian Grove Township shed, which are across the street, are zoned commercial.
Brett Ashburn explained the south parcel is not inside city limits but the north parcel is. The north parcel has a single-family home in the northeast corner which is going to be subdivided and can remain R2. On the second map that was given for review, it shows how that property is being subdivided. The northern parcel is zoned R2 and the southern parcel is county proposed R2-A district. What is being asked of the Planning Commission is to change the R2 zone to commercial and the proposed R2-A district to commercial and annex in.
John Slagel began to break it down. Right now, there are essentially two lots, one in R2 and one in the county. After the subdivision, we will have three lots resulting in two in the city and one in the county. One of the lots in the city that Fosdick’s house is on will be 80 by 150 and will remain residential. The other lot John would like to annex into the county and would like to have water and sewer. There is a shed on both lots already but John would like to build a shed that is bigger and in a different area on the lot. Since the lot is currently zoned residential, he is unable to improve those sheds or add more sheds with the current zoning.
Mayor Slagel asked if John would be allowed to build the shed he is wanting in a commercial zone.
Brett Ashburn explained in a commercial zone you can have a utility building standing alone. On a residential zone you can only build a utility building with a house on the property.
Chairman Rick Wilson asked about the house to the west.
Brett Ashburn explained the house to the west is a residential house. It is Tom Hargis’s home. The back part is county and a part of the proposed R2-A district. Hargis has a small business that he runs out of a shed that is on the back half of the lot that is part of the county. He would like for his home to be rezoned to commercial.
John Slagel spoke with Hargis. If zoned commercial, Hargis would then be able to run his business out of his home as well which would be beneficial to him. The shed John would like to build would look like a commercial sized shed. Its aesthetic would be comparable to Kafer’s shed that is located next to the muffler shop.
Chairman Rick Wilson asked about Fosdick’s house that is located near the lot and if he is okay with the lot being rezoned commercial.
John Slagel explained that Fosdick sold off the lot to downsize.
Leroy McPherson asked John how he plans to deal with the drainage problem that the lot has. The lot has a history of flooding.
John Slagel stated he hopes to be able to put some tile in and possibly a retention pond that will eliminate the drainage issue.
Leroy McPherson expressed that the lot has been there for a long time. When he was a part of the city, they tried to do something with the lot but were unsuccessful because of the drainage issue. McPherson made a recommendation to change the lot to commercial if John is willing to fix the drainage issue and make something of the lot to improve it.
Due to other sheds being in the area already, the Planning Commission does not feel as if another shed being built would negatively affect the aesthetic of the surrounding neighborhood.
Chairman Rick Wilson motioned to change the lot from R2 zone to commercial zone. Second by Rebekah Fehr. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Rick Wilson motioned to change proposed R2-A district to proposed commercial zone on the comprehensive map.
Second by Tracy Taylor. Motioned carried unanimously.
The Planning Commission meeting ended with a discussion regarding the Nutrien Ag lot that was recently demolished this past week. It is unclear what the owners plan to do with the empty lot now that the building is gone. The Planning Commission spoke about it would be nice to have Nutrien Ag cap the lot with concrete and donate it to the city to use as a parking lot.
Chairman Rick Wilson motioned to adjourned at 12:38pm. Leroy McPherson second.
http://ww2.cityoffairbury.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-2-12-PC-MINUTES.pdf
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