McLean County Times

Town of Normal Planning Commission met Sept. 7.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Members Present:

Mr. Broad, Mr. Matejka, Mr. McCue, Mr. Ropp, Ms. Woods

Members Absent:

Ms. Wodika, Mr. McBride

Others Present:

Director of Inspections Greg Troemel, Town Planner Mercy Davison, Office Associate Hilary Houk

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Vice Chairman Matejka, and he noted a quorum was present.

Approval of Minutes:

Mr. Broad made a motion to amend the minutes from the August 10,2023 meeting in the following manner:

1. On page 3, the second sentence should say “less” rather than “more.”

2. On page 4, “uniformed” should be “uninformed.”

Mr. McCue seconded the motion. The amended minutes passed unanimously. Public Hearing:

a. 23-09-18-PC: Zoning Map Amendment, 1 University Court.

Ms. Davison reviewed the staff report. The house at 1 University Court was built in 1936 and has been zoned for single-family use for decades. For many years in more recent history, the house has been used as a student-oriented rental. The owner would like to redevelop the site as a multifamily project to address the ongoing need for denser housing closer to the university. In order to do this, the property would need to be rezoned to R 3A Medium Density Multifamily.

Mr. Ropp observed that majority of the properties near this location have a 6-foot privacy fence. He wanted to know if it would be worth recommending that a privacy fence be installed to separate the residential properties behind the proposed location.

Ms. Davison responded that was good idea, and the owner may want to do that at some point. It is not something that would be included in the rezoning process.

Mr. Matejka asked if it should be considered in the code.

Mr. Troemel responded the property is in the parking impact zone, meaning there are heightened parking regulations and built-in relief for transitional yard requirements. Over time, it has been common that fences are not maintained. In addition, this area has transitioned to being more non-owner-occupied.

Frederick Hafner, 35 County Club Pl, Bloomington, IL, was sworn in by Vice Chairman Matejka.

Mr. Matejka asked what the plans were with this project being such a small parcel.

Mr. Hafner responded the plan was to build a stacked townhome with a total of 4 units. The current building needs a lot of love and would be replaced with new construction that looks like the others in the area.

Mr. Broad motioned to adopt the findings and recommendations as presented by staff. Mr. Ropp seconded the motion.

Mr. Broad amended the motion and proposed to add a Sec. 1.6.11 to the Findings, stating the following: “The Town’s Comprehensive Plan states that properties in areas designated UIN2 should retain their single-family zoning status.”

The amendment failed due to lack of a second.

Ayes: Ms. Woods, Mr. Ropp, Mr. McCue, Mr. Broad, Mr. Matejka

Nayes: None

The motion carried 5-0

Other Business:

Mr. Broad nominated the current Chair (Mr. McBride) and the current Vice Chair (Mr. Matejka) to continue in their roles. Mr. Ropp second.

Ayes: Mr. McCue, Mr. Ropp, Mr. Broad, Ms. Woods, Mr. Matejka

Nayes: None

The nomination carried 5-0

There will be a meeting in October.

Adjournment:

There being no further business, Mr. Ropp moved to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 5:23p.m.

https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4739