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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 09/20/2017 - Community Development Committee (2)COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT September 20, 2017 McHenry Municipal Center In Attendance: Committee Members: Chairperson Alderwoman Condon, Alderman Santi and Alderman Devine. Absent: None. Also in Attendance: Director of Community Development Polerecky, and City Clerk Nevitt. 1. Call to Order. Chairperson Alderwoman Condon called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Public Comment. None. 3. Motion to approve the August 29, 2016 Community Development Committee Meeting Report. Alderman Devine made a motion, seconded by Alderman Santi to approve the meeting report as presented. All ayes, motion carried. 4. Motion to approve the October 10, 2016 Community Development Committee Meeting Report. Alderman Santi made a motion, seconded by Alderman Devine to approve the meeting report as presented. All ayes, motion carried. 5. Motion to approve the August 14, 2017 Community Development Committee meeting report. Alderman Devine made a motion, seconded by Alderman Devine to approve the meeting report as presented. All ayes, motion carried. 6. Discussion on Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Municipal Code to allow backyard chickens within city limits. Director Polerecky reported that in 2011, an ordinance allowing residential backyard chickens was presented to the CD Committee, Planning and Zoning Commission, and City Council. The Committee's response was to proceed to Planning and Zoning for a recommendation. The motion to allow this use failed at the PZC and in City Council. Director Polerecky informed the Committee that usually in the spring, the department receives many calls in regards to allowing backyard chickens within the city limits. He is of the opinion that this becomes an interest when the sale of baby chicks in big box stores occurs in the spring. Alderwoman Condon asked if the people contacting the city were made aware of the regulations. Director Polerecky answered yes and that most of the people who call or visit the department refer to a newspaper article that appeared in the Northwest Herald Community Development Committee Meeting Report September 20, 2017 Page 2 reporting the Council would revisit the matter in one year, however this never occurred, which is why this matter was returned to the Committee. A survey of communities that allow and ban residential backyard chickens was provided to the Committee. The department found there are no communities other than unincorporated McHenry County that allow backyard chickens. Multiple communities have taken the same path as McHenry with motions failing in the Council. If the Committee were to decide to pursue this further, staff recommends the same amendments that were presented in 2011 be considered. The information presented in 2011 was derived from communities that allow this use. All of the zoning requirements such as coop size and number of chickens, setbacks, etc. were taken into consideration and the research remains relevant today. Director Polerecky further stated that a few concerns expressed recently by some individuals include setbacks, noise, and odor. These are all valid concerns and are addressed in the proposed amendment. However high density areas with small lots are a main concern. Staff does not know how the city could enforce no chickens permitted in one zoning district and not in another. Some communities require a 50-foot setback for coops, which means a residential lot would need to be 100 to 110-feet wide to meet this requirement, which excludes the RS-4 district, much of RS-3, and some of RS-2. Director Polerecky noted only a portion of the city would meet the requirements of the strict setbacks. Staff does not know if this would be fair and in his opinion would create a huge enforcement problem. The city did present a pilot program in 2011, which proposed 10 licenses issued the first year. After the first year, staff would review the effects of the pilot program in regards to complaints and enforcement and present the findings to the Committee and Council. Staff would recommended the pilot program if the Council approved moving forward with this ordinance. Director Polerecky noted if a backyard chicken ordinance were passed at this time, it would take away valuable staff time needed to implement and enforce a rental registration program and code enforcement efforts. He did recommend this matter be revisited in two -three years. As more communities permit this use, the city will gain more information on potential enforcement problems. Last week, the City of Elgin adopted an ordinance that permits backyard residential chickens. They ran a pilot program with 15 licenses that began in February 2016, and in September 2017, increased the number of permitted licenses to 75. Conversely, after the first 15 licenses were issued, many people who did not have a license purchased chickens, which created multiple enforcement issues and created a huge waiting list for a license. This is one of staff s concerns with the pilot program. Alderwoman Condon stated she, Alderman Santi and Alderman Peterson were on the Committee in 2011 when this matter was originally considered and unanimously agreed to forward a recommendation to the Council to allow chickens. People are becoming more health conscious and fresh eggs are healthy, which increases the desire to have backyard chickens. In her opinion, the reason the Committee agreed to move forward Community Development Committee Meeting Report September 20, 2017 Page 3 with the proposal at that time was due to the extensive research done on the matter. Odor and noise concerns were found not to be as valid as people thought they would be. Alderwoman Condon said her concern was the lot size needed for the setback requirements. If we were to move forward with this proposal, she would want — fair or not — the requirement for larger setbacks. She added that most of the communities that approve this use are affluent areas with larger lot sizes. Alderwoman Condon stated she is not opposed with moving forward with this proposal however, she respected the fact that we are in a community where almost all enforcement is complaint driven and we do not have the manpower to check on site for everything. If people were to follow the pilot program as presented with the proposed setbacks, she would be comfortable with moving forward with the proposal. Alderwoman Condon further stated the pilot program that allows 10-licenses assumes that people are getting the licenses. People will have chickens without a permit. The city has to do much marketing to inform residents about the requirements and specific guidelines. Alderwoman Condon closed by saying if this matter does not move forward at this time, she would like the topic revisited in two -years. Alderman Devine stated he does not think it would be right to allow chickens only permitted on certain sized lots. Much of his Ward would be prohibited from this use. He does not see the need for backyard chickens and is concerned with neighbor vs. neighbor issues that might occur due to enforcement issues. Alderman Santi agreed with prohibiting chickens at this time. He stated that in his Ward, there also are not many lots that would be meet the setback requirements for chickens. He added in 2011, Mr. Adrian Plante provided the Council with an informative and educational presentation on chickens. He then asked Director Polerecky if stores that sell chickens also sell coops and feed. Director Polerecky answered yes and if the city were to permit chickens, the ability for people to purchase the products they need to take care of the chickens would be readily available. Alderman Santi stated that he agreed with Alderwoman Condon to revisit this topic in two -three years. The Committee unanimously recommended not to forward this matter to Planning and Zoning at this time and to bring this back to the Committee for further discussion in fall 2019. 7. Department Updates: Director Polerecky reported on the following department activities: Ricky Rockets development has been postponed due to obstacles obtaining approval from IDOT and MCDOT for road improvements and access on to Route 120. The developer does not want to break ground this close to the winter season. Groundbreaking is expected in spring 2018. • Dunkin' Donuts on Front Street is progressing. The project experienced a construction delay due to the recent rains. They were scheduled to open in fall 2017 however, their completion date at this time is unknown. Community Development Committee Meeting Report September 20, 2017 Page 4 • Smith's Central Garage was issued a permit for the fire suppression system. Scheduled start date is next week. This project should take about one week to complete. • Two single-family homes are being construction in the Lincoln Hills subdivision. Construction of these homes was expedited due to the recent changes in the city's teardown ordinance requirements. • Manny occupancies have been approved for Patriot Estates subdivision. Sidewalks were recently installed in the subdivision. The developer is requesting acceptance of the public improvements in the subdivision. Staff is developing a punch list for the developer. • Staff has not received confirmation that Best Buy is closing. Director Polerecky announced that no other stores are closing in the shopping center; that is just rumor. • Permit and Code Enforcement reports will be provided to the Council soon. In 2016, the department had issued 1455 permits. This year we are at 1387. Code Enforcement his time last year saw 735 complaints logged and to date we are at 1020. Director Polerecky reported the increase in the amount of complaints is reflective of the push to involve all department staff in code enforcement. • Next month, a draft of the Code Enforcement Strategy will be presented and the proposed real estate transfer fee will be discussed in November. Alderwoman Condon announced the next meeting is scheduled for October 23 at 7:00 PM. Alderman Devine asked Director Polerecky if the barn was part of the Ricky Rockets Development and will anything going to be done to improve it. Director Polerecky answered yes, it was part of the annexation agreement. There are code enforcement issues for the barn that are being addressed with the developer. It is unknown what plans they have for the barn. Alderman Santi asked if there was access onto Country Lane from the barn and Director Polerecky said there is a driveway at the barn however there will be no access from Ricky Rockets to Country Lane. 8. Adiournment. There being no further business to discuss. Motion by Alderman Devine made a motion, seconded by Alderman Santi to adjourn the meeting at 7:55 pm. Voting Aye: Santi, Devine, Condon Voting Nay: None Absent: None Community Development Committee Meeting Report September 20, 2017 Page 5 Motion carried. Reviewed and Approved on the day of , 2017. 'Y1 Geri Condon, Chairperson