Champaign County Board Environment and Land Use Committee met Aug. 10.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
DATE: Thursday, August 10, 2023
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
PLACE: Shields-Carter Meeting Room Brookens Administrative Center 1776 E Washington, Urbana, IL 61802
Committee Members
| Present | Absent |
| Aaron Esry (Vice-Chair) | |
| Jim Goss | |
| Kyle Patterson | |
| Emily Rodriguez | |
| Jilmala Rogers | |
| Chris Stohr | |
| Eric Thorsland (Chair) |
County Staff: John Hall (Zoning Administrator), Mary Ward (Recording Secretary), and Lis Dillingham (Administrative Services)
Others Present: None
MINUTES
I. Call to Order
Committee Chair Thorsland called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Roll call was taken and a quorum was declared present.
III. Approval of Agenda/Addendum
MOTION by Mr. Esry to approve the agenda and seconded by Mr. Stohr. Upon voice vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously to approve the agenda.
IV. Approval of Minutes A. May 4, 2023 – Regular Meeting
MOTION by Mr. Patterson to approve the minutes of the May 4, 2023, regular meeting, seconded by Mr. Esry. Upon voice vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously to approve the minutes.
V. Public Participation
Kenwood Sullivan, Dewey, spoke briefly regarding Zoning Cases 094-AM-23 and 095-S-23 rezoning in Greenwood Subdivision, Dewey. He would be available to answer any questions during the meeting.
Les Cotton, St. Joseph, spoke regarding Zoning Case 096-AM-23, the request by Evergreen Cremation Services. He gave a brief overview of their business and the need for direct cremation services. He would be available for questions during that part of the meeting.
Jake Parduhn, South Holland, IL, with Cremation Systems. They are the equipment supplier for Evergreen Cremation Services. He gave some background information on the equipment that will be used, and he will be available for questions later.
Steve Koester, property owner for proposed crematorium. Here is support of the project and to help answer any questions.
Kyle Koester, agent for seller; and will be happy to provide any information and answer any questions.
VI. Communications
There were no communications.
VII. New Business: Items to be Recommended to the County Board
A. Zoning Case 094-AM-23. A request by Kenwood Sullivan, 3262 Greenwood Drive, Dewey IL 61840, to amend the Zoning Map to allow for the development of three single family residential lots in the AG-1 Agriculture Zoning District by adding the Rural Residential Overlay (RRO) Zoning District in conjunction with related County Board Special Use Permit Case 095-S-23 on one 5.13-acre tract and one 10.27-acre tract in the Northwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 21, Township 22 North, Range 8 East of the Third Principal Meridian in East Bend Township, and commonly known as the farmland located northeast of Greenwood Lake Subdivision, Dewey.
B. Zoning Case 095-S-23. A request by Kenwood Sullivan, 3262 Greenwood Drive, Dewey, IL 61840, to authorize a County Board Special Use Permit for a Rural Residential Overlay (RRO) Zoning District for three single family residential lots in conjunction with related map amendment Case 094-AM-23 that is also required for an RRO, on one 5.13-acre tract and one 10.27-acre tract in the Northwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 21, Township 22 North, Range 8 East of the Third Principal Meridian in East Bend Township, and commonly known as the farmland located northeast of Greenwood Lake Subdivision, Dewey.
Zoning Cases 094-AM-23 and 095-S-23 were discussed together as they are related. Mr. Hall explained that there was no plat of subdivision because they are 5-acre lots and only requires plats of survey. The items you would normally see with splat subdivision, in an RRO case, are actually done at the ZBA. There was aa lot of good evidence presented at the ZBA. There should be no concerns about septic systems. They all have good drainage. They all have street access. The Zoning Board passed this unanimously, staff had no concerns and there were no comments from neighbors at the public hearing.
OMNIBUS MOTION by Mr. Esry to approve both Zoning Case 094-AM-23 and Zoning Case 095-S-23. Seconded by Mr. Patterson.
Mr. Stohr asked if the lots can be sub-divided in the future. They would need to go through the same process. Mr. Stohr also asked if they were being sold for residential development. Mr. Sullivan said they were planning on building a house on one 5-acre lot and continuing to cash rent the other ten for the foreseeable future.
Upon voice vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
C. Zoning Case 096-AM-23. A request by Evergreen Cremation Services Inc. with the following officers and shareholders: Vincent Sims, President, and Cheryl Sims, 2806 Susan Stone Dr, Urbana; Les Cotton, Chairman, and Emily Cotton, 302 Harlan Wise Drive, St. Joseph; Justin Blake, Chairman, and Heidi Blake, 2199 Parrish Dr, St. Joseph, to amend the Zoning Map to change the zoning district designation from the I-1 Light Industry Zoning District to the AG-2 Agriculture Zoning District in order to establish and operate the proposed Special Use in related Zoning Case 097-S-23 (already approved by the ZBA), on Lot 3 of Stahly Subdivision in the Southeast Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 8, Township 19 North, Range 8 East of the Third Principal Meridian in Champaign Township with an address of 314 Tiffany Court, Champaign.
Mr. Hall said that this is an unusual rezoning case going from Industrial back to AG-2. Our ordinance is out of date regarding crematoriums.
MOTION by Mr. Esry to approve Zoning Case 096-Am-23; seconded by Mr. Stohr.
Discussion followed the motion. Mr. Esry asked if updating the ordinance is something we need to look at. It is not critical but it’s on the to-do list. Mr. Thorsland reminded the committee that one of the special conditions is, if it happens to change in the ordinance, it would be moved back to I-2. Mr. Esry felt that this project should not be an issue for the neighbors.
Mr. Stohr asked about the regulations for stack air emissions. Mr. Parduhn from Cremation Systems said for the state of Illinois ROSS (Registration of Smaller Sources) for stack emissions and the limit is 5 tons of particulate matter per year. If they were to run the retort 24/7, 365 days per year, it comes out to 1.7 tons of particulate matter per year. That is well short of the limit. They also passed the EPA Visible Emissions test perfectly.
Mr. Thorsland asked if there were any future plans to have a second retort? They do have the option in the layout to add a second retort. That would be sometime way down the road.
Upon voice vote, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
VIII. Other Business
A. Monthly Reports
i. March 2023
ii. April 2023
iii. May 2023
iv. June 2023
Champaign County Board
Environment and Land Use Committee 3 August 10, 2023
The reports were received and placed on file.
IX. Chair’s Report
There was no Chair’s Report. Mr. Stohr reminded the committee that the wind and solar ordinances will be heard by ZBA on August 17. They will probably be to ELUC at the September meeting.
X. Designation of Items to be Placed on the Consent Agenda
Items to be placed on the Consent Agenda include VII. A., B., and C.
XI. Adjournment
Chair Thorsland adjourned the meeting at 7:03 p.m.
https://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyBoard/ELUC/2023/230810_Meeting/230810_Minutes.pdf
Alerts Sign-up