City Council and Planning Board review zoning changes for ‘higher and better use'
Rob Levesque of R. Levesque Associates presented a request by Alice Wielgus to the City Council on May 15 to amend the zoning map at 14 and 170 Main St. from Rural Residence and Residence B to Residence C for a portion of the property. Levesque said the family is requesting that approximately 8 acres on Main Street, where they sell roses for Mother's Day, be rezoned to Residence C, and leave the approximately 30 acres in the rear, which is in the floodplain, as Rural Residential.
Levesque said the family understands there has been interest over the years in the rear portion of the property for ball fields, and they generally like the idea. He said the Main Street portion of the property abuts a townhouse style condominium community that is zoned Residence C, and they would like to be able to utilize the front in similar way for condo development of multi-family townhouses, which he said would also be meeting the need for housing in the state.
Levesque said the change in zoning would help them to think about what they would like to do with the property in the future.
During the discussion in the City Council, there were questions of where the access to the property would be, both the front and the rear. Levesque said the corner of Noble Street which leads into a farm road would be the most logical place.
Councilor Kristen Mello raised floodplain concerns, and said the GIS plan shows it coming up into the building area in the front. Levesque said the stormwater infrastructure would get into a bit of the flood zone. The hearing at the City Council was continued for a review by the city engineer.
At the Planning Board on May 20, Levesque said the zoning change to Residence C would be for someone, likely not the family, to turn into housing similar to the adjacent condominium project in the front ten percent of the property, and leave the 50-plus acres in the rear property as Rural Residential.
He said after the discussion at the City Council, they pulled the front portion further away from the flood zone, and made a sketch of a potential townhouse style residential project that could go there.
Asked whether the access on Noble Street would be for both the rear property and for the housing development, Levesque said that would be preferable, but if not, there would be plenty of access points to the housing development on Main Street.
Planning Board chair William Carellas said he was happy that they were not requesting spot zoning, as there is plenty of Residence C in the area, before the Planning Board made a unanimous positive recommendation to the City Council for the project.
The Planning Board also positively recommended three other zoning change requests that came before the City Council, and were referred to the Zoning, Planning and Development Committee.
The second zoning change request was by Mike Ventrice, owner of TV Realty & Development to change his 17-acre property on Lockhouse Road from Industrial A to Residence C, for future housing development of 25 duplexes.
Ventrice said his property is 75 feet from Arch Road, with frontage on Lockhouse where the road is one-way with the one-lane railroad bridge. He said he has a meeting on June 3 with the Traffic Commission to discuss reverting the road back to two-way.
Robert McKay of 27 Ridgeway Ave., an abutter on the other side of the railroad tracks, said many years ago, that section of Lockhouse that is one-way used to be two-ways, but he said it was changed for safety reasons to one-way. 'It was nice when it was two-way, but there were a lot of accidents at that bridge.'
'His property is a lot farther away from the bridge. I guess that becomes a traffic issue,' said Carellas after the unanimous positive recommendation from the Planning Board.
Also recommended was a petition of Michael Sajewicz, the owner of Arrow Pharmacy to amend the zoning map at 66 Holyoke Rd. from Residence B to Business B (portion).
Levesque, also representing Sajewicz, said the purpose of the zoning change would be to extend Business B from the pharmacy on a contiguous piece of property, to allow them to utilize the property for a similar or related use.
The house on Holyoke Road, which is part of the property being requested for a zoning change, would remain as residential, and in the future be separated as a residential lot. Sajewicz owns the three contiguous lots.
Asked what the plans are for the rear lot, Levesque said the first stop is to get the back rezoned, but there is no specific project at this point. 'In a perfect world … symbiotic uses that would work well with the pharmacy. Looking at it, it made sense to try to revamp the back of the property,' Levesque said.
He said right now, they are separate parcels, and the idea would be making it one contiguous property, that would allow for 'higher and better use than what we could do on the property there now.'
Also under discussion in both bodies is to amend the zoning ordinance to expand uses allowed in the Industrial A district.
City Planner Jay Vinskey spoke at the Planning Board meeting on behalf of Councilor Brent Bean. He said during the last discussion, the board recommended some uses to be added to Industrial A, and that list was proposed to the City Council.
He said the only change the Planning Board recommended that didn't make it through the committee was to only allow Commercial A uses in existing buildings in Industrial A, in order to avoid new shopping centers being built.
'I would agree — only for uses in existing buildings,' said Carellas.
Planning Board member Richard Salois said one of the biggest concerns he had was that they build a strip mall. 'There is a reason for the use of existing buildings there,' he said.
'I believe back in April, that was not the intention, but to use empty warehouses that could go in a Commercial A district, or conversion or expansion of a building or a portion thereof for the new uses,' said board member Cheryl Crowe.
Among the Commercial A uses that would be permitted by-right in Industrial A are neighborhood retail store not in excess of 750 feet; service-oriented stores such as a barber shop or beautician, but not laundry or dry-cleaning; retail service or custom stores, but no booth or restaurant facilities; branch bank, medical or dental clinic.
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sheffield, Kinloch advance in bid to succeed Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield (D) and pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr. (D) have advanced to the general election from the city's mayoral primary in a crowded field to succeed outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan, according to a Decision Desk HQ projection. Duggan, a registered Democrat, chose not to run for reelection to a fourth term in office to instead pursue an independent campaign for governor next year, leaving a wide-open race to replace him. The primary was a blanket contest in which all candidates compete on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, with the top two performers facing off head-to-head in the general election in November. Despite the race being formally nonpartisan, a Democrat was almost certain to win in the heavily Democratic-leaning city that hasn't elected a Republican in decades. Sheffield and Kinloch, both Democrats, came out on top of a field of nine candidates in total, which included former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, former Detroit City Council President Saunteel Jenkins and City Council member Fred Durhal III. Craig is the only candidate who ran as a Republican, after unsuccessful bids for the GOP nomination for governor in 2022 and Senate in 2024. Sheffield has been the early favorite to win the election, with the limited polling of the race showing her ahead of the rest of the pack. She also put up strong fundraising numbers, raising more than $800,000 this year. If elected, she would become Detroit's first female mayor. She notched key endorsements from the Detroit Free Press editorial board and EMILY's List. But the contest for second place seemed hotly contested ahead of the primary. The candidates broadly agreed about the comeback Detroit has seen during Duggan's tenure. Duggan, who has served since 2014, came into office in the aftermath of the city declaring bankruptcy, but it has seen a resurgence with balanced budgets, declining crime rates and a growing population. Sheffield has emphasized her experience leading the City Council and working with Duggan. But one issue has been about the best way to continue the city's prosperity and spread it to more areas of the city that haven't felt the effects as much. Kinloch is the senior pastor at Triumph Church, a megachurch in Detroit. It has grown to 40,000 members and seven locations, according to the Free Press. His campaign has raised more than $500,000, the second-most of the candidates in the race, Decision Desk HQ reported. Jenkins followed closely behind in the fundraising race with $430,000 raised. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Historic St. Charles home to remain for now, after City Council denies request to demolish it
A historic house in downtown St. Charles, which recently made a state nonprofit's list of the most endangered historic places in Illinois, will remain for now, after the City Council Monday night denied its owner's request to demolish it. Owned by Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, the house at 217 Cedar Ave. has for years faced an uncertain future, as its owner has pursued city approval to tear it down and reuse the space. The house at 217 Cedar Ave. is also referred to as the Judge William D. Barry House, for its original owner. William D. Barry was a lawyer, a Kane County judge around the time of the Civil War and the first president of the Kane County Bar Association, who may have known Abraham Lincoln, according to former board president of the St. Charles History Museum Steve Gibson. Gibson has been researching Barry and the house since 2017, when he sat on the city's Historic Preservation Commission that first voted against demolishing the house. The building dates back to the 1840s, according to Gibson's history written for the St. Charles History Museum. Because it's located within the city's Historic District, exterior changes to the building must be reviewed by the city and its owners must receive a certificate of appropriateness before it can be demolished. The church brought a request about the property to the city in 2017, according to past reporting, but its application was withdrawn before the City Council could vote on the house's fate. In 2017, the church proposed creating a green space and prayer garden on the site, per the city. More recently, the church's pitch has been to turn it into parking spaces, citing a need for additional parking in the area, its financial situation and other concerns. Baker Memorial also owns the buildings at 211-215 Cedar Ave. and the parking lots to the south, west and north of the buildings, according to past reporting. The city's Historic Preservation Commission in 2017 OK'd the demolition of the structure at 211-215 Cedar Ave., but not the house at 217 Cedar Ave., per city documents. In October, the city's Historic Preservation Commission recommended the City Council deny the more recent request for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish the Judge Barry House, based on findings about the building's significance and architecture. In December, it went on to the City Council's Planning and Development Committee, which ultimately postponed making a decision so city staff and the church could discuss their options. From there, the city and the church continued to discuss the house's future, including whether the city could purchase it from Baker Memorial, but they were unable to reach an agreement. So the matter went back to the City Council Planning and Development Committee in May and was recommended for approval, despite facing some opposition from residents and advocates. But a final City Council vote on the fate of the house was delayed because of offers to buy the house or move the structure off the property, according to past reporting. That brings the matter to Monday's meeting, when the City Council took up the issue again. But the council did not deliver the church its long-awaited green light to take down the house and put up the parking they have been expressing a need for. Mayor Clint Hull noted the months-long conversations that have been going on among the city, church and those advocating for preservation. 'The goal has been and always will be to continue to find a solution that would be what I would characterize, and many characterize, as a win-win,' Hull said Monday evening. 'That win-win would allow the church to sell the property at a fair-market value and would also preserve the Barry House for future use.' In their conversations, Hull said three options were being considered: Baker Memorial selling the house at a fair-market value to a person or organization that would preserve it, the church selling or giving the structure itself to a person or organization that would move it off the property and, lastly, the church selling the property to the city. But none of those options were achieved. Hull said he has reflected on his own background as a Kane County judge as this issue has made its way through the city. 'When you make a decision like this, at the city council level or at a courtroom, you understand that people are very passionate on both sides of the issue,' Hull said. 'I have asked myself over the past three months, 'What would Judge Barry expect the City Council to do?'' He said he thinks Judge Barry would have wanted the City Council to research and understand all the facts, listen to both sides and keep an open mind, deliberate and reflect and make the decision transparently and communicate that decision. 'I can guarantee you that the City Council members that are here tonight have done all that and more,' he said at the meeting. City Council member Jayme Muenz, who shortly after voted against allowing the building to be demolished, emphasized that many residents are concerned about a reverence for history. 'I also feel that there is a precedent that is set when you make changes to historic structures,' Muenz said. 'You decide for the entire community what that value is.' Council member Vicki Spellman, who also voted against the house's demolition, said the issue is not just about the historic significance of the home, which has been debated, but the neighborhood it exists in. 'To me, it's not just a home,' Spellman said. 'I do think that it would affect the character of the neighborhood.' Ultimately, the request to allow for demolition was shot down, with three council members voting for it and seven voting against. Baker Memorial United Methodist Church did not immediately return The Beacon-News' request for comment. Al Watts, the community engagement director of local nonprofit Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, told The Beacon-News on Tuesday that, with demolition not an option, the Preservation Partners could assist the church with applications for grant money to do maintenance on the house, connect them with contractors or help them get information on the value of their property if they were to sell, for example. Watts explained that members of the Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley are 'always going to be happier' that a historic building was preserved rather than demolished, but said they also don't want to see such buildings deteriorate and become a problem. 'The number one thing about historic preservation is if the building doesn't have a use, then it's never going to get saved,' Watts said. 'It's going to, eventually, it's going to get demolished one way or the other, either just because it'll literally fall down or because it'll just be too much of a problem that somebody has to knock it down. This building is not in that category yet, but, if nothing is done, eventually it will be.' But what happens next remains to be seen. 'This is just one vote,' Hull said at Monday's meeting. 'The city is committed to continuing to work together with both sides to continue to try to figure out if we can achieve that goal of a win-win.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Blazing new trails: 13 Minnesota cities are considering municipal cannabis stores
As some Minnesota cities fret over regulating newly legalized and normalized marijuana sales, others see an opportunity. Elk River is among 13 Minnesota cities considering opening municipally owned cannabis stores. They would be blazing new trails in this regard, as government-run pot shops aren't currently in use anywhere else in the country. City Administrator Cal Portner talks about Elk River's approach as making the most of a situation. 'I don't sense that our council is enthusiastic about the law to legalize, but they're accepting of reality,' he said. Revenue potential from cannabis sales, and how it can be put to use in the community, is part of the appeal. Assuring compliance is also part of it. 'Our liquor stores never fail compliance tests, whether for tobacco or liquor,' Portner said. 'We feel we can do the same thing within the cannabis industry.' Liquor munis as a model The only state with any track record of a government-run cannabis shop is Washington, where a store in North Bonneville opened in 2015 and operated until 2021. Where Minnesota differed from Washington and other legalized-cannabis states was in the defined path it created for cities to pursue cannabis munis. Despite being a new concept, Minnesota's established muni model for liquor, also novel nationally, gives Portner confidence in the feasibility. Cities have entrepreneurial experience on their sides, he said, including already selling hemp-based THC products in liquor stores. 'We've had practice time basically to understand the products and understand the customer service side of it,' Portner said. Municipal liquor sales add nearly $1 million to Elk River's annual budget. The city's two liquor munis keep profits home, Portner said, rather than going to corporations based out of town or state. 'We're among the top Minnesota liquor store operations within the state and are proud of that,' he said. 'It puts a lot of money back in our community.' Minnesota had 176 cities running liquor munis as of 2023, according to the latest annual report on them by the Office of the State Auditor. Most munis come out ahead, combining for $31.6 million in net profits in 2023. Elk River generated $962,190 of it. Buffalo brought in $710,505. St. Anthony Village was $426,385 in the positive. Even modest net profits, say $10,000 per year, are good deals for small towns, said Paul Kaspszak, executive director of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association. 'You could say it's not very much money, but there's nothing else happening in that community that will generate that $10,000,' he said. In his hypothetical, 100 homeowners in the community could be looking at $100 in savings on their property taxes. In Elk River, Portner said it might take an additional 45 businesses in town to generate enough property taxes to equal net profits from city liquor sales. Cannabis sales projections are highly speculative, but Portner said it'll likely take a couple years to turn profits. Between investments in capital, inventory, marketing and education, an estimate prepared for the city in January put first-year losses at $184,698. All but 18 of the state's liquor munis are in Greater Minnesota. For cannabis muni applicants, seven of the 13 are in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. St. Joseph's mayor, Adam Scepaniak, and other officials from cities on the list confirmed they were still waiting on OCM approval to get their cannabis licenses as of last week. Plans are taking shape in the interim, with St. Joseph, Elk River and others looking into possible locations for cannabis retail. Elk River is considering a building to house both cannabis sales and one of its two municipal liquor stores. Northbound would remain the name of the liquor muni, while the cannabis side would assume the name Cannabound. Owatonna applied for a muni cannabis permit on March 13, said Deanna Sheely, the city's communications manager, in an email. No decisions will be made on it until the license process is completed. When Byron moved forward with an application in February, City Administrator Al Roder noted it didn't bind the city to the idea. 'Applying for the license and even receiving one, doesn't lock us into going ahead with a dispensary,' he stated on the city's Facebook post. 'But the window to apply for a license is very small.' Wide spectrum of attitudes toward cannabis industry As opposed to the 13 cities exploring cannabis munis, Albert Lea sits on the opposite end of the spectrum. A City Council vote last week stopped a privately run cannabis store from opening — an apparent violation of state statute. An update by the city posted on Facebook afterward described the vote being based on 'questions of enforcement, liability and responsibility' necessitating further review. Adopting zoning restrictions on where cannabis businesses are allowed, a lever given to cities in state law, is more of a middle-ground strategy. Combined with caps on the maximum number of businesses allowed to operate, almost all cities implemented some form of this approach or another. The cap is an area of contrast between the state's cannabis and liquor muni regulations. A city with muni liquor doesn't need to allow private liquor stores within its limits, but it can't monopolize cannabis in the same way. Muni cannabis stores don't count toward the cap. ___ This story was originally published by MinnPost and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press. Brian Arola/minnpost, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
