Village of Hampshire Plan Commission Met Feb. 8.
Here is the minutes provided by the commission:
A meeting of the Village of Hampshire Plan Commission was convened at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Bryan Mroch. Present in person were Chairman Mroch, and Commissioner L. Rapach; Commissioners W. Rossetti, T. Wetzel and A. Neal participated in the meeting via video or telephonic conferencing. Village President J. Magnussen, Village Manager Jay Hedges (in person), assistant to the Village Manager, Josh Wray, were present; and Village Attorney Mark Schuster attended via video conferencing.
On motion by W. Rossetti, seconded by L. Rapasch, the minutes of the meeting of December 14, 2021 were approved by vote of 4 aye, 0 nay.
The first order of business was to consider the Application of Montemayor for approval of a Certificate of Vacation of Plat Restriction pertaining to the original Plat of Subdivision for Hampshire Woods Subdivision in the Village, to remove the following Plat restriction: “Access to the lots in this subdivision shall be by Flannigan Road only - No direct access to Gast Road will be allowed,” for purposes of a proposed development of Lot 9 in Hampshire Woods Subdivision with such direct access.
Mr. Michael Gazzola appeared for Petitioner, and explained that the proposed developer of Lot 9 operates an over-the-road truck/hauling business, and that this location would serve as an office and truck maintenance facility. Hours of operation would be 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. Truck movements are estimated to be 10 trucks per day. The owner proposed to install signage at the exit, prohibiting right-hand, southbound turns for trucks, to prohibit southbound truck traffic on Gast Road.
Commissioners inquired or commented about the following:
Would it also be possible to erect signage on the northbound side of Gast Road (at a location south of the entrance), to warn drivers of the new entrance/exit? Response: This would be under the jurisdiction of the Hampshire Township Highway Commissioner.
On motion made by A. Neal, and seconded by T. Wetzel, to recommend approval of the request to vacate the current restriction forbidding entrance/exit directly to and from Gast Road for lots in the Hampshire Woods Business Park, the vote was 4 aye, 0 nay. Motion passed.
The second order of business was to consider the Petition for Zoning Text Amendment to amend the signage requirements in the Interchange Overlay District, Section 6-16-4, of the Municipal Code, by modifying certain requirements for community graphics and signage in the area of the I-90/US 20 Interchange in the Village.
Mr. Hedges explained that this petition was engendered by comments from the Zoning Board of Appeals, asking that the Village recognize existing conditions at the interchange area, and reduce the number of requests for variance being filed regarding the size of signs there.. Mr. Wray compiled a comparison of recent requests for variance, to the existing parameters allowed by the Village Code.
Commissioners asked for confirmation that this amendment was limited to the interchange area.
On motion by L. Rapach, and seconded by W. Rossetti, to recommend approval of the Petition for Zoning Text Amendment for signage requirements for the I-90/US 20 interchange area, the vote was 4 aye, 0 nay. Motion passed.
The third order of business was to consider the Petition for Zoning Text Amendment requesting an amendment to the Village’s Zoning Regulations, Section 6-14-3 and Section 6-14-4, and in multiple other sections of the Village Code, to create a new advisory body, the Planning & Zoning Commission, and to abolish the existing Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals and combine the powers and duties of each in the new advisory body.
Mr. Hedges explained that this proposal has been raised by the Board of Trustees in the past, and would serve to streamline the Village’s developmental approval process by reducing the number of meetings required of developers.
Commissioners noted the redundancy in the current procedures, and possible benefit of streamlining the approval process. It was also noted that current members of the Plan Commission would be considered for appointment to the new Planning & Zoning Commission.
Mr. Neal stated that it would be useful to help streamline the development approval process in the Village, by eliminating extra meetings for development proposals.
On motion by A. Neal, seconded by T. Wetzel, to recommend approval of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Regulations, to combine the Plan Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals into one new body, a Planning & Zoning Commission, the vote was 4 ayes, 0 nay; and Chairman Mroch added his positive vote for the record. Motion passed.
On motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 7:39 p.m..
https://www.hampshireil.org/getattachment/6f6bb40a-2b6e-4d72-9370-4e8d2e1b2dfd/2-8-2021.aspx
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