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The proposals were presented by Zoning
Officer Bud Miller at the Regional Planning Commission meeting May 7
and to the Logan County Board May 15. To be enacted, the changes
must withstand scrutiny at a public hearing and be approved by the
Regional Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals and
finally the county board. At the earliest, the county board vote
could come June 17.
The Regional Planning Commission has
given tentative approval, pending recommendations from State's
Attorney Tim Huyett.
The proposed changes include adult
entertainment under a new section on special use permits. The
section applies to uses deemed potentially harmful and therefore
requiring case-by-case consideration. Public need for the activity
and impact on the land are the two key questions.
The county board would rule on each
special use application, after receiving input from the Regional
Planning Commission and after a public hearing conducted by the
Zoning Board of Appeals.
Special uses include buildings taller
than two stories or 35 feet, airports, crematories, incinerators,
junkyards, manufacturing of explosives and flammable gases or
liquids, outdoor motor vehicle racetracks, and outdoor shooting
ranges as well as adult entertainment establishments. If the zoning
changes are enacted, previously existing facilities, such as the
Sportsman's Club and the racetrack near Middletown, may continue to
operate but cannot expand without a special use permit, Miller said.
According to the definitions section of
the proposed ordinance, an adult entertainment establishment might
be an adult bookstore, modeling studio, bathhouse, massage parlor or
exotic dancing facility and might include live, taped or filmed
sexual activities. Most of these terms are defined in the ordinance.
If the ordinance is enacted, such an
establishment could not be within 1,500 feet of any school, park,
religious assembly or residential-zoned lot. It must be at least
2,000 feet from any bar or tavern and from any other adult
entertainment facility.
The adult content must remain strictly
within the building, not visible through windows or doors. Signs
would be limited in size, placement and content. Lighting of parking
areas must be between .25 and 3.0 foot candles.
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Besides adding the section on special
use permits, the proposed ordinance revision entirely rewrites the
section on parking junk motor vehicles on residential property. It
stipulates that no inoperable or unlicensed vehicle may be parked
longer than 10 days on a residential lot. Likewise, in residential
areas a person may not offer for sale more than one vehicle at a
time and may not sell any inoperable vehicle or its parts.
However the junk car provisions do not
apply to historic vehicles over 25 years old or any vehicle hidden
from view in a building. Nor do they apply to vehicles on the
premises of a lawful business.
The zoning ordinance proposal adds
requirements to the section on sewer and water in areas where public
service is not available for an "area for a replacement (sewage)
system, and a private water supply." Presently the minimum area for
a single-family lot is 20,000 square feet, but it is being proposed
that if a larger parcel is required by the zoning officer at the
recommendation of the county health administrator, the minimum area
may be increased.
The proposal also stipulates: "Private
sewage system type shall be determined by the Health Department,
based on a soil analysis, the cost of which shall be born by the
permit requester." Miller estimated the cost of soil analysis at
$225.
Health Department Administrator Lloyd
Evans said the county soils map uses about two borings per acre, but
the required soil analysis will incorporate five to 10, depending on
the site.
Copies of
the proposed zoning ordinance changes can be obtained from Bud
Miller or Phil Mahler at the zoning office, 529 S. McLean, Lincoln,
telephone 732-8835. Anyone wishing to comment on the proposal should
contact Miller or a member of the Regional Planning Commission, the
Zoning Board of Appeals or the Logan County Board.
[Lynn
Spellman]
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