Logan County Zoning Board makes recommendations for Bed and Breakfast Ordinance and amendments to Solar Ordinance

 

[February 11, 2019] 

On Thursday, February 7, the Logan County Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing to consider two zoning ordinance amendments. The sections addressed included adding bed and breakfast establishments to the special use permit district section, adding requirements for these establishments, adding a definition for bed and breakfast establishments, and amending Appendix F on the regulations applicable to Solar Farms and Gardens Ordinance.

ZBA members present were Bret Farmer, John Fulton, Judy Graff, Scott Noltensmeier, and ZBA Chairman Doug Thompson. Also, Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea was present.

The Regional Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of all the amendments at their meeting on Wednesday, February 6.

Bed and Breakfast Establishment Ordinance

D’Andrea and the Logan County Board's Planning and Zoning Committee have been working on the bed and breakfast ordinance for the past several months.

The definition for Bed and Breakfast Establishments drafted by D’Andrea is “An operator-occupied residence providing accommodations for a charge to the public with no more than five guest rooms for rent, in operation for more than 10 nights in a 12-month period. Breakfast may be provided to the guests only. Bed and breakfast establishments shall not include motels, hotels, boarding houses, or food service establishments.”

D’Andrea said he took the definition for bed and breakfast establishments from the state statute.

Section 3.8-2 of the zoning ordinance lists eleven approval criteria that will apply when considering a special use permit for a bed and breakfast establishment.
 

These criteria include the establishment being located (a) “within a one or two-family dwelling unit,” (b) “on a lot that is a minimum of one acre in size,” and (c) “in a dwelling unit permanently occupied by the owner or manager wherein, as an accessory use to the residential use, rooms are rented to the public.”

Other criteria include (d) providing breakfast “to guests of the bed and breakfast only,” (e) providing “two off-street parking spaces with one additional off-street parking space per lodging room” that “shall be adequately screened from neighboring property.”

The six other criteria are:

f. No more than five guest rooms may be provided. The County Board may, however, further limit the number of lodging rooms allowed in order to maintain the character of the neighborhood in which the bed and breakfast facility is located.”

g. No signs other than a 3 feet x 5 feet identification sign shall be allowed. The maximum height of a freestanding sign shall not exceed six feet (6') above the natural grade where the sign is installed. Lighting is permitted by floodlight only. Signs shall be non-flashing and digital signs are not permitted.

h. The establishment shall comply with the requirements of the State Fire Marshal for one- and two-family dwellings.

i. The operator of the establishment shall obtain certification from the State Fire Marshal that the proposed bed and breakfast establishment meets the requirements of Section 6 of the State of Illinois Bed and Breakfast Act

j. In conjunction with the special use permit application, a floor plan of the proposed bed and breakfast establishment shall be submitted illustrating that the proposed establishment will comply with the requirements for bed and breakfast establishments as set forth by this chapter.

k. The operator shall obtain all required licenses and permits for a bed and breakfast establishment as required by the Logan County Health Department prior to beginning the operation of the bed and breakfast establishment.

Discussion

ZBA members had a few questions about the definition and criteria.

Thompson asked who would be checking the number of nights.

Noltensmeier asked whether the health department would do spot checks.

D’Andrea said he was not sure about the answer to these questions.

Thompson said he has stayed in bed and breakfasts and wants them to be clean and safe and said the criteria does not guarantee that. On the other hand, bed and breakfasts are regulated when people make comments on websites about whether they are great or terrible, so you can look on the internet to see if you would want to stay there or not. Thompson was not sure they need to be regulated “to the nth degree.”

D’Andrea said the ordinance should cover basics such as rooms having an egress.

Fulton asked if the bed and breakfasts would need a commercial kitchen.

D’Andrea said not necessarily because full blown meals do not have to be provided.

Graff asked who the owners would report to and who would regulate compliance after hearing.

D’Andrea said no one would really be regulating them.

Noltensmeier said these establishments may be self-regulated as part of the business.

Thompson asked whether the permit could be revoked.

D’Andrea said it could if the owners fail to meet the criteria or violate regulations by doing something like serving lunch to outside people.

Thompson said state standards include food being clean, no person with a disease should be handling it and the operator should contact the health department if a disease is suspected, and the operator should be certified.

Other standards include utensils being clean, pots and pans washed, sinks sanitized, soap and clean towels provided, linens clean, and smoke detectors in each guest room. Thompson asked whether the ZBA should add these or just say the operator shall comply with state regulations.

Graff said they should just add something saying the operator will comply with state standards.

D’Andrea said that could be section ‘L’ of the criteria.

Farmer motioned that the ZBA approve the definition and all five members present voted yes.

The ZBA also unanimously approved the special use permit adding a section to the criteria about complying with state standards of health and safety.

Solar Ordinance amendments

D’Andrea said in reviewing the solar ordinance the board passed a few months ago, he noticed a breakdown between solar gardens and solar farms with some standards applying only to solar farms. D’Andrea changed some of the structure and amended it so the criteria are the same for both.

When solar gardens are part of a subdivision, dimensional standards will be different. D’Andrea said a 500-foot setback is not needed for residences in subdivisions because it would be on a smaller scale. The setback for solar garden structures in subdivisions will be a minimum of ten feet. All other setbacks would apply to both solar farms and solar gardens.

D’Andrea said with site plans, a drainage report will now need to be submitted.

One amendment recommended by the Regional Planning Commission was changing all the wording on solar farms and solar gardens to solar energy systems for consistency. Solar energy systems was the term used in one section, and in other sections, the term solar projects was used.

Another change suggested by the Regional Planning Commission was to take out a section about navigable streams since Logan County does not have any.

D’Andrea said in the section setbacks and minimum distances, Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp told him “margins of a public road” should be changed to “right of way.”

Noltensmeier asked about fencing around properties and who checks on it.

D’Andrea said no one does, but he would investigate if there was a complaint. It is not something D’Andrea would check regularly.

Graff asked about decommissioning plans and D’Andrea said that was in the ordinance.

Thompson asked for a motion.

Noltensmeier motioned to approve the Solar Ordinance with the changes and the ZBA unanimously recommended approval.

All the amendments to the Zoning Ordinance will be brought forward to the Logan County Board for discussion at the workshop on Thursday, February 14 and voted on at the Regular Board meeting on Tuesday, February 19.

[Angela Reiners]