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Logan County Board
July Zoning and Economic Development Meeting
[July 09, 2025]
On Monday, July 7th, the Zoning
and Economic Development Committee of the larger Logan County Board
met for their monthly meeting. The meeting was held in the Blue Room
of the Logan County Safety Complex building starting at 6:30 p.m.
Four of the five committee members were present. This included
Chairman Michael DeRoss, Vice Chairman Kathy Schmidt, Joseph
Kuhlman, and Bob Sanders. Absent was Hannah Fitzpatrick. Also in
attendance were Zoning and Economic Development Officer Al Green as
well as county board members Gil Turner, Kevin Knauer, and Jim
Wessbecher.
The meeting began as all meetings do, with the approval of the
minutes from the previous meeting. With the customary unanimous
vote, DeRoss moved the meeting on to old business, of which there
were two items. The first was an update on energy projects, which
was given by Green. He stated that two community solar farms were
approved last month. He also shared that the new home occupations
and personal solar ordinances had passed last month as well. Green
then continued, saying that there was a new application for a solar
farm near Emden, which will be going before the Zoning Board of
Appeals this Thursday. Green described the location of this project
as “off 136.” Green’s last update was that someone from Spain was
looking to build more wind farms in Logan County. Several comments
were made about the increasing lack of location for wind farms.
The second item on the agenda for old business was battery storage
and legal council, something that has been on the agenda under old
business for several months. Companies are looking to build battery
storage facilities in Logan County, as well as around the state. The
Planning Commission decided to see what the state was going to pass
regarding this before writing any official ordinance updates
regarding it. From what Green shared, Planning is against the idea
of allowing this. He shared that they took a vote to have Green
write a two sentence ordinance saying ‘no’ in preparation for
whatever may come. DeRoss shared his concern that an ordinance that
short, should it go against state law, would likely end up going to
court. DeRoss then shared that, from what he has seen and heard, he
is expecting the state to pass a law that allows these battery
storage facilities to be built.
DeRoss then moved the committee on
to new business. The first was a brief introduction to a quarry
project that is being considered. Green shared that the county may
be able to do something with the land outside of Lincoln, sharing
his idea for a recreation/camping area. He shared that his hope is
an area like this will attract people outside the county to come and
visit. The committee seemed receptive to the idea and asked Green to
get more information on this potential project for next month.
The second, and last, item on the agenda for new business was
labeled “recent legislation.” The Illinois Congress recently shot
down legislation that would have had a major impact on Illinois’
energy sector. This bill, referred to as the “energy omnibus bill”
in last month’s meeting, was described by DeRoss as allowing the
state to take control of energy and solar projects from the
counties, with the counties having little say. DeRoss stated that,
even though this bill did not pass, he heard from Senator Sally
Turner that it is expected to be recalled to be considered again.
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Next was the Zoning and Economic
Development Officer Report. Green shared that eight personal solar
permits, one cell tower permit, a new garage permit, and a new house
permit were all approved last month. Green then shared that, since
the home occupations and personal solar ordinances were passed, the
ordinances have not been published on the county website. He had an
issue recently where a landowner wanted to put a solar project on
his land and was denied based on the new ordinance. The landowner
called Green and was very upset as he did not have access to this
new ordinance. Green shared that he is not able to get into and
change the ordinance on his end, but that Bret Aukamp of the Highway
Department can and is going to help him.
Green continued, sharing the Sugar
Creek is going to be bringing an application forward soon to add
solar panels to their wind farms. He also shared that he received a
subpoena from Bev Kavelman for planning records. Green shared that
he put the records together and sent them to an attorney in Peoria,
as well as Logan County States Attorney Brad Hauge. Green continued,
saying that he received a phone call from someone who finished
building a house but was never assigned an address. After doing some
digging, Green shared that Kavelman was the one who issued the
addressless permit. An address was assigned for the permit within
the last month. Green shared that he is going to be sending this to
Hauge as well in case it is needed.
The next item discussed regarded the water tower in Middletown’s
historical preservation and antennas that are on it. There is a
proposal to change around some of those antennas, but some people
are concerned that this may compromise the historical nature of the
watertower. Green stated that most of the cell tower permits that
have been issued in the area were just to change the antennas on
them. He also stated that Middletown does have the right to say ‘no’
to having the cell tower updated.
The final item discussed was a brief update on the Viper Mine
closure grant that the board voted to apply for last month. DeRoss
shared that he got the application in, and that the county board
wrote at least 35 letters of support to other entities in the county
that also applied. He is not sure how much the county is going to
get yet.
After this update was given, the committee voted to adjourn.
[Matt Boutcher]
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