[APRIL 6, 2006]
County coordinator Dewey Colter was asked by the
Logan County Board to identify and prioritize ordinances and zoning
issues. He has been heavily reviewing these and meeting with
coordinating departments since last fall. He's identified health and
zoning as the two areas in need of the most updating.
Updating the ordinances would have several effects:
Reduce conflict.
Protect the county
from possible lawsuits.
Generate income
through fines, fees and penalties.
Colter said that he has met with the Logan County Health
Department's new environmental officer. They reviewed past cases and
the current Logan County ordinances that have created conflicts.
Together they have identified several ordinances that need
rewriting.
Since taking on the role of county zoning officer, Colter has
also identified a number of zoning ordinances that are out of date
and have or will create problems for homeowners or businesses that
wish to expand or build new. He provided several examples.
A number of grain elevators were zoned as B-1 or B-2, light
retail zoning. There was not adequate zoning for the grain elevators
at the time they were built. This needs to be uniformly changed.
A number of buildings that were permitted to build or add on are
on a flood plain. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the
state of Illinois are buckling down on flood plain regulations since
heavy payouts on Katrina and Rita. This is important to the whole
county, as the government has the ability to cut off flood insurance
in a county.
Building permits may be granted in some situations, Colter said.
Recently an Elkhart resident went through the process of filling out
the government paperwork successfully.
A number of properties have added small buildings with no primary
structure. County regulations require that a property must have a
primary structure on it before a small building is added. Examples
of this are barrow pits with fishing cottages.
A new building permit fee structure is needed. Colter has checked
to see what other counties are charging. A building permit on the
average structure of 1,500-2,000 square feet at 15 to 20 cents
square foot would cost $350-$400 on a house that would typically go
for $175,000 to $200,000. This would generate an estimated $20,000
to $30,000 per year for the county.
Colter also guided the county in setting up an adjudication
process to assist in enforcing county codes. The adjudication
process was approved by the state's attorney and passed by the board
late last summer. It will take some funding to get it set up, but
once it is going it will pay for itself. That funding is scheduled
to go into the 2007-08 fiscal year, planning and zoning chairman
Dale Voyles said.
One other process that directly involves ordinances is on hold
until the funding can be found. Colter recommends that it is time
for the county to go through a codification process. That is
basically organizing all the ordinances that the county has on the
books. This could be done while simultaneously updating or
eliminating outdated ordinances. The changes and organization would
all work together to reduce frustrations and conflicts and improve
the quality of life in Logan County. It could also play an important
role in the adjudication process, and the changes may raise revenues
for the county.
