 (Copy)Creation of New Street and
Address for New Hospital and Clinic Offices
With the construction of the new
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital to the west of Lincoln Parkway, a
new roadway has been constructed that will intersect with Lincoln
Parkway and provide access to the new hospital and clinic offices.
At the request of hospital administration, the name of the new
access roadway will be Stahlhut Drive.
When the new roadway is connected
to Taylor Court in the near future, the new access roadway will
become a City Street.
Following are the addresses that
have been assigned for the new hospital and clinic offices:
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital:
200 Stahlhut Drive
Springfield Clinic Lincoln: 100
Stahlhut Drive
Potential Construction of Wind
Turbine Energy Systems in Lincoln
The Building and Safety has
received a request for zoning information from an engineering firm
performing a feasibility study for Illinois American Water for the
installation of a wind turbine within the City limits of Lincoln.
Currently there exists no zoning
classification for wind turbines and their installation within City
limits. The engineering firm was not forthcoming as to the exact
location of a wind turbine, but wanted to know the zoning process
that would be involved for such an installation.
Given that a wind turbine use
currently does not exist in the Zoning Ordinance, if the City of
Lincoln wanted to allow such an installation, the Zoning Ordinance
would have to be amended to permit the installation of wind turbine
energy systems.
Given the height and technical
nature of such a use, it is the opinion of staff that the
installation of wind turbine energy systems should be considered a
special use if the use was added to the Zoning Ordinance.
The City of Decatur has recently
adopted very detailed zoning regulations for the installation of
wind turbines and should the City of Lincoln contemplate amending
the Zoning Ordinance to include wind turbines as an allowed use,
those regulations could serve as a guide in the drafting of
regulations for the City of Lincoln.
I am bringing this matter to your
attention, as I believe the installation of wind turbine will soon
become more prevalent as the cost of energy continues to rise and
residents and businesses will be seeking alternative energy options.
Joint Building & Safety and Fire
Department Inspection of Budget Inn
On August 2, 2010, the Building &
Safety Department and the Fire Department performed a joint building
and fire safety inspection of the Budget Inn at 2011 N. Kickapoo.
The Budget Inn has been in chronic
violation of fire and building code regulations and the Building &
Safety Dept. and the Fire Department are taking a proactive, team
approach in addressing the building and fire code violations that
were found to exist on the property.
Following the inspection, the owner
of the Budget Inn was provided violation letters that detailed the
violations that were found to exist and a date by which the
violations had to be corrected.
In response to the inspection by
the Building & Safety Dept. and the Fire Dept. the owner of the
Budget Inn has corrected some of the noted violations and the
Building & Safety Dept. and the Fire Dept. will be conducting a
follow-up inspection within the next few weeks to verify the level
of code compliance and to determine what further enforcement action
will be necessary to correct whatever violations that may still
exist on the property.
The Budget Inn property is highly
visible to those entering the City on Lincoln Parkway and N.
Kickapoo and it is important that the City remain diligent in
working to improve the overall exterior appearance of the property
as well as addressing the life safety issues that exist on the
interior of the property.
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Improved Collection of Nuisance
Abatement Mowing and Cleanup Expenses
Due to the creativity and diligence
of Building and Safety Department staff, the City has experienced a
very positive increase in the payment of expenses incurred in
abating grass and trash nuisances in the City.
Through the creation of a database
of all those properties that have required the City to mow or
cleanup, the Building and Safety Dept. has been able to accurately
track all expenses incurred for each property.
In addition to the creation of a
database, staff has taken a very aggressive approach in tracking
down owners of property or financial institutions that may have
taken over a property due to foreclosure and sends invoices to all
responsible parties.
The City has received payments from
far more properties than ever before and the influx of revenue is a
very welcome outcome, and would not have been realized without the
efforts of Building and Safety Dept. staff.
Recent Court Activities
July 28, 20 I 0 - A $1,525 judgment
plus court costs was awarded the City against Roger Bradburn for
chronic code violations at 819 N. Sangamon.
Since the July 28, sentencing the
property at 819 N. Sangamon has experienced a substantial fire and
staff will attempt to work with the Bradburn’s on the demolition of
the home and the total cleanup of the property.
If the owners of the property do
not take steps to have the fire-damaged home demolished and the
property cleaned, then court action will be initiated.
September 16, 2010 - A $3,125
judgment plus court costs, was awarded the City against Michelle
Fletcher for failure to correct code violations at 221 N. Sangamon.
The property at 221 N. Sangamon has
been in violation of City Code requirements for several months and
despite several ordinance violation notices, little corrective
action was taken by the owner, which led to the imposition of the
$3,125 fine.
Building Activity Report
1.) The total number of building
permits issued from January 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010 is down 14%
from the same period of time in 2009.
2.) Total construction value in
2010 is significantly lower than the construction value in 2009 due
to the construction of the new hospital and Castle Manor, which were
issued building permits in 2009.
3.) The sluggish economy continues
to negatively impact building permit revenue, as a majority of the
building permits being issued are for smaller scale projects, which
generate less permit revenue.
City residents are not undertaking
larger scale projects or new construction and are either foregoing
improvements or are making only necessary repairs.
Code Enforcement Activity
Following is information as to the
number of ordinance violation letters that were sent out from April
to August 2010 compared with the number of ordinance violation
letters sent out from April to August 2009.
|
|
2010 |
2009 |
|
April: |
84 |
46 |
|
May: |
74 |
78 |
|
June: |
121 |
80 |
|
July: |
167 |
72 |
|
August: |
127 |
51 |
As the comparison indicates, the
Building and Safety Department has more aggressively identified and
addressed properties in violation of City Code requirements. The
increased issuance of ordinance violation letters has resulted in a
marked improvement in the appearance and condition of properties
throughout the City.
With the increasing of the fines
and penalties, those found in violation of City ordinances are
finding it far too costly to ignore City directives to abate
nuisances, such as-the accumulation of garbage and debris, and are
taking positive action to eliminate the code violations within the
time limits.
The Building and Safety Department
will continue to remain diligent in the identification of properties
in violation of the City Code and in monitoring progress to verify
that the necessary corrective action is taken.
[Text copied from file received] |
