Plan Commission

Thursday, November 20, 2025 Plan Commission Meeting at 6:00 PM PLAN COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA 1. Meeting Opening A. Call to Order B. Roll Call 2. Consent Agenda A. Approval of Minutes 3. Staff Reports 4. Business Items A. Public Hearing for Annexation of PIN 11-16-153-001 5. Discussion A. The sale of hemp based products and cannabis smoking lounge within the City of Sterling. 6. Adjourn The City of Sterling in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that persons with disabilities who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting or have questions about the accessibility of this meeting or facilities, contact the ADA Coordinator at (815) 632-6630 to allow the City of Sterling to make reasonable accommodations for these persons. Page 1 of 12 Plan Commission Minutes June 12, 2025 City Council Chambers On Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 6:44 p.m., Skip McCloud called the regular meeting of the Plan Commission to order. Roll Call. Present: Gordon Harris, Carol Corwell, and Brian Carradus. Absent: Jamie Schwingle and Rene Morris. Also present were City Planner Dustin Wolff, Building and Zoning Superintendent Amanda Schmidt, Attorney Tim Zollinger, Alderperson Elston, and City Clerk Teri Sathoff. Gordon Harris made a motion to approve the minutes from May 15, 2025, as presented; seconded by Carol Corwell. Voting – Ayes: Corwell, Harris, McCloud, and Carradus. Nays: None. Motion carried. City Attorney Zollinger informed the Commission and those present that the Public Hearing that was opened at the May 15, 2025, Plan Commission meeting had been recessed until this meeting to allow for postings and notices. At 6:46 pm, Chair McCloud reopened the public hearing for the approval of a condominium plat for the development of five structures containing ten townhouses. The property is located on the Northeast corner of Lynn Blvd and 16th Avenue and is 1.47 acres. A rezone of this property from SR-4 to MR-10 is being requested. City staff received one comment via phone call from Stephen Berley, 2208 11th Avenue, Sterling. Mr. Berley did not agree with the proposed zoning change. He advised that he would be in attendance, but he was not. The recommendation was made at the May 15, 2025, meeting contingent on notifications, to approve the rezoning of the proposed condominium plat, with a formal/final vote on it at the June 12, 2025, Plan Commission meeting, with the following conditions: 1. Rezoning of the lands from the SR-4, Single-Family District to the MR-10, Multi-Family District. 2. Compliance of all condominium plat instruments with the requirements of the Illinois Condominium Property Act 3. Provide Condominium Declarations and Bylaws for Staff and Attorney review prior to action by the City Council. 4. Relocate the building footprint in the northeast corner of the plat to comply with a 30- foot setback from the north property line. 5. Provide a construction detail and cross-section for the access drive to illustrate it can accommodate emergency service and maintenance vehicles. 6. Any technical corrections required by the City Engineer and Whiteside County. 1 | P a g ePage 2 of 12 Plan Commission Minutes June 12, 2025 City Council Chambers The public hearing was closed at 6:51 pm. At 6:52 pm, Chair McCloud opened the public hearing for the annexation and zoning of Aldi lot 2. The petitioner, Rob Boron, with PMP Holdings, was present to answer questions and provide a background on the proposed development. Mr. Boron stated that the development will include a building with four or five businesses. One of the occupancies will be Jersey Mike's; one of the others is a national chain that is not being named at this time. City Planner Dustin Wolff stated the land use plan recommends this area for continued regional business uses. Brian Carradus asked about planning for the future development of the adjacent properties. Wolff advised that this has been taken into consideration. The public hearing was closed at 6:51 pm. Brian Carradus made a motion to recommend approval of the annexation and the zoning designation of RB Regional Business District for PIN 11-14-276-004; Seconded by Gordon Harris. Voting – Ayes: Corwell, Harris, and Carradus. Nays: None. Motion carried. City Planner Wolff stated that a recommendation to the City Council will need to be made to combine the two lots into one for the development. Carol Corwell made a motion to recommend to the City Council to approve the petition for the Plat, with the following conditions: 1. Approval of the annexation of PIN 1114276004 and zoning of the property to RB, Regional Business District. 2. The Plat be revised to show building setback lines that conform to the RB district. 3. The Plat be revised to show the ROW dedication of the triangular area adjacent to the 25th Street ROW. This area must be labeled on the Plat as being dedicated to the City of Sterling. Provide a mete and bounds description of the triangular area to be dedicated to the a. City of Sterling. 4. The Plat be revised to show the ROW dedication of an additional area, approximately 35- feet x 100-feet. This area must be labeled on the Plat as being dedicated to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). 5. Subject to all technical corrections as required by Whiteside County. 2 | P a g ePage 3 of 12 Plan Commission Minutes June 12, 2025 City Council Chambers Seconded by Brian Carradus. Voting – Ayes: Corwell, Harris, McCloud, and Carradus. Nays: None. Motion carried. With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m. Teri Sathoff City Clerk 3 | P a g ePage 4 of 12 Page 5 of 12 Page 6 of 12 Page 7 of 12 Page 8 of 12 Page 9 of 12 memorandum To: Sterling Plan Commission Amanda Schmidt, Building & Zoning Superintendent From: Dustin Wolff, AICP, City Planner Mike Lewis, AICP, City Planner Cc: Scott Shumard, City Manager Tim Zollinger, City Attorney Date: November 12, 2025 RE: Temple Sholom Annexation & Rezoning LOCATION: PIN # 11-16-153-001 along W Lynn Blvd. Figure 1: Proposed annexation parcel and area lands. BACKGROUND: By annexing land, cities can regulate zoning, land use, and development standards, ensuring consistency with their urban planning goals and preventing uncoordinated growth in nearby unincorporated areas. Cities can extend utilities like water, sewer, and transportation systems to annexed areas, optimizing infrastructure use and reducing costs compared to fragmented systems in unincorporated regions. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Annexations\Temple Sholom Lynn Blvd\ANNEX RZ-Temple Sholm_2025 11 12.docx 1 Page 10 of 12 REZONING EVALUATION: The following are my comments based on the requirements as outlined in Section 102-103 and 102-915 to consider when reviewing a request to rezone a particular property: Zoning of Lands to be Annexed During the process of annexation, any territory (properties) brought into Sterling must be placed into a zoning district. The rezoning of each property will depend on its location, current use and the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The closest City-equivalent zoning is being considered to ensure that properties are legal and conforming with the code based on their current use and operations. This undeveloped parcel is zoned R-2, One-and Two-Family Residence, in the County. See Figure 2. Figure 2: Annexation area with current County zoning districts illustrated. The City will rezone these lands to Single-Family Residential-4 (SR-4) District concurrent to the annexation public hearing process. The purpose of the SR-4 District is to accommodate lower density single-family residential development in the city, and related institutional uses. This district primarily consists of post-World War II residential neighborhoods that have a suburban character and has a maximum density of approximately four units per acre. Development within the SR-4 district should be designed in a coordinated manner with an interconnected street network that is consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan. 2040 Comprehensive Strategic Plan The adopted Plan prioritizes the orderly and efficient annexation of land to the city that will result in providing a complete range of public services and public facilities for the annexed territory and ensure consistency with the adopted Plans and Codes for the City of Sterling. Annexing land already served by City roads will aid the efforts to have both sides of the roadway located within the corporate limits and enable properties to be served by public utilities. Sewer is located on the adjacent Lutheran church property. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Annexations\Temple Sholom Lynn Blvd\ANNEX RZ-Temple Sholm_2025 11 12.docx 2 Page 11 of 12 The Future Land Use Map recommends the area for Agricultural use and will need to be amended to Institutional. See Figure 3. As the location for institutional uses—schools, hospitals, places of worship, utilities, etc.—differ by need, mapping the Institutional category in advance is challenging. Institutional uses are public or quasi-public facilities that serve the broader population rather than generating private profit. Places of worship anchor neighborhoods and are typically located along key corridors. Goal UCF-3 states “Sterling will have an active and engaged community that champions community projects and organizations.” The proposed annexation and zoning to the SR-4 District are consistent with the goals and recommendations for the adopted 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Figure 3: The adopted Future Land Use shows the lands to be annex—outlined in RED—as Agriculture and will be amended to Institutional consistens with the lands to east. RECOMMENDATION: Based on an evaluation of the key “findings of fact”, staff recommends that the Plan Commission recommend approval this annexation and rezoning petition to the City Council for the following reasons: 1. The proposed annexation and zoning of the property to SR-4 Single-Family Residential-4 District conforms to the goals and recommendations expressed in adopted Comprehensive Strategic Plan. 2. The proposed amendment to the Official Zoning Map maintains the desired consistency of land uses, land use intensities, and land use impacts as related to the area of the subject property 3. The proposed zoning map amendment is compatible with the trends for development in the area. 4. The proposed rezoning is compatible with the City’s intent to maintain the area for single-family residential uses and related institutional uses. 5. The land use category for the annexed parcel is amended to be Institutional, consistent with the lands to the east. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Annexations\Temple Sholom Lynn Blvd\ANNEX RZ-Temple Sholm_2025 11 12.docx 3 Page 12 of 12