Amendment aims to restrict in-home occupations

City council members heard the first reading of a proposed ordinance to amend home occupations regulations at the Feb. 15 meeting.

Planning and development director Jon Oliphant said he compared Washington’s regulations with other Tri-County cities and suggested four primary changes to bring the city in line with surrounding cities’ ordinances.

First, the proposed amendments include a list of prohibited home occupation uses, including animal hospitals, kennels or commercial stables, automobile repair or paint shops, funeral homes, restaurants and tea rooms, tattoo and body piercing establishments and tourist homes or bed-and-breakfast establishments.

The amendment would also require a public hearing with the Zoning Board of Appeals before any home occupation permit is issued.

During such a hearing, the applicant must prove to the ZBA that the business “will not endanger public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare.”

Finally, a new condition was added that requires the owner of the property to consent to the proposed home occupation if the applicant is not the owner.

The council will vote on this amendment at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the library meeting room at Five Points Washington.

In other action, the city council:

• authorized a contract with Architectural Design Group Inc. for the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural  engineering conceptual portions of the police department renovations. Services provided will include a review of previously prepared programming documents, evaluation of existing building components, development of conceptual floor plan and preparation of project budget.

The cost of these services is not to exceed $15,750.

City administrator Bob Morris said he hopes to have an evaluation of the current building, a conceptual floor plan and a detailed project budget by early spring this year.

• reviewed the public safety budget for the current year and for fiscal year 2010-11. Morris said the police department collections are moderately over budget, while expenses are “substantially under budget largely due to unfilled positions vacancies and deferred expenditures.
One of the major expenditures next year will be the 50 percent, or $90,000, increase in the police pension fund expenses. The city council already addressed this increase with a 12 percent increase to the 2009 tax levy payable in 2010.

A few major capital projects that will need to be funded next fiscal year include $20,000 for a new radio repeater to be placed at the Legion Road Fire Station. It will significantly improve radio coverage, especially in the high school, and $7,000 for replacement of five personal computers and software.

• approved the purchase of a $5,000 sponsorship of the 2010 IHSA March Madness Boys Basketball tournament in Peoria.

• authorized the lease of the city’s two farm tracts, Tarvin Farm, 29011 Lakeland Road, Deer Creek, and Blumenshine Farm, 1123 East Cruger Road, Washington, to James Zehr and Martin Voorhees respectively. This is the final year of a three-year commitment entered into by the city and the tenants. Morris said in a memo that the city will “likely want to solicit competitive bids for the farms in advance of the 2011 growing season.”

• approved the final plat for Crooked Lake Estates Subdivision along Schuck Road, creating a new 2-acre lot and a single lot of about 23 acres. The subdivision is owned by Carl and Linda Ross of Washington.

• adopted an ordinance amending penalty provisions and regulation for certain offenses. Specifically, 13 more offenses were added to the list of offenses eligible for a Notice of Violation, including littering in public places, throwing litter from vehicles, soliciting without a permit, injuring or defacing property, trespass to land, disorderly conduct, throwing missiles, loitering, assault, battery, theft, vandalism and possession and use of tobacco by a minor. If issued a notice, an individual would pay the associated fine but would not have to appear in court. According to police chief James Kuchenbecker, this saves time and costs for both the offender and the police officers.

• heard the first reading of an amendment to an ordinance to grant Walgreens Drug Store a Class C liquor license to allow the sale of beer and wine in package. This will increase the number of Class C licenses from two to three. Casey’s General Store on Walnut Street and Washington Road currently holds the other two Class C licenses. The amendment would also decrease the number of current Class D licenses from five to four, with Venue Art and Wine Inc. relinquishing its license.

• approved the appropriation of $400,000 from the MFT fund for sealcoat work throughout Washington. Heat scarification and spray patch work will cost an additional $33,500 paid from the general fund. The .34 miles of road work to be done next year is part of a multi-year street maintenance program developed in 2005. The goal was to sealcoat 45.9 miles over five years. Increased costs have caused the city to fall behind schedule, and only about 87 percent of the original goal has been completed.