First 2012 Village Board Meeting Tonight

It’s a new year, and tonight, your village trustees will get back to the business of government. The Village Board will meet for the first time in 2012 tonight at 7 p.m. Here’s a quick look at what they’ll be discussing.

1. A new telecom tower for KenCom. Based in Yorkville, handles 911 dispatch calls for the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department, three police departments (including Oswego and Yorkville) and six fire protection districts (including Oswego). They’re looking to build a new tower near Oswego Fire District Station #3 at 2200 Galena Road.

And ordinarily, there wouldn’t be an issue, but the new tower veers from the village zoning ordinances in some significant ways. 

For one, it would be 190 feet high, and the zoning laws restrict towers to 45 feet. For another, it would be an open lattice design, instead of the required single pole structure in the zoning laws. None of the required fencing and landscaping is in the plans, and KenCom has not furnished a bond or a letter of credit for abandonment.

So KenCom will need a special use to build this tower. The village’s plan commission voted to recommend that special use in November, and now it’s in the hands of the Village Board.

2. Allowing inflatable signs for businesses. Currently, businesses are not allowed to use inflatable signs on their property to advertise. If trustees go with the recommendation of the Plan Commission tonight, that will change. Additionally, the commission would like to see flags and pennants moved into the same category—there’s currently a separate permit for those. So businesses would only need to fill out one form to erect a banner, a pennant or an inflatable.

But wait, there’s more. At present, businesses can receive a maximum of 10 permits in a given year. The commission would like to see that raised to 12 permits, of 15 days each.

Also, the new law would assign permits to businesses, instead of to lots. What does this mean? Planner Jerad Chipman uses the example of on Douglas Road. Several of the other businesses in that building use the lot for signs, but the lot belongs to Dunkin’ Donuts. So under the current law, Dunkin’ is “charged” with each sign—they all count toward its maximum of 10 a year, regardless of who places them there.

The new law would change that, giving each business there the ability to obtain 12 permits a year and place them on that lot.

3. Reducing the number of Class A liquor licenses. This is a bit of housekeeping. The Village Board likes to keep the number of available Class A licenses the same as the number of businesses using them, which, at the moment, would be one— on Montgomery Road. There are two on the books, however, since the Mill Tavern still has one.

The Mill last June, after the death of longtime owner in May. With that license about to expire, village staff is recommending removing it from the books. The board will then consider increasing the number of available licenses when a new request for one is made.

4. Appointing Theresa Sperling to the Plan Commission. Clarence Bark, who served on the commission for 32 years, in December. Village President Marilyn Michelini has chosen Sperling to replace him. Sperling is a financial professional, and in her letter of interest, she noted that her business experience, combined with an education based on the environment and urban studies, would be an asset to the commission.

Sperling is also an occasional blogger on Montgomery Patch. Her term on the commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals would run through Jan. 31, 2015.

The Village Board meets at 7 p.m. at , 200 N. River Street. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly referred to Gray's Mill as the recipient of the other Class A liquor license.