CENTERBURG — Proposed development on the horizon for the village drew residents to the Centerburg High School cafeteria on Monday.
About 127 people attended a special meeting of Centerburg Village Council to learn about and comment on two annexations winding their way through the process.
Council members gave a first reading to legislation annexing 85 acres on Johnsville Road at the January council meeting.
They also approved an annexation agreement for 56 acres on Croton Road.
On Monday, Zoning Administrator Jon Merriman outlined the steps involved with annexing the parcels into the village. It starts with a landowner requesting annexation.
“It’s not that we’re looking necessarily for annexation for development of any sort, but it’s always advantageous for us to have it in our jurisdiction so that we get a say in the process,” Merriman said.
Both properties will be annexed under Estate Residential, which allows only one house.
If the landowners want to develop the land as a housing development, they must request rezoning.
“Acceptance of annexation does not approve any development plans,” Merriman said.
“Once they’re in and they’re part of our village, we can work with them to determine what would be an appropriate zoning.”
Opportunities for public input
The rezoning process requires separate applications, notices, public hearings, and approvals by the planning commission.
Merriman said the planning commission bases its zoning recommendation on the developer’s application.
“From a village standpoint, if it has anything to do with a lot of land and lots of development, we want a planned development [district] because it gives us the the most leeway to put whatever say the village wants to put on top of it,” he said.
Commission members then make a recommendation to the village council. Village council repeats the notification and public hearing process. Council members make the final decision.
Merriman said that during the process, the developers will present a preliminary plan detailing their ideas. Village officials will tell the developer the standards they want the developer to meet, such as the amount of green space, facades, sidewalks, or driveway materials.
If the council approves the preliminary plat, the developers have two years to submit a final plan.
“If we give them a preliminary plat and they don’t come back to us for a final plat in two years, it’s dead on the table. They have to start over all over again,” Merriman said.
“We go through the exact same process again. So, any development that’s going to come through, everybody’s going to hear it multiple times.”
The role of a comprehensive plan
Council members also approved soliciting bids for a village comprehensive plan at their January meeting. The village completed its last comprehensive plan in 2014.
A comprehensive plan lays out where the village wants commercial enterprise, apartments, single-family housing, and other development to go.
“A comprehensive plan doesn’t necessarily lock in a zoning. It just gives an idea if somebody … wanted to put their business headquarters here, it gives them some sort of signal to say if we would be acceptable or not to that,” Village Administrator Richard Dzik said.
“It also gives us a little bit of planning for the future on what roads and our infrastructure can handle.”
According to Dzik, the entire comprehensive plan process takes about 18 months. However, he said the village will have good data in the first six months.
“Part of the reason we’re doing this is to see how it affects our current public infrastructure,” he said. “So mainly our sewer plant, but also our roads and things.”
Dzik said the village uses its strategic plan to apply for grants, but noted it does not address growth as a comprehensive plan does.
A comprehensive plan also helps determine the impact fees the village will assess on new development.
Updating the comprehensive plan also includes public hearings and other mechanisms for input, such as surveys or community advisory groups.
Frequently asked questions
The following are questions residents raised during the meeting.
What is the sewer capability?
Sewer capacity is based on population. Dzik said the village can assume another 850 residents before undergoing expansion.
“That doesn’t mean a new plant. The plant is built to expand. We expect that after an expansion we can double our capacity,” he said.
What about a Krause Road annexation?
No one has approached the village about annexing land on Krause Road. However, landowners can only request annexation if the parcel is contiguous to land already in the village. The Krause Road land does not border the village.
How does a planned development affect Centerburg’s status as a village?
Merriman said a city is over 5,000 residents. The current population is around 1,900. Initial plans call for up to 350 single-family homes in the Johnsville annexation and under 100 on Croton Road.
Why is the Johnsville Road annexation acceptable now when it wasn’t before?
The previous owners did not request annexation into the village; therefore, the Regional Planning Commission had jurisdiction over the proposed development. The Swetlands did not meet RPC’s stormwater management requirements within the allotted time frame, so the project died.
Will the village allow prefab housing?
Dzik said neither the landowner, Hondros, nor the proposed developer, Arbor Homes, has submitted documents. However, he said prefab houses are not in the village’s zoning code.
What about the REDD grant? (Residential Economic Development District)
Dzik said the council is considering applying for the housing grant, but reiterated that he made it clear to the developer that there are a number of things the grant requests that the village will not comply with.
For example, the village will not waive fees or allow mobile or modular homes.
“We’re not going to let a grant dictate how the village is going to handle its zoning and annexation, but I think if the village’s priorities align with where the grant’s scoring is, great. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” Dzik said.
He said the village could use grant money to expand sewer or water systems, or to build a new street department facility.
How will the village and township split road maintenance?
Dzik said that typically there is a partnership between the township and the village where the two divide the cost of resurfacing, plowing, and maintenance duties.
How will development affect schools?
Centerburg School Superintendent Ryan Gallwitz said after the meeting that the school’s capacity is 1,300. It currently has 1,000.
He said enrollment was 1,200 10 years ago and that declining enrollment is a statewide trend.
According to Gallwitz, school officials use a 0.8 student-per-household formula to estimate enrollment. He said that with 250 more homes, the biggest change would be adding a bus route. The additional revenue from the homes would cover that cost.
Additionally, village officials are considering creating a New Community Authority, which would allow the village to impose an added fee, typically a specified millage, onto property in a new development. Existing property owners do not pay the fee.
Dzik said the village can use the NCA money for areas affected by growth, including schools.
Will the development be in a TIF district?
A Tax Increment Financing District captures property tax revenue from improved land and places it in a separate fund. TIF funds are then spent on improvements within the TIF’s geographic area. Dzik said the village is not considering a TIF district for any of the developments.
Solicitor Kyle Stroh said abatements are typically tied to commercial development, not residential, because commercial projects generate enough jobs and income taxes that offset the abatement.
Will the annexation create an island?
Stroh said the village can annex around a township parcel, but it cannot annex a parcel that is not contiguous to village parcels.
For example, the village owns the sewer plant parcel on Lock Road, but it is not in the village. It remains in the township.
Suspending the three readings
Several residents questioned the council’s use of suspending the three readings and using the emergency clause for legislation.
Casey Byrnes feels a lack of transparency has created confusion. She mentioned a citizen referendum as an option for village residents to stop the annexation. However, Stroh said legislation passed with the emergency clause is not subject to a referendum.
Historically, the village has approved annexations with the emergency clause, Stroh said.
“When there’s no three readings, there’s no public awareness. When there’s no public awareness, there’s no public objection,” Hilliar Township resident Jenna Hawkins said.
Can the developer sue the village to push through development?
Stroh said the village controls zoning. If a parcel does not have a productive use, such as 1 acre in the middle of the village zoned for agriculture, Stroh said there is a possibility a developer could compel the village to allow housing, for example.
“This 85 acres has been farmed for centuries. If they say we wrongfully prohibited them from putting 80, 60, 200 houses on it, it would be a very, very weak case. So I would not have any concerns,” he said.
Residents speak out
Mike Simmons, Cameron James, Bob Guthrie, and Ron Ricker previously spoke at zoning and council meetings. They reiterated their concerns about uncontrolled growth, flooding, and the effect on the schools.
Guthrie was also concerned that the houses would be corporate rentals. The developer previously said the homes would be single-family, owner-occupied.
Gary Frederick of Gilbert Road said he is not against development. However, he said it seems like “there’s a Bible called the plan” that governs development.
“I don’t see where we have much to say other than an opinion. So, I get concerned when government has ultimate power,” he said.
Joe Fuller said 350 new houses will bring crime, riffraff, and “all those types of things.”
Julie Pruitt Bishop said there is much talk about keeping “the heart of Centerburg.”
“What I don’t see outside of the last two meetings is people showing up for the village,” she said. “Where are all of you when we need festival committee members and volunteers and PTA members?
“I hear people saying we need new development, new residents to support our local businesses. No, we don’t. We need the people who live here to support the community. If you care this much about this village, this community, where are you outside of this conversation?”
Julie Pruitt Bishop
Bishop said she does not oppose growth but wants controlled, smart growth.
“I want good planning, but what I really want is my neighbors to show up,” she said.