City of DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes | City of DeKalb, Illinois/Facebook
City of DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes | City of DeKalb, Illinois/Facebook
City of Dekalb City Council met Oct. 28.
Here is the agenda provided by the council:
A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
C. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
D. PRESENTATIONS – NONE
E. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
F. APPOINTMENTS – NONE
G. CONSENT AGENDA
1. Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of October 14, 2024.
2. Accounts Payable and Payroll through October 28, 2024, in the Amount of $3,563,635.64.
3. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report – September 2024.
4. FY2024 Human Services Funding 3rd Quarter Report.
5. Resolution 2024-104 Authorizing the Approval of Certain Executive Session Meeting Minutes.
H. PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. Public Hearing for the TIF Redevelopment Plan and Project for the South Fourth Street TIF Redevelopment Project Area.
City Manager’s Summary: This Public Hearing is in conformance with the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act (“TIF Act”) and consistent with the updated Fourth Street TIF schedule of August 1, 2024. Public notices have been provided as required by the TIF Act.
The purpose of this hearing is to give the public an additional, formal opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns about the proposed South Fourth Street TIF Redevelopment Plan and the revised Project Area Map (see attached). Up to this point, the public has had an opportunity to comment about the prospect of a TIF program for South Fourth Street at the following public meetings:
▪ The January 26, 2024, Joint Review Board meeting at which the City’s intention to pursue a consulting contract was first announced to the JRB.
▪ The February 12, 2024, Council meeting at which the Council discussed and approved a consulting agreement with PGAV Planner, LLC (Resolution 2024-017).
▪ The April 12, 2024, JRB meeting at which the first South Fourth Street TIF project area map was reviewed. Following this meeting, the Project Area Map was revised to remove some parcels on Lucerne Lane and the corner of S. Seventh Street and Southmoor Drive.
▪ The August 12, 2024, Council meeting at which the Council approved an “Interested parties Registry” entitling residents and organizations active within the City to receive all notices and documents required by the TIF Act. This opportunity was over and above the statutory public process. To date, two parties have registered.
▪ An informal public open house at Huntley Middle School on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at which Mayor Barnes, Council members Greg Perkins and Andre Powell, and City staff answered questions about the proposed TIF district.
▪ The special JRB meeting of September 27, 2024, at which the updated Plan and Map were reviewed in detail and some recommendations were made for further refinement of the “estimated redevelopment project costs” as represented on p. 22 of the Plan. In the attached plan, the estimated project costs are listed as follows:
| Exhibit G: Revised Estimate of Redevelopment Project Costs (in 2024 dollars) | ||
| Description | Estimated Cost | % of Total |
| A. Public Works or Improvements | $3,000,000 | 27.06% |
| B. Property Assembly, Site Preparation, Demolition | $1,573,015 | 14.19% |
| C. Building Rehabilitation/Retrofit | $6,191,530 | 55.86% |
| D. Relocation Costs | $120,000 | 1.08% |
| E. Job Training | $100,000 | 0.90% |
| F. Planning, Legal and Professional Services | $100,000 | 0.90% |
| G. Interest Costs Incurred by Developers | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total Estimated Costs: | $11,084,545 | 100.00% |
a) The proposed TIF area does qualify as a “conservation area” as determined in the TIF Plan; and
b) The properties in the Plan area are not reasonably anticipated to be improved “but for” the direct participation of the City to provide funding in the form of financial incentives and infrastructure spending.
At the regular JRB meeting of October 25, 2024, the JRB will be asked to consider an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) proposing a surplus distribution (see attachment).
No Council action is required. A copy of the revised Project Plan and Map are attached. The Council will take up adopting ordinances as early as November 12, 2024.
2. Public Hearing Regarding a Proposed Annexation and Development Agreement for Approximately 147 Acres of Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive – Project Midwest (Mohr Acquisitions, LLC).
City Manager’s Summary: This Public Hearing invites interested persons to speak to a proposed annexation and rezoning for a 147-acre site at the northeast corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive. The applicant, Mohr Acquisitions, LLC, has submitted a petition for the annexation and rezoning of this land, along with the approval of a conceptual development plan and development agreement. Once annexed, the parcel would automatically be zoned “SFR1” Single-Family Residential District, so the rezoning petition would change the annexed zoning designation to the “PD-I” Planned Development Industrial District, which is more appropriate to the warehouse use proposed for the site. The proposed development consists of a building that will be approximately 1,322,800 square feet to accommodate logistics, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and warehouse uses. The concept plan conforms with development standards that will accommodate such industrial uses. A future potential expansion of 228,480 square feet is also shown on the concept plan. The name for the development is Project Midwest.
The site is currently in unincorporated DeKalb County, but contiguous to the City to the north and to the west across Peace Road. The approximately 1,322,800 square foot building stretches north to south on the site and potential building expansion of 228,480 square feet is shown on the north end of the proposed building. A full truck access is planned along Peace Road across from Macom Drive. Two access points are also shown along Fairview Drive. The western access will be for employees and visitors and the eastern access will be for truck traffic.
There will be 380 parking spaces, 731 trailer parking spaces, and 117 future trailer parking spaces. In addition, there will be about 150 truck docks. Although the number of employees was not provided, the applicant intends to provide parking per the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which is based upon the number of employees for the proposed types of uses. An eight foot high black vinyl fence is proposed around the perimeter of the subject site to provide security.
Adequate public services will be provided to the subject property. Detention areas are proposed on the west and southeast portions of the subject site. A 15” sanitary sewer runs along the north side of Fairview Drive from Peace Road to Webster Road. A 16” water main runs along the west side of Peace Road adjacent to the subject property. Under “Ordinances,” below, there are three ordinances pertaining to the annexation, rezoning, and annexation agreement for Project Midwest. More detailed background is provided with those ordinances.
I. CONSIDERATIONS
1. Consideration of the Annual Property Tax Levy in the City of DeKalb.
City Manager’s Summary: In 1779, when Benjamin Franklin was asked whether or not the newly adopted U.S. Constitution would last, Benjamin Franklin famously remarked that “in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” With respect to Illinois, at least, Franklin’s observation was prescient. The ability to tax property in Illinois was included in the state’s first constitution in 1818. It is an “ad valorem tax,” which in Latin means “according to value” and not according to the ability to pay. The property tax in Illinois was initially a state tax, but growth and political pressure resulted in the Illinois Revenue Code of 1853, which allowed taxation by townships and established a system of local assessors sworn by oath to provide true assessments of personal property. A state Board of Equalization was established in 1867 to make sure the ostensibly true assessments were equalized across a county.
A push-and-pull between personal property taxes and sales taxes has ensued over the past 150 years in Illinois as state legislators have sought to shore up state funds without pushing local taxpayers to revolt. The last state-levied property tax was repealed in 1932 at the depth of the Great Depression, but a state sales tax was instituted in 1933. The State of Illinois passed an income tax in 1968 and the Illinois Constitution of 1970 eliminated the corporate property tax, but a corporate income tax was instituted in the late 1970s. At the municipal level, cities with populations over 25,000 were established as home rule bodies under the 1970 Illinois Constitution, allowing them to impose a variety of user fees, local sales taxes, and licensing fees. DeKalb has taken advantage of that allowance since 1970.
Although outside the subject of urban property tax systems, it should be noted that in 1981, after urban sprawl had artificially inflated farmland prices and rural tax bills, the State of Illinois changed the basis of assessing farmland to focus on the farmland’s agricultural economic value or ability to produce. Since then, farmland values have been calculated on the basis of soil type, drainage, and other economic factors.
In the 1950s and 1960s the role of the property tax expanded dramatically, in no small part because of a post WWII “baby boom” that prompted strong local demand for quality public schools. In 1991, as the baby boom and a follow-on generation had passed through local schools, the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) provided that non-home rule taxing districts in the Chicago collar counties were restricted from increasing property tax extensions by more than 5% or the change in the applicable Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. DeKalb County is subject to PTELL. In the early 2000s, further exemptions were instituted for senior citizens with homestead status and seniors with lower income thresholds. Additionally, general homestead exemptions have been increased to $6,000. Home rule municipal governments are not subject to PTELL.
Today, over 6,600 local taxing bodies in Illinois impose property taxes. On average across the state, the largest property tax takers are the Schools (60%), Cities (12.5%, includes Townships), Counties (9%), Parks (4.5%), and Community Colleges (4%). In 2023, based on their tax rates, DeKalb’s local tax shares ranked as follows:
| 2023 Comparative Property Tax Shares | ||
| Taxing Body | Tax Rate | % of Aggregate |
| DeKalb School District | 5.67500 | 60.29% |
| County of DeKalb | 0.89986 | 9.56% |
| City of DeKalb | 0.81096 | 8.62% |
| DeKalb Park District | 0.64887 | 6.89% |
| Kishwaukee College | 0.58440 | 6.21% |
| DeKalb Public Library | 0.35573 | 3.78% |
| DeKalb Road & Bridge | 0.15305 | 1.63% |
| KWRD | 0.09512 | 1.01% |
| DeKalb Township | 0.12575 | 1.34% |
| DeKalb County Forest Preserve | 0.06404 | 0.68% |
| 9.41278 | 100.00% | |
Levy of Taxing Body (numerator) = Rate
Community EAV (denominator)
In 2023, the City of DeKalb’s levy was $7,723,459. The City’s rate-setting EAV was $952,383,378. The resulting 2023 City property tax rate was 0.81096. The calculation is shown below:
$7,723,459 = 0.81096
$952,383,378
The following table tracks the City’s levies, EAVs and tax rates over the past 10 years:
| Year
2014 | Rate-Setting EAV: City
464,966,381 | City Levy
4,270,540 | City Rate
1.02450 | % Difference:
City Rate |
| 2015 | 468,077,742 | 5,094,730 | 1.19420 | 16.56% |
| 2016 | 503,861,829 | 5,565,384 | 1.20210 | 0.66% |
| 2017 | 529,629,464 | 6,004,594 | 1.22680 | 2.05% |
| 2018 | 547,947,687 | 6,017,140 | 1.18830 | -3.14% |
| 2019 | 585,726,839 | 6,269,649 | 1.15410 | -2.88% |
| 2020 | 610,333,062 | 6,522,507 | 1.06868 | -7.40% |
| 2021 | 694,171,673 | 6,845,317 | 0.98612 | -7.73% |
| 2022 | 794,561,930 | 7,119,130 | 0.89599 | -9.14% |
| 2023 | 952,383,378 | 7,723,459 | 0.81096 | -9.49% |
DeKalb EAV 2024
| Afton Township (Meta Only) | |
| Pre-Equalization 2024 EAV | $459,509,233 |
| 2024 Multiplier | 9.35% |
| Subtotal | $502,473,346 |
| New Construction (included in EAV) | $261,993,708 |
| Minus E-Zone | $65,000,000 |
| Subtotal (Afton Township) | $437,473,346 |
| DeKalb Township | |
| 2024 EAV | $1,049,792,400 |
| Plus State Assessed | $3,172,740 |
| Subtotal | $1,052,965,140 |
| New Construction (included in EAV) | $26,182,848 |
| Minus E-Zone | $104,060,661 |
| Subtotal (DeKalb Township) | $948,904,479 |
| Minus Exemptions | -$64,840,676 |
| Total EAV DeKalb & Afton Townships | $1,317,537,149 |
| City of DeKalb—Theoretical DeKalb Taxpayer | |||||||
| Year | Base EAV | Equalization Factor | New EAV | Homestead | Final EAV | DeKalb Rate | DeKalb Tax |
| 2019 | $97,906 | 1.0351 | $101,343 | -$6,000 | $95,343 | 1.1549 | $1,101.11 |
| 2020 | $101,343 | 1.0409 | $105,488 | -$6,000 | $99,488 | 1.06868 | $1,063.21 |
| 2021 | $105,488 | 1.0162 | $107,197 | -$6,000 | $101,197 | 0.98612 | $997.92 |
| 2022 | $107,197 | 1.0662 | $114,293 | -$6,000 | $108,293 | 0.89599 | $970.30 |
| 2023 | $114,293 | 1.0953 | $125,185 | -$6,000 | $119,185 | 0.81096 | $966.54 |
| 2024 | $125,185 | 1.1469 | $142,575 | -$6,000 | $136,575 | 0.63310 | $864.66 |
As in every fiscal year since 2013, the City of DeKalb’s property tax levy is entirely dedicated toward the funding of Fire and Police pensions. In terms of the total General Fund revenues, in 2003, 12% of all operating revenues were dedicated toward state Fire and Police pensions; the total in 2024 was 20%. The 2024 legislative Spring session in Springfield failed, once again, to produce even a shell bill that would address the long-term structural problem in the unfunded state pension obligations. Even the rumored possibility of bringing the assets of the Police and Fire downstate public safety pension funds to a 90% funding level by 2050 instead of 2040 through an agreed bill at the eleventh hour failed to materialize. As a result, no state legislative action in the veto session this fall will alter the City’s actuarial responsibilities as laid out in the annual actuarial reports for the active and retired “lives” covered by the City’s police and fire pension boards. There will be an upward spike in the City’s pension obligations, partly owing to new hires but primarily owing (in 2024) to the imperatives of the closed amortization system.
The City will meet 100% of its pension obligations, but the City property tax levies will not cover the entirety of that obligation. The balance will be paid from other General Fund revenues as indicated in the table below:
| Fiscal
Year | Actuarial Required
Contribution | City's Adopted
Tax Levy | Shortfall
$ | Shortfall
% | |
| 2022 | Fire Pension
Police Pension Total increase over PY | $4,415,632
$3,707,827 $8,123,459 2.87% | $3,720,878
$3,124,439 $6,845,317 4.95% | $694,754
$583,388 $1,278,142 | 15.73%
15.73% 15.73% |
| 2023 | Fire Pension
Police Pension Total increase over PY | $4,933,015
$3,901,382 $8,834,397 8.75% | $3,869,713
$3,249,417 $7,119,130 4.00% | $1,063,302
$651,965 $1,715,267 | 21.55%
16.71% 19.42% |
| 2024 | Fire Pension
Police Pension Total increase over PY | $5,343,974
$4,130,481 $9,474,455 7.25% | $4,215,632
$3,507,827 $7,723,459 8.49% | $1,128,342
$622,654 $1,750,996 | 21.11%
15.07% 18.48% |
Police Pension $4,615,568 $3,788,453 $827,115 17.92%
Assistive services, including hearing assistance devices, available upon request.
Total $10,417,611 $8,341,336 $2,076,275 19.93% increase over PY 9.95% 8.00%
As in every fiscal year since 2013, the City of DeKalb’s property tax levy is entirely dedicated toward the funding of Fire and Police pensions. In terms of the total General Fund revenues, in 2003, 12% of all operating revenues were dedicated toward state Fire and Police pensions; the total in 2024 was 20%.
As shown in the table above, the state (Fire and Police) pension obligations to be covered by the 2024 levy increased by $943,156 or 9.95%. The proposed 2024 City pension levies will conservatively increase by only $617,877 or 8%, creating a funding shortfall that must be covered by sales and use taxes and any other available General Fund revenues.
In 2024, DeKalb’s unfunded state pension liabilities are as follows:
Fire: $58,732,996 (41.6% funded, up from 41% in 2023)
Police: $46,588,471 (52.8% funded, down from 53.6% in 2023)
Total: $105,321,467 (the total in 2023 was $98,504,265)
With a fiduciary obligation of such enormous magnitude that is growing toward a million every year, one truly feels that the City’s annual contribution is like paying only interest on a growing credit card debt. DeKalb is not alone. Across the entire state, the combined total of Fire and Police liabilities in 2018 was about $960,000,000. Currently, it is well over a billion dollars. The solution is beyond local municipal resources. The answer, which cannot come soon enough, is a different amortization model. Amortizing a pension system as if every obligation needs to be paid on a certain date – whether it is 2040 or 2050 – is fiscally and politically foolhardy. The resolution of this fiscal challenge rests with the State of Illinois and will require the collaboration of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois (AFFI), Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), municipalities across the state (aligned with the Illinois Municipal League or IML), and the Illinois legislature. Negotiations within and between such large, vested interests need to begin – the outcome will be years away, but the clock is ticking.
The City’s operating reserve will diminish as the annual pension obligation increases and the City meets the 100% funding target each year. It is estimated that the City’s General Fund balance will steadily diminish over the next ten years to a point where it will no longer exceed the policy threshold of 25% of the annual General Fund expenditures.
City Council approval of the recommended City levy of $8,341,336 is requested.
J. RESOLUTIONS
1. Resolution 2024-105 Authorizing a TIF (Fund 262) Architectural Improvement Program (AIP) Grant for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of DeKalb at 158 N. Fourth Street in the Amount of $25,000.
City Manager’s Summary: The attached AIP application has been submitted on behalf of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of DeKalb. Aside from Hope Haven, the congregation presently provides the only established overnight warming center in DeKalb. The condition essential to such a service is obviously a properly working heating system. Dan Kenney, president-elect of the Congregation, contacted the City Manager in early October and reported that their rooftop, forced air heating system needs to be fully replaced. The lowest contractor estimate is $56,300. Such mechanical repair work qualifies for a 50% reimbursement under the City’s TIF Architectural Improvement Program (AIP), but at this time the 2024 allocation in the TIF #3 Fund has been exhausted.
After further conversation with Mr. Kenney, the City Manager proposes that the Council support the AIP application, with authority to reimburse the Congregation after January 1, when the FY2025 Budget should have a full allocation of $100,000 for such TIF AIP grants. This recourse assumes, of course, that the Council will approve an FY2025 Budget that continues such TIF funding. Given the success of the TIF AIP program in sustaining small downtown businesses and not-for-profits in recent years, the City Manager recommends Council approval of the maximum allocation of $25,000 (slightly less than 50% in this case).
City Council approval is recommended.
2. Resolution 2024-106 Authorizing the Purchase of a Vehicle Exhaust Removal System for DeKalb Fire Station Four by Hastings Air Energy Control, Inc. in the Amount of $37,355.
City Manager’s Summary: This Resolution and the following one relate to equipment needed in the new Fire Station #4. Although the Council has already authorized the general construction contract with Irving Construction, there are finishes that are not part of that contract that will need to be purchased for the station before it opens. Those purchases that exceed the City Manager’s authority (i.e. over $20,000) will need to come before the Council for approval, according to the City’s financial policies.
As in the City’s three other fire stations, an exhaust removal system is needed in Fire Station #4 to remove caustic exhaust fumes as Fire vehicles are started, and until they leave the building. The preferred system involves 5-inch hose connections connected to vehicle exhaust pipes that expel the harmful exhaust with the assistance of large blower fans. Hastings Air Energy Control is the preferred contractor and has submitted a bid of $37,355 for the new Station #4 system.
City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)
3. Resolution 2024-107 Authorizing the Purchase of the Phoenix G2 Station Alert System for DeKalb Fire Station Four from US Digital Designs in an Amount Not to Exceed $47,796.56.
City Manager’s Summary: Similarly, the installation of the station alert system for the new Station #4 involves a purchase outside the general contract for the station construction. The system in place in the City’s other three fire stations has been provided and maintained by US Digital Designs and employs the “Phoenix G2” software and hardware. The system includes lighting alerts and tone alerts that “ramp up” alerts to Fire staff. Areas throughout the new station will have display screens, smart speakers, and smart lighting which will also be more agreeable to the residential neighbors established nearby.
City Council approval of the Digital Designs bid at a not to exceed price of $47,778.74 is recommended.
K. ORDINANCES – SECOND READING – NONE
L. ORDINANCES – FIRST READING
1. Ordinance 2024-050 Authorizing an Annexation and Development Agreement with Mohr Acquisitions LLC for Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive (Project Midwest).
City Manager’s Summary: As with other substantial industrial projects, an annexation and development agreement laying out reciprocal responsibilities of the City and the developer are detailed in an annexation and development agreement. If the Council concurs with the terms, then the approval of the actual annexation, rezoning, and other action steps is in order.
As Planning Director Dan Olson writes in his background memorandum, MOHR Acquisitions, LLC has submitted an annexation and development agreement for an approximately 147-acre site at the northeast corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive. The applicant is requesting rezoning, upon annexation, from the “SFR1” Single-Family Residential District to the “PD-I” Planned Development Industrial District for this development, known as “Project Midwest.”
The proposed development consists of a building that will be approximately 1,322,800 square feet to accommodate logistics, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and warehouse uses, with the potential for a 228,480 square foot future building expansion to the north. The petitioner seeks approval of a concept plan along with associated development standards that will accommodate the uses.
The site is currently in unincorporated DeKalb County, but contiguous to the City to the north and to the west across Peace Road. A full truck access is planned along Peace Road across from Macom Drive. Two access points are shown along Fairview Drive. The western access will be for employees and visitors and the eastern access will be for truck traffic.
There will be 380 parking spaces, 731 trailer parking spaces, and 117 future trailer parking spaces. In addition, there will be about 150 truck docks. Although the number of employees was not provided, the applicant intends to provide parking per the Unified Development Ordinance, which is based upon the number of employees for the proposed types of uses. An eight foot high black vinyl fence is proposed around the perimeter of the subject site to provide for some security.
Adequate public services will be provided to the subject property. Detention areas are proposed on the west and southeast portions of the subject site. A 15” sanitary sewer runs along the north side of Fairview Drive from Peace Road to Webster Road. A 16” water main runs along the west side of Peace Road adjacent to the subject property.
The proposed agreement and related plans were distributed to the various City Departments and the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District (KWRD) over the past two months. The site will require annexation to the KWRD, and the petitioner has communicated with the District on the required fees and permits. Roadway improvements will be required along Fairview Drive and Peace Road, at the owner’s expense. The necessary improvements will be based upon a traffic study, which will be required in conjunction with the Preliminary/Final Development Plan. The traffic study will take into account the proposed future expansion to the building as well.
In the proposed agreement, recommended setbacks for parking and buildings are consistent with the requirements approved along Peace Road and Gurler Road in similar projects. For parking, 100 feet will be required from Peace Road and 50 feet from Fairview Drive. For buildings, 175 feet will be the standard from Peace Road and 150 feet from Fairview Drive. The proposed agreement also requires that a Preliminary/Final Plan be submitted and brought back to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for review and approval. The Final Plan will include engineering, landscaping, building elevations and a lighting plan. The Agreement adheres to the following development standards:
Permitted Uses: Logistics, Manufacturing, Packaging, Distribution, Warehouse, and accessory uses in a building not exceeding 1,350,000 square feet. A building addition of no more than 228,480 sq. ft. shall be allowed with City staff approval taking into account traffic and stormwater impacts.
Bulk Regulations/Landscaping/Parking/Open Space: Setbacks, building lines, site coverage, building dimension limitations, height restrictions, parking, landscaping and other similar restrictions and regulations shall meet those standards as set forth in the “HI” and “PD-I” District of the UDO, except as listed below.
▪ Minimum setbacks - (a) parking – 100 feet from Peace Road and 50 feet from Fairview Drive; (b) building – 175 feet from Peace Road and 150 feet from Fairview Dr.
▪ An eight foot high black vinyl fence is permitted around the perimeter of the subject site.
Because the future zoning of the parcel is referenced and explained in the annexation and development agreement, the Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing regarding the annexation agreement at their last regular meeting on October 21, 2024. By a vote of 5 to 0 (Commissioner Becker was absent) the Commission recommended City Council approval of the annexation and development agreement for the construction of an approximate 1,350,000 sq. ft. building and a future expansion to accommodate logistics, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and warehouse uses per the Concept Plan.
City Council approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation is requested.
2. Ordinance 2024-051 Approving the Annexation of Certain Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive to the City of DeKalb (Project Midwest – Mohr Acquisitions LLC).
City Manager’s Summary: If the Council approves the annexation and development agreement summarized above, then the Council shall not unreasonably decline to approve the act of annexation as referenced in the attached annexation ordinance.
City Council approval is requested.
3. Ordinance 2024-052 Approving the Zoning Petition of Mohr Acquisitions LLC to Rezone Certain Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive to the “PD-I” Planned Development Industrial District and Approving a Concept Plan for the Development of an Approximately 1,322,800 Square Foot Building to Accommodate Logistics, Manufacturing, Packaging, Distribution and Warehouse Uses (Project Midwest).
City Manager’s Summary: As noted in the Public Hearing portion of this Agenda, the parcel is currently within DeKalb County. Once annexed, by state statute the parcel would automatically be zoned “SFR1” Single-Family Residential District (the most restrictive district in the City’s zoning classifications). The rezoning petition would change the annexed zoning designation to the “PD-I” Planned Development Industrial District which is more appropriate to the warehouse and distribution uses proposed for the site.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing regarding the rezoning petition and concept plan at their meeting on October 21, 2024. By a vote of 5 to 0 (Commissioner Becker was absent) the Commission recommended City Council approval of the rezoning, upon annexation, from the “SFR1“Single-Family Residential District to the “PD-I” Planned Development Industrial District for the subject property located at the northeast corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive for the construction of an approximate 1,350,000 square foot building and a future expansion to accommodate logistics, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and warehouse uses per the Concept Plan.
City Council approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation is requested.
M. REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
1. Council Member Reports.
2. City Manager Report.
N. EXECUTIVE SESSION – NONE
O. ADJOURNMENT
Alerts Sign-up