NORMAL – At their regularly scheduled meeting Monday night in Council Chambers at Normal City Hall, Council members unanimously approved rezoning a 25 acre lot at the southeast corner on Healing Stone Ct. in Normal from General Business to Medium Density Multifamily. The report from Town staff to Council members indicated the developer of the land initially labeled the land for General Business purposes at the time. Now, however, the contract purchaser of the last lot on Healing Stone Ct. sought to change the zoning to General Business. Currently, four of five of the lots on Healing Stone Ct. are zoned as Medium Density Multifamily.

The purchaser of the last remaining lot there wanted to change the zoning from Business zoning to Medium Density Multifamily. The change in zoning would help to re-zone an apartment complex in that part of town. Normal Planning Commission held a public hearing on the matter March 7 where only the developer testified. NPC members voted unanimously to change the zoning.

Council Unanimously Authorizes Publishing Zoning Map: Without discussion, Council members unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the Town to have a zoning map published. The Town does this believing having an up-to-date map published is important for, among its uses, “regulating land uses, protecting property values, supporting economic development and furthering goals” set forth in Normal’s Comprehensive Plan, according to a report to Council members prepared by Town Planner Mercy Davison.

Among the updated PUDs in the zoning map are: Carden Springs PUD, at the northwest corner of Beech St. and Shelbourne Dr.; Infiniti Pointe Subdivision, at the northwest corner of Parkside Dr. and W. Hovey Ave.; and The Archer PUD at the northeast corner of Raab Rd. and the Constitution Trail. Also included now in the zoning map are: Weldon Springs, located north and west of the Wintergreen Subdivision; Grace Church, located at 1311 W. Hovey Ave., and multiple properties owned by Illinois State University.

The zoning map also includes rezoning of property due south of 1282 Healing Stone Ct. A hearing conducted by Normal Planning Commission was held about the property March 7, and the zoning for this map was approved during the Council session.

Liquor Commission Levies Fines, Renews Licenses: Council members, serving in their capacity as members of Normal Liquor Commission, voted unanimously to renew annual licenses for 81 businesses in 11 categories which hold licenses to sell liquor. Categories range from packaged liquor to businesses which sell by the drink, such as bars and restaurants. Businesses in four other categories such as annual catering, outdoor or patio, annual tasting, totaling 27 businesses, also had their liquor licenses renewed for another year by an unanimous vote taken by Liquor Commissioners.

Also on the Normal Liquor Commission agenda was a report of fines being levied on four separate establishments for selling liquor to a person under age 21. The four were: Fiala Brothers Beer LLC doing business as Fiala Brothers Brewery And Beer Hall, 127 E. Beaufort St.; Highland Park CVS doing business as CVS Pharmacy, 100 S. Fell Ave.; 707 Liquors & Mart #3, 108 N. Linden St.; and Chronister Oil Co. doing business as Qik N EZ Convenience Store, 108 N. Linden St.

All four offenses were first-time offenses occurring on Jan. 30. Each business paid the Town a $250 fine.

Omnibus Agenda Items Approved By Council included:

• Approval of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of March 4, 2024.

• Report to receive and file Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of March 13, 2024.

• A resolution to authorize a contract with American Ramp Co. for design and construction of a skate park at Fairview Park in an amount not to exceed $440,000.

• A resolution authorizing a contract extension with Cardinal Infrastructure, LLC for professional services related to Federal advocacy and funding.

• A resolution to waive the formal bidding process and accept a quote from Martin Equipment for the purchase of a 2024 John Deere 410P backhoe loader through Sourcewell Joint Purchasing totaling $114,500.

• A resolution authorizing the purchase of a Falcon 4-ton transporter hot box for asphalt patching from CMW Equipment in the amount of $50,342 through the SourceWell Joint Purchasing Cooperative.

• A resolution to accept bids and award a contract to Rowe Construction, a division of United Contractors Midwest, Inc. for intersection improvements at Fort Jesse Rd. and Landmark Dr. and Fort Jesse Rd. and Greenbriar Dr. in the amount of $2,150,445.93 and an associated budget adjustment.

• A resolution conditionally approving the final plat for Weldon Reserve subdivision second addition.

• A resolution to appropriate $1 million of Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds for the resurfacing of various streets for the 2024 MFT street resurfacing project and authorize the Director of Public Works & Engineering to sign the IDOT General Maintenance Form.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 18th, 2024 at 10:55 pm and is filed under Normal Town Council, The Normalite. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.