Zoning limbo: second reading for auto body repair shops fails

After having passed the first reading by a 4-1 vote Jan. 6 to move auto body repair shops from an excluded to permitted use in the B-3 Commercial/Interstate District, the second reading failed to pass at the Jan. 20 Osceola City Council meeting.

With two of the five council members absent - one due to illness and one due to coaching obligations - any measures to be voted on needed to pass unanimously.

After affirming there had been no additional comments on the proposed ordinance amendment received by city staff or council, councilman Dr. George Fotiadis motioned to approve the second reading with a second by councilwoman Sonya Hicks. During the roll call vote, Fotiadis voted yes, councilwoman Luci Sullivan no and Hicks yes; Sullivan had been the “no” vote at the Jan. 6 meeting.

Due to a lack of unanimous vote, the motion did not carry. With an uncertainty as to what that would mean for the motion and the proposed amendment at the time of the meeting, Osceola Mayor Thomas Kedley directed city staff to investigate the matter further and be reported on at a future council meeting.

Ordinance history

The original amendment proposal came to council late last year from Planning and Zoning, who had received a written request from Southern Tire Mart at Pilot about possibly amending the zoning to accommodate their use in the B-3 district; Southern Tire Mart is looking into purchasing and building on a piece of land just north of Pilot on West Clay Street.

Planning and Zoning recommended an amendment to move auto body repair shops to a conditional use which would require board of adjustment approval on a case-by-case basis. A public hearing on the matter was held Nov. 5, at which time council decided to table a decision. At their Nov. 18 meeting, council voted 4-1 against the amendment; Fotiadis voted no.

At their Dec. 2 meeting, the council voted 4-0 to reconsider the proposed amendment at a future date, a motion necessary to allow the amendment to be placed on a future agenda; a second public hearing would not be necessary.

In other council news…

Randy Johnson with engineering firm Veenstra & Kimm gave an update on the central business district project. He reported crews are working as weather permits, including Saturdays, and the project is still on track to be completed by June 15. As more underground work was needed on Main and Washington streets, he said work should progress more quickly on Jefferson and Fillmore.

In regards to lighting, Johnson said that once roadwork has made its way onto Fillmore Street, they can hook into the power for the lights that have been installed on Main and Washington streets.

Paving crews were able to pour a section of West Jefferson Street last Wednesday before the cold set in.

The approval for a pre- and post-condition survey and monitoring services with Terracon passed 3-0. The monitoring will be done at 130 S. Fillmore St. to photograph and document the property both before and after construction work begins on Fillmore Street.

Vibration monitoring will be done for about a month to see what activity looks like from construction, passing trains, off-construction days and other goings-on. Data from the monitoring will help engineers know what vibration levels from what activity were likely to exceed a threshold that may cause damages to a building.

While the monitoring company would hope to be allowed inside the building to document both before and after, Johnson noted that if not, they would at least document the exterior of the building.

Council also approved 3-0 a professional agreement for Q Pond and Grade Lake Restoration sponsored project; more information about the project will appear in next week’s paper.