5-12-2021 8:15am

Hidden Creek Estates won't join the Village of Roscoe after all

Michael McGinnis Editor

Photo: Forest City Photographs

Seed Real Estate has withdrawn its annexation request for Hidden Creek Estates, the controversial wedding venue on White School Road, according to Scott Sanders, Roscoe's Village Administrator, who gave a status summary to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) at their May 12 meeting. Seed Real Estate's attorney also disputes their need for an access permit, which Winnebago County requires, putting the future of the business in doubt.

Kerry Frank, co-owner of Seed Real Estate and co-founder of Hidden Creek Estates, had asked for the Village of Roscoe to annex their property, but after several public hearings, the Village put that annexation request on hold until Frank had received an access permit from Winnebago County. Frank's attorney feels that a strict reading of the ordinances doesn't require that permit and they haven't applied for one.

Seed Real Estate/Hidden Creek Estates has not responded to Roscoe News's requests for comment, but according to Sanders, they gave the Village two reasons for withdrawing their annexation request: the restrictions placed on their business at their April 20 Village Board of Trustees meeting and the requirement to get an access permit from the County.

Many neighbors objected that Hidden Creek Estates would increase noise and traffic in the area. Up to 128 residents attended the April 20 Village Board meeting, the Village's first hybrid virtual/in-person meeting. Village trustees heard the recommendations from the Zoning Board of Appeals and added additional restrictions, mostly on hours of operation and crowd size. Trustees wanted to allow only one event per weekend, with no more than 225 guests, and no more than 100 guests for weekday events.

As we reported, Kerry Frank wanted to stay firm at 300 guests, which she said was a compromise. She disclosed at that meeting, for the first time, that her business plan had been built on an event size of 400. "Which was new information, to be honest with you," said Sanders. In previous discussions and emails, Frank had repeated that most events would be 150 guests or smaller, but she avoided giving an upper limit. Several members of the ZBA agreed that at their meeting with her, she had never asked about allowing up to 400 guests at an event.

The Village planned a special meeting the following Friday, April 30, but in the interim, Brad Lindmark, the Winnebago County Board Member for District 4, brought up the issue at the April 23 County Board meeting. The next day, Sanders received calls from County Board Chairman Joseph Chiarelli, Sheriff Gary Caruana, and the Winnebago County highway engineer, who said that the wedding venue needed to apply for an access permit if the property was changing from residential to commercial use. So Sanders informed Seed Real Estate that the Village would not put the annexation agreement on their agenda until that had been done. After another meeting with all parties, Seed Real Estate sent an email saying they wouldn't be able to come to an agreement with the Village of Roscoe and withdrawing their annexation request.

At Wednesday's ZBA meeting, one member asked what would prevent parties from being held on the property without permits, and another member recalled that when a party barn had tried that, the County shut them down. Sanders concurred, "The County says they will do exactly that," since the County will require special use permits, just as the Village would have, to have any kind of for-profit gatherings there. Probably the venue could continue to be used for vacation rentals, but not as a single-family residence, since that special use permit was also tied to the annexation request. Since Hidden Creek Estates won't be under the jurisdiction of the Village of Roscoe, they would need to turn instead to Winnebago County for any legal approvals. Some of Winnebago County's requirements for zoning changes or special use permits include:

The special use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially diminish, and impair property values, within the neighborhood.
The change to the requested zoning district lessens or avoids congestion of traffic on the public roads.
The change to the requested zoning district protects the character and the stability of the residential, agricultural, business, and industrial areas within the County.

The property is currently zoned for agriculture, according to 2020 county tax records. When asked if the County had received any zoning or permit requests, Brad Lindmark told us, "Nothing has come to [the] County at this time." Furthermore, according to Sanders, the building permits issued by the County for the barn were all contingent on the annexation going through. Hidden Creek Estates is aware that, since that has been canceled, they won't be able to receive a certificate of occupancy or final inspections from the County for these renovations. For example, they couldn't use the barn's restrooms for the event that is reportedly scheduled this Saturday, May 15.

"I have to admit, I was surprised to get that email [withdrawing the annexation request]," said Sanders. "I thought we were getting close to something, certainly something that aligned with their initial description of what they wanted the business to be." At times, Kerry Frank indicated she wanted to provide experiences that were "small" or "intimate," but Sanders says next time, the word "small" needs to be defined earlier in the process.