Hidden Creek Estates pursues annexation to South Beloit

After withdrawing its application for annexation to the Village of Roscoe, the owners of Hidden Creek Estates have now applied for pre-annexation to the City of South Beloit. The controversial wedding venue at 13276 White School Road has been the subject of many hours of public hearings with neighbors in Roscoe Township. Now the City of South Beloit Zoning Board of Appeals will take up the question on June 16. Because of provisions of Winnebago County ordinances, if the City of South Beloit approves the pre-annexation request at its June 21 meeting, Hidden Creek Estates will be governed by City of South Beloit laws, even if their boundaries don't meet. The rule allows municipalities to have some control over development near their borders.

In their June 1 newsletter to their friends and supporters, Hidden Creek Estates said, "We are excited to be working with the city of South Beloit and hoping to be formally annexed in at the end of June! We are looking forward to hosting weddings and events beginning in July." 

On Tuesday, with hashtags that included #southbeloit, the venue's Facebook page announced that an 8 foot crystal chandelier had been installed in their yellow barn. The post adds, "Hidden Creek Estates has limited who can comment on this post."

Hidden Creek Estates is a member of the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce as well as the Rockford Chamber of Commerce, though not the Stateline Chamber.

Roxanne Sosnowski, an attorney with the City of South Beloit, confirmed in an email to Roscoe News, "There is currently a pending application for a map amendment and a special use permit for a planned unit development, along with a petition for Pre-Annexation from the owners of 13276 White School Road that will be heard by the City of South Beloit Zoning Board of Appeals on June 16th at 6pm at South Beloit City Hall." Last week, neighbors of the venue received letters with similar information. 

Many neighbors have wondered how South Beloit could annex Hidden Creek Estates, since it doesn't border the City. Aaron Szeto, the City Attorney who generally handles zoning matters for the City of South Beloit, explains, "This is a proposed pre-annexation of the property. So if this matter is ultimately approved by the City Council, the property would not be physically annexed into the City at this time. It would be 'pre-annexed' which means that if it ever becomes contiguous, then the owner has to annex it into the City." 

However, since the property is already within a mile and a half of the City of South Beloit, Aaron Szeto explained, "If a property is subject to an annexation agreement (or pre-annexation agreement) with a municipality and the property is located within 1.5 miles from the municipality’s borders, then the municipality’s codes would apply. No approval would be needed from the County." If a property was farther than 1.5 miles away, a nearby city could still make a pre-annexation agreement, but the County would have to approve it.

Currently the border of the City of South Beloit extends to Pleasant Valley Road and Prairie Hill, about a mile and a half northwest of Hidden Creek Estates. The venue is also about a mile and a half east of South Beloit's southern border at Rockton Road near Love Road. The subdivisions west of White School Road and north of Rockton Road are in unincorporated Winnebago County and are part of Roscoe Township. In Illinois, a township has no zoning authority.

In the Village of Roscoe, public comments at previous annexation hearings have lasted four hours, with most participants attending electronically through web conferencing. Since this meeting of the City of South Beloit Zoning Board of Appeals  (ZBA) is public, anyone can attend or comment.  "That being said," Szeto added, "we typically try and limit repetitive comments so as to help keep the meeting moving and to allow others with different comments to speak. Also, if for example, a group of neighbors (all with the same concerns) wanted to have one of them speak on behalf of all of them, that would be helpful." Szeto told us that South Beloit is holding all its meetings in person once again, so there will be no option for electronic participation.

Even if annexed to South Beloit, the venue still needs an access permit from Winnebago County, but has not applied for one. Carlos Molina, County Engineer for Winnebago County, spoke by phone to Roscoe News on Tuesday afternoon and said, "When they were trying to annex to the Village of Roscoe, we talked with the owner and I indicated to them that a access permit is required... and there's a study that goes with that... That was back in April." He also talked with an engineering consultant for the venue. Molina confirmed, "I have not received anything from them." Bookings for recent weekends at the venue, such as one on June 12,  have been canceled and the wedding moved elsewhere.

This story has been updated with comments from Aaron Szeto, an attorney for the City of South Beloit, and a map from WinGis created by the City of South Beloit Zoning Officer Jessica Roberts which depicts the City of South Beloit's current boundary and the subject property. 

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