Hidden Creek Estates wins annexation into South Beloit
South Beloit City Council chooses to expand borders and to side with wedding venue.
In the legal battle between those wanting a "quiet peaceful area" and an "idyllic rustic location," the supporters of an "idyllic rustic location" seem to have won.
On Monday, the South Beloit City Council agreed to pre-annex the Hidden Creek Estates meeting venue at 13276 White School Road, granting it a special use permit as a Seasonal Outdoor Venue in the Urban Transitional (UT) Zoning District. Kerry Frank, co-owner of Hidden Creek Estates, told the City Council that her family wants to host weddings and other special events, a wine bar in the barn one or two nights a week, and an Airbnb in the cottage.
The property lines of the controversial wedding venue do not touch the boundaries of South Beloit now, but since the property is located less than 1.5 miles away, it is included with the extra-territorial boundary established by Illinois law, which meant it could be pre-annexed by South Beloit. A pre-annexation agreement means that if the property becomes contiguous in the next twenty years, it will be annexed into the City. Meanwhile, it will become subject to South Beloit's ordinances.
The property is adjacent to the Village of Roscoe, but the owners of Hidden Creek Estates applied for pre-annexation to the City of South Beloit after withdrawing its application for annexation to the Village of Roscoe, saying they couldn't reach an agreement after many hours of public hearings. Neighbors in Roscoe Township who spoke at the hearings were overwhelmingly in opposition.
At Wednesday's hearing at the South Beloit Fire Station, when the city's Planning Commission voted against annexation, no one spoke in favor of the venue except for co-owner Kerry Frank and her attorney Chris Logli. But at Monday's hearing before the City Council, supporters of the venue arrived early, filled half the 50 seats, and wore yellow. Each side took turns speaking, one in support and one in opposition.
South Beloit Mayor Ted Rehl began by saying, "Before we start, the way I've always lived my life, when I interact with anyone individually or in large groups, is that my assumption is always that the people I'm with are people of good will. Regardless of the issue - we're people of good will. Stuff doesn't always go your way. Sometimes it does go your way. Whatever the outcome, you have to leave here the same people you came in, people of good will."
Kerry Frank, co-owner of Hidden Creek Estates, gave a modified version of the presentation she'd given at previous meetings. But this time she seemed more emotional and nervous, as if she was considering the possibility that, in the next hours, all her dreams might be dashed.
She said, "One thing that's really disappointing for me and that has been extremely hard that my neighbors have resorted to illegal activities and they've been breaking Federal and State laws to spread false information about me and and my family. I also want you to understand that more than anything, as a member of our community, what troubles me most that we're teaching our children that if things don't go your way, it's okay to break the law.... And I never intended for any of this to be something that was taught to the next generation of leaders... "
She continued, "We had a fake website built about us so they could spread fear among our neighbors and take screen shots and post it, and so we've reached out and that website has since been removed..."
In response to complaints that none of the vendors listed on the venue's website were truly local, Kerry Frank responded, "We are working with local businesses and vendors to support our community, and the reason they're not on our website is that the neighbors started to harass anyone that was associated with our family, including my parents and my vendors and our brides, so I've taken all their personal information down."
Noise has been a controversial issue. Several neighbors said they could clearly hear loud music at previous weddings, one neighbor earnestly testifying to having heard four weddings on the property last year. Kerry Frank said they had only two small family events without music, including her daughter's wedding on August 20, plus at the last minute, they hosted one wedding for a family friend whose venue had been cancelled with 36 hours notice. "That was the only wedding on the property that has ever had noise and that was done in a private setting."
Commissioner Tom Fitzgerald asked, "How many years do you plan to keep it?" Kerry Frank replied, "This is my passion and our family legacy... We don't intend on selling."
Many of the opposing speakers repeated what they had said at Wednesday's hearing with the Planning Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals. But almost all the speakers in support of the venue had not testified before. One 21-year-old woman said that when people her age want to get drunk, they don't do it at a place like Hidden Creek Estates. Also speaking in support was Dr. Mandolen Mull, a business professor at Rockford University.
City of South Beloit staff had recommended that the annexation be approved. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted against it at last Wednesday's meeting, but the City Council overruled that decision and took the staff's recommendation instead.
Commissioner Tom Fitzgerald said, "It's a tough decision, I don't care how you put it... Pre-annexing is something that... if it was Roscoe doing it, they'd do it. I have no question in my mind... So I think it's best for South Beloit to pre-annex. So this part is done, as far as I'm concerned." (In fact, Roscoe decided it wouldn't consider pre-annexation until the County had completed a traffic study and issued an access permit).
Commissioner Ryan Adleman added, "I think there are other examples of that as well." He mentioned Camping World and All-World, which were annexed by Roscoe. "That's next to a residential neighborhood and that's South Beloit."
But Mayor Rehl noted that relationships between the neighboring municipalities of Roscoe, South Beloit, and Rockton have improved in recent years and that "I really don't want anyone to consider that this is a vote that says, 'Got you back.'"
Attorney Szeto told the Council that no comprehensive plan is set in stone and needs to keep shifting. "The last 2014 plan did not cover this property. I can guarantee that the next one will cover this property."
Commissioner Ken Morse said, "It also preserves what's already there. If they sell this property off, it's going to bring in another subdivision." Attorney Szeto added that the conditions of annexation were items that the City staff felt would "alleviate any impact" on nearby residents.
Mayor Rehl said, "Anytime we have the opportunity to extend our boundaries, from a purely economic development perspective, we're going to jump on it." But, looking directly at the Franks, he stressed, "I count on the applicants to take care of their neighbors. I am putting full trust that they're going to take care of their neighbors. Because [if not], that would be be the biggest usurpation of a gift from South Beloit that could occur."
City Attorney Aaron Szeto said, "If anyone doesn't live up to the conditions that are incorporated into their special use permit, the City has the right to revoke that special use permit." Mayor Rehl later told Roscoe News, "We can do that very quickly. We can do it in a day."
Ryan Adleman, Commissioner of Streets and Public Improvement, said he checked into the recent history of The Pavilion at Orchard Ridge Farms and said, "There hasn't been any DUIs in the past two years. This is a very similar business, in my eyes. I don't see the gloom and doom coming out of the Pavilion that has been described as coming out of a very similar business." Neighbors objected that the Pavilion on Yale Bridge Road is located in a more isolated area and not in a residential neighborhood.
When a commissioner asked if the wine bar would be open seven days a week, Kerry Frank answered, "What we'd like to start with is two days a week for the wine bar" ending at 9:00 p.m. When he asked, "Are there plans for live DJs or loud music?" she replied, "No."
After the City Council approved the pre-annexation unanimously, Attorney Szeto went over the City's requirements for special use permits, one by one, and the commissioners agreed that Hidden Creek Estates met those requirements.
Speaking to Roscoe News after the meeting, Mayor Ted confessed, "I honestly didn't know how I was going to vote. We hadn't talked about it before the meeting. We couldn't talk about it. That would have been illegal."
In a statement, Kerry Frank said, "We look forward to working with the City, our partners, and others to build a space that is an asset to the community and our region."
After the meeting, Joy Thomas, the venue's social media manager, said "We're really excited with the outcome and our future partnership with the City of South Beloit." She repeated that they are working with highly-qualified local production companies to minimize any noise. "We have a good relationship with a lot of the neighbors, so hopefully we can have open conversations with them if anything should come up."
Asked for his comments after the meeting, Attorney James Hursh, who represents several neighbors opposed to the venue, cheerfully replied, "They get to do what they want to do and we'll see what happens next."
