South Beloit Zoning Board votes against pre-annexation of Roscoe Township event venue

Wednesday night, the City of South Beloit planning commission voted against the pre-annexation of the Hidden Creek Estates event venue, with one abstaining, after dozens of neighbors and even the Village of Roscoe  went on record in opposition.

However, the South Beloit City Council still makes the final decision, though based on the recommendations of Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Commission. They have scheduled a public hearing on Monday at 4:00 p.m. at Nature at the Confluence in South Beloit because so many people are expected to attend. The doors will open at 3:30 p.m.

A day after the decision, Hidden Creek Estates sent an email to its mailing list urging them to turn out in support at Monday's hearing, saying, "If this vote is not approved by South Beloit on Monday - Hidden Creek Estates will be forced to close our doors permanently. We would not be allowed to host any events on the property effective immediately. This would likely result in us needing to sell the property." They also asked supporters to sign an online petition and said "first 100 people admitted." However, as an open meeting, attendance at the hearing cannot be limited, so the City of South Beloit will find a way to handle any crowd.

The opponents of the venue have their own mailing list and have urged as many people as possible to show up in opposition at 3:30. More than 300 people have signed an online petition opposing the venue, though the link to it is not public.

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Attorney James Hursh spoke on behalf of several neighbors opposed to the annexation. He asked City staff to confirm that the property at 13276 White School Road  is not contiguous to South Beloit, that the City has no specific plans to become contiguous with the property, and that the property is not included in the City's comprehensive plan. The City agreed. Attorney Szeto added that the property gets water from a well and has access to the Rock River Water Reclamation District's sanitary sewer system.

Attorney Chris Logli represented Seed Real Estate LLC, the family corporation that owns Hidden Creek Estates and other real estate assets of the Dude and Kerry Frank family.

In the end, the South Beloit Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Commission approved a proposal to add Seasonal Outdoor Venue with accessory food/drinks onsite as a special use in the Urban Transitional District (UT) zoning classification - which one City staffer called "a holding district that would allow for future development" for agricultural properties or other large lots.

But the Board didn't approve the pre-annexation request that would make the wedding and event venue subject to the city's ordinances as a Seasonal Outdoor Venue under South Beloit, so it could request special use permits from the City to start holding special events.

The City had fourteen tentative requirements that the venue would have needed to meet:

• They may not remove "substantial tree coverage" without City approval.
• Speakers (for live music) must face away from the closest neighbor and would generally have to face to the west, where the woods are.
• All outdoor music must be discontinued by 11:00 p.m.
• Events must end by midnight unless prior approval is obtained from the City.
• No fireworks allowed.
• Parking lot attendants shall be required before events to direct traffic.
• Security shall be required for all events over 100 guests.
• The City can require changes in driveway access if needed.

Attorney Chris Logli told the Board that his clients, the Franks, agreed with these requirements and reminded them that the City staff had recommended that the Board approve the Franks' requests.

Attorney James Hursh asked the City to confirm that the trend in the area was toward residential development, and a staff member agreed that it was not toward commercial development. And he asked the City to confirm, which Attorney Szeto did, that the City had received a letter from the Village of Roscoe asking them not to annex this property.

Hidden Creek Estates is not contiguous to South Beloit, meaning that its boundaries don't touch the border of South Beloit, though they touches the border of the Village of Roscoe. But because it is less than 1.5 miles from South Beloit, according to Illinois law, it can ask to be pre-annexed. City Attorney Aaron Szeto had previously explained to Roscoe News that pre-annexation meant that "if it ever becomes contiguous, then the owner has to annex it into the City." But pre-annexation has immediate effects too - Attorney Szeto said that once a property is pre-annexed, "the municipality’s codes would apply" and it could request special use permits from the city instead of the county.  One reason for the state law: something that happens a mile from a city might affect that city, and the city might want the chance to regulate it. At the hearing, opposition attorney James Hursh called pre-annexation "a misnomer."

Attorney Szeto told the South Beloit Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Commission that they needed to make their decision based on what's best for the City of South Beloit. "Cities want to grow their borders," he told them. But the board members may have also considered appeals from the Village of Roscoe.

At the end of the hearing, Attorney Szeto read into the record the letter from the Village of Roscoe opposing the pre-annexation. Village President Mark Szula echoed an email from Village Administrator Scott Sanders, saying that annexing Hidden Creek Estates would effectively prevent the Village from ever annexing a development farther north on White School Road that was already covered by a pre-annexation agreement with the Village.

"The property is more likely to become contiguous to and eligible for annexation to [the Village of Roscoe than] to South Beloit," the letter said. " This agreement would block the orderly, expected progression of the Village of Roscoe northward to Rockton Road. We respectfully request that the City not pursue annexation..."

One of the neighbors testified that she remembered a verbal agreement years ago between the City of South Beloit and the Village of Roscoe which decided that the City could annex land north of Prairie Hill and the Village could annex land south of it. But Attorney Szeto said the two municipalities had never come to a written agreement.

Other neighbors said that allowing a "party venue" in the area would cause property values to drop,  that home construction had stopped because of it, and that many residents would be selling and leaving. They were concerned the music would be too loud and traffic would be too bad. Two weddings were held on the Frank's properties last summer, and several residents testified that the previous weddings had indeed been too loud, but as far as I can remember, no one mentioned how the traffic had been.

After the board voted against the pre-annexation request, Attorney Szeto recessed the meeting while he talked with the other attorneys about how to handle the remaining items on the agenda, which were all contingent on the request being approved. "Basically, you'll have to vote no," he told the board. But he decided the items still needed to come up for discussion and vote. Neighbor Jason Rotello presented several maps that showed the property is completely surrounded by residences, quoted from South Beloit's comprehensive planning documents, and submitted special use requirements for several similar venues, as "prior art" for developing requirements for Hidden Creek Estates, if it were ever annexed. But if the City Council agrees with the Zoning Board, that isn't going to happen.

At the end of the meeting, Attorney Szeto also read a letter into the record from Chris Youssi of Youssi Custom Homes LLC, a real estate investor who owns ten residential lots adjacent to Hidden Creek Estates. Youssi said, as far as property values go, "no one owner in Hidden Creek or Promontory Ridge has more at stake financially than myself." Originally he was opposed to the project, but accepted an invitation to visit the property and now believes that "the negative information that has been circulating carries little to no credibility." He added, "I encourage, in fact,  I implore" neighbors to visit the property themselves. He expects property values to increase if Hidden Creek Estates is opened for business. He looks forward to telling prospective buyers about it. Szeto read several positive letters into the record from people who had had happy experiences with the wedding venue. Unlike the hearings in Roscoe, no one at this meeting spoke in favor of Hidden Creek Estates, except for co-owner Kerry Frank and her attorney.