Partial audio recordings* from the Sept. 20th Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at Countryside Elementary School are available for review, however the quality of the recordings is very poor. This likely contributed to the fact that the only recording available is the meeting in its entirety, and not edited by meeting agenda topic.
The meeting began with member David Stieper withdrawing his motion from the August 30th meeting. He stated he was doing so “for the sake of simplicity.” From what we can gather, the better path was to vote on the amendment before them as originally proposed, and not amend it, as Stieper had previously moved.
In the discussion that ensued, it appears the direction some on the Zoning Board wished to pursue was twofold:
- Restore boarding codes to pre-2015 language, or the Home Occupation Ordinance, and
- Draft new codes based on historical information already gathered and new information available
One member stated they had reviewed the “Anderson II”/”LeCompte/Anderson” language and stated the longer it stays on the books the more problematic it may become due to multiple “loopholes” and “ambiguities” in the drafting.
Another member chose to take the matter entirely away from the topic of horse boarding when they stated, “I think what it comes down to is, are we a residential community or a commercial community? I think everyone sitting here would agree first, and foremost, we are a residential community.”
We strongly encourage readers to listen to his full remarks on the matter by clicking here.
Multiple members also concurred that smaller or “backyard” boarding operations should be left alone for the most part, as should most of the larger scale “commercial” boarding businesses.
After an hour (as measured by the recording) of discussion, member Stieper made a fairly detailed motion to effectively repeal the current, newly enacted horse boarding codes and revert back to the Home Occupation Ordinance management of boarding. His motion can be heard here.
Once his motion was seconded, he handed out printed copies of new language for the board to review before their next meeting in October. This contrasts greatly with what occurred at the September 2014 Zoning Board meeting when a new amendment draft (Anderson II) was distributed and voted upon at the same meeting, before some board members had an adequate opportunity to review and consider it.
To access the recording of the full meeting, click here.
The Zoning Board will meet on October 17th at 6:30 PM at Countryside Elementary School to discuss this latest proposed horse boarding amendment.
*According to the Village website, only a portion of the meeting was recorded, presumably due to some technical malfunction. The recording of the unanimous vote to not accept the proposed Drury commercial horse boarding text amendment apparently was among the missing recordings.
Perhaps since some of the recordings are barely audible at times, the Village might consider publishing the transcript of the meeting at some future date.
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