The mayor and council told us that Newton Illinois just had to have zoning, one of
the reasons that Mayor Mark Bolander kept repeating was land use planing, he said
that it is imperative that Newton develop a long rang land use plan, then you build
the zoning code to make your land use plan happen.
So they had lots of meetings, got a zoning planing commission together and they
spent months doing "long range land use planning" drawing the zoning map and
drafting the zoning code.
Within months of getting Newton all Zoned and land use planned along comes the
Villas of Holly Brook asking to rezone 5 acres or so of property that was developed
specifically and exclusively as a Industrial park and had recently been determined by
the zoning planning commission after months of study to be best suited to be zoned
industrial. A factory already existed within 100' of the proposed location.
You would think that after all of the time and effort put into the zoning map and all of
the talk about land use planning and the Mayor and councils insistence on long term
land use planning that this would be a no brainer, of course you do not want a
assisted living facility to be located right square in the middle of a Industrial park, as
a matter of fact there were rules in place prior to zoning that would of prevented this.
But guess what, in spite of the fact that spot zoning is not allowed the council
rezoned the 5 acre tract in the middle of a Industrial park to SR-1 (single family
residential).
Then they gave a special use permit for the assisted living facility to be located in
the SR-1 zone despite the fact that a assisted living facility is not allowed as a
special use in a SR-1 zone.
According to 40-10-35 of the zoning code because of the written opposition to the
rezoning this required a 2/3 majority of the council to pass. The rezoning failed to
get a 2/3 majority but that rule was ignored just like the rest of the new zoning
rules that we were told over and over that we just had to have were hypocritically
ignored to get this done.
So the result of Newton being zoned and land use planned is to have a assisted
living facility built right in the middle of a industrial park within 100' of a existing
factory. Exactly the type of thing that zoning was supposed to prevent.
The Total Printing Systems factory is quiet as factories go but the business of
putting words on actual paper is quickly heading the way of the horse drawn
carriage and they will not be there forever.
At that time the factory could very easily be bought by a company that runs 3 shifts
and is not quiet, after all this is a Industrial park.
The mayor and everyone on the council who first voted for zoning and then voted
for the assisted living facility to be built in a industrial park are hypocrites and all
of that talk about land use planning was just a bunch of hot air, what zoning is really
about is the Mayor and council just want control.
the reasons that Mayor Mark Bolander kept repeating was land use planing, he said
that it is imperative that Newton develop a long rang land use plan, then you build
the zoning code to make your land use plan happen.
So they had lots of meetings, got a zoning planing commission together and they
spent months doing "long range land use planning" drawing the zoning map and
drafting the zoning code.
Within months of getting Newton all Zoned and land use planned along comes the
Villas of Holly Brook asking to rezone 5 acres or so of property that was developed
specifically and exclusively as a Industrial park and had recently been determined by
the zoning planning commission after months of study to be best suited to be zoned
industrial. A factory already existed within 100' of the proposed location.
You would think that after all of the time and effort put into the zoning map and all of
the talk about land use planning and the Mayor and councils insistence on long term
land use planning that this would be a no brainer, of course you do not want a
assisted living facility to be located right square in the middle of a Industrial park, as
a matter of fact there were rules in place prior to zoning that would of prevented this.
But guess what, in spite of the fact that spot zoning is not allowed the council
rezoned the 5 acre tract in the middle of a Industrial park to SR-1 (single family
residential).
Then they gave a special use permit for the assisted living facility to be located in
the SR-1 zone despite the fact that a assisted living facility is not allowed as a
special use in a SR-1 zone.
According to 40-10-35 of the zoning code because of the written opposition to the
rezoning this required a 2/3 majority of the council to pass. The rezoning failed to
get a 2/3 majority but that rule was ignored just like the rest of the new zoning
rules that we were told over and over that we just had to have were hypocritically
ignored to get this done.
So the result of Newton being zoned and land use planned is to have a assisted
living facility built right in the middle of a industrial park within 100' of a existing
factory. Exactly the type of thing that zoning was supposed to prevent.
The Total Printing Systems factory is quiet as factories go but the business of
putting words on actual paper is quickly heading the way of the horse drawn
carriage and they will not be there forever.
At that time the factory could very easily be bought by a company that runs 3 shifts
and is not quiet, after all this is a Industrial park.
The mayor and everyone on the council who first voted for zoning and then voted
for the assisted living facility to be built in a industrial park are hypocrites and all
of that talk about land use planning was just a bunch of hot air, what zoning is really
about is the Mayor and council just want control.
Newton Illinois, Zoning has nothing to do with land use planning.
Notice the Holly Brook property location inside a existing Industrial
park next to a factory, this is Mayor Mark Bolander's version of
long range land use planning.
park next to a factory, this is Mayor Mark Bolander's version of
long range land use planning.
