NW Illinois News

City of Galena Zoning Board of Appeals met Feb. 9.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Rosenthal called the regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals to order at 6:30 PM, at City Hall, 101 Green Street, Galena, IL. Attendance in person and via Zoom Teleconference at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84672591347 (Meeting ID: 846 7259 1347). Members of the public viewing with Zoom were muted. No meeting testimony was accepted using Zoom.

ROLL CALL AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM:

As Roll Call was:

Baranski Present

Bochniak Present

Gates Present

Cook Present

Jansen Present

Nybo Present

Rosenthal Present

A quorum was declared.

Zoning Administrator Jonathan Miller & City Attorney Joe Nack were also present.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 12, 2022.

MOTION: Cook moved, seconded by Jansen to approve the January 12, 2022, minutes.

Motion carried on voice vote.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

Cal No.-22S-01 Richard Fronek, 210 S. Dodge St.- Request for a Special Use Permit to allow Major Home Occupation as an Accessory Residential Land Use in a Low Density Residential Zoning District.

Rosenthal asked for a motion to open the public hearing.

MOTION: Jansen moved, seconded by Cook to open public hearing.

Rosenthal asked if anyone wanted to speak in favor of request.

City Attorney Joe Nack swore in everyone that wanted to speak at public hearing as a group for this item only.

Richard Froneck 210 S Dodge St.. He is owner of Work Smarter For You which is a at home business since 2016. Offers Marketing Consulting Service offering marketing strategies, He wants to offer ability to meet clients in person. Want to be able to show clients in person what he can do to help meet their business needs.

Baranski asked how many guests per week he would expect to have?

Froneck said possibly 2 per day. That he has a driveway and garage, He parks in garage so the customer can have off street parking.

Baranski asked that if he needs this approval so he can have a sign?

Froneck said Yes, needs this approval so he can have sign and be on Google maps. Google Maps requires a sign for business to list with them.

Rosenthal asked If it would be 1 car per customer then?

Froneck said Yes - Doesn’t expect a lot of extra traffic. I don't really see it expanding that much because I can actually do some of the stuff working with the clients online or via phone call or Skype or something. But, you know, when it comes to different software and applying it, that's when I would need to have them come in.

Rosenthal asked if anyone else wanted to speak in favor of request? No one replied Rosenthal asked if anyone wanted to speak against request? No one replied Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing.

MOTION: Cook moved, seconded by Gates to close public hearing.

Baranski made a motion to approve the request for a Special Use Permit to allow Major Home Occupation as an Accessory Residential Land Use in a Low Density Residential Zoning District so the applicant can have a sign with condition that it the number of visitors stay constant with the home occupation limits. Seconded by Jansen.

Baranski went through criteria-

(1) Site plan review standards.

(2) District standards.

(3) Specific standards.

(4) Availability of complementary uses.

(5) Compatibility with adjoining properties. Compatibility with and protection of neighboring properties through measures such as:

(a) Protection of privacy.

(b) Protection of use and enjoyment.

(c) Compatible design and integration.

As Roll Call was:

Gates Yes

Cook Yes

Jansen Yes

Nybo Yes

Baranski Yes

Bochniak Yes

Rosenthal Yes

Motion Carried

**Please note the following content has been transcribed to the best of my ability from the recording of the meeting.**sas

Cal No.-22PD-01 True North Quality Homes, LLC (Bien Vie, LLC)- Request for Preliminary Approval and Rezoning from Limited Agriculture to Planned Unit Development with an underlying district of Planned Commercial upon annexation into the corporate boundaries of the City of Galena.

Rosenthal asked for a motion to open the public hearing.

MOTION: Jansen moved, seconded by Cook to open public hearing.

Rosenthal asked if anyone wanted to speak in favor of request.

Baranski: Hang on here. So, Chair, I need to recuse myself from this because I'm going to be one of the presenters.

Rosenthal: Correct. Let the record show.

Nybo: Mr. Chair, I own a lodging facility, so I think it's best if I also recuse myself.

Rosenthal: Okay. Let the record show that Jim and Bill both have recused themselves from this. Anyone who's going to speak in favor of or in opposition of this needs to be sworn in by Mr. Nack.

City Attorney Joe Nack swore in everyone that wanted to speak at public hearing as a group. Rosenthal: Okay. Jim, if you want to come forward.

Nack: the format we're going to follow is that the applicant first and then the others.

Rosenthal: Just so everyone knows, the applicant will go first in the public hearing. Then the board can ask questions of him. And then after that those in favor will speak. Questions will be asked. And then people in opposition will speak. And then the applicant also has a right to come back and answer any of those questions we may have, all right? And then after that, we'll close the public hearing. I just ask that you state your name for the record and your address.

Dave Hooten, 403 E. Prairie Ave., Wheaton, IL,

On behalf of my wife, Beverly, my son, Austin, who is here tonight, and my daughter-in-law Jamie, I'd like to thank you all for the opportunity to present to you a very exciting, what we believe is a very exciting project.

The Marine Hospital came to Beverly, my wife, and my attention just over a year ago. We fell in love with the building the minute we saw it. And we bought it on the goal of bringing it back to life and making it relevant again. And it sat dormant, I guess, for 20-some years, plus. And we just thought this building was too magnificent just to have, you know, abandoned and laying in ruins there.

So we, because we are in the hospitality business, we vision creating a resort. And with that, we made an offer and we were able to buy the property. And we envision this as a perfect setting for special events and memories for not only the community, but our guests. Our plan is, for the most part, is to keep most of the open spaces and plant acres of gardens and vineyards. And we want to improve walking trails for the public and our visitors. In addition to restoring the Marine Hospital, we want to place and build cottages and other amenities in the most sensitive ways that we can for this beautiful piece.

We want the resort to take advantage of the rural and wood surroundings while respecting and celebrating the Marine Hospital. We've assembled a team of experts who are helping us to hopefully realize this vision of an upscaled resort within a ten-minute walking distance from downtown Galena. We are excited to share our respect and restore plan for the Marine Hospital vision with you tonight. So thank you very much.

Baranski asked with our presentations . . . me and Beth and Giulio, do you want us to do our names individually when we come up?

ROSENTHAL: Yes.

Jim Baranski, 1015 S. Bench St., Galena, :

So I just want to take you through sort of the history of the project. As Dave had mentioned, the first part of the project was just . . . the ten acres of Marine Hospital. As we're thinking about that project more and more, it became clear that the access was going to be a challenge . . .with the Marine Hospital being used as anything more than a single-family residence, if you wanted to include some cottages or whatever, and ran into some problems because the only access for that property is off of Park Avenue, which is, hold on a second, which is right here. (pointed to map) And where the bike trail and Park Avenue come together. So the problem would be that if you have, you know, guests arriving to stay at this property, when they hit that intersection between Park and the bike trail, you're going to have cars, bikes, and pedestrians all together on that stretch. And talking to the City, you know, they agreed that that is not a good idea.

It was then that it was recommended to us to maybe have a conversation with the Rigdons . . . so at that point, we decided that, you know, since the access was such an issue, that we would need to look at a different way of getting on the property. We ended up talking with the Rigdons, you know, Dave and the family had many discussions over many months and finally came to an agreement to sell the rest of the property. The good news about that is that the Rigdon property has access right on Fourth Street, which is right there. Here's Blackjack, and here's Fourth. (pointed at map)

And so we immediately set about to doing a preliminary plan to show what this project might look like. And we met with the immediate neighbors to share with them our plans. Well, I received, you know, from the beginning, there was some concerns about this kind of project being in their backyard. But one of the major concerns was that Fourth Street access, the idea of having, you know . . . cars per day on that road was not appealing to the neighbors.

So soon after that, Dave and I discussed the idea of moving the access to Blackjack Road right here (pointed at map), which is about 600 feet of frontage on Blackjack Road, and that's what we did. This is to give you just a little overview of, give you an idea of the topography of the property. So this is actually looking at the property from .(pointed at map)the north. but it gives you an idea of what kind of landforms that we have dealing with here. So I've set this up in such a way that if you use the intersection, this is Fourth Street, by the way, here, and this is Blackjack going down this way. I've used that intersection as what I call zero-zero elevation. By the way, that Park Avenue is here, and here's the bike trail, and this is where they merge and the only access right now into the Marine Hospital is way out here at the end. Many of you have probably been by that driveway and seen how that goes up. So to give you a quick idea here, you got zero-zero road elevation at the corner of Fourth and Blackjack. The lowlands down through here . . . but generally in the center here, there's 38 feet below the intersection at Fourth and Blackjack. And then it goes back up to this bench, which is, this is Jim Rigdon's current house, and that is back at zero-zero. So it goes down 38 feet. It comes back up 38 feet. The bluff edge basically, you know, coming around facing Blackjack and then kind of coming around to the north. That bluff edge is at plus-80 feet. So it's 80 feet above this intersection. It's about almost 120 feet above the low lands there. The Marine Hospital is up at 78 feet, and the high point of this side is at 151.

I want to show this picture only because it helps really . . . because it's not in 3-D, other than the landforms are in 3-D. This picture, I think, does a good job of showing just how wooded this site is. So our site is right here, okay? As you can see from this photo, the vast majority of the land that is facing town is quite heavily wooded from the base of the hill all the way up to the top, including completely surrounding the Marine Hospital.

So here's the Marine Hospital. So the project really started because of this building. Dave and Beverly fell in love with it, and it was their goal from the get-go to restore this building. The building was built in 1859 by Ely Parker, as most people probably know. And it's been, oh, had several owners over the years . . . 1960s, the beautiful verandas were removed, as well as the copula. The copula. was returned or rebuilt, I should say, sometime in the late 80s, early 90s.

We know that many people have been worried about the future of the Marine Hospital, and we completely understand their concerns and even though Dave, Beverly, Austin and Jamie are committed to restoring the building, they have taken the first steps to place the building on the National Register of Historic Places. I'll show you this. On the left there is a copy of a page from the application prepared by Beth that was sent to the State Historic Preservation Office in order to obtain what they called a preliminary positive opinion. It used to be called a determination of eligibility. This opinion is regarding the building's eligibility for inclusion of the National Register.

On the right is the actual preliminary positive opinion letter to Beth from Amy Hathaway at SHPO that says the building is eligible to be listed. Is quite lovely as well So we're on our way to getting the building listed.

Also, after discussions with city officials, members of the Galena Foundation and with members of the Galena Preservation Advocacy Organization, in an effort to further cement the future of the building, an application has been submitted to the City to designate the Marine Hospital a local landmark. This will subject any changes proposed to the building to be reviewed by the Galena Historic Commission.

I just want to show you some, so we did have drawings of the Marine Hospital. They are quite lovely and helpful. Here's the floor plans. The plan for the Marine Hospital in first phase is to convert the upper floor, which is on the right, to four suites with, you know on-suite bathrooms. On the left, which is the first floor, on the right-hand side of the first floor, that would be a check-in area and maybe like a coffee lounge. And on the left-hand side of the first floor would be an exhibit space that would be open to the public.

So ultimately, when the building is restored, the building will be open to the public. Now guests can't necessarily go to the second floor because that's where the people who are spending dollars , you know, using accommodations there, but they'll have access to the first floor, and they'll have access to the basement lower level, which is quite lovely as well, they plan on putting like a lounge in there.

With respect to the copula well it is a little bit difficult to bring people up to. From a life safety perspective, we wouldn’t be able to let people just roam up there. However, what we could do is maybe have, you know, targeted tours of two or three people at a time that would, with some kind of a chaperone.

Good news is that we have these drawings. So as we're trying to undertake the restoration, which is not always easy to do, we have drawings. But we also have something even better, which were remnants of the original cast iron capitals for the veranda that we're able to piece together.

We will take these, and we will cast these in cast aluminum, along with the columns, and we will be able to restore the Marine Hospital so that it looks, well, I should also mention, inside If anyone has ever been in there. . . there is the most spectacular cast iron staircase. There is nothing like it probably within 500 miles, really just spectacular, mostly in very good shape. It will be restored. And if you can see on the side of the stringers here, those are like whales and seashells, which is kind of cool. And that goes all the way up.

So ultimately, when the Marine Hospital is finished, it will look something like this. It will be handicapped accessible in the back of the building, and the lower level will be accessible as well.

Now getting to our plan. In our first phase, that is revolving around the Marine hospital. The Marine hospital is right here, okay? (pointing to map) And so in this first phase, we are going to be building 32 cottages in these loop roads around the Marine Hospital. Those are one-way roads, by the way. And people will park, parallel park on the road next to the cottage.

Also, we will be planting about six acres of vineyards down here in the southeast corner of the property. The Marine Hospital will be open to the public, and there will be trails. So you can see there are some trails that we're starting to develop here. And those trails connect right down, I'm sorry about the shaking hand here, but those trails go right down onto the Galena River Trail, which is right here.

So people who are walking on the Galena River Trail would be able to go up what has been the road to get up to the Marine Hospital. It will no longer be the road. It will be just a trail. The other thing to point out is that Fourth Street will essentially be closed, I mean, closed to this property. It will be open before that. But there will be no traffic from this development that will be able to use that access point. We would allow it for emergency vehicles. We'll have to use some kind of gate system, something along those lines.

But the main thing that's going on here is that this is the frontage on Blackjack. This is where the road will come up. So instead of using Fourth, it will be, on this section of Blackjack, there will be a road that comes in, loops around, and goes up the hill this way.

There's some, I know there's been some concern about the relationship between the cottages and the Marine Hospital itself. This is a section taken through roughly this way, right here, so one can see that the Marine Hospital is still perched up here, and then all these cottages are down below. Here's a cottage, here's a cottage. So if you struck a line from the basement floor, floor level, all the way across the cottages that are in that first ring, the roofs of those cottages would be below the basement floor of the Marine Hospital. I'll add to that that this is a very wooded area.

So as you're driving up, as you'll be driving up from the back side of the Marine Hospital, because that's the only access, it will be very difficult, if at all, to see any kind of cottage. Cottages are going to be very simple. This is not going to be little cabins, little historic buildings. They are going to be cottages that are responding to the woods and to, you know, they're not meant to be historic little buildings.

Here's our second phase. The second phase is another loop road, okay, that will have cottages. A detention pond will be built at that time as well. The third phase is where we start to introduce some amenities. In the third phase, what we have is a café building, which is right here. And then we call a main building, the main building would contain a restaurant and facilities to hold a wedding or other kind of banquet, all the necessary parking, a spa, a pool, etc.

I should point out that the parking, all this, the way this has been designed, you can see all of these roads, as they're designed, all of those roads are hugging the contours, okay? So what that does for us is that when you are using the contours to build your roads and to place your buildings, that allows you to remove fewer trees in order to do that. If you started going uphill, straight uphill, all of a sudden, you have to eliminate a lot of trees. This situation, you eliminate fewer trees. And what's nice about that is there's still this layering effect that's between these different levels, and those trees act as a very nice screen.

The other thing I should point out is that in this phase, there will be four acres of gardens that are built around that main building. So instead of being surrounded by parking, it will be surrounded by gardens.

And then the fourth phase is the completion of the trail system. You can see there's trails that run all through here now. And those all double back and come down into that old road there that goes down to the Galena River Trail. So if people are walking down the Galena River Trail, they're going to be able to come up here, and they're going to be able to do a one-and-a-half-mile loop around the site, including a little bridge over the view here. They'll be walking through gardens. They'll be walking through vineyards. They'll be walking through. forests, should be quite nice. These cottages are all kind of tucked up against the woods. These cottages down here are out in the vineyard.

The good news is that when the project is built out, there will be 80% open space. In other words, we are only building on 20% of the land with our roads, with our buildings, with our parking lots. The rest of that space is green space, and it's just right about 80%.

So the other issue is access. So my goal, our goal is to get people's cars on our site. Our goal is to keep their cars there, not keep them there, but keep their cars there. We know a couple of ways to do that. Number one, the project, as you already can tell how close it is to downtown, it's only about a ten minute walk to downtown Galena from this project. The other thing that we would provide, so we want people to keep their cars on the project. We want them to either utilize the ability to walk, or we'll have them utilize a shuttle that would run continuously.

The shuttle would come out of the project, go onto Blackjack, come up to Fourth, and instead of making a left-hand turn at Fourth, it would make a right-hand turn on Fourth, and so it would go up Fourth to Bouthillier and then that is where, right there, there's a left-hand turn lane before there. The bus would then make a left at Bouthillier, go down Bouthillier it would stop at the state historic sites. It would stop at the visitor center where people can go off and then go across to the, walk across the pedestrian bridge by Grant Park.

Or they can stay on the bus and make a right-hand turn over the bridge to get over to Main Street, and then make a right-hand turn at the light, go down by the levy, make that turn between City Hall and the post office, make a left turn again on the Main Street, come back down to the light, make a left-hand turn at 20, go across the bridge. And when it gets to Fourth Street, it would make a right-hand turn and go back up into the development.

The other major concern, I think, that's been out in the community, and it's always been a concern of ours, has been lighting. And so what I'd like to do is introduce Giulio Pedota, who is a lighting designer that I have worked with over the last 12 or 15 years on various projects. And I'd like him to kind of get involved here. Giulio, why don't you come in.

What Giulio is going to do is to talk to you about that lighting is not accidental. Lighting is designed. And we have, literally have total control over how this project is going to look, based on the way we know how to design and control lighting. So, Giulio, I'll leave you to . . .

PEDOTA: All right, so my name is Giulio Pedota. And if you want my address, it's 363 W Erie, Suite 400. That's in Chicago, Illinois. You know, I have to admire the owner and the architect for engaging a lighting designer because we've been around for over 50 years, and when you engage a lighting designer, it's because you care about the project, not only the buildings, but also the surroundings, okay? And so that's kind of admirable.

We are an internationally recognized lighting design firm. We have offices in Chicago, in New York, in Dallas, in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and all the way to Melbourne, Australia. We love what we do. We're committed to sustainability and environmentally friendly approaches. And we're very detailed about it, especially because the standards are there. The United States of America, through the Luminating Engineering Society of North America, has created the standards for us to have positive impact into the environment for lighting design.

I'm showing two of the projects that we have recently, you know, finished in the city of Chicago. And I'm going to talk today about just an overview of the environmental related issues associated with lighting. Most of them are related to the practice of lighting design. I'm not going to get into the technology that like we all know that LED’s have really improved our world.

So I'll talk about the IES lighting zones, the light pollution, light trespassing, glare, correlated color. This is the actual quality in color of the light, the intensity and luminance, how bright sources are, and the energy codes and controls. We'll go through it quick, and hopefully it will be a very comprehensive story.

So because of the sensitivity of this project, and Dave talked about it, and the wooded area, okay, we're going to subject this project to what we call RP33. which is the IES recommended practice for exterior environmental lighting, okay? This is kind of like the Bible for lighting designers. We're going to subject this project to lighting zone two, which comes with a whole level of lighting requirements, okay. And it's for an area that has low ending light.

So what does that mean, okay? Well, the lighting zone for this project is associated with a bun rate which is a common metric, okay, to classify pictures. to minimize the biggest offenders, which are light pollution, light trespassing, and glare, okay. We all know what light pollution is. It's any light directed upwards into the sky, right, that impedes your view of starlit sky or a clear night. And you know what light trespassing is. You know, it's any light that is intended for a site that trespasses into a neighbor, intrudes into, you know, in this case, a wooded area.

So now we have the technology and the means and the vocabulary, okay, to address these items. We'll talk about back light, which is light that we see in the parking lights that is intended to illuminate an area, and it ends up illuminating the area that is opposite to the area that's being intended to be illuminated. And then the up light, which we already talked about.

This project, you know, will not, I want to make a point of this, will not have any light go up into the skies. We utilize all full-cutoff fixtures, okay. And that's important because, as Jim is going to show you, you know, what sort of light pollution looks like in that particular area, 80 feet up into, you know, from 0-0.

So glare is one aspect that I think if we don't control, you're going to be able to see it from downtown Galena. And again, you know, by minimizing full-cutoff fixtures and staying away from that high zone in that very high zone, okay, we know that there's a, the angles that will offend anybody looking at that site up, okay, in that hill.

If we are to categorize the fixtures, we know, okay, which ones are the fixtures that are not full cutoff, that are not shielded. that are what we call glare bombs. You're looking at it in the upper left photo. The three glare bombs. that’s a forward design. That's when you don't engage a lighting consultant that is environmentally friendly and knows what they're doing.

So, you know, for this project, we're going to be looking at the fixtures, you know, that are at the bottom right that are shielded, that have all kinds of different accessories, okay, to reduce up light and back light.

One of the biggest offenders are, you'll see on the all the cities . . . city of Chicago we have them. I noticed that approaching Galena the acorn fixture is also here. And so this is a fixture that worked for many, many years. But it does create a lot of light pollution. And so into this world. we have, again, the full-cutoff fixtures that you can see, you know, it's self-explanatory when you look at the photos, right? The bottom left is ideal condition to illuminate roadways, parking lots, and so forth.

You can see that the sources are LEDs in the right photo, and they're concealed. They'll be brass and concealed, and they direct the light where you want it, and there is no light straying away . the same thing goes with illuminated ballards you can see that there are ballards out there that they are glare bombs. They're utilized frequently, even into this world . and we completely opposed of that approach. Even when they shield them, sometimes they use a very high density, and it does the same damage because they're lighting a floor that is probably concrete or pavers and they are burning light value and aim light up into the sky.

So ideal condition would be what you're seeing at the bottom, which is a full-cutoff . . . that . . . adequate illumination. It has the right color, temperature, and I'll talk a little bit about that. And it doesn’t glow at night, okay. It just delivers adequate lighting to the walkways.

The same goes with the lighting poles which are the biggest offenders. We'll keep an eye on that very closely. Again, you have this very bright glare bombs okay, that scatter light everywhere. And I think probably the bottom left is what will be representative of a good approach, full-cutoff fixture with a warm-colored temperature. You know, you see the light on the path. There will be probably typical in the parking lot for this project.

And then if you look at the bottom right, you'll see that we have the different light distributions, okay, to manipulate the light, to get it where we want it and . . . where we don't want it. And this is just an illustration of, you know, which is probably the biggest offender.

Glare is, you know offensive if you have enough to plan ahead and end up with it in a project, there are different accessories out there that you can incorporate with a fixture. Obviously, this will not be the case for our project because we will make, you know, plans to incorporate all the sort of glare reducing aspects of the fixture louvers rock gardens barn doors whatever it is, okay.

And then there is the color temperature. You know, we see this a lot where at night, you know, especially with now they're with the circadian aspect of the human beings, we know that now any white light that has a blue spike at night, it conflicts with the human's circadian rhythms. And so the industry is moving really towards a more warm-colored temperature at night. And you can see that, you know, the difference between the bad and the good.

And not only it's the color temperature, but also the intensity. Those two combined can create a very warm, gentle, you know, project up in the hill. And then this is just to show, you know, recently, with a car dealer that sells cars in a very unique way. And we had to defend them in a particular project. So it was great to know that we have all the technology in terms of lighting softwares to do the calculation to control the lighting. And we know the red, you know, is the high levels. The yellows mid-levels. The green start working into the low levels. And anything that is below is very minimal, okay?

So having these tools at hand allows us to plan ahead, okay, you know, to make sure the project is done successfully, successfully from the environmental point of view. Then there is the cabins which I think make sort of romantic aspect of this project. You know, we think that they need to be introducing the project from the lighting perspective in a way that don't intrude or offend the site. And we do this by very simple methods that are listed up there. Like having exterior sconces that are shaded and then don’t glow outwards. Utilizing interior finishes that are medium toned. They are supposed to, utilizing light, right, so that there's not a lot of light reflecting from the thing, the cabin, outwards.

And what we're utilizing warm indirect lighting. up lighting ceilings that are made out of wood or dark finishes so that there's not a lot of light, you know, going out the windows. And then, you know, because of cabins have tasks working on the kitchen or whether you're reading or having dinner, there's ways that we also can control the interior glow that may go outside of the building.

And, you know, with that, we use, for example, just concealed pass lighting under the kitchen cabinets. But it's not only concealed, it's warm and the finish that is behind it is also warm we use shaded table lamps, okay, to provide warm light. Also shielded pass lights, you know. We see a lot of people, you know, having really bright pass lights when it's not necessary.

In terms of the fixtures, they will be installed in the ceiling, right, to provide general lighting or task lighting. We would make every source either have a reverse source, you know, end shielded. And if it's that we can't do that, we'll add louvers and so forth. But we'll make sure that nothing in the ceiling is shining in the offensive, okay.

And lastly, in the cabins, I mean, there's always technology that's been around for a very long time, which is a simple dimmer. You know, so the end user can dim the fixtures at night to contain that glow that is already warm so in terms of the buildings and the sort of night-time appearance. We have great strategies, you know.

First of all, we're trying to avoid façade lighting as much as we can and just allow the building to glow from within. It's a beautiful sort of poetic imagery if you will. And then keeping the exterior lighting to a minimum contain with the building.

On top of that, we use warm-color temperatures, no white light. It amazes me how, you know, people are buying these cool white lense and putting them in their house. And then at night, they turn them on, and they're really bright. And, you know, as we know, it interferes with the melatonin production, right, of the human being, which is so needed to sleep well at night. So we'll be utilizing colored temperatures that are warm. On top of that, we'll be dimming the lighting systems.

Here's another example, you know, keeping the façade lighting to a minimum, continue within the building, you know, any spillage of lighting outside of the building and, again, utilizing color temperatures that are warm and at a low intensity.

And then, you know, there's the energy code. The energy code will be bound by an energy code. And the energy code is very clear that, depending on the zone they're in, whether it's zone one, two, three,

or four, you have to adhere to a certain amount of energy consumption. So that by itself is going to limit how much light you can put in a project.

As a last, you know, in addition to that, I should say, you know, we have astronomical time clocks, motion sensors, dimming systems, local dimmers like in the cabins. So we have total control of the light. So I'm personally very excited about this project because I am a person that, I'm a Reed certified consultant, and I'm ready for sort of environmentally friendly technologies and approaches. Thank you very much.

BARANSKI: So, um one thing I forgot to mention, by the way, on the phase four I just remembered while I was sitting here. I might of forgotten to mention that there is another public building that is included in that phase which is a winery which should be included with the vineyard in phase one that I mentioned. And then in that lower, in that southeast corner of the site, there is going to be a, about a 6,000 square foot building, which would be a working winery will produce and make wine there. And in the upper level, they would probably do some kind of tastings. Sorry I forgot to mention that.

So I wanted to tie then what Giulio said about lighting to our project in particular. And so Giulio helped us develop some renderings that, his professional opinion, are representative of what this project is going to look like when it's really lit. So what I'm going to do is show you an example of what it's not going to look like. And so that's this slide.

So this slide is utilizing all of the wrong strategies. Number one, you've got lights inside the building that are exposed to the lights coming, you know, spilling out of the building. You have highly reflective finishes, like white. The streetlights are, you know, aren't shielded, and so there's a lot of light that's spilling out into the site, which we don't want.

With the way we're designing this, we'd go from what this is, and it would look more like this, or like that. So from that to that. So you can see all of the light sources are indirect in the cabins. The finishes in the cabins would be darker and will not be reflective. The street lighting will be mauler type lighting that doesn't have, as Giulio referred to as glare bombs. All that light is going down to where you need it. And these are the strategies that would prevent the building, the project in general from looking like it's riding up the whole hillside.

This, so these are some images. This is from a neighbor's house. Again, this string of images is trying to give people an idea of what this project will look like from various places in town. This happens to be a neighbor's house, and so we rendered it in the summertime. This is the project fully filled out of course, know that the project fully built out in the summertime, yes, we're not going to see it, but that's not the way it is. And sometimes it's winter. So here's what it looks like in winter. And, you know, you can see some of those cottages are starting to be introduced here, here, here, and here.

And then we said, well, what happens at night? So utilizing those lighting strategies that Giulio is using, then at night, that would look something like that. Here's another view. This is from South Bench Street, looking almost directly across to the Marine Hospital. You might be able to see a little bit of the top of the Marine Hospital there. Of course, this is in the summertime. Again, this site in summer is going to be hard to see from practically anywhere. But this is what it will look like in the wintertime, and then this is what it will look like at night in the wintertime.

We've also provided some images from other points in town. So this is an image from in front of the old high school up on Prospect Street. So our site is, mostly, it's back up in here. You can hardly see it. But the top part of the site is back up like right here. So I'm going to give you a little, if you zoom in on that, and so look closely because when the project is completely built out, it will go from looking like this to that. So from that to that. And those buildings are positioned from models onto the photograph as a montage to give you an idea what the project will look like from a distance.

Also, at night from a distance, again, this is back up at Prospect, the project is back up in this corner. If we lighted the project in a poorly designed way, you might end up seeing something like that, okay? You have, first of all, the wrong color lights. It would be very bright. And you'd get that glare that you sometimes see in a distance when you look at cities that are that way. You'll see a glare up there.

That would be the glow from the main parking lot where we have the 207 cars. That's not what our project will look like. With Giulio's strategies, the project will look like that.

Anyway, the next part of our presentation is Beth, who has kind of lost her voice, is going to talk about how the project, now we're getting more into the specific zoning stuff, the technical parts of the zoning ordinance. We're going to go through that. So, Beth is going to start by talking about the, how the project is consistent with the comprehensive plan. Beth?

Beth Baranski: Hi, Beth Baranski, 1015 S. Bench Street. So comprehensive plans are created to document consensus about how a community would like to evolve over time. That consensus allows for the protection of valuable community elements, like natural and historical resources, and for the efficient use of infrastructure, water, sewer, roads.

The plan serves as an important reference for the development of the zoning ordinance. I'd like to briefly highlight some of the items in our plan that the Parker Resort Project was consistent with. I believe there are three pertinent topics under our plan's vision statement, local economy, growth, and physical environment. The City of Galena will strive to diversify its local economy and improve the business environment for tourism by retaining existing businesses, actively attracting clean, new businesses with good-paying jobs, promoting its quality, experience, and heritage. The City of Galena will strive to preserve its small-town image by managing physical growth with sound planning and zoning that emphasizes the preservation of the historic development, and infield development, and the efficient and attractive development of new land. The city will be proactive in the next to achieve its vision.

The City of Galena will strive to be a beautiful place to live and visit by adhering to a high standard of cleanliness, maintaining high-quality air, water, and soil, protecting our historical and architectural character, and protecting and enhancing our natural resources.

Now I'd like to go through some of the goals and objectives in the plan that support this request. Under Economic Development, Galena will build upon its successful tools and industry, and they should work to address parking. Parking could be addressed with a combination of ramps and/or shuttle parking, and they should encourage the development of courtesy vans by area hotels.

Again, under Transportation, it's recommended that new shuttle services to relieve parking pressure downtown. The plan also recommends that we encourage visitors to walk from parking areas into the downtown by creating paths from parking areas that take visitors past historic structures.

Under Storm Weather Management, it's recommended that we improve storm weather management in new development areas to ensure that current storm weather concerns are not exacerbated. Under Police and Fire Department, we should address the capital, equipment, and staffing needs for the police and fire departments as both will require additional equipment and staff as the community grows and tourism increases.

The first goal under Historic Preservation is to maintain and improve the condition of the historic structures in the community. In Section 6.2 of our plan, under Historical and Cultural Resources, the Marine Hospital is included in a list of major historic structures in the city and is the only structure on this list that has not yet been rehabilitated.

It is part of the fact that the original cupola and the extensive plans have been removed. And as Jim mentioned earlier, we've received the State Historic Preservation Office's approval that the hospital is eligible for listing on the National Register. We've also submitted for Galena's landmark designation, which would provide oversight for the rehabilitation work.

Under Tourism and Natural Resources, we should utilize the natural resources and recreation potential of the Galena area to provide another inroad and marketing point for tourism and industry, identifying those natural resources that make the Galena region unique, such as the terrain, access to the Galena and Mississippi Rivers, etc., and being to market these as another reason to visit the Galena area, and work with others to develop trails and natural areas.

Under Recreational Trails, identify structures, sites, and locations within and outside the city that should be connected via recreational path. Under Preserving Natural Beauty, protect and preserve the natural beauty in and around the city of Galena while continuing to use the natural beauty of the region to attract tourists, ensure that development is consistently the premise of protecting the environment. Direct growth to targeted areas to ensure that the city grows in a compact, efficient manner that takes up a smaller amount of this finite resource.

Under Urban Service Extensions, require development to occur in a rational, planned-out pattern to prevent leapfrog development and allow the city to extend services in a logical manner. Under Lighting Standards, it's recommended to preserve the views provided in the night sky in and around Galena. Under Annexation, require that all new development on the edge of the city or next to the city to gain access to city sewer and water utilities.

Our plan recommends that we protect and maintain the rural character of the city of Galena and the surrounding areas as the city and the region continue to grow. And finally, under Provision of Urban Services, we are to direct growth to those areas that can be economically served by city sanitary, sewer, and water services.

This project fits well into the areas proposed for growth. So this area is the Marine Hospital site, and this is the proposed area to be annexed to complete the project area. And then these areas that are shaded are the proposed annexation areas that were identified in the 2003 plan.

This is the continuous growth area map. This was done later in working with the County. And it related to the County's planning efforts where they wanted to direct development into the municipalities. So they worked with the municipalities to identify their growth areas. And so we see, you know, these yellow areas here, and here is the project and the other growth areas.

In general, I think it's fair to say that the building comprehensive plan promotes thoughtful growth. The zoning ordinance is designed to implement the goals laid out in our plan. And at this point, I'll turn the presentation back to Jim, so he can explain how the Parker project specifically relates to this zoning request.

BARANSKI: Okay. So, I'd like to talk a little bit about the zoning aspects of the project and why the project is in concordance with the zoning ordinance, starting with the question of, why a planned unit development? So, from the City's perspective, a PUD is a great zoning tool because it provides zoning board and the city more control over the use of a property. If applicant were grant a change to a particular zoning district, general commercial, let’s say then the applicant could use listed include any in that district, by right. In a PUD the applicant declares the uses of the property at the beginning of the planning process and is held to them.

The current zoning for the Marine Hospital is limited agricultural, which will also be the case when the Rigdon parcel is annexed into the city. The limited agricultural zoning district has a floor area ratio of 25%. For those in attendance who are unfamiliar with what floor area ration is, it is the total square footage of construction that is allowed on a given site as a percentage of the total land area.

Also, limited ag has a limited landscape surface ratio, which is essentially the amount of green or open space, of 50%. That means under of the current zone the owner could, by right, build 850 thousand square feet of buildings. The owner could also cover half the site in this case, roughly 39 acres with buildings, driveways, and other paved areas, without having to come before the zoning board with respect to intensity standards.

We are proposing a PUD for this project with an underlying default restrict of planned commercial. There are many permitted uses, some by right and some by special use, allowed in planned commercial district.

The major uses were applying hotel/motel accommodations, commercial and indoor entertainment, which is essentially restaurants and baking facilities, and outdoor entertainment as a principal which is essentially music on a terrace that is not amplified consistent with the city ordinances.

The floor area ratio is planned commercial is 30%, and the minimum landscape surface ratio is 25%. We are, however, proposing a far lower FAR of 10%, instead of the currently allowed FAR of 25% under limited ag or the 30% FAR for planned commercial. In other words, we will be building 60% less of what is currently allowed.

We're also proposing a minimum landscape surface ratio of roughly 80%. In other words, roughly 80% must be kept in open or green space, instead of the current allowable minimum of 50% under limited ag or the even lower 25% minimum in planned commercial. We believe that creating a resort in a park-like setting incidentally, if for comparison's sake, Grant Park in Galena has a roughly 84% landscape surface ratio and we will approximately 80%.

The value of a PUD is that we are declaring these uses and intensities right now and cannot vary from them without going back to the Zoning Board and City Council and asking for permission. What we're asking for in this application is consistent with the ordinance. The exceptions we are asking for are allowed by special use permit. For instance, we are asking that we be allowed to provide hotel/motel accommodations by right. In the ordinance it requires a special use permit.

We are also asking that Eventual main building exceed 25,000 square feet by right. A special use permit is required to exceed 25,000 square feet and to build to a maximum of 75,000 square feet. We are asking for 50,000 square feet.

We are also asking that the outdoor dining terrace, the Marine Hospital, the café building, the main building, and winery exceed the 15% of the interior areas they serve. This request is a direct result of the challenges over the last couple of years with an acknowledgement that outdoor dining will continue to be popular even after the COVID is over.

Finally, we are asking that the terraces I mentioned be allowed to provide non-amplified, which is required by ordinance, music for weddings and special occasions. This is normally permitted as an accessory use with a special use permit.

By any other metric, this project complies with the ordinance, including, one, compliance with the natural resource protection standards in Sections 154-501 through 154-510. These are the standards that deal with tree preservation, steep slopes flood plains, and wetlands. Two, compliance with the parking and landscaping standards provided in Sections 154-601 through 154-605. These are the standards that deal with parking and circulation, lighting, which we've discussed extensively, landscaping, and buffer yards.

Three, compliance with the performance standards provided in Sections 154-701 through 154- 713. These are the provisions that deal with smoking issues, excessive glare, heat, odors etc. Four, compliance with the Signage standards provided in Sections 154-801 through 154-815. Five, the project complies with the standard that the plan shall be organized harmoniously and efficiently in relation to topography, the size and type of property affected, the character of the adjoining property, and type and size of the building and six, the project complies with the City requirements for the provision of water and sewer and site drainage.

The project is also consistent with the approval criteria for zoning map amendment, specifically the following. Number two, there has been a change of character is the surrounding area due to the construction of the Galena River Trail. Also, because of the construction of the new sewage treatment plan south of the city, this area is now part of the facility planned area that can access city sewer.

Three, the proposed use is compatible with the surrounding area. We have demonstrated that the project will not create adverse impacts, such as excessive storm runoff, water and land pollution, excessive nighttime lighting, or other instances. Any adverse traffic impacts are being mitigated by creating adequate parking and shuttle service.

Four, as discussed in detail by Beth earlier, the proposal is in conformance with and in furtherance of the implementation of the comprehensive plan. This is a specialy true of the vision section and the goals and objectives section.

Five, adequate public facilities and services are available. Water and sewer system will be installed in the proposed development. Number six, of over 70 acres, there is an adequate supply of land in subject area to accommodate the zoning and community needs. Number eight, with respect to need for community for the proposal, the project rehabilitates a historic landmark and provides a low-density development that both maintains the rural and natural character while adding significantly to the tax based this project will help reduce the pressure to convert residential properties to visitor lodging. Specific benefits that support a PUD are as follows. Number two, the project is providing adequate off-street parking that would benefit downtown Galena through the ability for people to walk to town from the development or using resource shuttle bus. Three, the project will include six acres of vineyards and four acres of gardens, which will be publicly accessible.

Four, the project will have 1 1/2 miles of trails available for use by the public with access to the existing Galena River Trail. And six, the buildings in the development will be designed to accommodate renewable energy resources, such as solar and geothermal. Where possible, buildings will be oriented to maximize passive solar potential. Overhangs on the Marine building wineries, café will be designed to modulate seasonal solar gaze. Building and site lighting will be LED and will be designed to reduce glare and spillover. All these strategies will reduce the building's energy loads.

And seven, the project is protecting natural resources, including wetlands and steep slopes, while also providing 80% open space. The downhill sides of most of the cottages will be perched on columns, which reduces the disturbance of the slopes.

The terms of the prelimanary PUD planned review criteria, the project conforms with the following. A, the ODP review criteria in division B. C, the applicable site plan review criteria in 154.914. And E, specific density and intensity of uses for all areas included in the preliminary plan.

So the decision tonight is to consider approval of a preliminary plan for a PUD. This means the project will come back to the Zoning Board for each phase for final approval to verify that the final plans are consistent with the preliminary plan.

To close, I believe we have demonstrated that this project is consistent with the Galena zoning ordinance, and I ask that you send a positive finding effect to the City Council for their consideration. At this point, I'd like to ask the board if you have any questions.

ROSENTHAL: Any questions for Jim?

BOCHNIAK: Jim, what's the, what would be the height of the restaurant and the other buildings compared to the Marine Hospital? You showed the cabins, but what would be that height relative to the Marine Hospital?

BARANSKI: You mean the actual building heights?

BOCHNIAK: Yeah, you know, compared to if I was looking over it, I mean, how high would the restaurant be compared to the Marine Hospital

BARANSKI: Well, the Marine Hospital is 53 feet high, so it would be probably the highest building on the site. The main building, which is, at this point is still in design, we just visualize what this building would be. We know what the size would be. It probably would be a two-story building, so it probably would be less than 40 feet.

ROSENTHAL: Any other questions for Jim?

GATES: Jim, where the project is going to enter and exit onto Blackjack, I mean, it looks like it's a pretty straightaway part of the road. I can't tell from the map. I go on that road all the time. But is there a lot of like hill what I'm thinking about is, is it going to be easy to see traffic coming from both directions?

BARANSKI: Yeah. So what I did is I checked with Steve Keeffer, the county engineer. Together we looked at the locations, and he drove it. And that location that we have is the one that he selected for us.

GATES: Okay.

ROSENTHAL: Anything else?

BOCHNIAK: Why is it, Jim, so important to do the whole thing now? I mean, why do you, I mean, why do you want it approved, the whole thing now, instead of doing it in stages?

BARANSKI: Well, we want it approved so we have some level of certainty, right? There's a large investment that's being made into infrastructure costs, into road costs. As you know, it's a phased plan so that the plan would go, you know, it maybe first year you've got phase one, a year and a half. It may be another couple of years for phase two. So you're talking about a duration that could go, you know, six, eight, ten years. But I'm kind of speaking on behalf of a developer here. But I do know enough to know that when you're making this kind of investment, you'd like to know that there's some certainty that you can continue moving forward.

ROSENTHAL: Anything else? Okay, thank you, Jim.

BARANSKI: Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Anyone else here to speak in favor of the request? Come forward.

NACK: Make sure they signed in, John.

ROSENTHAL: Yeah. Sign in right here . . .

NACK: If they haven't signed in already, they can . . .

ROSENTHAL: Did you sign in?

RIGDON: Yes, I have.

ROSENTHAL: . . . your name and address?

RIGDON: My name is Jim Rigdon. I live at 2190 North Blackjack Road, Galena. I, my family has owned that property since middle of 1960s. It was going to go up for sale one way or another. We had it appraised for ag property, and there's actually, with the area that it's in, we find no way we would ever think of selling it as ag property. It was going to be sold to some sort of development and we would sit on it until it was.

Mr. Hooten had approached us, and we talked to him. I believe, I feel like I'm a pretty good judge of character. I met the man, and I think if you look at what is presented here today, I think you understand that he's not somebody that is not concerned of what he does to the area. I think he's thought it out . . . lighting experts and everything else, checking with the County, whatever. And I know that everybody has an opinion. Everybody has a desire of what goes on.

I worked for the City of Galena for better than two-thirds of my life, and I enjoyed it. I loved it here. When I started here in the middle '70s, this town was falling apart. And there was fierce opposition in everything you do. But we have survived. We've done really well. I think you would credit that to zoning boards, and I went to a number of city councils, mayors, everything. And I think we've done a real good job.

I live right there. That's my house that we're describing there. And I've lived there, some of the neighbors there, all of them are friends. They're good people. And they even approached me and said, Jim, there's nothing against you personally. And it's not. I don't take it that way. They're to their opinion, and they want to know what's going on.

When they make this presentation here today, actually showed that there's concerns. When they met, they met at a house with some of the close neighbors, and they had some concerns. And I think they're starting to address them. They look at dangerous intersections. They looked at lighting. And no matter what development there is in town, you're going to have some of that.

But you got to look at what's best. Like I was pointing out, I think we've done a very good job. I think there was talk when the bike trail went in was that, well, we bordered it too. Everybody said, oh, there's going to be people running all over your property. They're going to be trespassing, litter, and everything like that. I worked for the City. There's no litter there. They've done a nice job. I think they've given a lot of thought and everything as to what would be okay.

And like I said, we were going to sell this property, and it wasn't going to ag. And so it was going to go to a developer. And I think if you look at this, I think this is a developer that will listen and work with people, you know. And I think he's got good forward so I hope I don't offend anybody else, but it's, there's opinions in everything, everything that happens in life. There's two sides to it.

So my family personally has liked the idea that this is something that, you know, this preserving . There was talk about people cutting all the trees down, and they always talk about tearing the Marine Hospital down. Those things aren't happening. You can see what's going on here. So my opinion on that is I think it would help Galena. I think it would bring in some pretty good tax money, hotel/motel tax, we know what it does. I think it matches in with bike trails, walking trails, canoeing, and things that we want to promote. So my opinion.

ROSENTHAL: Any questions for Jim before he sits down? Thanks, Jim. Anyone else to speak in favor? Are you signed in, Jeff?

HOLDER: I'm signed in, yes. My name is Jeff Holder. I live at 254 Council Fire Circle. I've been living here in Galena for 31 years now. Prior to that, my family would visit throughout the 1980s. I've experienced Galena before and after its various transitions. I've found the quality of life has been better when Galena is experiencing economic growth. Historic Main St properties need upkeep and tender loving care, which requires money. It's easier to do when businesses are thriving and paying rents. The very idea that someone would want to restore and develop the dilapidated. Properties and invest money into this community is a worthwhile endeavor. The fact that they are open, transparent, and willing to discuss ways we should develop the property with the least amount of environmental impact is applaudable. Therefore, I‘d like to go on record in support of this project. Any questions?

ROSENTHAL: Thank you, Jeff.

HOLDER: You betcha.

ROSENTHAL: Anyone else?

VOJTA: My name is Rick Vojta, 251 Council Fire Circle. I come before you in a couple different capacities. I sat in those chairs for over ten years in the same position, so I appreciate what you do and the thought and careful deliberation that you take to do your job because it's not always easy. I know of some of the concerns through what's been published in The Gazette. And I think the applicant has very thoroughly tried to address the major concerns that people have.

Your decision to approve to deny this request, however, should be based on the criteria in the current code and the comprehensive plan, which involves the input from the entire community. I can't stress that enough. And a change in view or surrounding change to the landscape is really not a relevant issue of concern in making your decision. But issues of concern, such as access, traffic, and lighting, definitely are, and I think those have been thoroughly addressed.

In looking at this particular project, the land is either in or adjacent to the Galena city limits. And the surrounding development pattern is one of higher density for development. With the current applicant proposing to leave 80% of the land as open space and with an overall density that is considerably lower than what is allowed by right in the agricultural district, I would hardly call this project an intensive use of the land.

In fact, for all the years that I sat in those chairs, I would say this is one of the most thorough and comprehensive presentations I've ever seen. And judging it on meeting necessary zoning and planning criteria guidelines, I think they've gone over and above to address the immediate neighbors' concerns.

So and those criteria, it would seem to me that it's almost impossible not to vote yes for this project and that it dovetails perfectly with Galena's history of providing both historic preservation and tourism. I've also been a commercial real estate appraiser for over 35 years, and I've worked extensively on projects like this in tourist markets across the country. One aspect that was very unusual of this project is the applicant is not asking for any tax breaks. He's not asking for any City handouts. He's not asking for any help to defray any cost for infrastructure. So there's really no cost to the City if this project moves forward.

I think it's also been proven that the market has shown that if we want the historic Marine Hospital renovated, it's adaptive reuse is going to have to be done as part of a large project. You just can't renovate this building on a stand-alone basis. It's too costly, and it would not be economically feasible.

In terms of economic development, I mean, this is potentially huge for the city of Galena. I don't know what the budget is on this project, but based on my experience, I would think this is easily a $30 to $40 million investment if it's fully built out.

But when you talk about the economic impact of that type of investment, you're talking about a significant number of local jobs for construction, several permanent jobs to run it once it's completed, a huge boost to this real estate's tax base with an expanded commercial base, hopefully reducing the burden on homeowners, which is currently pretty high, huge increase in hotel/motel taxes to support tourism marketing and growth, increase sales to local shop owners, restaurants, and other tourist businesses, which would then drive additional sales tax to cover City expenses.

This is truly a rising tide raises all boats phenomenon, and I think over time would more than likely result in increased and not decreasing property values. Galena has remained viable because we've been able to adapt and change with tourist markets having to consistently evolve in order to grow and remain relevant. Therefore, I fully expect this project and encourage you to approve this once in a generational opportunity. Thanks.

ROSENTHAL: Anyone else?

NOBLE: Hello, my name is Rose Noble. I live at 11438 West Horseshoe View Lane in Galena. I am the CEO and president of Greater Galena Marketing, otherwise doing business as Galena Country Tourism, and you might know it as Visit Galena. And although we are the city tourism management organization that handles all of their marketing branding, and reputation, I would like to note some statistics that would hopefully persuade you into voting in favor of this development.

But it is important to note that I am not here as a, I am here as a Galena resident and not as an official statement from our organization. With that said, I'm just going to give you a quick background. I have lived in the city, lived and worked in the city for 17 years, my husband and I. My husband is a teacher in the Galena High School. We've both been involved in many organizations throughout our tenure here, including many youth sports and arts and science programs. We have a vested interest in seeing this community prosper.

We would love for this to be a place that our children return to after college and want to maybe start a business or work here and have the quality of life that we currently have living in this area.

I have lived downtown. I lived on Dewey Ave. for a year. I lived on Dodge Street for about ten years. I actually lived on Fourth Street, the street we've been talking tonight, for a year. And now I live off of Red Gates Road. That said, I support this project, and I want you to see me as a true believer and a neighbor that's coming to you in favor of this project.

I'm going to quickly just talk about a couple of tourism impact members, and I'm so happy that there's a crowd here because this is something that we try to educate all of our residents on. And I don't think that they're really aware. The fact of the matter is tourism visitor spending heavily impacts our quality of life. Yes, it can have a negative impact, but in Galena, it has a much, a positive impact on how we live, what we do, what we're interested in, how we recruit business, how we recruit young families, so many things.

In 2020, which are the last economic tourism impact numbers that we have received from Illinois Office of Tourism, this is taken by tourism economics, which is a federally funded program. So this is a legit study. $251 million in visitor spending in our Jo Daviess County, $251 million.

There is $9.4 million in local tax revenue generated that's not the lodging tax. That is sales tax, amusement tax, food and beverage tax. That is tax that goes back to local government to put into their general budget, which actually does provide funding for roads, emergency services, police, schools, programming.

In addition, it supported 2,484 jobs, tourism-related jobs, resulting in a payroll of $63 million. I am one of those positions that benefit from a tourism-related job. And we do note that there are some front-line jobs that are salary, but this is still our young people that are working part time, our college kids that are coming back and having jobs in the summer, or people that return and do end up working in our salary position. And we're always going to see that increase.

This area did Jo Daviess County actually generated $13.8 million for the State of Illinois, on top of the $9.4 million that it generated for Jo Daviess. These numbers are actually down 5% over 2019 because they were collected during 2020, which was the heart of the pandemic, as you know. March, April, May, June we were in quarantine. Usually, we're seeing a 4% growth year over year. We're so ready to receive our 2021 numbers, and we'll be more excited to receive 2022 numbers. And keep in mind, these numbers do not include canibus which we do know visitors are participating in recreation of canibus in our area. And that number is just going to be astronomical.

So the point being, if people that live here aren't staying in hotels, they are eating in our restaurants. They are walking on our trails. They are enjoying the wineries. They are enjoying the landscape and the entertainment that is here because of visitors. So all the restaurants downtown and . . . pandemic especially showed that visitor attendance is so important. We had how many restaurants that rely on hundreds of people that come through on a weekend, and we just cannot satisfy those numbers through our local population. It's very important that we encourage tourism growth and that we promote in favor opportunities like this development.

I think through thoughtful consideration, which I will echo the previous comments, this is one of the most thoughtful, considerate presentations I've ever seen when it comes to development in terms of the landscape, the surrounding areas, the preservation. This should really be considered as a win and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our community to grow.

This will increase budget by so much. But if you are not interested in the numbers, the quality of place that it would provide to residents that get to check out the restored Marine Hospital, which I've been fortunate to do, and it's an amazing building, residents will get to enjoy the winery. They will be able to do the trails. It will provide a shuttle service that takes people through our east side, which is notoriously under traveled compared to Main Street. And there are some significant properties over here. that we'd love to get people i. This just has a positive impact overall to a big win for our community, in my opinion. And I am in favor, and I hope you consider doing the same.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

SULLIVAN: I'm Carole Sullivan. I'm at 7211 Buckhill Road, and I've been here since 1971 in Galena. I think it's really amazing and wonderful that someone is finally going to fix up this building. This should be a jewel in Galena. And right now it's fixable. If we wait much longer, it might not be. And I think this is an opportunity to have this wonderful building be fixed up and take a chance. I too had questions before I came in tonight, and I really appreciate all of the detail that we heard about this project, and it answered a lot of my questions.

I don't know Mr. Hooten, but I do know Jim and Beth Baranski, and I've known them for probably 30 years, and most people in this area have. They have done an enormous amount for this community. They've been on boards of directors. They have been on so many things. Beth has given so much time worrying about the environment of our county and water safety in our county. I know that these are people of enormous integrity, and I don't think they would do anything that they felt would harm this city. I think Galena is in their heart, and I don't think they would do anything to hurt it. Thanks.

ROSENTHAL: Thanks, Carole. Anyone else?

THOMPSON: Earl Thompson, 704 Park Avenue. I think Jim has made an incredibly detailed presentation. I agree with all the points that have been made before me up here by the people speaking in favor. I'd like to speak to Dave, who I was referred to through friend and business associate, who I've been working for for about ten years in the county. And the quality of work that these guys do is incredible. I can speak to that firsthand.

And I would also like to point out that his application for landmarking about the city, the landmarking application for to be on the historic registry are not necessary as part of applying for the zoning application. He did that on his own, as an indication of his integrity to preserve the structure and environment. Thanks.

ROSENTHAL: Thanks, Earl. Anyone else?

DEITER: How's it going? I'm Jack Deiter at 314 Third Street. And I've always wondered what this building would look like totally restored. And I think it's a great opportunity for Galena to bring a gem back to life. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else? Come on down.

WOMAN: This is the people who are, are you speaking for it?

ROSENTHAL: Right now it's for people who are supporting the request.

WOMAN: Oh, I'm sorry. It's hard to hear you back here.

ROSENTHAL: Really? Go ahead.

PEDRAZA: Gerald Pedraza. Formerly at 3219 Apple River Trail, Apple River, IL presently at 304 Territory Dr., Galena. Have operated a small research vineyard at 3172 East Stagecoach Trail and now involved in the University of Illinois hemp research project. I am in support of this project. The exquisite presentation that was prepared here in design meets extraordinary environmental, architectural, and physical environment requirements.

I have one reservation though, and it's not about the project, and it's not about your process of approving or disapproving it. And I hope that you approve it. I do have, my reservation is founded on this. I have a plat book here that's dated 2001 from Jo Daviess County. Today I looked at the courthouse with the intention of looking at historic plat books. So I looked at one from the '60s. Then I ended up looking at one from 1913.

And, ladies and gentlemen, this county board is very negligent in its proactive planning for infrastructure. You, as well as I, know that during high tourist season, there are dangerous things that are occurring on Route 20, okay? The traffic congestion is getting more and more difficult. I'll give you a couple examples, one of which is anomaly . . I'm coming into town from 304 Territory Drive about 10:30, and there's a 2-mile long line of traffic at 10:30 at night, and it's pure dark out.

And there's a gentleman hauling a Ag implement with a tractor down Route 20. And he's going down, and he's coming down, and he turns left on Blackjack. And I'm saying to myself, what is happening here with this kind of attitude and disrespect for people who are on Route 20?

Now there are other things that have occurred recently. There was an accident out by the golf course on the west side of town. And again, the traffic is congested. The line of traffic either west or east is like two, three miles long, again, just emphasizes point of view. This is an issue that the county board should have talked about and made plans for years ago. There is no way to divert traffic off of Route 20 coming from the east going west, and the opposite, coming west going east.

So how does this development contribute to that potential increase in traffic congestion on Route 20? The intersection of Blackjack and Route 20 during high tourist season, it's impossible to get through there.

Now in conclusion, I support this development. It is exquisite. At the same time, there are issues that are out of the control of Jim and Beth and this city council in Galena. They need, the county board is negligent in proactive infrastructure planning. Thank you so much.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else to speak in favor?

VAN HEMERT: Hi, I'm Brianne Van Hemert. I'm at 207 Bouthillier Street. I have been in Galena for a little over a year, about a year and a half. I came here during the pandemic to open up a new business on Main Street, my husband as well, has a business on Main Street. And we have three children, one at Galena Middle School, one at Galena Primary, and then the ARC as well.

We love Galena. We are blessed that our business has done extremely well this past year and a half. And being a new business owner and also, you know, a resident of Galena, I do support this project. I think it will only bring greatness to Galena. The amount of thought and effort that went into it is incredible. And I feel like if we don't jump on this opportunity, who knows how bad it could be? Because so much thought and effort has been put into this.

As a business owner, I want, I bring an experience to Main Street. My business is called Scent Workshop where people can come in and create their own fragrances. And this experience of bringing life and community closer to town with the walkability factor and all of that, I can see it right now how businesses are doing so much better. Many businesses are closed right now because they are rebuilding their interior because they have extra money to do so. And that just goes into saying, you know, rebuilding the infrastructure in town is important because even though we celebrate the over 200-year-old city, how are we going to make it up to 250 if we don't start investing in our community?

And as a mother of three children, the tax money that comes into play with this business, or with this resort coming, is only better for our schools. So thank you, and please consider voting for this.

BOCHNIAK: I got a question. What is your thoughts, since you live on Bouthillier, about the shuttle service?

VAN HEMERT: You know, actually, it doesn't bother me because we have the trolleys that go up and down Bouthillier. So in my opinion, it's no different than having the trolleys.

ROSENTHAL: Any other questions? Otherwise, thank you.

VAN HEMERT: Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Anyone else to speak in favor? Seeing none, anyone to speak in opposition, come forward. Remember to state your name and address for the record and that you've signed in. Thank you.

CLARK: Good evening. My name is Wendy Clark. I live at 1107 Fourth Street. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak tonight. I grew up in Galena. I was away for many years, and I've been lucky enough to move back home again fairly recently.

My home is directly next to the proposed for rezoning and development. It's also notable that I work as a natural resource planner with over 25 years' experience in that profession. My neighbors and I have enormous stake in this decision. If this were to move forward, it would have incredible devastating and permanent impacts to our lives and our homes. But this won't just affect us. This change is going to cause impacts in the entire community of Galena that have yet to really be considered and dealt with.

I appreciate the effort and the detail that's gone into this presentation. But a lot of it is interpretation. A lot of it is renderings. A lot of it is hopes and dreams, quite frankly, about what might happen. But when you put something on the landscape, real things happen. And those are some of the things that I want to talk about tonight.

The decision at hand, despite the rehabilitation of Marine Hospital is not really about rehabilitating Marine Hospital. We all know that would be a wonderful thing to do. The decision at hand is whether planned commercial development is a better or appropriate use for the land in question than its current agriculture or other uses. And the answer is clearly no.

Rezoning this area will not comply with the city's land use map. The maps were shown in continuous development areas were shown, but those were identified on the city land use map as residential. They are not identified in that part as commercial development.

There are no compelling reasons to throw aside that required compliance to the city's land use map to do something that exacerbates a number of issues identified in the comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan was mentioned, and parts of it were highlighted. But all of the things that are required where they're identified as issues were not fully addressed.

Those plans, the comprehensive plan and the land use map were developed, as Beth noted, using professional analysis, community involvement, and were evaluated economic opportunities, traffic, infrastructure, etc. She went through a lot of that.

The end result is identifying where those should and can occur and where it should not. It clearly also recognizes that protecting residential neighborhoods in a small-town rural character associated with them are essential to maintaining a rural and thriving community, which in turns absolutely necessary to support a thriving tourism industry.

As I mentioned, the city land use map does not identify areas for commercial growth on the east side. It identifies one small existing commercial area on top of the hill and that's pretty separated, physically, from the heart of residential neighborhoods, as you all know, and the historic district.

Otherwise, it doesn't identify anywhere on the east side of Galena that's appropriate for commercial development or annexation for commercial use. And that's for good reason. There are a number of specific issues, one of which was just raised, that would be worsened by development in this area.

First of all, dangerous traffic patterns and congestion. As we know and was just talked about, there are two access points on and off the highway from Blackjack Road. Illinois DOT rates the Blackjack and Highway 20 intersection as critical for crash risk due to the number of severe crashes there. In our conversation with one of their, one of the folks at DOT, they also acknowledge that they have virtually no options to mitigate that congestion and risk at that intersection. The intersection with Bouthillier and Highway 20, which does have a turn lane, but we're talking about running a shuttle, is identified as a higher T crash risk intersection.

The proposal, however, indicates parking for more than 400 vehicles, which means that as many as 400 guest vehicles will be routinely arriving and departing at a minimum leaving and departing the resort. And they may or may not drive back and forth while they're there. There would also be employee traffic, delivery and service trucks, and others.

Those of us who actually live in that neighborhood already deal with significant existing traffic and safety issues. And the proposal may make those problems much worse. Walking is also an issue with traffic. I walk my dogs. Sometimes I literally cannot get across Highway 20. I take my life in my hands trying to do that. We do talk about, you know, people could walk down from the resort onto the Galena River Trail. And head to town that way. But I don't know about you, but I'm not going to carry my heavy shopping bags and walk that entire river trail and have to go up a big hill and across 70 acres of property. I'm not going to do that after I eat a big dinner downtown. People will continue to drive.

Emergency services is a concern. We're already concerned about the fact that fire and EMS services located on the west side have only one way to cross the river right now, and that's the Galena River Bridge, that's it. And that's a problem that was identified in comprehensive plan. This proposal would add to traffic congestion on that single access plan to cross the bridge while increasing the need for emergency services on the east side. More people, more buildings, etc., and more crash risk equals more need for emergency services.

The proposal is inconsistent with established and existing uses. Creating commercial area with large lodging facility with restaurants, wedding events, noise, activity lights, etc., will come with all of those things, which, you know, everybody doing those things would be enjoying themselves and so on. That's great for them, but it would convert what is now a quiet, residential, and rural area into something entirely different.

By establishing commercial development as the predominant use, it would put the neighbor residential area at risk of future variances and rezoning based on what would then become an existing adjacent established use.

There's also some, what I would call, honestly, disingenuous comparing the floor area ratio of what could be built up there as farm buildings with what they're talking about terms of hotels, restaurants, and cottages. That's comparing apples and baseballs. It's not the same thing.

Also, lights and noise, I really do appreciate what we listened to when you talked about lights and that an effort has been made to try to reduce light pollution. However, first of all, a large part of the hillside evolved is right in our yards. And it is , as you noticed visible from town. This proposal would still make it very visible at night. The fact is windows are windows. Light shines out no matter what kind of glass or lighting plan you use. They would still be visible. I know in a lot of those slides, but the bad pictures were taken in dark of night, and the not-so-bad pictures were taken when there was still light in the sky, so exaggerating a difference in those things. But we all know that light is light, and it shines out.

And there would also be car headlights moving all over the hillside on busy nights with the accumulative number of lights in the cabins, use of roadways, parking areas, buildings, and other would light up hillside currently dark. Also, in 15, 20 years, will they still be investing in the kind of lighting plan that was talked about today?

Sound carries remarkably well across Davis Creek. I stand outside my house, right across Davis Creek from Jim Rigdon’s house, and on certain days, I hope his not worried about this, but I can actually hear conversations happening out there at Rigdon’s place. So, watch what you say. But you really can. It sorts of echoes through that valley. And noise of people, events, cars, the resort would be pet friendly. I have dogs. They bark. I worry about one dog barking down there. How many would be barking up on that hillside?

Even un-amplified noise up at the event center will carry remarkably through that valley. All of this would change everything about our homes and our lives. But it would also change the character and feel of the main heart of Galena. This is just not the place to do this sort of thing.

There's a lot of discussion about infrastructure and natural resources. This site is limestone bedrock. It's identified in the comprehensive plan as having severe limitations for buildings and roads. And the reality doesn't change. It's just there. County geologic maps indicate the whole area is very high risk for contamination of the aquifer due to runoff and other concerns.

Putting infrastructure into bedrock is not as simple as unzipping the ground along the dotted line on the map and then zipping it back up again. It requires enormous incredible disruptive excavation, possible blasting and blowing through rock with unknown impacts to our properties and other resources.

The proposal requires all of that infrastructure to transport water and sewer serving several hundred people, just sort of think about that, across nearly 70 acres, or more than 70 acres, through hill course limestone and then under or across the river to connect to city services. All of that will be difficult and expensive to troubleshoot and maintain down the road.

When problems happen, the issues flow quite literally downhill into our yards, our creek, our river, and our aquifer. There's already a backlog of sewer, wastewater treatment, and large-system projects listed in the city's improvement plan. Adding miles of complex infrastructure to that burden is not in the interest of the city as a whole.

There was brief mention of runoff and flooding issues. Interestingly, in the plan proposal documents, the storm weather management plan fails to display Davis Creek. However, it's there, and it appears in the plan to place a constructed pond right within the channel of Davis Creek. This will create a dam structure that would pose a high risk to those of us who live downstream if it were breached during high-water events. If, in fact, it does breach it would need to be permitted by Illinois DNR.

The plans for storm weather management would also change the hydrology of Davis Creek with the bypass flow on the other flow access points. The proposed access road would create another barrier to water flow that could potentially be breached during high-water events. And the planned channel storm water directly downhill through culverts and pipes into the David Creek flood plain.

Our neighbors, Chuck, and Karen, have some of those one or two pipes that channel water already down into the yard, and I see what that does. And I'm fine with it. There's sometimes. But we're talking about a massive, much, much larger amount of storm water that would be diverted straight down in the Davis Creek flood plain. All of this would increase risk to homes and other property along Davis Creek during the flood events that common in that drainage. I want to talk about open space and natural resources for a moment.

Again, I do plan for a living and the proposal uses the term open space and green space entirely incorrectly and very misleadingly. The definition in Illinois law is that open space means, quote, there is undeveloped or minimally developed lands that can serve and protect viable natural features or processes. The comprehensive plan uses the term green space and echoes that it's very similar to open space, that includes various vegetation characteristics.

This proposal incorrectly includes in its totals of what it calls open space any ground not covered by a building or pavement. That means small strips of land between cabins, patches between parking areas and buildings, etc. The proposal would, in fact, move and convert roughly 70 or 80, I don't know how many acres it is, of open space according to the legal definition and the definition of the comprehensive plan.

It would remove woodlands including many more trees than anticipated. We've all seen construction projects, and we know what happens when the trees end up going down. The contractor accidentally ran into a tree. Excavation is ultimate exposure of a wood structure and natural destabilizing needs to go. It happens all the time. It's just part of the process.

To mitigate the old hazards that damage that presents buildings and vehicles, and more trees go. Trees also die on their own. So, relying on trees to spring everything is fairly disingenuous. The proposal in the end significantly reduces woodland and vegetative cover, and it would destroy wildlife habitat immediately next to an established green life and a recreation area that the City worked really hard to acquire and create.

In summary, this proposal really should never have seen the light of day, nor make it as far as a public hearing. As residents, we should never have to come down to defend our homes from something that really obviously shouldn't happen.

As a professional planner, I am pretty amazed at the number of failures in this proposal. Yes, there's been a lot of detail. But the fact is it fails to comply with the city land use map. There's no getting around that. It actually worsens most of the issues that are identified as concerns in the comprehensive plan. There's no getting around that. It fails to meet, actually, many of the required conditions for rezoning and PUD that were not specifically discussed.

And it does not appear to have received any kind of review by department agencies, such as the DNR, DOT, emergency services, etc., that I would at least expect it to be involved in the initial evaluation of such a large, complex, and impacted proposal.

It would take me all night to list more of the problems and deficiencies and to go step by step through how this doesn't meet all of these things. But what I've already said should be more than enough for you all to vote no on this proposal. It really makes no sense to even consider creating a large commercial zone in an area where that notions been ruled out in the planning documents that we have because of the very serious issues that I've discussed, as well as those I don't have time to address. It has never been appropriate to put any commercial or other large development on that property, and it still isn't. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Any questions? Okay. Thank you very much. Anyone else to speak?

BOHO: My name is James Boho. I live out at 1477 South Rocky Hill Road, up in Rice Township. So much of this has just brought up things and attention. Before I want to go to my address, I just want to tell you that there was a planned area out at the Poor Farm that had band and was going to open up the space. And so we all got together, Blackjack, Irish Hollow, and Rocky Hill Road. We had, we went to the county meeting, and we had 32 residents there. We had over 55 people attend. And one of our second main issues was the intersection at Fourth Street and the highway.

And we, I spoke to that for quite some time. You cannot come in there if you have a truck without going into the oncoming lane. You can't make a right-hand turn out of there going up Highway 20 without going into the eastbound lane. If you have a tram now that's going to take its right-hand turn and go up, then it is going to be in low gear. And we all see this when we all go there when traffic is backed up, and one truck after another, while we're waiting to get out, is in low gear trying to crawl. And that backs up the traffic.

Where it also turns up at the top of the road, it's going to back up traffic. So there are just so many plans and other things. As being on the freeway watch committee, the Illinois state IDOT committee, the environmental committee for the Highway 20. I chaired the bypass for the Galena territory up here around that. And all of these issues just jump right out at this project.

So I support the first speaker tremendously. I'm here tonight over the concerns that the Marine Hospital project brings forward. My primary concerns are watershed and drain basins, runoff over land into streams, and impervious surfaces. These topics are part of the United States Geological Survey Water Science School. In order to get to these, simply search USGS watershed drainage basin. This will bring you right into these topics that are part of this USGS School.

Hours can be spent at this site with information directly relating to the Marine Hospital project. I have zeroed in on these three topics mentioned previously. The Marine Hospital proposal, pages 16 through 21, charts, maps, and information all brought forward. These charts, maps, information are speaking to a specific mapped location and are not enough to encompass the entire area affected by this project.

I ask you, please, just to take a ride out of town on Blackjack Road to Irish Hollow. During this trip, look west, 40-plus feet down into the valley's watershed drainage basin. Also, please note the erosion that is already affecting Blackjack Road on that side. On your way back, please pull into the east Galena Township maintenance area, and now take a look at the east side of the road from this location. You will get a bird's eye view of the erosion taking place and the county's effort to continually work, find solutions, and spend money on the existing water problem and subsequent erosion.

Coming back down on Blackjack Road, leaving east Galena Township, when you get to 1974 Blackjack, you start to travel up a hill, and it's right there. Yes, go drive it. You'll go up to the top of the hill and incline to the top of the hill. This incline totally blinds out any new instruction proposed in the Marine plan's road. So you're going up that road, and you get to the top. Now literally, in front of you, on the left, they're coming out. And so you're blind. So I don't know whether the county engineer has that. I'm sure he's probably correct. But still, it could fit in there, but that is something to be taken care of.

I have brought an elevation map to highlight these concerns. I ask everyone to please simply take a look at the watershed drain basin and how it's, and how this new proposed Marine Hospital access road is going to run right through the very heart of this Davis Creek basin. You look at the map, you see his area of his pond. This is the very lowest of the low that you can go, where they are going to cross that, burn that road up, and put a pond in.

The V-shaped road will dam and back up water. The exit force of water through the culvert will affect the lower area. Also imagine creating a retention pond at the very bottom of the watershed drain basin. We're talking the lowest point, you know, we're going to put in a swimming pool, excuse me, a drainage basin in the lowest point where water from everywhere is going to go in that.

The size of this project should require a form of an environmental impact statement. Using the IPCB, Illinois Pollution Control Board, using the IEPA, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the IDOA, the Department of Agriculture, and the IDNR, Department of Natural Resources, these people need to come together and take a look at this plan. This is a solid basin. You know, we're talking a solid basin.

You know, when they built the Galena Territory, they went out there, and they crossed the basin. And there's where you used to be able to walk down. Nobody thought that that basin would wash out every dock and boat and push it across the river. Nobody ever thought that would happen, and they had plenty of engineering. But it did. It just washed it out.

If you look at the other one, look at the construction that they've put into that basin to try to control this water and we're not talking about putting features in to control this water. We're talking about putting features in that are adverse to this project.

So I would like to finally read a statement from the Sierra Club to us. I'm sure we all know about the Sierra Club. They've been to town, several times I've been on their buses and riding their buses, where we should put this, where we shouldn’t put this, why this is good here, why that's good here. Their mission statement for the Sierra Club states, the purpose of the Sierra Club are to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth, to participate and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystem and resources, to educate and enlist humanity and to protect and restore the quality of natural and human environment. And the last thing in the statement is , and to use all lawful means to carry out these objections. And I think that's where we are.

I think we need to go to those boards and see what they have to say about this project before we go any further. This is big. You can't that road has washed out. And so this is my map that I brought you to show you tonight, and it's got all the elevations on it.

This is the other map. And so if you take this map and put it on this map, it pretty much fits perfectly. We're talking about the black line on this map, Blackjack Road coming through the very basin of it. And I'll leave this here if anybody wants to take a look at it. If you look right down here in this blue area this is chalk. If you take this blue area take a napkin and wipe it away, you will see the very bottom basin . . . what I'm speaking to. This is your map from 1972 from the City of Galena, an elevation map. It's the only one that I could find that this project pretty much fits right on. Thank you very much.

ROSENTHAL: Any questions? Thank you. Anyone else to speak?

KLAUSNER: My name is Mark Klausner. I'm with Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa. And we're not opposed to competition at all. In fact, we welcome all competition because it makes our game that much higher. So we welcome a chance to compete.

And when I started out three years ago, we went through the entire resort and completely rebuilt all the buildings. And that's when my nose got bloodied from day one. So when the aura of the newness wears off and you are confronted with these problems, the biggest problem we had was labor. I mean, nobody mentioned people. We've had to rearrange our restaurant hours.

ROSENTHAL: Just hold it down. Let the gentleman speak, okay?

KLAUSNER: We had to rearrange our restaurant hours to accommodate labor. It was my intent to always hire a local craftsman. All the plumbers, electricians, carpenters, they all work for, we can't find anybody anymore. They're all busy. And we can't find any labor. So when the newness of this thing wears off, and this gentleman understands, right, that we had major issues, liquor license, EPA, IPA, and then your nose gets bloodied. So nothing goes according to plan. But labor is a problem.

You talk to any restaurant guy down here on Main Street, and they'll say, we can't find people, so we've had to adjust our hours and do certain things just to accommodate people. And Eagle Ridge offers one of the best employment packages, from vacations to medical to wages, and we want to make sure that we're a premier company that's here to service our community. So things never go as planned. I don't have to tell you guys that. But we need people. We need workers. We need craftsmen.

And I'm telling you right now, there's a severe shortage of local craftsmen. We had a chance to go out of Chicago with contractors, and I said, no, I want to keep the business local. I've lived in the territory for 23 years and served on the board. So we wanted the guys here to have the work and have the labor and the income. So it's not easy. But you guys got to think about, where is the labor coming from? Because Galena/Jo Daviess County is considered rural and where are you going to bring all these workers in from because we can't find any at Eagle Ridge, and we employ 400 people in the peak season. So think about where the labor is coming from.

Woman in audience : Where they going to live?

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else? Somebody jumped ahead here. That's okay, go ahead. State your name and address.

SHINE: My name is Edward Shine. I'm at 1952 North Blackjack Road. I want to thank the board for their time. So my parents bought the farm about 45 years ago, and I think we've been very good stewards of the land. There's been mention of erosion, which we're farther up north of the basin, or higher up. It's a tremendous issue that we continuously deal with.

We've spent thousands of dollars of trying to reshape, make sure there's less erosion to the fields. So being that, I just also want to say, you got to follow the money. $3.1 million? I don't know, where I come from, that's a lot of money. So in my opinion. Assurances have been given. Conflict of interest, Mr. Baranski would normally sit with you as a specialist . . .

ROSENTHAL: I'm going to stop you. You're not going to, hold on, you're not going to take shots at people, whether it's Mr. Baranski or anybody sitting here. All right? You got a right to speak . . .

SHINE: I'm not taking shots . . . he's been recused.

ROSENTHAL: I don’t care. You're not taking shots at the board or any member of the board. You got the right to speak, but you'll speak respectfully. Okay?

SHINE: I am speaking respectably.

ROSENTHAL: Then don't take shots at anybody.

SHINE: I'm just saying there's a conflict of interest.

ROSENTHAL: There isn't, okay? He recused himself. Don't make accusations of this board.

SHINE: I'm not making accusations of this board.

ROSENTHAL: You just said it.

SHINE: He's not on the board.

ROSENTHAL: All right, listen. Be respectful or sit down.

SHINE: He's recused himself, so I can talk about it. He's not on the board right now. So that's just not enough. He should not appear, and he should not have appeared on the petition on behalf of the petition. His position as a member of the board can be compromised. Since he's been a board member for an extended period of time, He's participated in numerous privileged evaluations over the years. It is impossible, factually illegally to separate them . . . so thank you for your time.

ROSENTHAL: Anyone else?

BARANSKI: Do I get to answer that?

ROSENTHAL: At the end of it, Jim, you can respond. All right?

WEBSTER: It's good to, where's Mr. Shine? I haven't seen you since you were four years old. My name is Kathleen Webster, and we first moved to Galena about 50 years ago. And we lived here for two years, and then we moved here permanently. I live at 2170 North Blackjack Road. My other address, which is the same place, is 411 Rives Street. We're directly below this development. We have about two acres on the creek, and our house is only about 100 years old. It's not old like most of the houses around here.

I was the founder and director of the Conventional Visitors Bureau for the first ten years. And I hope you realize that hotel/motel tax money can only be used for promotion. It can't be used for infrastructure. And the Conventional Visitors Bureau currently has a $1 million surplus that they don't know what to do with. They could use it for parking though.

Our little corner down there is heaven on earth. We would come out on weekends and get out of the car and take a deep breath and say, it smells so good. And we'd look at the sky, and we could see the stars. We can't see the stars as much anymore, and this is going to make it worse.

We've got a lot of wildlife down there. We've got great grey owls and bard owls. We've got fireflies. We've got spring peepers. I don't know if you know what those are, little frogs that peep in the spring. We've got grey tree frogs that are called hyla versicolor. They're like chameleons. They change color. We get wood ducks and great blue herons and hawks and woodpeckers so many varieties that we can't even count how many there are. We get hummingbirds and turtles, and there's an incredible amount of wildflowers. Those are all going to be gone.

Our houses, with our one and two-acre yards aren't going to be nice places to live anymore. All that is going to be above us. And those houses, you can say what you want to about lights, but when I sit on my back porch, and up at the hillside and into the bench, I can see these lighted windows, big, lighted picture windows, looking down on our view.

I've lived through three floods on Davis Creek. It will take out that detention basin the first time there's a big rainfall. It will just wipe it out. The first time I saw it flood, I went down there to move our Jeep Wagoneer, and it got moved before I could get to it. That floods bring whole dead cattle down into our yard. I don't think they realize what it's going to be like. The detention basin won't do any good, and there will be more runoff because of this.

As far as Ely Parker goes, I think that this was a very handy excuse for this big development. That building can be saved if an effort had been made to find the right buyer and the right people. I don't think he'd be fixing that up without the rest of this. I'm sorry. I'm very emotional approached . . thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

GEARY: My name is Carrie Geary, and I live at 1978 North Blackjack Road. And I would just like to reiterate a lot of the things that my neighbors have said. I have lived on my property for almost 14 years. And the first year that we lived there, when these rains came through and I, you know, have lived through this now at least three times where it has completely washed out our driveway. Our drive now is actually directly next to where the new drive is coming into this property. And the water runoff on that hill, it just, it's amazing to see. It just streams down, and we used to have a huge culvert in part of our driveway, and it washed it, you know, 50 yards down the stream. And the amount of water that comes through there is amazing.

And you think about this property being built, it's going to compound that. And we have spent tons and tons of our own money replacing this constantly. We finally have it to where we think it's good. And now to think about something like this coming in, it's going to change it drastically.

Speaking about also where the first plan came out, we saw where the entryway was over on Fourth Street. It was decided that that wasn't good, so it was moved, basically, to our backyard. If you look at the plan, our home is the one that sits directly on that drive. So when you talk about the traffic coming in and out of there, that would be by our house constant, over and over and over, people coming in and out of there. I know they said that they plan to use a shuttle. But like it's already been mentioned, some may but I know that . again, people aren't going to want to carry their packages on that walking path, and they're also not going to hold them all downtown. You put them in your car.

Having young children myself, we don't take public transportation because there's no car seats. My kids also wouldn't be able to walk that bike path. So they're going to drive, people with children would. So I think the shuttle is a good idea, but it's also going to be in and out, in and out, in and out all the time past my house, as well as all the cars.

I just think that, again, it's going to change our whole way of life there. What drew us to that home was the property and having our children grow up somewhere that's very quiet. They're safe. They go outside and play. Our pets go outside. We don't worry about that ever. It would be a big concern with having that many people that close to our home and strangers and a constant stream of them that close to our home. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you.

FARREY: Well, I'm on the other side of her. I'm Darlene Farrey. I live at 1974 North Blackjack. And she's right. When I go out of my one driveway, I just pray because that's the only way I can get out of there without getting hit, either pray or drive really fast.

I am opposed to their development for the following reasons. First of all, it doesn't comply with the comprehensive plan. In the plan, this area is not zoned commercial. Why do we have a plan if you're not going to follow it?

Second is the traffic. Narrrow busy Blackjack Road, there's no way to get in there. You just can't. We average about one traffic accident every summer weekend. Usually, they're motorcycles. Few have been fatalities. But we have about one of every weekend in the summer.

Third the best things about Galena are the unique history and its beautiful natural green floral spaces. Our signs say Green Galena. If we destroy and develop these areas they will look like the other trashy, overly commercialized areas, like Wisconsin Dells, we're not going to have a green Galena, are we?

Every year, a group of people from Eagle Night Nature Foundation do what is called a backyard bird count. And every year, they count less and less and less birds, mostly because of loss of habitat. With global warming looming over us, we need to preserve, not destroy our natural areas.

There are many other reasons why this development is a bad idea. We talked about the water, also piping the water and sewage under the Galena River. This is fine unless something happens, which would be a natural disaster. And, as signs mentioned, there's that one bridge, and if anything happens , medical emergency, fire, whatever, there's only that one bridge. And the house on the corner of Fourth Street, that house has been hit, in my memory, like seven or eight times. I mean, it's just like a target. Again, because of the amount of traffic.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

KENNEDY: Thank you for joining us tonight. I'm George Kennedy. I live on Irish Hollow Road. We've been here for 30 years. And I'm going to give you just a firsthand account of how we heard about the intersection of Fourth Street, Blackjack, and 20.

I think, by the way, restoring the building, Marine Hospital, is a great idea, love it. Everybody does. But in fact we had a chance to even look inside because a friend of ours lived there. It's very, a pretty cool building. They have vaulted brick ceilings and all kinds ironworks throughout the stairs and so forth, wonderful. Let's restore it. Let's keep that building.

But I had one of those, when minutes count, experiences. The 911 ambulance arrived. And on the way to Mercy Hospital, my heart stopped. Now if I had to wait in the ambulance to access 20, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here. They were able to restart my heart in the ambulance, get me to Mercy, and they put in a pacemaker, and I'm good as new. But again, if there were a dump truck there from the construction or a line of cars, as we're going to see, and we've all seen, and it's not just on Country Fair weekend. It's every weekend, getting through that intersection. There's no other way out of it.

How many people are going to get on the shuttle, you know, come on, with your packages and so on and so forth? Where and when to draw the line to preserve our historic treasured land and focus on the quality of life here, what we came here for.

For those of us who live here, let's try to preserve that quality of life rather than sacrificing that for transient people and profits. We live across the street from the Poor Farm about five years ago Jim talked about getting together because one Saturday afternoon, I went to town at 10:00 in the morning. When we got home, the Poor Farm was gone. And I wondered why there was a bulldozer hiding behind one of the buildings covered with a tarp. It was sort of strange.

Well, the idea was to get rid of the building where Fried Green Tomatoes had a wonderful restaurant and restored the building and all the rest of that stuff. But there were contentions about who's going to pay for the new driveway, so they moved out. They left it and kept the taxes up. So the two women that owned it bulldozed it. There was no talks about it. It was just gone.

So let's do what happened out there because we got people together. And Jim, who was up here before, talked about it. We went to the zoning board 52 people came and said they were against this and they listened to the people, voted it down, and that's what I ask you to do tonight. Vote no. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

KENNEDY: Hello, I'm Charlotte Kennedy. I'm the other half. I live at 946 N Irish Hollow Rd. I came to Galena in early 1980s. When I moved, an antique hand hewn log cabin from Iowa and rebuilt it in Galena at 1022 Fourth Street, which is across the street from the Brewery and it's right on the curve that turns into Blackjack Road. I could have moved to the Territory, but I believe in the historic preservation of Galena, going back to the Civil War. That’s why my neighbors also moved here.

Since we already have. territory housing available, this project adds to the chaos, the concerns, the traffic, the noise, the light pollution and this close to town, it's disturbing. This log cabin was sold a few years ago, been on the market less than a month. So historic housing is still a viable market. And our home now on Irish Hollow, just off of Blackjack, will see increased transient traffic and only route to route 20 will be impacted as well. Therefore, I'm joining my neighbors and friends in not supporting this project. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you.

ZEHR: My name is Karen Zehr, and I live at 1102 South Third Street, next door to Wendy, and I just appreciate the fact that she could represent the neighbors in such an articulate way. And it's getting late, and everybody has given their opinions. We can't add much more to that, except that light is light is light. And our hillside that we see as many neighbors have said will be lit up with little cabins. Not only that, it also will be seen from everywhere. I mean, people who aren't here don't know that it will be seen from Galena Green. And they gave a lot of attention to address those concerns. But again, light is light is light. And so I just encourage you to not support this project.

And I’m not quite, just one more thing, not quite sure, everybody here would love to see the Marine Hospital restored. And but I'm not quite sure how that, that morphed into such a huge resort. So I just ask you to not approve this project. Thanks.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

BOHO: My name is Missy Boho, 1477 South Rocky Hill Road in Galena. I support all of the concerns voiced by my neighbors and friends speaking tonight in regards to the Marine Hospital project. I have many concerns. However, I'm going to zero in on traffic and safety.

There are three main arteries leading to Galena from the outer limits of Jo Daviess County. There's Stagecoach Trail, Route 20, and Blackjack Road. Traffic from Blackjack Road onto Route 20, during tourist season, is already difficult at best. Oftentimes, stopped traffic on Blackjack Road is at the mercy of a kindhearted traveler backed up on Route 20 to let them in.

It has been mentioned of a shuttle from the Marine Hospital grounds to downtown Galena. However, most people do not care to shuttle. They want their car with them to continue on to other places, hold their pets or strollers, they packages, and for convenience. This additional traffic presents a serious problem, not only for residents and tourists, but also, very importantly, for emergency vehicles that must be taken into consideration.

We have already had the hospital built without a proper entrance, and here we are, years later, without a proper entrance, having experienced many accidents. Hopefully, we're not looking at another similar situation in the making. Any truck or shuttle traffic cannot help but cross over into the oncoming opposite road of traffic when turning at the intersection of Fourth Street and Route 20, as well as the proposed entrance/exit to Marine Hospital project on Blackjack Road.

Please keep in mind there is a definite blind spot when approaching the Marine Hospital project proposed entrance/exit from the east. I know it was mentioned that the ride was taken there by engineers and that there was no such blind spot. However, in our regular SUV, there's a large blind spot. You cannot see what's coming up ahead of you.

The average speed traveled on Blackjack Road is 40 mph and not enough time to react to incoming and outgoing traffic at a blind spot. I ask that you take this into consideration when making your decision regarding the rezoning and proposed plans of the Marine Hospital. And I hope you decide against it.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you.

JOHNSON: Adam Johnson, 211 Fourth Street. I'm going to go through some of the zoning aspects and some of the comprehensive plan aspects that I think are pertinent to this going through the application of, I think the first item I'd like to discuss is the actual zoning, the present zoning. The present zoning, I believe, is correct for the property now CSR lens and limited agriculture are both based on areas that are not intended to be covered by city sewer so virtually all of this property has been looked at.

And according to the comprehensive plan this wasn’t in there that the city is going to extend sewer to. So I think to say that we should be worried about someone overbuilding on this limited agriculture site up to 50 % is kind of disingenuous. Going on further to suggest zoning classification that the applicant is desiring to have larger FAR than is allowed. . . the reasons for the PUD . listed on page five,of the application that the PUD will resolve access to the site of Marine Hospital .I believe that will only resolve access to the site .for the required use . right now there is access to the site, and the site is actually, has access, can be used for its current use as a 15,000 square foot building in Ag is somewhat out of place. I would think it is misplaced thinking.

And in terms of the Marine Hospital, I spoke to Jim myself, and he has assured me that the Marine Hospital is in very good condition. It's not in any significant or severe structural decline. So this is not a matter of we need to do this now to save the Marine Hospital. And the applicant states that the property will be within walking distance and that they'll be using these shuttles to shuttle people around. I don't think that's going to work. That's not going to help. Like everybody else has stated the traffic problems and the applicant saying that there will be sewer and water available onsite, that's because he's providing it, not because the city is intending to provide it there.

And then you get down to deviation from the development standards, there are talks about again shuttle bus . Sorry - deviation from the development standards not sure what page six is saying when you talk about . . . again, I think where it hasn't been really talked about, again, it's amazing the amount of infrastructure development that will be required . and to provide the sewer in the initial phase, you have to Provide the sewer connection once you do that and you develop these roads, we have this enormous infrastructure costs that are involved.

So we know that the initial phase is not going to support that cost. And so we know that these parts will need taking the project to the full fruition of what's presented here. So providing a phasing schedule really doesn't affect what's going to happen in the long run we know that there are going to be developments . . . I appreciate you bearing with me. So when we get to the comprehensive plan and support of the comprehensive plan and whether this application will conform to that page seven, the applicant provides a number of big vision statements.

But I think they pretty much misinterpret all of them. So when we talk about diversifying the economy, we're not talking about creating the same jobs we had. We're not talking about creating more tourist . industry we're talking about trying to diversify and create a bigger economic platform to move forward withif we simply just rely on tourism, we're not going to grow to where we want. And that's not what the comprehensive plan is trying to do.

It says we're going to improve the business-related tourism by retaining our existing businesses, not by creating a bunch of economic competition with them not by taking away their employees. We don’t have employees for people to build the largest lodging facility in the city. this is not retaining existing businesses. This is being competitive to them.

And so the mission statement goes on to say we are supposed to be attracting new clean businesses with good-paying jobs. And again, these are the same jobs, same employees we are going to be fighting over in the same industry. Then it goes on to say we have to promote the quality of experience.. including the Galena and Mississippi Rivers. So that's the mission statement. We're supposed to be creating new better paying jobs and protecting the environment.

And the growth thing it says the city of Galena is to promote growth and preserve its small-town image by managing physical growth with sound planning and zoning. so to do sound planning and zoning. we've got a comprehensive plan. We have a direction of where we want the growth to go and the plan is very specific about it. And it goes on to say we're going to preserve the historic district and make efficient and attractive growth and to be proactive in what we have annexed and we have laid all that out in the comprehensive plan. And this does not conform to that.

Go on to, and that's about all they talk about the comprehensive plan in the application. Beth went through some other points of the comprehensive plan. They touched very lightly on some very peripheral types of goals and objectives. I'll get into that a little bit later. I want to go through the rest of their presentation application.

So that brief presentation on the comprehensive plan. .Then we get on to why are you doing planned commercial? I don't know why you're doing planned commercial. Because everything you want to do is either a special use or something that is outdoor entertainment is not even allowed by special use. not planned commercial. So if someone wants to work with us . He doesn’t want to use the special use for swimming pool or outdoor seating they want to exceed 15%. Again putting them in major competition with all your restaurants that are limited by your outdoor seating ordinance. So they want to blow that away with competition.

So if you look at what they're asking for, again they're not asking to be part of the community. They're not asking to say let us do this and see how it works They want this stuff already not by special use. I don’t understand not coming to the city and you want all their stuff. . why can't we have special use here and some special use permits for some things that required in the zoning district that they're asking for? Everyone is asking for that.

So further into the application, I'm just picking out a few things here. When we get to page 19, they talk about how they're going to match other requirements of the zoning requirements, preservation of natural conditions. And they say that basically the tree removal will be based on construction to what degree passable. Natural granatoids.So again, we don't have any promises ,they're not making specific statements about making sure things are right. they're making very vague statements. To reiterate on emergency vehicle access . I talked to some people and we have to consider a second fire department, second fire station on the east side if you got this kind of use. I did a lot of zoning applications for Orlando Valente at the power station

One of the main objections for zoning was always there's a train track there. You know, if there's an emergency at the power plant, they wouldn't be able to get to the power plant to take care of that emergency. I think that's a very good point that has to be investigated.

So I'm going to talk a little bit about how I interpret the comprehensive plan . Picture of the site looking from the site of the Jail Hill in that Matt Carroll sent me . You can see that whole wide hillside can see the trees and leaves, So right now you can see that whole thing . so the standard going through the mission statement, again, so number one we should have a cohesive community. We should be willing to want to work together so when somebody comes with an application for something they want from the city they should work with us they should look at our plans they should look at our zoning and say this requires a special use . I am perfectly good with special use.

Second the local economy Why do we want to look at zoning districts that they don't even want to abide by? again, the diversify of our economy, the retain existing businesses. Don't compete with them. Don't take all their employees. Don't take all their customers. We want new clean businesses with good paying jobs. That's what we're willing to give up for. We're not going to give it up just to have a bunch of jobs we already got for employees we don’t have enough of. Preserve, manage, physical growth with sound planning development this should be per annexations. That's not a hard thing to do. Physical Environment to protect our historical architectural and protect our natural resources. That's number 4 . so there's not an economic aspect of that. We've got to protect those resources. There's not sound economic aspect of, well,maybe we will protect them or maybe we won’t. It is in our comprehensive plan to provide quality recreational facilities. That's what this property is already slated to become.

Goals specifly economic goals in to the development into goals and objectives , design and control incentive packages Number one goal is to design incentive packages to help preserve the landscape and around the city of Galena We want to preserve these vistas, to preserve this landscape. That's why we've set up the comprehensive plan. We've told people we’ve got to protect this landscape . . Number 2 goal we want to create a diversified economy. That we can all thrive on. We are losing our industry, we lost microswitch. Not built more hotels a lot of comprehensive plan again, natural resources. Protect and preserve the natural beauty in and around the city of Galena.

Number 4 preserve the natural beauty of entrance of the community. So these are all goals that have been set out. Number five, preserve and protect the Galena River from further degradation. We cannot create further runoff, taking valuable land out of natural resources and creating runoff, especially in the area like we've already talked about.

Direct growth to the western side of the city. protect and maintain rural character of the community. all these goals are in opposition to what they're doing there because they're not protecting the natural resources. They're not protecting the rural character. They're not protecting views sheds and vistas that all these properties depend on. It was interesting I did the applicants stage for development Jail Hill Inn and Ulysses Suites to reach upscale visitors. I didn’t have to build an extra building. They didn't need to buy 80 acres and build a hotel and 130 cottages. She built up what she had. Matt Carroll at Jail Hill in totally redid that building. One of finest Inns in world. He didn’t need to build anything else. To say that we need this development to restore the Marine Hospital is totally off the mark. So the history in 1993 the zoning board turned down an application to turn Marine Hospital into a small Inn. With 11 cabins, 11 cabins on the site presented by John Cox and 3 local people . It got turned down.

Now come up with a comprehensive plan. Terry Cole In 1993 the comprehensive plan. And if we see this area down here, it's labeled as conservation that what that color is.. . They started out turning down a small inn and then place in conservation in the comprehensive plan. And when they came back and they looked at this property planned view area woodlands, landscaping , parks and rec and limited agriculture. That's what they decided to do. So comprehensive planned view area. They went from conservation area to actual planned use area. It’s now parks and rec limited ag area..That’s what they proposed to do.

10 Comprehensive plan annexation, areas for proposed annexation. Again, all of this is these pieces of property . proposed annexation will be served on city sewer. But on the east side to complete the city plan but we're not planning on annexation of this property that we talked about. It's not in the comprehensive plan. It wasn't planned for. It is in this existing East side so that we can compactly develop the rest of the east side . but there's no plan for this property to be annexed or to be developed. It's already proposed to be parks and rec. All of this yellow, all of this yellow you’re talking about a lot of property that is not supposed. not be developed for what they spend on this project here that's not supposed to be developed ... all of this yellow.

All we wanted was people to come to the west side get off 4 lane at the west side come through the development on the west side not the east side that we wanted the natural vista,. natural historic landscape that we all know. And so developing this area down here, Is going to cause major problems with traffic, development we did not plan, and it’s going to ruin a view . I moved here in ‘70 We lived up on High street . and I grew up at the high school stairs. And that was all landscape. It's all a beautiful countryside you get to look at up there and if you develop this property, you're going to lose that character. You're going to lose the defining characteristics that we plan to keep protected that we already made decisions about in very straightforward comprehensive ways.

And so I think that we need to provide a negative finding of fact to the City council on this and I, myself, feel very sad about the opportunity to have a developer come to Galena and be totally misdirected to where we don't want the development to happen. And I hope in the future, that if you provide the proper motivation, that the city, in the future, will attract some developers who have the ability to do this kind of thing to where we want it. We don't want 400 people driving out on Blackjack.

We want 400 people on the west side where we have traffic lights and turning lanes and lots of room. We're not making these people who are very happy on the east side in houses where we all expected to live without this commercial property. So thank you very much.

HANNA: Good evening, my name is David Hanna. I live at 1107 Fourth Street, immediately adjacent to the proposed development. Thanks for the opportunity to speak. I'm opposed to the development, and I concur with reasons others have given here tonight regarding impacts on our neighborhood and the community and that the proposed development is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan.

I just wanted to raise a few specific issues related to the zoning code. The proposal goes into detail around commercial district standards. But before considering that, the first question is whether it is even appropriate to amend the zoning map to rezone the properties to commercial.

Information in the zoning request does not demonstrate conformance with the rezoning criteria in 154-920. I'll just run through a few of the criteria. Whether there has been a change in the character of the area. The character of our neighborhood has been the same for decades. Whether the zoning is compatible with the surrounding area. Rezoning to create a large commercial resort is incompatible with the surrounding area. We're a historic residential neighborhood surrounding agricultural lands, natural values . . . whether there may be adverse impacts to the capacity or safety . . . or environment. The development would contribute to dangerous traffic patterns and congestions, as others have spoke of.

The development would also generate numerous environmental impacts, to steep slopes, drainage ways, woodlands, wildlife, noise and light pollution, and so on. Whether the proposal is in conformance with the comprehensive plan. Others have spoke to that. But in particular, the land use map is a product of much deliberation by the Planning Commission and the community and does not identify the area for development.

Zoning maps should not be changed simply for the benefit of an individual or a group of individuals and must serve the public interest and the good of the community. Whether adequate public facilities and services are available. Public services and facilities are defined in Section 154-406 and include . . . emergency services and so on. The applicant and the city indicate the proposer's . . . would be served by city sewer and water, but there's no analysis of how this relates to current and future maintenance and operations issues for the city.

There's no provision for any other public services or facilities. But if the resort is developed, there will be additional burdens placed on emergency services and public street network. Whether there's a need in the community for the proposal. The community did not identify a need for this development, as you've heard tonight. And there's substantial opposition. We've also heard about money and jobs. Money and jobs are important, but you can't just wave a money and jobs banner without articulating a clear vision of how that will actually specifically provide additional benefit to the community and mitigate the specific impacts created by development.

Overall, the proposed zoning amendment from limited agriculture to commercial would be contrary to the general welfare of the community. It would be contrary to the established land use pattern. It would create an isolated, unrelated district. It would be inconsistent with existing uses. It would contribute to dangerous traffic patterns and congestion. It would adversely influence the living conditions in the vicinity. It would adversely affect property values in the vicinity. It would not combat economic segregation, and it would not comply with the city's land use map.

So from the start, the zoning change from limited agriculture to commercial should not be permitted . . . further address the details in the application. Section 154 . . . indicates that when considering a preliminary development plan for a PUD, the purpose of this stage is to answer this question. Should this use, with this specific intensity density designed in this particular matter, be constructed on this site?

If you review the application in detail, it's clear that the answer to this question is no. For instance, does it conform to the city's land use map? Traffic problems are not identified and addressed. Natural resource features are not accurately measures or delineated in the proposal, nor are they adequately protected. The proposal asserts that it's compatible with the surrounding area when it is not. The proposal requests outdoor commercial entertainment by right but ignores that this use is not supposed to be visible from residentially zoned properties. And it requires a higher buffer standard than what is proposed.

It misrepresents the amount of open space by equating open space with landscape surface ratio. We've heard about that already tonight. It claims to be harmonious with topography when it cuts roads and buildings into steep slopes and on soils with severe limitations for roads and buildings. Some sewer infrastructure would be excavated more than 30 feet deep. It dams and diverts Davis Creek and puts a sewer lift station immediately adjacent to the Galena River in the flood plain.

I could go on, but it's clear this use with this particular design described in the application is not in conformance with the zoning code and therefore should not be constructed on the site.

I'm going to skip a whole bunch because it's already been talked about tonight. But as a non expert reading through the zoning ordinance, I also have some questions about procedural aspects of the review of the proposal. Understand, regardless of my questions, the fact that we are now in a hearing on this application means that the zoning administrator has determined that the procedures required prior to the hearing are complete, that sufficient information has been provided by the applicant to schedule the application for a hearing, and that the matter is ready for the Zoning Board to vote tonight.

I want to emphasize, I'm not trying to nitpick or overly focus on the process. I recognize that the zoning ordinance should provide flexibility and discretion by the City to address unique circumstances and find good solutions.

But getting to right outcomes is important, and the procedures and details help support getting to the right outcome. My point is to emphasize that this proposed development represents an enormous change for the city with enormous impacts to many. And there are so many ways that it's inconsistent with both the intent and the letter of the zoning ordinance that is clear that the right outcome is to deny the proposal. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you.

NEWMAN: Good evening, all. My name is Tim Newman. I live at 1203 Third Street. I also own another historic building right next door. I'm neighbors with the Zehr's, the Horton's, Wendy Clark. I think everything has been said tonight, but I do want to say one thing, since I'm right adjacent to the proposed property. That is, I think this is far too aggressive, you know, a proposal. And I really urge the committee to vote against it. And for that, I thank you very much.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you.

GINGER: Good evening, my name is Krista Ginger, and I live at 418 Harrison Street in Galena. I'm co chair of Galena Preservation Advocacy Organization, and I'm testifying this evening on three specific concerns regarding the Marine Hospital project.

One is the integrity of this historic building, two, the integrity of the historic, nearby historic neighborhood, and the integrity of historic Galena. First, we fully support someone rehabilitating our historic Marine Hospital with proper historic preservation commission oversight and using our local preservation standards. However, we seriously question whether changing the zoning to new commercial for a massive resort in an area twice the size of downtown Galena honors and protects the integrity of this very important building.

Our organization has been meeting with the city for over three years discussing historic preservation concerns surrounding our many historic buildings, including our Marine Hospital. Most of our key historic buildings are in the historic district and follow the city's historic preservation ordinances. That has not been the case with the Marine Hospital as it is not in our historic district, nor is it officially locally landmarked.

As you know, local landmarking tool is the only tool that protects the actual building from being torn down in the future without a hearing. It is the ultimate protection. The City should have landmarked the Marine Hospital as outlined when the historic boundaries were changed in 2013, but it did not happen.

We have asked the developer and local architect to locally landmark this building, and we heard today that they filed the application paperwork this afternoon. For that, we are grateful. However, this application still needs to go through the HPS and City Council for approval. We are looking forward to the building being locally landmarked. We certainly do not want a repeat of the Poor Farm.

Two, Galena has had many successful historic preservation projects. And we believe the historic preservation and progress can happen simultaneously and be successful. The successful projects have had positive impacts for the community and tourism have done so without negatively impacting the surrounding neighborhoods, infrastructures, or Galena's overall historic presence Jail Hill Inn is a great example of this. However, we're more concerned that will be the case with the Marine Hospital project as currently outlined.

We hope that you consider the historic neighborhood and the historic homes and the negative effects of having a massive resort next door to them. It would change the character of their neighborhood forever.

Three Galena's comprehensive plan, Section 10.1, Economic Development states that goal number one is to develop a package of design controls and incentives that help preserve the landscape and vistas in and around the city of Galena while, at the same time, helping the city be competitive and attracting new business and industry.

National Park Service guidelines and the City of Galena especially reference protecting the historic view of the property for right of way for. public view. This is also emphasized in Section 10.6 of the comprehensive plan as it adds a need for, quote, preservation of the natural beauty and viewsheds along the eastern entrance to our community.

Section 11.3 states, commercial land uses include areas where retail goods are bought and sold and services are provided. Over the next 20-plus years, the City desires new commercial uses to locate primarily along the existing Highway 20 corridor. The majority of these areas are located at the northwestern edge of the city. See Map number 15 where it clearly shows that commercial expansions for the city are on the westside and not in residential east side light agricultural areas.

The west Galena viewshed has not changed in much of over 150 years, with the exception of nature taking its course. This viewshed should not change because someone wants to build boxed houses with stilts and a large event center and who knows what else all on a pristine hillside that will be seen from all over west Galena, including my home, properties on Prospect and Seminary Hill.

We ask that the Zoning Board consider our concerns in making this momentous decision that could change the historic presence of Galena forever. As former Preservation Mayor Frank Einsweiler once profoundly stated, Galena's future is in her past. His words are still true today. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

SMITH: I believe someone left this on my porch (holding paper up) when my wife and I got back home from Minnesota over the weekend . . .

ROSENTHAL: State your name and address, please.

SMITH: Oh, Ronald Smith, 712 Park Avenue, Galena, Illinois. So anyhow, I know some of you weren't hom when I drove around when I got home. I'd just like to make a summary that I agree with all the comments that have just been made. What we're looking at is 120 guest houses, and then we're looking at 300 person.events center, 50,000 square feet, which is bigger than the Galena High School, restaurant, café, winery, pool, spa, and then on-site parking of 400 vehicles.

My main concern is, I'm not going to talk about this here anymore, is the Highway 20 thing. We know about it, what can happen there. And someone brought up about the Highway 20. Well, in '65 is when they put the bypass in. put the four-lane in, and they were going to put the it around Galena. That didn't happen. It should have happened. And then I brought up, I was on the county board when the Poor House was brought to us about turning that into a, it was going to be more of a musical thing and everything else. And we looked at the roadways and everything else and decided that it wasn't good but my main concern is access.

And with that many, you know, people coming there, and it will be competition for our current business in a way too. You know, I know you got to . . . so I've said enough. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

COWLES-ZONCA: Thanks for your patience. You guys are doing a great job. My name is Debbie Cowles-Zonca. I live at 422 South Pilot Knob Road. We own a plumbing company in Chicago. We've done a lot of construction. There's going to be things that are going to be disturbed, as we all know that. As the former director with the Garden Visibility Design? I should be excited about a four-acre garden. I'm not really excited about it. I'm concerned about how this project does not fit in the land use map nor the comprehensive plan. I've been impressed when I read the plan. Galena put a lot of work into things, and I don't think this plan meets our needs, and we're opposed to it. I hope you do decline their request. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else?

WALLIS: Hello, my name is Joey Wallis. I live at 696 Rives Street, which is Blackjack, and I'm one of the last houses leaving town. This area of Blackjack is what I call the Galena Speedway. This is beyond where the intersection is on 20 and 4th. It's right where everyone is going out. Everyone is going 65 mph in and 65 mph out, logging trucks, the sheriff, everybody. It's a dangerous spot. So where they plan to put this entrance, since they pushed it out of Park Street, because no one wanted it there, Park Avenue Street, and they didn’t want it on Fourth, so, hey, let's stick it right in those guys' backyards. My house is one of the oldest houses in Galena. It's the first dormitory inn.older than Marine Hospital if that's what we're talking about here. It's going to change everything. Okay. We notice they don't even talk about the entrance. They gloss over it real quick, don't they? They don't want to bring that up, do they? They wouldn't . . . do everything about that entrance, a joke.

The architect plans to wrap the entrance in an angle back towards the city and build it right behind the Gearys house, my house , the Websters house. They have a choice they are taking and they're going to destroy our homes as we know them, over 1,000 vehicles zooming back and forth at every hour of the day. In the middle of the night, there's going to be so many drunk people driving from those weddings down the roads. Hold on a second here.

So, yeah, you guys don't want it on Park Avenue. You don't want it on Fourth. Yeah, take it down on us, nice and dandy. I bet you guys wouldn't like it in your backyards, would you? Okay enough with that. The architect, I pleaded him to at least move the road away from our houses because they've got plenty of room down there and also asked if he put it on this office window that would he like it if the road was going up his backyard? And he said no. He wouldn't like it in his backyard. He even said it to me.

It's all okay if it's down the road at someone else's backyard, huh? Joke. Hold on, I'm not done yet. We're going to have to probably put traffic lights in at 4th and 20, and it's going to be backed up because you got the other traffic lights on Main Street. It's going to be an absolute shit show.

ROSENTHAL: You want to watch your language and move along?

WALLIS: Yeah. I question if this is a reckless addition to a residential neighborhood. How many houses are on the east side of the river? Maybe like 150. And we're going to have 130 more cabins, a giant convention center, a winery, a restaurant? Give me a break. This is ridiculous.

This is going to be a sore thumb on everyone's property on our side of the street, our side of the neighborhood. Ten-minute walking distance, yeah, through our yards, late-night partiers making their way back from the bars, loud and obnoxious. I can't wait.

Or . . . Marine Hospital . . . sugar coat it, and then it gets to change our lives? Would we be doing this if it wasn't the Marine Hospital? Would you be even letting them do this? I doubt it. This is just a little carrot it's a bunch of bull. Lighting design, yeah, because it will be seen from everywhere. I mean, come on, this is going to be the biggest sore thumb around.

Noise, the cabins are around the edges of the property, you know, so they're going to be looking down on all of us. We're going to be hearing all the late-night partying after the weddings through the

wee of the night. You know, everyone in the community was pretty relieved that the Horseshoe Bluff didn't get developed in the condominiums. I hear all the time how great that they didn't do that. I think this is an absolutely ridiculous idea. And you wouldn't want it in your backyards, would you? I'm done.

ROSENTHAL: Anyone else?

VONWOLFFERSDORFF: My name is Joy VonWolffersdorff. I live at 1 Buckeye Court in Galena. I am not in favor of the rezoning of this acreage.

ROSENTHAL: Joy, one second. I'm not sure that's working anymore. Is it still on?

VONWOLFFERSDORFF: Can you hear me now?

MAN: Yeah.

WOMAN: Yeah.

VONWOLFFERSDORFF: Thank you. I am not in support of the, I'm not in favor of the rezoning of this acreage. I recognize that tourism is a vital part of the economic health of Galena. But there is another part that must be considered, and that is the 3,500 people who make Galena their home.

We live here 365 days a year, not 3. We represent the long term stability of Galena. During the first months of the pandemic, it was the local residents that kept these businesses alive, not tourists. We pay taxes. We buy real estate. We hold mortgages and accounts at our local banks. Our children attend Galena schools. We support our local businesses. We take our pets to local vets, and we visit local doctors.

We hire contractors, electricians, landscapers, and countless other household employees. We are involved in local churches and arts organizations. And we are devoted to this town because we love it. We love its history, and we respect its respect for historical preservation. We love the way that green and open spaces have been protected. We love the size and the aesthetic of it. And we elected you to represent us.

We already avoid downtown almost half of the year due to overcrowding of tourists. Please, I implore you, do not permit this project to move forward. Galena will never be the same, and there will be no going back. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Anyone else? Anyone else to speak ? okay. If not, oh, I was wrong. He's trying to fix the mic.

HUERUNG: I'll make this very quick. Hi, my name is Michelle Huerung. I live at 312 Elk Street. I've only been here six years. This community has supported me in my darkest days. I think we need to support these people, these people that planted roots here. Their families have been here for decades. I moved here hoping to plant roots here. We have to support our people, not the people that are wanting to make money off of our land. We have to take care of each other. We have to have each other's backs. Please, let's not do this. Let's don't do this to Galena. Thanks.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you. Is there anyone else? Okay Jim does have the right to respond, right . . . so if you want to come back up, Jim.

BARANSKI: Gladly, just a few points. We have been in contact with the fire chief, Bob Conley, and with Eric Hefel, the police chief, to talk about life safety issues. And to specifically with the fire chief. We reached out to EMS as well.

The thing you know, you understand, of course, the Zoning Board is a quasi-judicial board, which means that you have to make an interpretation of the ordinance with respect to how we've argued our case for how the project is consistent with the comprehensive plan, which, by the way was last updated in 1993. So there have been many things that have happened, 2003, sorry, 2003, 2013, 2003 right, was the last time it was updated. And a lot of things have happened since that time, bike trails, etc.

And the facilities plan for water and sewer to be provided has been updated and expanded into the southern part of the city. So I'm saying that those things have been changes since 2003. And I think the arguments that we made, that what we have done is consistent with the growth pattern, I think is correct. I don't know, Andy, if you wanted to address anything about drainage ponds, pipes under the river, make comments about that?

ROSENTHAL: Jim, I just want to, you can speak in rebuttal here as the presenter, okay? It's not open for people coming up.

BARANSKI: Oh, he can't answer the question?

ROSENTHAL: You can address the issues.

BARANSKI: He's not on my team?

WOMAN: No.

[Simultaneous discussion]

ROSENTHAL: All right, guys.

BARANSKI: No, he's my consultant. So Andy is from Fehr Graham designing water and sewer system, creating a sewer line under the river. It's done a lot. It's just not a problem. And so , I mean, I would just make the case that I believe that this is a very well thought-out project, and I think that we would be missing a huge opportunity to let this slip. And I think we have made the argument that it is not only consistent with the comprehensive plan, but it is consistent with the zoning ordinance, which is what you need to decide.

ROSENTHAL: Thanks. The opposition can speak again and then? There is no specific order. if you want to let somebody else address they can. But we're not going to go through,

Nack : technically, people in opposition could speak again who spoke previously, but we don't want to go through everybody speaking again. So if there's somebody that wants to address what Jim just did, that's fine. Wendy, that's fine. But just address what Jim said.

CLARK: Yeah, I just, I just made some notes, yes. So and this will be very brief because he was very brief as well. I appreciate that he said he was talking to EMS and fire services, but that doesn't actually address how we'd resolve those problems. Talking to them is a good thing. But we still don't know. And as I had said before, DOT identified the fact that they already have no mitigation for some of these traffic concerns because of the historic district, part of the highway, etc. So some of these things are just problems that we can't throw money at and fix. They're just there.

Also, in terms of the fact that the comprehensive plan was completed in 2003, there are a number of things that have changed. But there is nothing substantive that would cause us to rethink the planning in that area. It's still the kind of neighborhood and residential rural area that it was when that plan was developed. So nothing in that particular area that we're talking about really compels a decision to change the zoning to accommodate some different type of use or different thing that's happening there. That just isn't a thing right there.

Water and sewer can be provided to the property. I understand that the wastewater treatment plan has been moved, and infrastructure has changed. But that doesn't mean that the City has envisioned that it should provide a whole bunch more infrastructure that it needs to keep track of and maintain. Sewer under the river, I understand that that is done very commonly, but I think that's one of the least of the concerns.

Again, I defer to geologic maps and the concerns about limestone schaf and how unstable and unpredictable it is. And like they mentioned about how deep some of those pipes and infrastructure need to be, which means it will be really difficult and expensive to access when something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong with plumbing and sewage. I mean, it just does. It's how it works. And so something will inevitably go wrong, and it will be hard to detect and hard to access and so on. So those are just kind of the specific points that Jim made, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak. And thanks.

ROSENTHAL: Thank you . . . motion to . . . anything else you want to add, Jim, on that? BARANSKI: Do I have to answer those questions, or can it be another?

NACK: That’s it.

ROSENTHAL: Yes.

BARANSKI: Just specifically those?

ROSENTHAL: Yeah, what she talked about.

BARANSKI: Okay, then I'm done.

ROSENTHAL: All right. So now we'll close the public hearing. I'll entertain a motion to do so. GATES: Motion to close.

ROSENTHAL: Motion to close. Second?

BOCHNIAK: Second.

ROSENTHAL: All those in favor signify by saying, aye.

ALL: Aye.

ROSENTHAL: Those opposed . . . okay. Just a reminder, if the board, it's our job . . .

NACK: We should just note that Jim Baranski and Bill Nybo have actually left the room. Two board members who recused themselves are now out of the room completely.

ROSENTHAL: Our job here is to determine whether or not the request is compatable with the criteria of the zoning ordinance. No personal feelings involved in it at all. This is based on the facts presented, and that's our job tonight. So I will entertain a motion on the finding of fact.

GATES: I'll make the motion to approve the finding of fact with the, to change the preliminary plan and PUD

ROSENTHAL: Okay, got a motion to approve.

GATES: Just for clarification, the motion would be to send a positive recommendation to the City Council.

WOMAN: We can't hear you back here.

ROSENTHAL: . . . put your mics down . . .

GATES: Okay. I make a motion to approve the finding of fact to approve the preliminary plans in the PDU and to send it on to the City Council.

NACK: There's been a motion to send a positive recommendation to the City Council.

ROSENTHAL: Is there a second?

JANSEN: Second.

ROSENTHAL: We have a second.

GATES: Let me just read the criteria, John.

NACK: Well, it's open for discussion at this point. What you should do is go through all of the criteria on the zoning request and the PUD and discuss each one of those and then ultimately make a decision.

GATES: So I need to read each one? So the first one is whether the existing text or zoning designation was in error at the time of adoption. The second one was . . .

ROSENTHAL: What you should do is discuss that issue. Either it was or it wasn't. And people could speak on either side of it, obviously.

GATES: And I don't think it was. I don't believe there was any error at the time it was adopted. The second one is whether there has been a change of character in the area or throughout the city due to installation of public facilities, other zone changes, new growth trends, development transitions, etc.

BOCHNIAK: I guess in that instance, though, in that section of town, there's been absolutely no change, absolutely no change, unfortunately, you know.

[Simultaneous discussion]

NACK: Okay. There's no comment from the audience. The board is going to discuss this. If there's any unwanted comments from the audience, you will be removed immediately.

WOMAN: I'm not able to hear you.

NACK: Then move closer. We're doing the best we can.

ROSENTHAL :But there has been change with the new sewer treatment plant that has been put in. So there has been changes that make it easier for that in that area now, compared to . . . so I believe that it's fitting.

GATES: Number three, Whether the proposed rezoning is compatible with the surrounding area and defining characteristics of the proposed zoning district or whether there may be adverse impacts on the capacity or safety of the portion of street network influenced by the rezoning, parking problems, or environmental impacts that the new zoning may generate such as excessive storm water runoff, water, air or noise pollution, excessive nighttime lighting, or other nuisances.

ROSENTHAL: I don't believe that, we heard a lot of talk tonight, but I haven't seen any issues on either side saying that, you know, there was going to be parking problems. To prove any of it, talk about excessive storm water runoff, there are going to be retention ponds put in. Noise and air pollution, I mean, I've sat up here for a number of years. I sat on the City Council before that. And I've heard a lot of people come in and, you know, talk about the what-ifs and what's going to happen in my neighborhood when somebody wants to do something. And it never happens.

You know, we've had people go in and fix up buildings, and we've had neighbors come in and complain about it, but it never was a problem. There's nothing there to say this isn't going to be compatible with surrounding area, that I've heard tonight.

GATES: Number four, whether the proposal is in . . .

Jeff Braunreiter 305 Park Ave: You can remove me, but this is 1000 people extra you can say . saying you know what it's going to do. Give me a break.

[Simultaneous discussion]

Joey Wallace: You’re ruining our neighborhood obviously not your’s.You chumps. This is a joke.

ROSENTHAL: Guys, have a nice night.

WOMAN: I can't hear you. Maybe it's my ears.

WOMAN: No, we can't hear.

NACK: Turn it up a little bit.

GATES: Number four, whether the proposal is in conformance with and in furtherance of the implementation of the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan, other adopted plans, and the policies, intents and requirements of this code, and other city regulations and guidelines.

ROSENTHAL: I believe it is in conformance with the implementation, and granted it’s been, what 20 Years since they did the comprehensive plan so obviously things have changed.

MAN: Nineteen years.

ROSENTHAL: Almost 20 years since they've redone the comprehensive plan. I think I was on the council the last time they did it, you know. So things have changed. And, yeah everyone wanted the growth out west. But we've annexed things in on the east side of Galena in the last couple years.

GATES: Number five, whether adequate public facilities and services are available or will be made available concurrent with the projected impacts of development in the proposed zone.

ROSENTHAL: And I believe just by what they presented, that the different facilities open to the public, it will be.

GATES: Number six, whether there is an adequate supply of land available in the subject area and the surrounding community to accommodate the zoning and community needs.

ROSENTHAL: That is also enough acreage up there for this to be developed that shouldn’t be an issue.

GATES: Number seven, whether there is a need in the community for the proposal and whether there will be benefits derived by the community or area by the proposed rezoning.

ROSENTHAL: And that would be dependent on where you're sitting at tonight, but I think there is a need to bring people into this town. That's what's pretty much supported this town is tourism. I've been here for 61 years, and that's the biggest industry we've ever had. And someone mentioned Frank Einsweiler. Well, that was Frank Einsweiler's biggest goal, bring tourism into Galena. And that's what built this town because it wasn't built on anything else. And I think it is important that we continue to do that because that's the industry we chose.

NACK: You need to then go through the set up critera. . .

GATES: . . . and planned unit development zoning should be used only when long-term community benefits, which may be achieved through high quality planned development, will be derived. Specific benefits that would support a PUD zoning include, but are not limited to, number one, more efficient infrastructure. Do we need to address each?

NACK: We should address each one.

ROSENTHAL: I believe what they presented, that it would be more efficient infrastructure. The sewer lines new roads that are going in there. So it should be.

GATES: Number two, reduced traffic demands.

ROSENTHAL: I think, you know, traffic is going to go up some, but we don't know how bad it's going to go up.

MAN: My thought on that is I go out to Chestnut and ski there on a regular basis. So all winter, we've got hundreds and hundreds of people going out Blackjack in the winter. This would be more of a summer project. So the traffic is reduced in the summer because people go to Chestnut. So it's kind of a give and take.

ROSENTHAL: I think there's always going to be traffic on Blackjack. I have family that lives out that way, her and her family, and I go out there all the time. And I have over the years.

GATES: Number three, a greater quality and quantity of public and/or private open space.

ROSENTHAL: Yeah, it's going to be open to the public. It's more opportunity. There's open space out there for people. So I think that's covered.

GATES: Number four, other recreational amenities.

ROSENTHAL: Also added with the winery, trails and stuff

GATES: Five- Needed housing types and/or mix.

ROSENTHAL: I believe that, because it's not going to be a housing development it will be rentals.

GATES: And number six, innovative designs and/or.

ROSENTHAL: And I think the design that they have for those cabins and stuff are, you know, innovative designs. I mean, they're not just going to be the same little stick building there. So I think it will be.

GATES: Number seven, protection and/or preservation of natural resources.

ROSENTHAL: And I think you are protecting the natural resources by . .(audience talking/coughing ) and, of course, they're going to put roads in and it’s going to take some trees out. But overall they are looking at that . so acceptable. So anyway, call the roll.

As Roll Call was:

Cook No

Jansen Yes

Nybo Recused

Baranski Recused

Bochniak No

Gates Yes

Rosenthal Yes

Motion for no action due to 3-2 vote

NACK: To deny a motion takes a simple majority. To send positive recommendation takes four affirmatives. So it's essentially, it fails for not getting the four, but it's a no action.

ROSENTHAL: Anybody have any other motion to make? Okay, that's enough, guys. Hey, hold on, we're still trying to conduct business . . . Sue?

SUE: So if Nybo recused from it does it change the vote??

ROSENTHAL: No, no, they're out, yeah. So we got a three to two vote unless someone makes another motion.

Gates: Can I make a motion to send to the City Council that the only thing that is approved is the 10 some acres which, in the Marine Hospital.

NACK: It's a motion to send a positive recommendation so we don't. So the vote is three yes, two no. So it's not to send a positive recommendation. So it's up to the applicant if they want to appeal to the council.

OTHER BUSINESS

None

PUBLIC COMMENTS

None

ROSENTHAL: Other business . . . seeing no one . . . adjournment.

JANSEN: Could I ask, I had a guy come to my door the other night, last night in fact, who wanted to debate me on the issues of the proposal. And I told him I wouldn't. We are a quasi-judicial body. If you wanted to go talk to a judge or a jury and try to get them to see your way, you couldn't do that. And you can't do that with this board either. So I just asked him to leave. I'm disappointed that people are acting the way they act. It's disappointing to our community, and it should not have happened. But it's a mix between legalism and politics.

None of us were elected, contrary to what the lady said. We're all appointed. And we should act . . . we're appointed to act. And I've seen this happen before, on this board even, that people got talked to by their neighbors. And we're not supposed to do that. We're supposed to listen to the evidence and make a determination. And so my wife told me, now don't get angry tonight. I said, I'm not, I'm not going to get angry. But I am. I'm a little pissed off. This should not have happened.

Now we've got enemies . between people in the community. It didn't need to happen. It needed to be a specific decision based on the presentation and the impact. I mean, people got attacked. Members of our board got attacked. We got attacked. Why? Because we're limited in our scope.

I appreciate the people that came up here and said, on Sections 160.1, this happened, and this does not apply. So we should say no. That makes sense to me. But to say, I don't like this person because he has a conflict of interest, or you shouldn't have accepted the thing, you did your job. And I think the community needs to learn a lesson on this. And we need to continue to do our jobs the way we were. appointed. Thank you.

ROSENTHAL: Thanks, Dave. Okay. I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

MOTION: Jansen moved, seconded by Bochniak to adjourn the meeting at 10:20 pm. Motion carried on voice vote.

http://www.cityofgalena.org/documents/filelibrary/side_tabs/agendas__minutes/zoning_board_minutes/2022/February_9_2022_Minutes_5E6E0D0043614.pdf