Planning & Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

Everyone, welcome to the Decal Planning and Zoning Commission meeting for this Tuesday, February 17th, 2006. Could I have a roll call, please? Here, here. Sisler Wright McMahon here. Chair Maxwell here. Quent. Thank you very much. Move to the approval of the agenda. If there are any additions or deletions. If not, I will ask for a motion to approve. So moved. So moved by Flity. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Fellow. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. Same sign. We'll go to the approval of the minutes from February 2nd, 2026. Again, if there are any additions or deletions. If not, I will ask for a motion to approve.

Move to approve. Second. [clears throat] [laughter] Sorry, you got that. Okay, thanks. Sorry. Um, blackout moment. Um, public participation portion. I'm guessing we don't have anybody here. So, we'll move to the first order of new business. A public hearing a petition by the city of Decal for text amendments to chapter 23 unified development ordinance UDO of the municipal code. The proposed amendments are to article 11 floodways flood planes storm drainage and erosion control. I believe we have a presentation.

Yeah. Um just briefly we do uh this is amendment from the city u article 11 which the commission don't deal with too much. I don't know if we've done many amendments but that's as you mentioned floodways flood planes storm drainage erosion control. Uh John Lascowski our city engineers here is going to go through a few PowerPoint slides. I thought with one hearing tonight and a little time he'll go through a little bit on flood plane management a few slides on that and then he'll go through the specific amendments. But excellent. John's been with the city since uh last fall, but he was worked for the city from 2014 to 2017, so he's very familiar with the city. So, okay, welcome, John. Go ahead, John. Thank you. [snorts]

Good evening. Um, thank you for taking the time out of your evening today to listen to me talk about flood plane management. and I'll make it as exciting as I possibly can. Um the documents before you um are just some flood plane information that we generally have at the city available for residents who might be affected by flooding and then just the slides of the presentation. So flood plane management, why is it important? You know, what is it? I guess first of all, so flood plane is what you would consider the area adjacent to a stream or a river that floods when we have a very heavy rainfall event. So why is it important? because it preserves lives and property. And if you think just back to July of maybe 2025, you probably heard in the news about the the tragic event in West Texas where Camp Mystic was impacted by um some torrential storms that caused flooding within that floodway. And so one of the reasons we try to regulate the the flood plane is to preserve those lives and make sure buildings are out of the floodway and the flood plane and people aren't people and their property aren't affected by it. And one of the ways we we try to manage the flood plane is through education and just um regulation. So regulations through the code and education like these brochures and whatever um information we can provide to the public. So this here, this di schematic is a cross-section of a river. And starting from the top, the 500year flood plane is considered an area that experiences a lot of floods or a lot of water after a heavy rainstorm. However, we don't regulate this area because it doesn't tend to cause a lot of damage. What the actual flood plane is considered is the area between Let's see if I can get it to work. I did it wrong. Ah, there. So, we're looking at the next arrow down, which is FEMA's 100red-year flood plane. The flood plane consists of

both the flood fringe and the flood way. So, if you think of these two things, the floodway is going to be the moving water when we have a rain event. So, the water that's moving at a high velocity and potentially knocking over trees, carrying things away is that floodway area. The area immediately adjacent to it is the flood fringe. That area is typically your stagnant water where it's just rising and lowering. So if you think about a flood of the Mississippi River, it just kind of spreads out all across the plain states and it differs from those floods in the hill areas or the mountainous areas of like north or west Texas where it's very hilly and the rain comes down very quickly off of the the hills and collects in the river and then creates a high velocity situation. So the reason these these different um areas of the flood plane are important is because it defines how we regulate the actual flood plane. I think the key here that I I think is important is when we talk about the flood plane, it's actually those two components. It's that floodway which is moving and then the flood plane or the flood fringe which is adjacent and that's just kind of the stagnant water. So if we were to look at an overhead view now, so we're looking from the sky from an airplane down on the earth and this is the actual flood plane in the city of Decal. So in the upper leftand corner of the slide is the north 40 the 40 acres near niu. Um and adjacent to that is the the homes in the residential area. The different colors represent the different um flood plane elements. So the green area is that 500year flood which is an area that is of concern but it's not regulated. The light pink or bluish purple color is the flood fringe. And as you move towards the center of the channel you come to that deep purple

area and that's going to be the flood way where that water is really rushing through. So, we kind I kind of described these um uh in the picture and the color coordinate the colors within these slides. And the reason I gave you the slides is because it's easier to reference the slides and go back and flip back to the map so you can actually see the definitions of what the flood plane is, the flood fringe, the unregulated flood plane. And just going through it again briefly, the flood plane is those two components. It's that regulatory floodway and the flood fringe and those are the ones that are regulated in our ordinance. The unregulated flood plane is just more of a warning, a precaution. If you're in that area, you want to be knowledgeable of different techniques to prevent yourself and your property from flooding and things you can do to be safe. And again, this is definitions of flood fringe and flood way. Um, so let's go to the quiz question. Um, I do like having a little fun with this because it helps you remember exactly how how impactful flooding can be when it's moving at a quick velocity. But if you had to guess, how much fastoving flood water do you think can knock an adult off his off his feet? So, the answer is actually only 6 in of water. And that can if you're walking through a a fastmoving stream, it'll knock your knock you right from your feet. um small smaller depths than that if it's also moving quickly can take your pets away. So you really have to be careful even those small depths of rainwater. The f the deeper it gets the the heavier vehicles can start to float and and get carried down the channel. So, it's really important that if you do see saw saw barricades out or saw horses preventing you from driving through a flooded area, it's really important that you pay attention those and turn around

because it is your safety you're taking into your hands at that point. So, one of the activities that I like to inform the community about is CRS. And what this program is is the community rating system. And this is kind of the purpose for these amendments today. What this program does is it's a FEMA program and through the activities that the the city participates in, we can get people that are required to have flood insurance a reduction in their premiums. So if a community were to if an individual who has a mortgage on a property, um that person is required to have flood insurance policy. And as the more activities the city can participate in and the the more outreach we can do, the the higher our premium reduction can be. Right now, the city is a class 7 and we're receiving a 15% discount off the premiums that people are paying on their insurance. Part of the reason I'm bringing these text amendments before you today is because in order to continue to maintain this class of class 7, we have to make some tweaks to the ordinance in order to comply with the higher regulations that have been adopted by the federal government at this time. So, right now we're doing really well. Um, it is a laborintensive program, but as we as we begin to kind of understand how the program works and the different activities and which ones are right for Decal to participate in, that class could increase to class six where we're getting a higher discount in the future. Likewise, if we were not to um pass the the tax amendments today, it could drop us to a class eight or nine, which are the lower classes, and we'd have less of

a reduction in in that premium. So, the National Flood Insurance Program is the overarching program that contains the community re community rating system. It's a FEMA program that does provide insurance. And why is flood insurance important? It's because most homeowners insurance policies don't include flood insurance. So, you may pay an extra extra amount on a monthly basis if you get the backup insurance for your sump pump or your plumbing, but that still doesn't include the flood insurance from water inundating your property. So, that's one of the reasons import. It's important if you're in that flood plane to consider getting yourself flood insurance even if you own your home. So home owners that own their property outright that no longer have a mortgage, they have that option. They can stop paying for flood insurance premiums if they choose to. However, we encourage people to pay to continue the policy if it's possible just because that risk doesn't go away just because your mortgage payment does. So, this is just a short video that I found on the internet and um I think Jeff Bertell is going to try to get for me to play for me um about the importance of um paying attention to flood hazards. So, the volume's not there, but it's a gentleman basically serenating to the the perils of flood flooding and why it's important. If you do see those barricades out there and roads collapsing, you know, it's time to turn around and find another way. Your haircut, appointment, whatever it is, isn't important as as your life. So, I told Jeff I'd sing if the volume wasn't high enough, but I I agree on that promise. Um, so with that presentation, um, I'm going

to begin speaking about the text amendments that we do have for um the the municipal code today. There are eight changes. Um, I'm going to highlight a few of them. The many of them are just um either errant references or just missing a few letters here and there to a word ratio is spelled incorrectly.

Got it. So um one of the first changes that um I I'm proposing is a change to the elevation the elevations that we're stating in our ordinance. So basically we have chosen the upper boundary and the lower boundary of our um of our flood plane and established an elevation there saying this is the elevation that we're going to choose as regulatory. What I'm proposing is to make that regulatoratory elevation tied to FEMA's data. So when the data changes and with FEMA our ordinance will automatically update to the most up-to-date data. So instead of holding to a previous standard, we're holding to the the highest standard that that's available. Um let's see the second change is just an omission where I believe in the in the definitions we had let we have a de definition for substantial damage. And what that definition states is if your home is about 50% damaged that we're going to ask you when it's rebuilt and you're in the flood plane that you rebuild your home to the higher standard so that same damage doesn't reoccur to your property. Um the third change and this one is the most critical because this is the one that um that corresponds to the community rating system rating is the elevation of mechanical equipment. So, what this regulation is stating is if you have an air conditioning unit or you have your um other mechanicals like a generator that is outside on a slab, we're asking that you you would elevate that to an elevation that's higher than that known flood plane elevation. So,

the very highest elevation of those flood waters is not going to creep into your mechanicals. And you'll see a lot of the newer homes in the developments are kind of doing that with some angle irons now with the air conditioning unit. So they're kind of sticking off the side of the house. And so it's not going to affect any houses that already have this condition in the flood plane. So it's not going to be an undue burden on anybody. And it's only going to apply to these homes that if they're substantially damaged or if they're doing a substantial improvement, which would be if you're taking 50% of your house and making it 50% better, then we're going to ask you to also include these relevant changes to your mechanical equipment. Since you're doing all these other renovations, protect your home as well by elevating these these mechanicals. So that's pretty much the primary um amendment that I am asking you to consider. Um another highlight would be is to another change to highlight would be um the fifth change I was asking was that a licensed professional engineer from the state of Illinois signs off or stamps the plans and the calculations that are submitted for permit. So, if I were to, we'll see if I still have control of this um presentation. If we go back to the cross-section, what you'll see there is kind of a shaded area on either side of the and I'm pressing the wrong button. This shaded area here and there's one on the other side. And this is areas where they're calling it an encroachment. So that were to be that what that is is if somebody were to build along the bank of the river that elevation of the water may rise because they're putting something in that void. So the way I like to think of it is if you have a glass of water and you drop an ice cube

in it, the level of that water rises. It's the same thing if you were to construct the foundation of a house in the flood plane. That flood plane is going to rise a teeny little bit. So if you also consider if you take that same ice cube that you put in your glass of water and you throw it in the ocean, we're never going to know there's it's going to be an insignificant difference. So what we ask the engineers to do is calculate what that difference is. If a house foundation were to go in a location in the flood plane and they can demonstrate through their calculations that the water level is not going to rise, that's fine. You can build that structure there, whether it's a shed or a house or something like that. If that elevation does rise, it's not going to be a permitted use under our ordinance. So, you're not allowed to build that structure if that rise occurs. And the main reason for that is if everybody upstream were to build a foundation, all the people downstream are going to be impacted that by that eventually by that rise. So in order to prove to the to demonstrate that we're asking that a professional engineer sign off on those calculations and those drawings that are prepared for permit. Um, and I think the the final change I'd like to highlight is the last one, and it's a reference to an IEPA permit, and it's similar to the first change in the sense that instead of referencing a very specific section of this EPA permit, we're referencing the permit in general because from time to time, periodically, the EPA will update their permit. And instead of us going back through our ordinance and bringing the change before you and the council again, we're simply referencing the change that the IEPA makes in their permit that we're obligated to follow anyway. So, and I believe those are the uh that's all the changes I have for you tonight.

Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Quite helpful. Yeah. Nothing else. There's findings of fact. We do for every text amendment there. We believe it meets all those findings um from the UDO for text amendments and uh exhibit A is all the amendments which John went through. We'd recommend approval and u the sample motion is ready. Okay. Any questions, comments, seems pretty clear. It does. One one question. Yes. Um, we get a 15% discount on flood insurance for class 7. I assume there's a class six, class 5, class 4.

Correct. There's a there's a it goes all the way up to class one. And so there's the maximum discount that a community can get, I believe, is up to 45%. Um, there's very few communities in the nation that have that level of discount. I think there's only two, and they're both in California right now. The highest level in Illinois that I was aware of was a class two, but they've recently fallen to a class four. And it's very difficult to maintain that status, but it's okay. That's how it works. Thank you. Well, that's a great benefit to the people in that area for sure. [clears throat]

So, a quick question about the displacement that you were referring to. I understand. Is it from like a water from an absorption level from like the the foundation that fundamentally displaces it?

Yeah. So that's it's basically that they'll put it run it through a hydraologic model or a hydraulic model and they'll see how much that that structure impedes the floodway. So whether it be the water backing up against the structure and kind of acting like a a bridge that gets flooded. And so when when a bridge floods and the water's going over the bridge, the water backs up in the upstream and starts to act as a dam for the people upstream. So they kind of check that condition and then they also check the condition downstream when yeah that foundation gets in and kind of got elevates it.

Okay. Um if no other questions, I'll ask for a motion to approve. I'll make a motion. Uh based on the submitted petition and testimony presented, I move the planning and zoning commission forward its findings of fact and recommend to the city council approval of text amendments to article 11 of the unified development ordinance as indicated in exhibit A. So move by. May I have a second? Second. Second by McMahon. May I have a roll call, please? Yes. Yes. McMahon. Yes. Chair Maxwell. Yes. Motion passes.

Thank you very much. Again, thank you. That's a great service for the community. Thank you. Uh do we have any staff reports on the next meeting?

Yeah, next meeting uh March 2nd, uh Monday, uh we have a variance 200 Andrews Drive, St. Andrews Drive in South Point for a detached garage and fence on a corner lot. And uh at the last council meeting on the 9th, the council did approve the reszoning special use permit at 350 North 6th Street for the at private therapeutic day school was approved. There's a condition added about a safety plan being presented and approved by police and fire prior to occupying the building. Uh which I'll do. And then they also approve the text amendments on the signs in the central business district kind of related to the stage coach theaters request for a marquee sign. So both of those were approved.

Excellent. Glad to hear it. So, okay. If there's nothing else, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn. So, motioned. [laughter] Don't fight over it, guys. So, moved by Filerman. Second. Second by McMahon. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. Same sign. Thank you very much. Very good.