EFFINGHAM – The Effingham Plan Commission recently held a public hearing to discuss the final draft of the city’s comprehensive plan, which concluded with a recommendation for approval with an amendment for clarification on actions to take for housing issues.
City Planner Greg Koester and Chastain & Associates Urban Planner Stephanie Brown presented the highlights of the comprehensive plan. The plan is sectioned into five focus areas: housing, economic development, community services and utilities, transportation and mobility, and quality of life. Each focus area includes at least one vision for 2050, any corresponding maps, land-use strategies, design guidelines, suitable zoning districts, what’s happening now, and what both the community and city would like to see in 2050.
These were then compiled to form the implementation matrix in section five of the comprehensive plan.
“We got really good feedback and ideas on future visions, future goals, future actions that can be taken to move Effingham forward,” said Brown. “It was a very robust engagement of a lot of the community, and that’s always been the case. So kudos to you all for that.”
The future land use map is also incorporated in the plan. To create the map, those involved in generating the comprehensive plan determined where the best places for both residential and suburban residential growth would be based on utility expansion, while identifying strategies to help conserve agricultural land and natural features.
Brown and Koester noted that the plan is an active document that can be updated and reviewed as needed. Koester would like to review it annually – and maybe more often – with the plan commission.
“The implementation plan is a great section for that active revision and review to occur,” said Brown.
Effingham resident Mark Mayhood asked the plan commission if there was a specific person in charge of housing issues, and if there wasn’t one, could someone at City Hall take on that role.
While there isn’t one specific person that addresses housing issues, Koester said that he, Economic Development Director Todd Hull, Economic Development Specialist Sasha Althoff and other city staff are the ones to manage housing concerns and questions.
“It’s such a complex issue, and it’s a problem that I, personally, have tried to solve, and it’s not, unfortunately, it’s not as easy as… setting a quota and trying to hit it, which, I wish it was,” said Plan Commissioner and Steering Committee Member Andrew Grunloh. “I wish it was that easy.”
Steering Committee Member Greg Sapp brought up the idea of creating a general repository of information about available housing and lots. Other housing action steps that were discussed include establishing a page on the city’s website for who to contact about specific housing questions, creating a Director of Housing position within the city, finding ways to update the community about what’s currently being done regarding housing affairs, summarizing what initiatives there are currently for Effingham residents, and more.
“I’m not disputing that the city has a part in it, but the public also needs to be engaged if they’re interested in that because you don’t see – except for hot topics – you don’t see the public actively participating in city council meetings. You don’t have anyone at the TIF board meetings,” said City Attorney Tracy Willenborg. “It takes everyone.”
Once the comprehensive plan is finalized, it will be published on a website with interactive maps where visitors can zoom in on them.
“It’s easy to sit here and talk about [it] as an abstract, but I want to be clear: These are big issues that are really tough to solve for anyone in this room – private, public, developer,” said Grunloh. “They’re more realities here, and I wish there was a way to solve [them].”
The council made a recommendation for approval with an amendment for clarification on actions to take for housing. The recommendation is scheduled to be a discussion item on the March 3 city council agenda.
In other news, City Planner Koester brought a draft amendment regarding the short-term rental zoning ordinance.
This comes after the city learned of three short-term rentals operating without a permit in zoning districts that don’t currently allow short-term rentals. The three short-term rentals ceased operations when the city notified them of the violations, but they would like to resume if and when possible, according to Koester.
Currently, the city allows short-term rentals with special-use permits in B-1 Neighborhood Shopping Districts, B-2 General Commercial Districts, B-3 Central Business Districts and M-1 Light Industrial Districts. When applying for a permit, city staff considers each application on a case-by-case basis and multiple other factors, such as if that is the highest and best use of the property, the effect it would have on the character and development of the neighborhood, and its conformance to the comprehensive plan.
Some of the changes in the amendment draft that Koester presented to the Plan Commission include allowing short-term rentals in any zoning district, requiring more detail on conceptual plans, requiring addresses and phone numbers of guests for law enforcement purposes, and having a maximum number of eight guests.
Plan Commissioner Mark Thies voiced his concern about allowing short-term rentals in nonurban districts and residential districts.
“Residents’ districts have specific zoning requirements to protect the integrity of your neighborhood – an R-1 neighborhood – a place where you get to know your neighbors, and certainly hope that these neighbors stay around longer than a day or two, or even a year or two in some cases,” said Thies. “I live on Glenwood Street, and I discussed this with several of my neighbors. They have serious concerns about maintaining the benefits of the R-1 designations, and I tend to agree with them on this… Residential areas should be sacred.”
Plan Commissioner Grunloh suggested having a maximum number of permits available in the community, which he believes could help prevent issues.
“I think if it was a super-huge problem, we’d probably have more people here tonight to voice opposition,” said Plan Commissioner Brian Meyers. “I think a case-by-case basis is good.”
The plan commission agreed to extend the public hearing about the draft amendment to the next plan commission meeting, which is scheduled for March 10 at 6 p.m.