County Board to vote on sewer requirement waiver

By Stuart R. Wahlin
Staff Writer

The Winnebago County Board is expected to vote Feb. 25 on a final plat for the 9.89-acre Garden Estates subdivision, owned by Gensler Gardens, at 7631 Stillman Valley Road in Rockford Township.

Board members agreed to re-zone the property in 2008 from Agricultural Priority to Rural Estate. Meantime, the City of Rockford also approved a pre-annexation agreement for the property.

Board member Paul Gorski (D-5), who represents the affected area, told The Rock River Times he plans to request a layover to allow people an opportunity to speak publicly to the issue, because there had been no public hearing on the matter.

“I’m gonna ask if the County Board’s gonna allow public comment on it,” he said. “Typically, they don’t allow public comment on zoning issues, but last night, Troy [Krup, planning & zoning officer] told us this isn’t technically a zoning issue—it’s a subdivision ordinance issue that’s covered under the Plat Act.

“Since we didn’t really have a hearing, because it didn’t go before the ZBA [Zoning Board of Appeals], and we didn’t really notify people that they would be allowed to speak at the Zoning Committee meeting, I’m asking that we allow any individuals who want to speak to this to speak during the public participation period of our next meeting,” Gorski added.

“Because the property’s within a mile-and-a-half of the city, they’re asking for them to allow septic and wells,” he noted. “It’d be our first test of sticking to the 2030 plan.”

The county’s 2030 land-use plan and the city’s own growth goals discourage developments on well and septic systems, but Gensler is asking for the sewer requirement to be waived. That request is expected to be voted on March 11.