LaSalle planning commission recommends annexation and rezoning to allow modular home at Starrock campground

The LaSalle Planning Commission recommended that the City Council approve annexation of a roughly 1-acre parcel at 753 North 3029 Road, rezoning the lot to M-1 light industrial and granting a special-use permit to allow a modular home to be placed on the site to serve the adjacent Starrock campground. The commission made the recommendation after hearing from the applicant, Mark Boss, and a brief question-and-answer period with commissioners and staff.

The recommendation matters because it would allow the campground operator to place a permanent modular home on the property to house on-site staff, change the parcel's municipal jurisdiction through annexation and impose a condition barring multi-family dwellings on the parcel absent further Planning Commission or City Council approval.

Applicant Mark Boss, identified in the meeting as the principal of the petitioner, Mav Restoration LLC, told the commission that he and his family operate the campground and want to replace a camper used as housing with a house so staff can live on-site. "Our campground is growing," Boss said. "So instead of them living in a little camper, we wanted to put a house there for them." He said city water and sewer are already in place at the site and that the owner is paying for connections.

Commissioners asked practical questions about the scope of development and municipal services. One commissioner asked whether the modular home would be the only dwelling on the parcel; Boss replied, "Nope. That's the only one." Another asked which jurisdictions provide emergency services and road maintenance; Boss said he had been told the area would be served by the City of LaSalle and that fire and police have responded to calls at the campground. A commissioner also asked whether annexation would create costs for the city; staff and the applicant said meters and utilities were already in place and that no significant cost to the city was expected.

City staff member Claire read the Planning Commission's findings and the proposed recommendation to the City Council, stating that granting the rezoning and special-use permit would be "in the overall public good and in the general best interest of the public in the city of LaSalle" if the terms and provisions in the recommendation were met. Claire cited consistency with the City of LaSalle zoning ordinance, including the provisions in section 153.127 for zoning changes and section 153.075(d)(2) for special-use permits.

After the staff presentation and brief discussion, commissioners voted to recommend approval. The commission's recommendation includes two explicit conditions stated in the motion read into the record: (1) the rezoning and special-use permit approval would apply only in the event the parcel is annexed into the City of LaSalle; and (2) the petitioner must agree that the parcel will not be used for single- or multiple-family dwellings (the commission's language restricts multi-family use) absent further review and approval by the Planning Commission or City Council.

The vote was recorded as affirmative on the motion recommending approval. The recommendation now goes to the LaSalle City Council, which has the authority to accept, modify or reject the commission's recommendation and to approve or deny annexation. No City Council action was taken at the commission meeting.

The planning commission's decision was limited to the recommendation and did not itself change the parcel's zoning or municipal status; annexation and any council-level zoning action remain required to implement the proposal.