Board recommends special use for self-storage at Dolder site after owners, neighbors discuss wells and driveway easement

The LaSalle County Zoning Board of Appeals on Aug. 20 recommended that the County Board approve a special-use permit to allow a mini-warehouse (self-storage) facility at the northeast corner of County Road 1250 First Road and Illinois Route 34 (Earl Township), proposed by Triple Z LLC on property owned by Nicholas Dolder. The board attached a written condition clarifying the permit applies only to buildings situated within the currently-noticed parcel.

Why it matters: Board members and staff pressed the petitioner on a title and utility question: two wells and a driveway that physically sit on the Dolder parcel currently supply water and access to a nearby apartment complex owned by the Schultz family. The applicant and the property owner described a proposed land swap (referred to in the record as a “10 31 exchange”) and a letter of intent from the apartment owners’ attorney, but there was no recorded easement at the time of the hearing. Several board members said they would prefer any well/easement agreement to be finalized before construction but the board nonetheless moved to recommend approval subject to the parcel-limitation condition.

Most important facts - The petitioner, Jared Michael Zelleher, represented…