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Mount Pleasant board approves rezoning for Bell Ambulance site on Renaissance Boulevard
Summary
The Mount Pleasant Village Board unanimously approved a zoning map amendment to rezone 2.6 acres on Renaissance Boulevard to allow an ambulance depot for Bell Ambulance; neighbors voiced noise concerns but were told the site will be used for interfacility transports and subject to noise ordinances.
Mount Pleasant — The Village Board voted unanimously Feb. 20 to approve Ordinance 1-20-25 (ZMA25-1), rezoning about 2.6 acres on Renaissance Boulevard from C-4 General Industrial to C-2 Neighborhood Business to allow construction of an ambulance depot for Bell Ambulance.
The rezoning, which the board approved after a public hearing and a motion to adopt the ordinance, is concurrent with site plan SB-2426 for an ambulance facility on the lot. Director Sam Schultz told trustees the primary reason for the down-zone is to remove a two-story / 24-foot minimum height requirement in the C-4 district; the use proposed — an ambulance depot — is allowed in both districts.
The change matters to nearby businesses and residents because it alters permitted building form and addresses operational questions about ambulances based at the site. Joanne Peterman, who said she is opening a salon and wellness center at 10351 Washington across the street, said she was concerned that ambulance sirens could disrupt clients. “My concern just would be the sirens that could possibly interfere with my business,” Peterman said.
Director Sam Schultz said the village and the plan commission discussed operations with the applicant and that, “as far as we know, they won't be regularly running their sirens.” Schultz added the rezoning decision was “mostly related to the height of the building and nothing else because the use is allowed in both zoning districts.”
An unnamed speaker in the record said there would be no 911 response component staged from the new station and that the site is expected to be used for interfacility transports. The record includes a further acknowledgement that if sirens are used on private property or in a way that violates village rules, the village’s noise ordinances would apply.
Trustees conducted a roll-call vote after the hearing. The board recorded unanimous approval: Trustees Ventrini, Anastasio, Bhatia, Washburn, Karis, Doxey and DeGroot all voted “aye,” and the motion carried.
The board did not attach additional conditions to the ordinance during the Feb. 20 meeting. Staff and the plan commission recommended approval at the planning commission hearing the prior week, and the board vote adopts that recommendation. With the ordinance approved, the site plan review (SB-2426) and building permitting are the next administrative steps before construction can begin.
No timetable for construction or a start date was provided during the meeting, and no formal commitments about operational protocols beyond the statements above were entered into the record.
