LaSalle County Board approves multiple special uses and intergovernmental agreements; adds screening condition to Utica solar permit

LaSalle County Board members on a regularly scheduled meeting approved a package of land‑use special permits, three highway intergovernmental agreements, an emergency purchase for the county jail’s water‑heating system and several election‑administration resolutions, while debating added conditions for a proposed Utica commercial solar facility.

The board voted to grant special‑use permits to create smaller lots in A‑1 agricultural districts for three separate petitions and to allow expansions of existing aggregate mining operations; it also approved a special use for a five‑megawatt commercial solar facility in Utica Township with added screening conditions. County highway staff presented and the board approved intergovernmental agreements to include village and city streets in county resurfacing and seal‑coat programs. The board declared an emergency purchase for a replacement hot water heater at the LaSalle County Jail and approved membership in the Illinois Emergency Management Mutual Aid System. County election‑related resolutions covering clerk office hours on election day, polling places and counting‑center access also passed.

Board discussion and votes

Land use and special permits: LaSalle County Land Use Department staff member Brian Gift summarized the petitions and the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) recommendations. “The petitioner is requesting a special use to create 2 5‑acre lots for their grandchildren,” Gift said when introducing the Gary Bauer Trust petition, which the board approved as presented. The board also approved a separate lot split for Sherilyn Runyon (25‑01 special use) and two mining expansions filed by Central Stone Company (25‑02) and LeClaire Investments Inc. (25‑03). The ZBA had recommended approval of the petitions for the Bauer and Runyon lots and had recommended the mining petitions for approval with conditions; the County Board enacted the permits with the conditions stated in the ordinances.

Central Stone’s expansion was approved with conditions that include a subsurface drain‑tile survey and report to the LaSalle County Land Use Department and Soil & Water Conservation District prior to mining, a plan to redirect any adjacent drain‑tile flow if necessary, an offer of pre‑blast surveys and well‑protection agreements to residences within 2,640 feet (one half‑mile), compliance with Illinois Department of Natural Resources ECOCAT recommendations and notification to county staff when operations start. Gift said the ZBA had unanimously recommended approval of the Central Stone petition with those listed conditions.

LeClaire’s petition covers roughly 74 acres for mining, and the board approved it with similar conditions requiring drain‑tile surveys, pre‑blast and well protections for nearby residences, ECOCAT compliance and notification of the Assessor’s Office when operations begin. Board members asked…