Village Board approves major zoning-code rewrite after debate over conditional-use process and vape-store limits

The Village of Greendale Village Board on a 5–2 vote approved an ordinance to repeal and recreate large sections of the village zoning code, including replacing "special uses" with "conditional uses," creating a planned‑development overlay and adding an institutional zoning district for municipal properties.

The overhaul implements changes prompted by the state law enacted as 2017 Act 67 and updates dozens of definitions and standards used to evaluate conditional‑use applications, officials said. "So for about a year we've been working with our planner Craig Huebner ... working on a very extensive update to our zoning code," Village Manager Mike Hawes told the board during the public hearing portion, summarizing work by the village planner and village attorney.

Why it matters: The rewrite clarifies how conditional uses are reviewed, adds standards the village must rely on to attach conditions, and creates tools—such as a planned‑development overlay—to allow flexibility for projects that do not fit existing district rules. Attorney Eric Larson told trustees the state law change made conditional uses a quasi‑judicial matter and required a complete rethinking of the code: "Act 67 ... created regulations on what a conditional use is, what your…