Zoning Advisory Committee delivers draft rewrite; public forum set for March 20

Matthew Berkley, chair of the village Zoning Advisory Committee, told the Board of Trustees that the committee has completed its work assisting the consultant on a proposed rewrite of the village zoning code and that the latest draft will be posted for public review.

Berkley said the draft was scheduled to be posted “on or around Friday the fourteenth” and that the consultant and committee planned a public forum on March 20 where the consultant will facilitate a workshop on the draft. He urged residents to use an accompanying Google form to submit feedback directly to the consultant and the board.

“Enforcement is the key that makes this whole thing work,” Berkley said, summarizing a repeated theme from the committee’s review. He said enforcement must be funded and that the village needs “a willing, able, and empowered building inspector” to make the new code effective.

Berkley outlined the committee’s work over the past 16 months: a gap analysis of the current code, input to the consultant (Chris Kushel with Fisher and Associates), public forums, building-tour feedback and multiple draft reviews. He said the committee’s charter called for a revised code to be delivered to the board and that the committee has fulfilled that role.

Berkley and other committee members stressed that the public review phase is next, and that the draft will then move to legal review and subsequent board consideration. Several members in the audience, including Zoning Advisory Committee members, reminded residents to attend the March 20 workshop and to review the draft when posted.

Trustees did not vote on the zoning code at the meeting; the committee’s notice to post the draft and to hold a public forum represents the next step in the formal adoption process.