Marseilles council adopts Emerging Technologies District and related zoning ordinances

Marseilles — The City Council voted to rezone property and adopt a package of zoning changes to create an Emerging Technologies District, approving ordinances the mayor said will update the city's regulatory framework for potential industrial and technology-related uses.

Mayor Hollenbeck moved the ordinances, and the measures passed by roll call votes. For ordinance 19 o 3 to rezone property to the Emerging Technologies District the clerk recorded four ayes and one no. Two subsequent ordinances to restate zoning rules and to create the Emerging Technologies District's land-use regulations also passed by similar margins; the council later adopted an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan tied to the zoning changes.

The debate centered on what uses the new district would allow. Commissioner Schott said the district's list of permitted uses'which the city's website and council discussion listed to include battery energy storage systems, bulk chemical and petroleum storage, data centers, fuel manufacturing and distribution, and other industrial facilities'left the city with less zoning leverage in the future. "We're effectively saying that as far as our zoning is concerned, the door is wide open," Schott said, adding his view that Marseilles might have obtained a stronger deal or clearer limits through additional hearings.

Council members who supported the ordinances said any specific project would still require separate planning-commission and council approvals and would remain subject to state and federal requirements. The mayor and supporters stressed that future projects would need to demonstrate compliance with environmental and safety regulations before site-specific approvals could proceed.

Council votes and roll calls were recorded on the floor. The ordinances were adopted; a single commissioner recorded a No vote on each of the measures.