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Gary Webster urges Galena to push county for three‑quarter vote on proposed zoning change
Summary
At the June 22 Galena City Council meeting, resident Gary Webster urged the city to pursue a resolution that would require a three‑quarter Jo Daviess County Board vote to approve a proposal he said would reduce minimum parcel size from 40 acres to one. Councilors listened but took no formal action.
Gary Webster, a Galena resident, told the City Council on June 22 that Jo Daviess County is considering a recommendation to reduce minimum parcel size “from 40 acres down to one,” and urged the city to take stronger action to protect the zoning board’s recommendation.
“There's a way that if you want to write a resolution, but that would force a three‑quarter vote by the county board versus a majority vote,” Webster said, arguing a higher threshold would make it “a lot more difficult for them to ... ignore what the zoning board is going to come forward with.”
Webster said he attended recent county zoning board hearings and had seen a letter the city wrote opposing the proposed change. He told the council the zoning board had denied the reduction a few weeks earlier and that “word on the street” was the county board might reject that denial and change the minimum parcel size.
Councilors received the comment but did not move to draft a resolution during the meeting. A later speaker during public comment asked about the timing if the city were to pursue Webster’s suggestion; staff indicated no immediate action was taken that night.
Why it matters: If the county board were to accept a recommendation reducing minimum parcel sizes, it could change land‑use and development rights across the county. Webster urged city leaders to pursue a resolution that would raise the legal threshold on the county board for overturning the zoning board’s recommendation.
What happened next: No motion or referral to staff on Webster’s request is recorded in the meeting transcript. Councilors and attendees discussed the issue during public comment but the council did not vote on or adopt any resolution at this meeting.
The transcript shows the discussion took place during the citizens’ comment portion of the June 22 Galena City Council meeting; follow‑up would require a formal council motion or staff direction at a future meeting.
