Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trustees weigh multifamily moratorium and village-wide stormwater review to curb flooding
Summary
Trustees agreed to direct staff to draft a clear scope for studying a moratorium on multifamily construction, flood-plain overlays, stormwater code updates and parking/height rules; the board will review a staff draft and the 2019 moratorium analysis before deciding whether to invoke any moratorium.
Trustees spent the bulk of the April 28 work session debating how to respond to clustered multifamily development and longstanding flooding problems.
Several trustees said a temporary moratorium on multifamily construction would create time to conduct a focused study of stormwater management, parking, building heights and flood mitigation. "I think we want to look at the zoning and the building codes with the emphasis on flood mitigation and parking," the chair said, summarizing the board's direction. Trustees discussed alternatives including a village-wide approach, a flood-plain overlay requiring special permits for development in vulnerable areas, or a moratorium that applies only where zoning changes would be triggered.
Trustees raised concerns about unintended consequences of a narrow moratorium: one trustee warned that limiting action to flood zones could push larger developments into nonflood areas and worsen drainage elsewhere. Multiple trustees recommended hiring a planning consultant to recommend code changes and a study timeline; one trustee estimated a study might take "3 months, a little bit more than 3 months, possibly". The board agreed to re-familiarize itself with a 2019 moratorium analysis already on the village website and asked the village manager to write a draft describing the specific items the board wants examined so trustees can review and refine it.
No formal moratorium was enacted at the work session. Board members emphasized the need to balance targeted protections for flood-prone areas with village-wide stormwater improvements and to avoid piecemeal changes that create new problems elsewhere.
What happens next: staff will prepare a written draft of the study scope (including stormwater code updates, parking, heights and potential overlay zones) for the trustees to review before the board decides whether to place a moratorium or take alternative measures.
