Mattoon council approves rezoning for DeWitt Avenue business site | Government and Politics

The council narrowly approved this rezoning petition Tuesday night during a meeting at which it also fielded questions about the planned sport complex at Interstate 57 and Illinois Route 16 and about motor vehicle use on the Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail.

Petitioners Kirk Swensen and his son, Spencer Swensen, of Mattoon have requested that the city rezone 201-221 DeWitt from R1 singe-family residential to C4 general commercial district to allow for construction of a post-frame building for use as office and warehouse space for their businesses.

“We are excited to get the building up,” Spencer Swensen said at Tusday’s meeting. He said they have hired nine workers in recent months and plan to hire three to four more after the building is constructed.

Council member Sandra Graven said she preferred that the property be rezoned to C3, a less intensive land use designation, so that the city would have more control over land uses on this property in decades to come. Swensen said if the council approved C3, he would need to come back to seek C4 zoning in less than a year for planned sand storage at this site.

Graven voted against rezoning to C4; council member David Phipps abstained; and Mayor Rick Hall and council members Larry Closson and Dave Cox voted for the rezoning.

Regarding the planned Lincoln Land of Sports Complex, audience member Harold Burwell of Mattoon asked for an update on this estimated $60 million project. Developers have proposed creating this complex of ball diamonds and other sports facilities on property at the southwest corner of I-57 and Route 16.

Hall said the council plans to hold a series of three meetings in June regarding the sports complex. He said the council will hear information about financing and ownership proposals for the complex at the first meeting, give a presentation about the project to community members and field questions at a second meeting, and then vote on a proposal at the third meeting.

“It’s a large project. There are a lot of parts to it. It’s complicated,” Hall said.

Burwell also shared his safety concerns about motor vehicles parking on the Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail during youth sports tournaments at the Roundhouse Complex and asked if the city would ticket these motorists.

Council member Closson said he also has safety concerns, noting that he has seen vehicles driven from 10th to Sixth streets on this recreation trail. Closson said he has recommended that the city place “no parking” signs along the trail, talk to tournament organizers about the parking issue, and possibly install rails or fencing there.

Other council actions included approving a special use permit for ViaSat to build a ground-based satellite dish at 1121 N. 33rd St.; employing Robert Pierce in a cemetery maintenance position; purchasing a mini excavator from Bobcat of Effingham for $73,712; allocating a $6,000 hotel/motel tax fund grant to the Mattoon YMCA for the Lytle Park Tri, Last Chance Tri and Ghouls in the Pool Swim Meet; and a $3,000 grant to the YMCA for the Run for the Bagel.