Mattoon council approves rezoning for DeWitt Avenue business site | Government and Politics
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MATTOON — A building for insulation, gutter and border businesses is set to be constructed in the 200 block of DeWitt Avenue after the Mattoon City Council voted to rezone this site.
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.
The Mattoon City Council has approved rezoning 201-221 DeWitt Ave. 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.
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.
Today in history: May 18
1927: Andrew Kehoe
In 1927, in America’s deadliest school attack, part of a schoolhouse in Bath Township, Michigan, was blown up with explosives planted by local farmer Andrew Kehoe, who then set off a bomb in his truck; the attacks killed 38 children and six adults, including Kehoe, who’d earlier killed his wife. (Authorities said Kehoe, who suffered financial difficulties, was seeking revenge for losing a township clerk election.)
1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
1934: Lindbergh Act
In 1934, Congress approved, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, the so-called “Lindbergh Act,” providing for the death penalty in cases of interstate kidnapping.
1973: Archibald Cox
In 1973, Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was appointed Watergate special prosecutor by U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson.
1980: Mount St. Helens
On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing.
1998: Microsoft
In 1998, the U.S. government filed an antitrust case against Microsoft, saying the powerful software company had a “choke hold” on competitors that was denying consumers important choices about how they bought and used computers. (The Justice Department and Microsoft reached a settlement in 2001.)
2012: Facebook
Ten years ago: Social network Facebook made its trading debut with one of the most highly anticipated IPOs in Wall Street history; however, by day’s end, Facebook stock closed up only 23 cents from its initial pricing of $38.
2015: Barack Obama
In 2015, President Barack Obama ended long-running federal transfers of some combat-style gear to local law enforcement in an attempt to ease tensions between police and minority communities, saying equipment made for the battlefield should not be a tool of American criminal justice.
2017: Roger Ailes
Roger Ailes, who created and ruled Fox News Channel for two decades before being ousted for alleged sexual harassment, died in Palm Beach, Florida, at age 77.
2021: Charles Grodin
Actor and writer Charles Grodin, whose films included “Midnight Run” and “The Heartbreak Kid,” died in Connecticut of bone marrow cancer at 86.
Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud
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