School Districts Weigh In On Zoning Bill
As reported on March 5, 2014, Sen. Pamela Althoff (32d Dist.
McHenry County and Lake County) is sponsoring SB 2647. This bill clarifies that
school districts are subject to local zoning authority. Unsurprisingly,
representatives for schools across the state have weighed in. They raise three
specific issues:
1) construction delays caused by the local zoning
process;
2) review costs associated with the local zoning
process; and
3) multiple agencies reviewing district proposals for
zoning compliance.
The school districts would like
Sen. Althoff to amend her bill to address these concerns. As currently drafted,
Sen. Althoff’s bill is a simple, elegant and effective measure that reaffirms
municipal zoning authority over school district property. SB 2647 doesn’t
change the current law; rather, it clarifies the rights local zoning
authorities already possess. School districts have long been required to
comply with local zoning ordinances and this legislation simply confirms that.
Our thoughts on the concerns raised by the school districts:
1) Establishing
an arbitrary time limit on public zoning deliberations raises obvious due
process concerns and may promote gamesmanship by districts interested in stifling
public dissent.
2) Similarly,
waiving application fees designed to reimburse cities for the time and
resources their staff dedicate to evaluating proposals for zoning compliance
needlessly usurps municipal discretion and turns a cost-neutral service into an
unfunded municipal liability.
3) Finally,
districts’ concerns regarding duplicative review processes appear to be a red
herring. Local zoning authority is not shared by other agencies;
therefore, there is no need for districts to be concerned about multiple
agencies reviewing applications for zoning
compliance.
Post Authored by David Silverman, Ancel Glink
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