By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer

HOWARD – The village’s Plan Commission has decided to hold a public hearing next month to consider revising the village code to allow homes damaged by more than 50 percent of their current local assessed value to be rebuilt in non-conforming districts.

At their meeting April 15, commission members spent more than a half hour discussing the issue of single-family homes located in areas of the village now zoned for business use.

Howard Community Development Director Dave Wiese initially brought the matter before the commission last month in response to homeowners in business districts having difficulty selling single-family houses because of lending institutions not wanting to finance the purchase of the structures, which under the current village code couldn’t be rebuilt.

Wiese, who provided the commission with a map of business areas in the village, said his “best guess,” without talking to the assessor, is 30 properties in those areas have homes.

One of those property owners, Susan Tomchek, spoke before the commission about wanting to sell two properties with single-family homes, but the prospective buyers are unable to receive financing.

“We would like to sell these,” Tomchek said. “We can’t sell them without changing the wording (in the village code).”

Though she described where the homes are located as “not a beautiful area” because of development in the village, Tomchek said they could be “wonderful homes” for younger people on about an acre of land.

“We’re not asking a lot of money for these properties,” she said. “They’re about $100,000. It’s in that price range.”
Tomchek said people who made offers on the properties have reneged because they wouldn’t be able to rebuild under the current village code.

“We are stuck,” she said. “We’re just stuck.”

Though one option could be spot zoning property designated for business use to residential, Village President Burt McIntyre voiced his opposition to that idea.

“I think history tells us that doesn’t work,” McIntyre said. “We effectively lose control of what we’re trying to accomplish (with zoning).”

Wiese proposed listing single-family homes in the village’s zoning code as a conditional use for business districts.

With that permitting process, in which there would be a $250 application fee, Wiese said the property would be conforming for a single-family home upon being granted a conditional use permit.

“We’d have to deem it’s an appropriate area to have a home,” he said. “We may not want that to happen on Velp (Avenue).”

Because of current state statutes related to conditional use permits, Wiese said standards would have to be established as to determine whether or not to grant a permit.

“We just can’t say ‘no’ on a conditional use,” he said. “That’s why (the state wants) you to establish standards.”

When contacted following the meeting, Wiese said those standards could include factors such as property locations and lot sizes.

Commission members scheduled the public hearing for their next meeting May 20, after which it would be up to the village board as to whether to give final approval to a zoning code change.