Plan Commission

Thursday, May 21, 2026 Plan Commission Meeting at 6:30 PM PLAN COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA 1. Meeting Opening A. Call to Order B. Roll Call 2. Consent Agenda A. Approval of Minutes 3. Staff Reports 4. Business Items A. Public Hearing for the Subdivide of a Parcel/Lot Combination via Subdivision 5. Discussion 6. Adjourn The City of Sterling in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that persons with disabilities who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting or have questions about the accessibility of this meeting or facilities, contact the ADA Coordinator at (815) 632-6630 to allow the City of Sterling to make reasonable accommodations for these persons. Page 1 of 17 Plan Commission Meeting Minutes March 26, 2026 Meeting Opening Chair Corwell called the Sterling City Plan Commission to order at 6:30 PM on Thursday, March 26, 2026. Present: Commissioner Carol Corwell, Commissioner Gordon Harris, Commissioner Jamie Schwingle, Commissioner Brian Carradus. Absent: None. Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt, City Planner Dustin Wolff, Alderman Retha Elston, and City Clerk Teri Sathoff were also present. Consent Agenda Commissioner Harris made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting as presented; Seconded by Commissioner Carradus. Voting: Ayes – Carol Corwell, Gordon Harris, Jamie Schwingle, Brian Carradus. Nays – None. Staff Reports There were no staff reports. Unfinished Business City Planner Dustin Wolff reported that the petitioner has submitted a Plat to subdivide 0.98 acres from the northwest part of the parcel, PIN 11-22-229-008 (former Aarons), and attach it to parcel PIN 11-22-229-006 (Boss Roofing) to create one lot totaling 1.95-acres The property has residential property directly behind it and commercial property adjacent to it. The new owner will remove some of the pavement, extend the fencing, and add plantings to provide a buffer. They will place an access gate at the end of 5th Street. The property owner will have a recorded agreement for the use of each other's property for access. A special use will be required for the outside storage. Commissioner Harris asked if the parking area on 19th Street and 4th Avenue would still be used. Yes, this area will still be used and will be improved in the near future. Commissioner Carradus asked if the property would remain open for the car wash customers. The petitioner advised that there would be a recorded agreement to allow both property owners to continue to use the adjacent property for access. Alderman Elston asked if the area between the car wash and the roofing company would Page 2 of 17 Plan Commission Meeting Minutes March 26, 2026 Page 2 remain open for traffic to exit through. This area belongs to the car wash and is private property. Commissioner Corwell asked if any of the equipment would be visible from the highway. Nothing will be stored higher than the fence; the vehicles may be slightly taller than the fence. Commissioner Carradus asked what the width of the buffer area would be. It is a 12-foot-wide buffer. Commissioner Corwell asked what the timeline for completion would be. The petitioner stated it would be approximately a 4-month process. Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt stated that once the subdivision has been approved and completed, the special use will then be heard by the plan commission. Commissioner Harris made a motion to recommend approval of the petition for the Plat to the City Council, provided the following outlined conditions are met: 1. Provide a Building, Site, and Operation Plan for development of the parking lot on the site in compliance with Section 102-924. 2. Landscaping and buffer plan as required per Section 102-227 Off Street Parking Standards and Section 102-520 Landscape and buffer regulations. 3. Simultaneously apply for a Special Use for outdoor storage of equipment and materials on the site. 4. Revise Plat to show building setback lines that conform to the CB District—10-foot front, 20- foot, and 5-foot side setbacks. 5. Revise the Plat to illustrate any cross-access easements on the site, if applicable, or provide an agreement with the adjacent property owner. 6. Subject to all technical corrections as required by Whiteside County. Seconded by Commissioner Carradus. Voting: Ayes – Carol Corwell, Gordon Harris, Jamie Schwingle, Brian Carradus. Nays – None. Business Items There were no business items. Discussion Superintendent of Building and Zoning, Amanda Schmidt, stated that she has asked City Planner Wolff to look into policies for data centers and battery storage. Wolff advised that there are currently no codes that address data centers. Some concerns come with data centers, such as noise. Wolff advised that data centers should probably require special use. Page 3 of 17 Plan Commission Meeting Minutes March 26, 2026 Page 3 Schmidt advised that she and the staff have been discussing some changes to the zoning code. These changes would be cleaning up language and clarifying some requirements for fencing. There may be some minor adjustments forthcoming. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 7:13 pm. Teri Sathoff City Clerk Page 4 of 17 Page 5 of 17 Page 6 of 17 Page 7 of 17 Page 8 of 17 memorandum To: Sterling Plan Commission Amanda Schmidt, Building & Zoning Superintendent From: Dustin Wolff, AICP, City Planner Cc: Scott Shumard, City Manager Tim Zollinger, City Attorney Date: May 14, 2026 RE: Old Swartley’s Greenhouse REQUESTED ACTION: Subdivide Parcel/Lot Combination via subdivision. LOCATION: PINs 11-22-211-004, 11-22-211-005, and 11-22-211-006 along 17th Avenue/E 5th Street BACKGROUND: The petitioner has submitted a Plat to subdivide 0.55 acres from the southwest part of parcel PIN 11-22-211-004 (former Swartley’s Greenhouse) and combine it with PINs 11-22-211-005 and 11-22-211- 006. The application states that the adjacent residential neighbor to the south is interested in purchasing the parcel to add to their yard. A rezoning application has been submitted for this parcel to remove the Special Use from the property to be subdivided. Figure 1: Proposed Plat will create a 0.55-acre parcel outlined in RED taken from the lands outlined in YELLOW. Note: the single-family residence on parcel 11-22-221-006 has been removed. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Land Divisions\1706 E 5th St - Old Swartley's Greenhouse\M-Land Division_Old Swartleys Greenhouse_1706 E 5th St_2026 05 14.docx 1 Page 9 of 17 ANALYSIS: Zoning & Land Use on Surrounding Properties: The existing lands are zoned SR-8 with Special Use and SR-8. The application misidentified the zoning of these parcels as TR-6 with Special Use. See Figure 2. The Special Use designation was implemented to allow the operation of a commercial greenhouse on the property. While the greenhouse is no longer operational, the Special Use designation remains on the property. The removal of the Special Use on these lands as proposed is specifically a City Council action. No Figure 2: Subdivision area with current zoning districts illustrated. The yellow district is SR-8. The white hatching recommendation from the Plan Commission is denotes Special Use. required. This action will be handled concurrently with the land division when it is in front of the Council. The Comprehensive Strategic Plan illustrates the future land use of this area for Single- Family Residential. See Figure 3. Future development in this area is not planned for commercial uses. As such, Staff questions the need for the remainder of the lands to retain the Special Use for a greenhouse as the operations ceased many years ago. Unless the property owner intends to Figure 3: Clip of future land use map. The subject parcel (ORANGE) and those surrounding it are planned for single- imminently redevelop the lands as a commercial family residential. greenhouse, Staff suggests that the Special Use designation be remove as it is no longer needed. Direction Land Use Zoning On-Site Residential/Vacant SR-8, Single-Family Residential with Special Use North Commercial SR-8, Single-Family Residential with Special Use South Residential SR-8, Single-Family Residential East Residential SR-8, Single-Family Residential West Residential SR-8, Single-Family Residential Use The existing lots are currently vacant. The parent parcel was previously utilized as a greenhouse; the main retail building associated with this business remains on site—though they are not operational—and X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Land Divisions\1706 E 5th St - Old Swartley's Greenhouse\M-Land Division_Old Swartleys Greenhouse_1706 E 5th St_2026 05 14.docx 2 Page 10 of 17 all other related structures have been removed. On the proposed parcel, a two-stall garage exists, which appears to be a remnant of the former single-family residence that once occupied the parcel. While the residence has been removed, the garage remains, as indicated on the plat. Lot Width & Area Requirements The application misidentified the existing zoning as TR-6 with Special Use. The existing zoning is actually SR-8 with Special Use. If the intention is to only remove the Special Use, the lot width and area requirements for the SR-8 district are as follows—lot width of 5,000 SF and width of 50-feet. The proposed plat meets these requirements. Figure 4: Staff markup of plat showing the combination of the proposed parcel with the Raudonis property in RED. The proposed plat seeks to establish a flag-shaped or otherwise substandard lot. City Staff does not support this proposal. Irregularly shaped and substandard lots often lead to disputes with adjacent properties, as property boundaries become more difficult for neighbors to discern. This policy is intended to minimize potential property conflicts and to ensure orderly development within the City. To eliminate the need for a flag-shaped lot, this plat should be revised to include the residential property (1702 E 5th Street) that is intending to purchase these lands. This would create a regularly shaped, rectangular property. See Figure 4. Without doing this, there is no certainty that it will be combined. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Land Divisions\1706 E 5th St - Old Swartley's Greenhouse\M-Land Division_Old Swartleys Greenhouse_1706 E 5th St_2026 05 14.docx 3 Page 11 of 17 Proposed Purchase of Property According to the applicant, the adjacent residential property at the corner (1702 E 5th Street) is interested in purchasing this land to extend their yard. However, it is unclear as to if the residential property will be buying the entire proposed parcel, or just a portion of it. This needs to be made clear before approval. Site Access The proposed parcel will have access from both 17th Avenue and E. 6th Street. While technically also adjacent to E. 5th Street, no access will be allowed due to the limited frontage. Existing Structure As mentioned before, a two-stall garage exists on the proposed parcel. Section 102-210 A (1) of the City Code states: No accessory building or structure shall be constructed on any lot prior to the start of construction of the principal building to which it is accessory. Essentially, you cannot have an accessory building on a lot without a primary building. The plat as proposed would create a nonconformity. To rectify this, the existing garage would need to be removed or the plat extended to include the residential property to the south. Extending the plat would give the property a primary structure and be conforming. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Plan Commission recommend approval of the petition for the Plat to the City Council provided the outlined following conditions are met: 1. Support removal of the Special Use for the lands that are part of the plat. 2. Clearly define the lands that are to be purchased by the adjacent residential parcel. 3. Revise the plat to include the residential parcel (1702 E 5th Street / 11-22-211-002) to create a standard shaped lot. 4. Subject to all technical corrections as required by Whiteside County. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Land Divisions\1706 E 5th St - Old Swartley's Greenhouse\M-Land Division_Old Swartleys Greenhouse_1706 E 5th St_2026 05 14.docx 4 Page 12 of 17 Figure 5: Proposed Plat as submitted. X:\1953300\113830.01\TECH\rpts\Project\Land Divisions\1706 E 5th St - Old Swartley's Greenhouse\M-Land Division_Old Swartleys Greenhouse_1706 E 5th St_2026 05 14.docx 5 Page 13 of 17 Page 14 of 17 Page 15 of 17 Page 16 of 17 Page 17 of 17