Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee Plan Commission met Jan. 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

RE: Report from Plan Commission for January 22, 2025 Meeting.

The Plan Commission convened on January 22, 2025 in City Council Chambers, at 401 E Third Street, commission members Hemphill, Costenson and Hodge absent. For business, there was one case to be heard.

Case Number 1:

Request for a Special Us Permit to operate a Sheltered Care Facility at the subject property.

Parcel 20-33-376-016, 716 Elliott St. & 20-33-376-015 706 Elliott St.

Property Owner: Freedom House, Inc., 440 Elm Place, Princeton, IL. 61356-1419.

Address: 716 Elliott St.

Legal Description: LOT 3, 5 & 6 CLEAR & GAMBLE SUB LT 27 ELLIOTTS ADD, CITY OF KEWANEE, Henry County, Illinois.

Address: 706 Elliott St.

Legal Description: LOT 4 CLEAR & GAMBLE SUB OF LT 27 ELLIOTTS ADD, CITY OF KEWANEE, Henry County, Illinois.

Location: On the East side of the 700 Block of Elliott St.

Dimensions: Combined property is 269.56 feet from East to West and 188 feet from North to South.

Area: 50677.28 Square feet.

Existing buildings or uses: Empty medical professional services facility.

Current Zoning District: R-4 Two-Family Dwelling District.

Surrounding Zoning: R-4 Two-Family Dwelling District.

Existing Land Use: Commercial.

Proposed Land Use Map: Institutional.

Background Information:

The building was once used for medical professional offices and held a lawful nonconforming status. However, it lost this status after being vacant for one year. Under the current R-4 Two-Family Dwelling District zoning, using the building as a sheltered care facility requires obtaining a special use permit.

Freedom House has recently acquired the property that has been vacant for several years. They plan to renovate the building, bring it up to current codes, and redesign it as a sheltered facility for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, along with their dependents. For further details, please refer to the provided written narrative.

The city has no objections to the request and believes this will be a good use of the building and provide a needed service to the City of Kewanee and surrounding area.

The Public hearing:

At 5:30 p.m. on January 22, 2025 the hearing for the requested Special Use Permit began. Present to support the petition were:

Diana Whitney, Freedom House Board President

Scott Shore, Attorney for Freedom House

Michael Zerneck, Freedom House Chief Executive Officer

Chloe Lund, Chief Operating Officer

Sellers asked for a motion to consider the application.

Kuffel made a motion to consider the application. Hasse 2nd the motion. Edwards read the background information.

Zerneck - Came forward to speak in favor of the request. Zerneck gave the commission a handout with a letter of support from the Kewanee Chief of Police (included with this report). The handout also showed data for 2024 (included with this report marked "2024 Data"). Zerneck pointed out that the Shelter Nights utilized by Kewanee area residents was very low when compared to the other services provided. Zerneck said that their shelter saves lives and introduced Chloe Lund.

Lund gave a presentation (please see the attached copy of Lund's presentation marked "Lund Presentation".)

Sellers asked if there were any questions from the Commission. None at this time. Sellers asked if there were any questions from the audience.

Amanda Uitermarkt came forward with several questions.

o Uitermarkt - Said her backyard is adjacent to the South side of the subject property. Uitermarkt said that Kewanee definitely needs something like this but asked what safeguards will be in place to protect the community and children on neighboring properties?

o Zerneck - Stated they have had a shelter in Princeton for 43 years and have never had a violent event. Added that if a threat is received, the police are called but the offender never shows up.

o Uitermarkt - Asked Chief Kijanowski if there are any changes being made in the police department with concern to the proposed shelter.

o Kijanowski - Said they would treat it like they do for schools and other situations that may require extra patrol. Added that KPD has quick response times for the town and would have conversations with Freedom House as things progress to discuss needs, he does not foresee any concerns. Uitermarkt - Asked about parking.

o Zerneck - Stated they will reduce the size of the parking lot to 12-15 spaces, repave it and add landscaping. Parking will be mostly for workers as their clients do not typically have cars. They plan to hire 12-15 people to man the facility.

Uitermarkt - Asked if there are normally staff on site overnight.

Lund - Stated that the shelter will be a 24/7/365 facility and will have at least 2 staff members on site at all times.

o Whitney - Added that Freedom House already has a presence in Kewanee in the strip mall by Subway. They see clients there for counseling and have not had any problems at that location.

o Uitermarkt - Asked how long clients normally stay.

o Zerneck - Generally 30 days. Maximum is 90 days.

Uitermarkt - Asked if the service limits clients to coming back once a year.

o Zerneck - Stated that it takes a person in an abusive relationship, on average, to come back about 7 times. It is a really complicated issue,

Lund - Added that they offer a wide range of resources to help their clients.

Uitermarkt - Said she thinks it is great and is not concerned about the clients. She is worried about the people that the clients are trying to get away from.

o Zerneck - Said they do not want to get bigger just to get bigger. Studies have shown that the presence of a shelter in a community reduces violence and death.

o Kijanowski - Added that the shelter helps to break the cycle of violence. Sellers - Asked for a description of the security that will be in place.

o Zerneck-There will be cameras all around the exterior of the building and the interior of the building, except for private areas. The facility is locked 24/7. You come in one door but must provide identification and asked questions before being buzzed in to gain entry to the rest of the interior. The staff is trained in how to screen individuals wanting entry to the interior. There will be no fencing as that does not work in their operation.

Kuffel - Asked in the event there is a situation where an offender appears and the police are called, are charges filed or do they get arrested, etc.

o Zerneck-That is left up to the police to decide what happens. Uitermarkt - Asked if there are problems with the clients texting or calling the offender from the inside? Are there any repercussions for the clients if this happens?

o Zerneck - When a client comes in for help, staff asks if they have a cell phone and if they do, it is recommended they turn it off and do not use it. One of the first things they do is help the client obtain an order of protection. With that OP the offender is not allowed to text or call their victims. If it happens, it is a violation of the OP, and the police are called.

o Kijanowski - Added that a text helps the police with enforcing the OP and it becomes an immediate arrest at that point.

Uitermarkt - Asked about the children that might be staying at the shelter and if they are allowed to go to school or are they expected to stay inside the whole time they are there?

Zerneck - That is one reason why the shelter in Kewanee is so important. So the children can continue to go to the same school and see their friends and same teachers.

o Uitermarkt - Asked what the timeline for the shelter to be open.

o Zerneck-Spring or Summer of 2026.

Johnson - Said right now, if there is a victim in Kewanee, they don't really have any place to go if they don't have transportation available. Johnson said this will give them a place to walk to and will be a great addition to the community.

Shore - Stated that having a shelter in the community helps the victims figure things out especially after an OP is in place and breaks that cycle of violence.

Recommendation:

The Plan Commission recommends, by a vote of five in favor, none opposed, 3 absent, to approve the Request for a Special Use Permit to allow a Sheltered Care Facility at the subject property.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 6:08 p.m.

https://cms5.revize.com/revize/kewaneeillinois/Plan%20Commission%20Minutes%20January%2022%202025.pdf