MORRISON – Whiteside County wants to see a plan to move vehicles at Spalding's Used Cars & Parts off the salvage yard by the end of this month, and wants the move completed by the end of March.
That's according to Stuart Richter, the county's planning and zoning administrator, who said Wednesday that he recently sent a letter to owners Troy and Tina Ashpole outlining the expectations.
The Lyndon salvage yard does not need to move its 18 acres of vehicles from its site at the northwest corner of Interstate 88 and state Route 78 by Dec. 24, as was erroneously reported in this newspaper on Dec. 6.
"We would like to have it resolved by the end of March," Richter said, adding that he did not know if the Ashpoles planned to seek a business permit that would allow them to keep their office on-site.
The Ashpoles could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The couple has been caught in the middle of a 4-year legal battle between the county board, which ruled in 2006 that the scrap yard could move to the site from Rock Falls, and 13 neighbors who successfully sued to have that decision overturned.
On Nov. 19, the Illinois Third Appellate Court ruled that the board overstepped its zoning authority when it ignored the recommendation of the county Planning and Zoning Commission and agreed to rezone the land from agricultural to heavy industrial zoning.
The court called the board's decision arbitrary and unreasonable.
The ruling upheld one made last year by 14th Circuit Court Judge Richard Zimmer who cited inconsistencies with the county's own mission of preserving prime farmland unless a greater public benefit can be identified.
In ordering the land returned to farmland, the appellate court said the county failed to prove how a salvage yard at that interchange would benefit the public, cited concerns that runoff from fluids and fuel might drain into the nearby Rock River, and noted that such instances of "spot zoning" are "manifestly disfavored by Illinois courts."
"Those in power may not zone for the benefit of a few individuals," Judge William Holdridge wrote in the majority opinion. "The power to rezone must be exercised for the benefit of the public's health, safety or welfare."
About Spalding’s
Spalding's Used Cars & Parts is at 9721 Crosby Road, at the northwest corner of Interstate 88 and state Route 78, in Lyndon.
In addition to providing used parts, Spalding's also does service and repair work.
Call 815-778-7171 for more information.