ELMHURST – The Elmhurst City Council discussed a number of items during its Dec. 7 meeting, finalizing the approval of a sales tax hike and a cell tower in Mount Emblem Cemetery and granting a contract for a stormwater mitigation project.
City Council approves cell tower conditional use permit ordinance
After approving a report Nov. 16 granting a conditional use permit to build a cell tower in Mount Emblem Cemetery in a 9-2 vote, the Elmhurst City Council upheld the ordinance at the Dec. 7 regular meeting.
The vote for the approval of the ordinance was 9-3, with Third Ward Alderman Dannee Polomsky joining Third Ward Alderman Michael Bram and First Ward Alderman Marti Deuter in voting against granting the permit.
Mount Emblem Cemetery, the site where the monopine cell tower is to be erected, is located in Bram's Third Ward.
"I think if we are going to do a cell tower, this is the way to do it, disguised as a monopine and incorporating best management practices," Polomsky said. "But with additional input from neighbors and another thorough look at the application and our code, I do not support the project. I'm not convinced that a cell tower is clearly compatible with a conservation recreation area in our code, so I will not be supporting it. "
Bram believes the request to build a cell tower in the cemetery doesn't meet criteria for a conditional use permit. He argued that since the land is in a conservation and recreation district, building a cell tower goes against the principle of zoning districts that are meant to preserve and protect land uses.
He also emphasized that the city is only looking at the effect of the cell tower to the cemetery and not the negative consequences it may cause the neighboring residents.
Fifth Ward Alderman Scott Levin responded, stating that the Development, Planning and Zoning Committee and the Zoning and Planning Commission thoroughly reviewed the case and were certain that the cell tower would cause no harm to Elmhurst residents and would in fact reduce the flooding liability in the immediate area.
"The appearance of the monopole as a pine tree is probably the best they can do, and I would say I wouldn't want one in my backyard either," Levin said. "But we looked at it as a committee in terms of what is appropriate for that particular location, and if you go to the location, you will see that immediately to the south are the Commonwealth Edison towers, not the small ones but the large ones. ... So it's not going to be out of place."
Home rule sales tax increase takes effect July 2016
The Elmhurst City Council also approved an ordinance that increases the sales tax in the city by 0.25 percent.
Council members previously approved a report Nov. 16 to increase to the home rule sales tax from the current rate of 0.75 to 1 percent in a 10-1 vote.
A home rule sales tax can be adopted by municipalities and counties in Illinois, and it is imposed on retailers selling general merchandise.
Alderman Bram once again was the only council member to vote against raising the sales tax. He urged his colleagues to reconsider increasing the tax.
"I think by increasing a quarter percent sales tax, especially because it is limited to a certain segment of businesses, I think we are cutting off our nose to spite our face," Bram said.
This sales tax does not impact car sales, which Bram said was the major revenue source for the city.
"I think that not having that additional quarter percent would be more reason for businesses to move here and more reason for businesses that are currently here to thrive here," Bram said. "To put the additional quarter percent burden on the businesses, I think, is counterproductive."
The ordinance was approved in a 11-1 vote. The sales tax increase will be implemented July 1, a month after the DuPage Water Commission sales tax of a quarter of a percent expires.
Stormwater improvement project bid accepted
The council unanimously approved a report to accept a bid from Bolder Contractors for the Walnut, Myrtle and Evergreen stormwater improvement project.
Bolder submitted a bid for $4,676,936, the lowest out of 11 received.
The project will provide overland flooding relief to about 76 homes in the area from the Union Pacific railroad tracks north to North Avenue and the Elmhurst quarry east to York Street by sending up to 20 acre feet of flood waters to the DuPage County's Elmhurst Quarry Flood Control Facility.
The project involves the installation of 0.76 miles of storm sewers, drainage structures, water main and sanitary sewer relocations, roadway reconstruction and traffic control.
Bolder is currently working on the city's Webster Avenue stormwater improvement project; they have also worked for other municipalities in the past and completed similar work in a satisfactory manner, according to Elmhurst officials
Engineers had previously provided the city a cost estimate of $4,425,570 for this work.