Sycamore Planning Commission OKs UHaul rentals for County Liquors, City Council vote next

SYCAMORE – County Liquors manager Lisa Jensen said she was only trying to expand hours for the UHaul part of the store’s business so people could rent a truck or trailer earlier in the morning. To make sure there wouldn’t be an issue with having people walk into the store earlier but still not selling alcohol, she went to Mayor Curt Lang as the liquor commissioner and asked if that would be OK for the business to do so.

After more research, Jensen said, city officials and store staff learned County Liquors wasn’t zoned properly to have the UHaul business to begin with. She said the liquor store has not been in compliance unintentionally for as long as the business has offered those additional services.

“We’ve been doing it for four and a half years,” Jensen said.

To ensure compliance, the city’s Planning Commission officially recommended approval during its meeting Monday night to allow County Liquors to have a special use permit for the UHaul business.

Commissioners voted, 9-0, in favor of granting the permit with a few conditions, including storing vehicles in a way that it doesn’t affect visibility for neighboring businesses. The proposal now goes to the City Council for approval.

City Manager Brian Gregory said the property previously was allowed to be annexed to the city with the property’s current conditions, including vehicle storage. He said city staff members have met with the business owners to make sure they go through the correct process in order to comply with city zoning regulations.

Gregory said the city also wants to help businesses as much as it can and that County Liquors didn’t do anything with the intent to not follow code.

Gregory said something like this happening in the city is not common, but it has happened before. The store won’t face any penalties for not being in compliance, he said, but the goal is to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again and that businesses comply with zoning right off the bat.

“This is, essentially, a reconciliation of that,” Gregory said.

Louis Schoenburg, property owner of County Liquors, said the store offers the only UHaul rental business in Sycamore. He said offering those truck and trailer rentals to residents has saved the business and that it’s important for the liquor store to keep offering those services.

“We’re very happy that the Planning Commission has understood that it’s a positive thing for the city,” Schoenburg said.

The City Council’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday at the Sycamore Center, 308 W. State St.