McHenry Times

The Lake in the Hills Planning and Zoning Commission will consider proposed amendments to the village’s zoning code at its next meeting, a public hearing on the amendments, at 7:30 p.m. today at Village Hall, 600 Harvest Gate.

The request comes from the village government and would change the permitted and conditional uses chart, rules on conditional uses and definitions.

Included with the agenda packet is a copy of portions of section three and 11 of the zoning ordinance with the proposed amendments. Included within this are definitions added for banquet facilities; body-piercing establishments; stores that sell specialty tobacco, cigars and cigarettes; rental centers; commercial trade schools and training centers; and tattoo parlors, as well as an update to the definition of self-storage facilities. ‘

Items recommended for removal from the definitions section include rooming house, school, private business and vocational, and different classes of restaurants.

These amendments are tied to continued discussions relating to adding limitations to establishments that do not generate sales tax within the village’s main commercial areas. A memo from Community Development Director Dan Olsen said that to pursue this, the village would need to add further restrictions on businesses that do not generate sales tax. This would be accomplished by not allowing permitted or conditional uses to be granted or changing permitted uses for certain business to conditional usage types.