2012-58 REZONING PROPERTY - 4000 BLOCK OF GUN CLUB ROAD AND 3000 BLOCK OF CHRISTMAS TREE ROAD

Home Browse Search

Excerpts from Plan Commission Minutes of July 5,2012: Cal.No. 12-20 Petition of ADM,to rezone property located in the 4000 BLOCK OF GUN CLUB ROAD and the 3000 BLOCK OF CHRISTMAS TREE ROAD from R-1 Single Family Residence District to M-2 Heavy Industrial District. Mrs. Joselyn Stewart was sworn in by Mrs. Poland. Mrs. Stewart presented the recommendation of staff: The subject site is approximately 270 acres and is located in the 4000 Block of Gun Club Road and the 3000 Block of Christmas Tree Road. The site was formerly known as Faries Park. The petitioner proposes to rezone from R-1 Single Family Residence District to M-2 Heavy Industrial District. ADM purchased the property to allow for the future expansion and development of industrial facilities and utility infrastructure associated with the agricultural process and biofuels production at the ADM Decatur, Illinois facility. The surrounding zoning includes R-1 Single Family Residence District and County to the north and south, R-1 Single Family Residence District and Lake Decatur to the east and M-2 Heavy Industrial District and County to the west. The Decatur Urban Area Land Use Plan shows this area as Open Space. The proposed use is compatible with adjacent uses to the west and northwest. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning. Section XXIX. of the City of Decatur Zoning Ordinance requires the Plan Commission to hold a public hearing on a rezoning request, and then forward its report and recommendation to the City Council for final approval. A motion to forward Calendar Number 12-20 to the City Council with a recommendation for approval is suggested. Mr. Rick Heavner introduced himself as the attorney representing ADM. Mr. Scott McDonald, representative, was sworn in by Mrs. Poland. Mr. McDonald is the project director for Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage project. This project is partnered with the Illinois Department of Energy. CO2 is captured from an ethanol plant and injected into a storage site which is underground several thousand feet. The project that is developing now will have a million tons of CO2 injected per year underneath the facility. That equates to about six hundred thousand cars off the roads over the life of the project. Mr. McDonald stated the development of a CO2 compression and transmission facility, electrical infrastructure within the plant and electrical infrastructure for the distribution, developing a storage and monitoring facility and finishing up an education center at Richland Community College are all parts of the project. The target for the project start up is the first quarter in 2013. The overall project budget is $205 million. The impact for the community is an estimated 900 jobs created, 400 will be local and eight (8) to ten (10) permanent jobs will be created. Approximately $30 million will flow down to the local merchants. Richland is developing education curriculum around their Science and Technology degrees which are connected to the project. The project will reduce greenhouse gases by 20%. This project is the first in North America at this scale. The project is important to the community and ADM. Mr. McDonald said a substation will be constructed in the northwest area of the Faries Park property. Transmission lines will connect the east substation to the Faries substation and the north substation. Existing transmission lines will also be rebuilt. Mr. Steve John asked if members of the audience would like to direct any questions to Mr.McDonald. Ms. Carol Haney is concerned that this will have an effect on their wells. Mr. McDonald said the construction of the substation and the electrical infrastructure will absolutely not have an effect on the neighboring wells. The storage project itself will not be injected on Faries Park property. The CO2 will be injected at 7,000 feet. There are three (3) CO formations above that level. A model was done in combination with the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Geological Survey, which goes out 100 years, and it does not even show the CO2