Rock Island Today

City of Moline Plan Commission met Sept. 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Present: Sam Moyer, Craig Loken, Mark Harpole, Alan Silas, Butch Trevor, Cindy Wermuth Absent: Nathan Tillberg, Brett Carter

Staff: Chris Mathias, Seán Foley, Jennifer Bizarri, Savanna Cruz, Irene Muñoz, Bill Atkins, Roger Strandlund (Corporation Counsel, Virtual)

Others: None

1. Call to Order

Chair Moyer called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.

2. Roll Call

3. Remote Electronic Attendance

No Remote Electronic Attendance by Plan Commissioners.

4. Approval of Minutes from August 27, 2025

Motion made by Commissioner Silas, seconded by Commissioner Trevor to approve the August 27, 2025 Plan Commission minutes. Motion carried unanimously.

5. Public Comment - None

6. Public Hearing - None

7. Old Business – None

8. New Business

Strategic Housing Discussion

Chair Moyer started the conversation with asking how much of the Strategic Housing discussion should be reserved for the Comprehensive Plan discussions over the next year, and what should the Plan Commission be focusing on with today’s discussion. Mr. Mathias stated the Mayor and City Council have identified housing as a primary focus for the Community & Economic Development (CED) Department, and there are a lot of housing tasks and ideas that are on the CED Department’s workplan. The discussion today will go on to multiple Plan Commission meetings because there will be a lot to talk about. Mr. Mathias announced City Council approved the contract for the consultants for the Comprehensive Plan. The name of the consultant’s company is Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC). The City of Moline will need the Comprehensive Plan done by November 2026. Knowing that City Council wants to see an increase in housing units as soon as possible, Staff would like to get feedback on the following topics/action items and sort any into short term easy wins and longer term goals that must wait to be a part of the Comprehensive Planning process: Tiny Homes, Tiny Home Villages, Residential in Commercial Districts, duplex/two-unit Structures, Overlay Zones, and Infill Standards. Staff’s recommendation of Tiny Homes is to research the adoption of IRC -Appendix Q – Tiny Homes. This could be a short-term goal for Plan Commission. Tiny Home Villages would be considered as a long-term goal. The Comprehensive Plan can sort out if Tiny Home Villages is something the citizens of Moline want, and if a Planned Unit Development (PUD) rezoning is the best option, or if this use should be codified. Residential in commercial districts would be another long term goal, and consideration of the land use of older commercial districts would be processed through the Comprehensive Plan. Staff would like to see what LJC comes up with for areas like Uptown, Old Towne, East End, and Avenue of the Cities. Duplex/two-unit Structures could be a possible short-term goal. The Zoning Code could be tweaked to encourage more duplexes if the Plan Commission would like to do so. Right now, the Code does not allow duplexes because the City has emphasized single-family housing. Infill Standards in Section 35-3211 allow for different development types in the R-2 Residential District, primarily intended to develop infill lots that have been sitting vacant for decades. Although these infill lots are allowed, they do come with restrictions. Overlay zones should be a part of the Comprehensive Plan discussion to address higher density residential. The Commission and Staff discussed amending the building code for tiny homes, the foundation for tiny homes, a PUD option for tiny home villages, parking for multi-plex homes, and waiting to discuss some housing items until there are Comprehensive Planning discussions. Mr. Mathias shared a map of 6,000 square-foot areas in Moline that are currently vacant. These areas are found all over the City of Moline.

9. Reports and Communications

a. Director’s Report(s) - None

Mr. Mathias discussed the development of a possible Texas Roadhouse Restaurant between John Deere Road and 38th Avenue, and a potential bank to be developed at the corner of 53rd Street and 38th Avenue. He stated the Form-Based Code amendment and the Comprehensive Plan Agreement was passed at City Council. There will be some APA conferences coming up in October, and if any of the Commissioners are interested, they should sign up online.

b. Other Report(s), Announcements, & Upcoming Applications

10. Upcoming Meeting – Next Plan Commission Meeting is October 8, 2025

11. Public Comment

12. Adjournment

Motion made by Commissioner Wermuth, seconded by Commissioner Loken to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 5:01 p.m.

http://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/11307