Pair of special use permits approved
By Randy Pierce
Special use permits concerning property at two different locations in unincorporated Collinsville have been approved by the county boards of Madison and St. Clair.
The sites subject to the special use permits are located in that area just to the west of the City of Collinsville that is known as State Park Place near where the boundary line dividing Madison and St. Clair counties lies.
At its most recent meeting, the St. Clair County Board approval authorized the sale of liquor and alcoholic beverages at 8412 Collinsville Road west of Black Lane along the strip of businesses near Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.
The applicants for the permit were Miguel Guzman and Rufino Jacinto while the property is owned by Ferman Villasenor.
At a hearing conducted by the St. Clair County Zoning Board of Appeals, Guzman shared that he and Jacinto wish to operate a video gaming parlor at 8412 Collinsville Road in an existing stand-alone building previously used for another business that has since vacated it.
There will also be a separate bar area at this location with 37 seats for customers plus another six for video gaming. A food truck will be parked on the parking lot of the premises for those who wish to patronize it.
St. Clair County Board member Robert Allen Jr. had contacted the zoning administrator concerning this matter and offered no objection to the issuance of the permit.
Concerning this request, both the zoning board of appeals recommendation for approval and the St. Clair County Board’s support of it were unanimous.
Not far south from there at 3206 Arlington Avenue, which is also located in Nameoki Township in the unincorporated State Park Place area of Collinsville, the Madison County Board has authorized a special use permit for the placement and occupancy of a single-wide mobile home, a continuance of a trend that has been ongoing for several years in this neighborhood.
Sonia Reveles and her family, who relocated to this area from California, acquired this property and the mobile home in 2020 and were unaware that a special use permit was necessary for them to occupy it.
The narrative provided to the Madison County Board from its zoning board of appeals, along with including a unanimous recommendation for approval of the Reveles request, noted there have been over 300 such cases during the past 15 years involving the placement of new mobile homes or continued occupancy of existing ones.
The Reveles permit has been granted for the specific use of the current occupants of those structures for a period of up to five years but may be extended beyond that point if there is no change in occupancy while also requiring that there be no nuisance situations or other violations occurring there.
In keeping with zoning board operating policies, neighbors around each of the properties referenced herein were notified of the special use permit hearings and there was confirmation that no pending violation citations existed.
In taking into account such requests, the zoning boards of both counties consider factors such as the impact on traffic, streets, adjacent properties, public utilities and schools, along with numerous other conditions including the character of the neighborhood where the sites are located.
