By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – The Normal Town Council will soon decide whether to take a big step toward relocating the town’s northeast side fire station to a residential area east of Veterans Parkway despite neighborhood opposition.
On Tuesday night’s agenda is a recommendation from staff to rezone from residential to public use 1.74 acres of the Blackstone Trails subdivision in the 1400 block of North Hershey Road, at the Shepard Road intersection.
The council in November authorized the city manager negotiate an agreement to buy the property from the subdivision’s developer at a cost not to exceed $450,000.
Developer iDEV, LLC in turn is making subdivision changes to attract buyers, and also to calm neighbors concerns by scaling back plans to build many more small houses, aiming for a variety in lot sizes instead.
Neighbors signed petitions claiming a higher density development and new fire station would increase traffic, make more noise, and reduce property values. However, town staffers found no evidence that fire stations diminish nearby home values.
The staff said residents living near fire stations have not complained about noise in the past, and Fire Chief Mick Humer said on night runs, the department tries to minimize use of lights and sirens.
“Town staff does not believe that the rezoning will generate a significant negative impact or hardship on nearby properties,” staffers said in a report to the council.
“Although no designs exist for the proposed future fire station, it would be expected that the aesthetics of the building, the property maintenance, and use of the facility would take into account nearby residences,” the report said.
Humer said a new station next to Blackstone Trails would handle about a quarter of all calls in Normal.
Town staffers noted public gain from a new northeast side fire station would be “quite high” because thousands of residences, a high school, large church, and a nursing home would be in its service area.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
