Beardstown council rejects zoning change on accessory uses and structures, 5-3

A proposal to amend Beardstown’s zoning ordinance to better define accessory uses and structures failed in a split vote at the City Council’s May 21 meeting.

Ron Culves moved, and Chris Baer seconded, to adopt an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance’s accessory uses and structures provisions. The motion failed by roll call vote 5-3. According to the minutes, the yes votes were Chris Baer, Ron Culves and Dawn Seward; votes against the measure were Lisa Buhlig, Mary Davis, Eric Harbin, Keith Schramm and Mayor Tim Harris. Alderperson Shawn Taylor was absent.

The minutes also record an earlier motion by Dawn Seward, seconded by Chris Baer, to table the same ordinance; the document contains inconsistent wording about that table motion. The council’s recorded outcome on final adoption, however, was the 5-3 failure noted above. After returning from executive session, councilmembers discussed a path forward and Culves scheduled a committee meeting to take up the proposed zoning changes on Tuesday, May 28 at 6:00 p.m.

Council members who opposed the ordinance did not have direct quotes recorded in the minutes; the formal roll call in the minutes supplies the vote breakdown and names. The failure means the ordinance will not be adopted as written and will return to committee for further discussion. The committee meeting is the next procedural step listed in the minutes.

The minutes do not specify the exact textual changes proposed to the zoning code or any staff reports appended to the ordinance; those details were not recorded in the public minutes for May 21 and were marked "not specified."