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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: The Mayor's Office
Zoning and Planning Division
The Law Department
DATE: August 20, 2021
SUBJECT:
The special use for the former Northern Illinois Academy to operate an autistic and special needs mental health facility.
PURPOSE:
To rescind the special use previously authorized for a mental health facility located at 998 Corporate Boulevard by Ordinance O11-075 and intensified by Ordinance O16-048.
BACKGROUND:
In 2011, Corporate Technical Center, LLC, ("Corporate") the original Petitioner, entered a 10-year lease with Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC ("Sequel") to operate an autistic and special needs mental health facility for children as part of its national network. The facility, which would be designated "Northern Illinois Academy" or "NIA" would be located at Corporate's property located at 998 Corporate Boulevard. Corporate and Sequel subsequently approached the City for a revision to the property's plan description to allow for the possibility of this use on the property as a special use. At the same time, Corporate petitioned the City for a special use to allow Sequel to operate NIA on the property in anticipation of the City approving the plan description revision.
On December 20, 2011, the City Council approved the proposed plan description revision and adopted an ordinance granting the special use for NIA. In authorizing the special use for NIA via Ordinance O11-075, the City Council expressly limited the activities on the Subject Property to those outlined on the qualifying statement.
In 2016, the City Council approved a revision to the special use on July 26, 2016, by Ordinance O16-048 to expand NIA. O16-048 authorized an intensification of the previous special use but preserved all the previous conditions imposed by O11-075 and utilized the same qualifying statement.
Due in part to the property's location in an area generally zoned for light commercial uses, and the nature of its residents' special needs, the qualifying statement required NIA to ensure that its residents would not leave its premises without supervision. It also required NIA to maintain staffing levels of at least 150 persons.
Beginning in 2019, the Police Department responded to several incidents of "elopement" where minors residing at NIA left the premises without supervision. In a few of these incidents, the minors were located without clothing or in other states of distress. In addition, though unrelated to a particular land use concern, there were a number of other serious incidents at NIA that directly contributed to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services announced that they were ending their relationship with NIA in May 2021. These incidents were documented in a May 4, 2021, report issued by the abuse investigation unit of Equip for Equality, an advocacy group for those with disabilities in Illinois. This report was commissioned by the State and appears to have been a significant factor in the decision of these agencies.
On June 2, 2021, Sequel notified the City of NIA's imminent and permanent closure and termination of 148 employees in accordance with the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Since receiving that notice, City staff has confirmed that NIA is no longer operating and that Sequel's website does not list the facility among the dozens that it operates across the country.
DISCUSSION:
In general, when the City Council approves a special use, the special use remains authorized until the use is discontinued or unless the conditions the City Council attached to the use have been violated.
In this instance, the City has documented that, despite the provisions of the qualifying statement to the contrary, residents of the NIA on multiple occasions left the facility while unsupervised. Moreover, the WARN Act notice provided by Sequel reflects its intention to permanently close NIA and terminate a staff of 148 persons. At the time the letter issued, the Sequel's staffing level was below the required 150 persons set forth in the qualifying statement. The closure of NIA itself constitutes a termination of the use, and by implication, the employment of fewer than 150 persons.
For the foregoing reasons, the City Council may determine that the conditions of the special use have been violated warranting its recission and that with the closing of the NIA, the special use has terminated by operation of its own enabling ordinances.
IMPACT STATEMENT :
The recission or termination "resets" the subject property to its underlying zoning, which is a planned development district subject to a plan description that enumerates a series of uses that are permitted by right or through the special use (now conditional use) process. To that end, the owner of the subject property or a tenant thereof can petition the City to again authorize an autistic and special needs mental health facility at the site in accordance with the present conditional use process. Approval of this ordinance is without prejudice to the owner or its subsequent tenants to use the property as authorized by its plan description or as may be subsequently permitted by conditional use.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council approve this ordinance.
ATTACHMENTS:
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
ORDINANCE NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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An Ordinance rescinding the special use for the real property located at 998 Corporate Blvd. authorized by Ordinances O11-075 and O16-048.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 49 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Aurora, Illinois ("Zoning Ordinance") and the map attached thereto, divides the City into various zoning districts; and
WHEREAS, the real property located 998 Corporate Blvd. ("Subject Property") in the City is located within a planned development district and is subject to a plan description which enumerates the uses authorized within said district; and
WHEREAS, the plan description for the Subject Property, as amended, authorizes "Autistic and Special Needs Mental Health Facilities" as a special use thereon; and
WHEREAS, on or about December 20, 2011, the City Council approved Ordinance O11-075 authorizing a special use for a mental health facility use, limited to the services of children with autistic and special needs, and subject to the conditions set forth in a qualifying statement ("Qualifying Statement"). A copy of said Qualifying Statement is attached to and made part of this Ordinance as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, O11-075 expressly conditioned the City's authorization of the special use on compliance with the provisions of the Qualifying Statement and further provided that a failure to comply with the conditions of the special use rendered the authorization null and void; and
WHEREAS, on or about July 26, 2016, the City Council approved Ordinance O16-048 authorizing an intensification of the special use it previously authorized in Ordinance O11-075, but retaining all other terms and conditions set forth in the earlier Ordinance, including, but not limited to, the provisions of the Qualifying Statement; and
WHEREAS, the Qualifying Statement, among other things, specifically provided that the facility would primarily serve children with autism, that children housed at the mental health facility would not be permitted to leave the facility without supervision, and that the facility would employ more than 150 staff members; and
WHEREAS, between 2019 and 2021, and notwithstanding the provisions of the qualifying statement to the contrary, numerous residents of the mental health facility located on the Subject Property left the facility without the supervision of facility staff. Affidavits attesting to these incidents are attached to and collectively made a part of this Ordinance as Exhibit B, as if they were fully set forth herein; and
WHEREAS, on or about May 14, 2021, the Illinois Departments of Children and Family Services; Healthcare and Family Services; and Human Services; and the Illinois State Board of Education, collectively announced that they were terminating the State's relationship with the mental health facility located on the Subject Property. A copy of said announcement, and an investigatory report supporting such announcement, is attached to and made a part of this Ordinance as Exhibit C; and
WHEREAS, on or about June 2, 2021, the City received written notice from Sequel Youth & Family Services, Inc., ("Sequel") the operator of the mental health facility on the Subject Property, of the facility's imminent and permanent closure and termination of 148 employees in accordance with the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. A true and correct copy of said notice is attached to and made a part of this Ordinance as Exhibit D as if fully set forth herein; and
WHEREAS, on information and belief, the use of the Subject Property as a mental health facility terminated consistent with the notice transmitted to the City. A printout of the active treatment locations operated by Sequel as retrieved from www.sequelyouthservices.com on August 20, 2021, (which does not list the former NIA site) is attached to and made part of this Ordinance as Exhibit E as if fully set forth herein; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that, contrary to the express language of the Qualifying Statement, children were on multiple occasions permitted to leave the mental health facility located upon the Subject Property unsupervised; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that, contrary to the express language of the Qualifying Statement, fewer than 150 persons are presently employed by the mental health facility located upon the Subject Property; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the Subject Property is not presently in use as a mental health facility; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the owner of the Subject Property was notified of the City's intention to commence proceedings to rescind the special use via personal service and by electronic mail;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows that the City Council finds as true and correct the statement set forth in the recitals above; and further
BE IT ORDAINED, that the special use authorized by Ordinances O11-075 and O16-048 for a mental health facility upon the Subject Property shall be and hereby is declared terminated by operation of Section Seven of O11-075 and Section Ten of Ordinance O16-048 upon the closing of the mental health facility and termination of its use; and further
BE IT ORDAINED, the special use authorized by Ordinances O11-075 and O16-048 for a mental health facility upon the Subject Property shall be and hereby is declared null and void in accordance with Section Eight of Ordinance O11-075; and further
BE IT ORDAINED, that upon passage of this Ordinance, the Subject Property may be used for the purposes authorized by its plan description; and further
BE IT ORDAINED, nothing in this Ordinance shall preclude the owner of the Subject Property or any entity with the consent of the owner, from petitioning the City Council for a special (conditional) use authorized by the plan description, including an autistic and special needs mental health facilities, in accordance with the Code of Ordinances.