What Happened with True Grit at Vermilion – Devonshire? Two Different Takes

It was last November that the Danville City Council approved a zoning change that would allow for a True Grit Fitness to be built on the northwest corner of North Vermilion and Devonshire.  The owner of the True Grit Fitness along Georgetown Road in Tilton, Matt Stines, had specific plans for making the one in Danville different.  Unlike the one in Tilton, there would be no tanning, but instead it would be especially designed to help train baseball players, especially those involved in travel baseball; with batting cages and pitching lanes.  But residents who drive by right now will only notice a stalled structure.

Stines says the city is not allowing him to have a building permit because an Illinois EPA soil erosion permit is needed.  Stines says there was no indication beforehand that this would be necessary

AUDIO: I just feel like we needed a little more transparency on what they expected of us moving forward.  We did our part.  We got all the plans, certified the plans from the architect; and now they’re refusing to give us permits.

But Danville mayor Rickey Williams, Jr says Stines and developer Paul Offutt did know exactly what they needed, and that the need is obvious.

AUDIO: Whenever more than an acre of land is developed, there are certain state requirements as well as local requirements, that must be met before we can issue any kind of local building permits.  Unfortunately, they did not get the state permits that are required, and we cannot issue any kind of local permits until the state permits are released.

Stines says the city agreed at first that whole thing was actually less than an acre.  But later, they changed their mind.

AUDIO: When we had first talked, as long as we were under an acre, some specifications that they declared we would be fine, and we were.  And we went to go get the permits, and they said; “No, you’re going to have to have this ‘landing EPA permit’ because they moved dirt on the edge of the land.”  Well they knew exactly how big everything was going to be.  And they told me I wasn’t going to need that.  And now it’s a different story.

Mayor Williams says he loves the whole proposal.  But you have to make sure the water knows what to do.

AUDIO:  It’s a great project, but where’s the water going to go.  If we don’t know where it’s going to go, and they’ve created all this impervious pavement, and all this impervious building, you could water runoff that floods the state highway, floods the road going into the neighborhood, or floods the neighborhood itself.  Because it’s more than one acre in size, they have to get a land disturbance permit from the state.

Developer Paul Offutt says, he doesn’t understand what all the trouble is about, with all that’s on his resume.

AUDIO: I’ve barely had a speeding ticket all those years.  We’ve restored the Fischer Theater, with another well known philanthropist, years ago.  We built the soccer fields on Winter Park 15-plus years ago.  We’ve done almost all the new houses, all the restaurants from Walmart to the interstate; and never been as much fined until we started on Matt’s project.

But Mayor Williams says, name and record do not keep you from having to do what’s right.  And he says, Offutt’s team did know the permit would be needed.

AUDIO: They’ve known from the beginning.  Unfortunately, this particular developer doesn’t believe the rules apply to him, so he just goes forth and does things. 

Mayor Williams says Offutt and Stines are working with a consultant to try and right the situation with a proper site plan.