The Sycamore City Council voted to reduce a current rural residential area into a smaller subdivison Monday night.

According to the agenda, the area will be reduced from 630 acres to approximately 370 acres because the former is too large to draw any developmental interest, as stated in the agenda.

“It is important to look at the big picture and I feel this plan will change the nature of Sycamore over a period of time,” said Sycamore resident Steven Glasgow, who proposed the plan at a previous meeting.

As part of the change, municipal services such as septic systems could see changes in the way of individual tanks for certain areas. Most of the area within the sub-planning area could not be served by Sycamore’s sewer system.

Additionally, the city is not interested in establishing any lift stations in addition to ongoing maintenance costs, as stated in the agenda.

“Private septic systems could be installed on small properties of three acres or more as long as they pass the DeKalb County inspections and standards,” said Sycamore City Manager Bill Nicklas.

The council also passed a motion to start a recycling pilot program on March 21.

The goal is to make the recycling more efficient for residents as well as city workers by using larger bins that can be picked up by trucks.

Nicklas said the bigger bins will allow more items to be recycled and will reduce back injuries to workers.