ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of November 27, 2017
A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 27th day of November, 2017 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway.
Roll Call: Commission members present were Shad Steinbrecher, Larry Steidl, Jarrod Oberg, Mary Hacker and Julie Haar. Also present were Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk, and Ben Oleson, Township Zoning Administrator. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Steidl at 6:00 p.m.
Oath of Office: Deputy Clerk Fulghum administered the oath of office to Jarrod Oberg.
Agenda: Hacker, seconded by Steinbrecher, made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Steinbrecher, seconded by Hacker, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 9/25/2017 meeting as written. Oberg abstained. Motion carried.
Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to open the public hearing on the rezoning application of Evan Amundson (David Nelson, owner).
Public Hearing: Mr. Amundson is seeking to rezone a 5-acre parcel of land along Geneva Road from residential to commercial. The land is currently owned by Mr. Nelson.
Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the land in question is currently zoned Urban Residential, although the land is used primarily for agriculture. This would be a 5-acre split off a 29+ acre parcel of land located along Geneva Road NE, a little more than one-fourth mile from the northern boundary of the township. He noted the properties to the north of the property proposed for rezoning are zoned Commercial-Urban. He briefly iterated that if the rezoning is approved, Mr. Amundson would follow up with an application to split the land and use the property for his tree business.
Commissioner Haar asked how close the proposed rezoned property would be to the existing residential dwelling located south of the anticipated 5-acre split and if there would be screening. Mr. Amundson stated an existing grove of trees would screen his business equipment from the adjacent parcel.
Commissioner Hacker expressed concern about existing wetlands on the proposed split and the subsequent impact from a commercial business. She also stated that the residential dwelling on the adjacent property would be close to the boundary of the proposed commercial district. Mr. Amundson replied there is an existing drainage ditch and would address that issue once the rezoning was approved. He said he had approached this particular neighbor prior to applying for the rezoning and that the neighbor appeared to have no issues with the business location.
Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public for comment. Norman Schimmelpfenning, 3013 Lakecrest Road NE, inquired where the northern boundary of the proposed area would be located. He asked who maintains Geneva Road, citing concerns of dust control, and wanted to know if the traffic for Mr. Amundson’s business could be restricted. He proposed having the trucks come off County Road 20 on the north rather than County Road 73 from the south. Mr. Amundson said the trucks would be leaving en masse in the mornings and only one truck would be dropping off material throughout the day.
Chairman Steidl closed the public hearing and resumed the meeting.
Steinbrecher, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to recommend rezoning the proposed 5-acre portion of land along Geneva Road from Urban-Residential to Commercial-Urban. Roll: Haar – yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Hacker – no, Oberg – yes, Steidl – yes. Motion carried.
Zoning Administrator’s Report: Oleson provided an update on zoning activities.
New Business: Consensus to schedule site visits for spring 2018 at 3 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the meeting date.
Old Business: none
Adjournment: Being no further business Hacker, seconded by Haar, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2017
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Larry Steidl, Chairman