A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 23rd day of June, 2014 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were Mary Hacker, Larry Steidl and Linda Dokken-McFann. 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.
Agenda: Hacker, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Dokken-McFann, seconded by Hacker, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 5/28/2014 meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Bill Dropik, Jr. joined the meeting.
Chairman Steidl recessed the regular meeting to open the public hearing on the interim use permit application submitted by Jacqueline (Jackie) Corcoran which would allow a home occupation of a beauty salon in a residential zoning district. Both the applicant and her husband, Michael Corcoran, were present.
Public Hearing: The applicant is proposing to move her business, Jackie’s Hair Design, from their Alexandria City residence of 715 12th Avenue East to their new residence at 3107 W. Lake Jessie Drive SE. The beauty salon would be located in a portion of an attached garage to be constructed onto the existing home. The applicant will also be moving an existing detached garage back to the southern edge of the property. Sufficient parking would be provided via the loop driveway. Jackie would be the sole stylist, have no employees and does not foresee having more than two customers at any given time.
Chairman Steidl asked if they would be constructing any additions. Mr. Corcoran stated they would be putting an addition onto the house where the existing garage sits and moving that garage back to the south.
Commissioner Hacker asked if the garage doors (on the existing garage) would be facing the same direction, and they responded affirmatively. She also stated it appears they have city sewer and are connected. The applicants said this had been accomplished prior to their purchase of the property.
Zoning Administrator Oleson stipulated that the beauty salon would constitute a moderate activity home occupation (MAHO) and would therefore be subject to those requirements. He said the business would have little impact on the neighborhood in terms of traffic or awareness. The applicant confirmed she works onsite approximately 3-1/2 days/week. Chairman Steidl asked if there would be signage, and Oleson responded none.
Commissioner Dokken-McFann asked how the applicant promotes her business. Ms. Corcoran responded it is through “word of mouth” only.
Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public. Seeing none, he closed the public comment portion of the hearing and reconvened the regular meeting.
Commissioner Dropik asked about emergencies, special events, etc. and the effect that would have on the parameters set up for hours/days of operation.
Commissioners Dokken-McFann and Hacker wanted to ensure the applicant had the flexibility of structuring her 3-1/2 days of work within a six-day timespan/week.
Hacker, seconded by Dropik, made a motion to recommend approval of the Corcoran interim use permit for a home business, Jackie’s Hair Design, with the findings of fact and five conditions as outlined in the staff report, with the following changes to conditions 2, 3 and 5: condition no. 2 to read, in part “…hours of operation…be limited to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m….”, condition no. 3 to read “that the days of operation can be flexible, allowing for Monday – Saturday, noting that currently the owner prefers to work 3-1/2 days/week”; and condition no. 5 to read, in part “that the interim use shall terminate five years after the date of its approval by the Town Board….” Roll: Dropik – yes, Hacker – yes, Dokken-McFann – yes, Steidl – yes. Opposed: none. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Steidl recessed the regular meeting to open the public hearing on four zoning ordinance amendments; i.e. accessory buildings, pervious pavers, home occupations and variance criteria.
Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public. Seeing none, he reconvened the regular meeting.
The commission recommended approval of the amendments as outlined in the staff report with the following changes to accessory buildings and pervious pavers:
Under J. Accessory Building, 1. General Provisions (b) to read: “A garage not exceeding 1200 square feet shall be considered an integral part of the principal building if it is attached to the principal building by a common sidewall and share a common foundation. As such, an attached garage is not included as an accessory building and is exempt from the provisions in this subsection.” General Provisions (e) to read: “The maximum sidewall height of a detached accessory building shall not exceed twelve (12) feet. Attached accessory buildings shall not have a height greater than the primary building.” General Provisions (f) to read: “The roof pitch of a detached accessory building is not to exceed 6/12. For roof styles other than pitched roofs, the peak of the roof shall not be greater than twenty (20) feet.” General Provisions (h) to read: “No detached accessory structure shall be over one story in height. For the purposes of this section, any area with a floor truss is defined as a story.” Adding another subsection to General Provisions (i) to read: “Any area within the rafters of the roof shall not be used for anything other than storage and shall not contain any windows or otherwise be designed as living space.”
Oleson was directed to include under 4. Storm Water Management (relating to pervious pavers) verbage pertaining to stormwater runoff.
Under Section 7 – Definitions, changing verbage under Sidewall Height, Accessory Structures to include the following: “…and the point where the wall meets the lowest roof truss.”
Oleson to bring the recommended changes to the zoning ordinance amendments as stated above to the town board.
Zoning Administrator’s Report: Oleson reported we had received an application for a lot line adjustment which would involve two separate zoning districts. He asked for the commission’s input since the zoning districts have different density requirements.
New Business: To allow for more flexibility in accommodating applicants, the planning commission decided to move site visits to the Wednesday preceding each planning commission meeting. They will continue to meet onsite at 10 a.m.
Old Business: The review on the comprehensive plan was tabled until the next meeting.
Adjournment: Being no further business Hacker, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2014
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Larry Steidl, Chairman