A regular meeting of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 28th day of October, 2013 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were Julie Haar, Larry Steidl, Mary Hacker 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: Haar, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Dokken-McFann, seconded by Haar, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 09/23/2013 regular planning commission meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Dokken-McFann, seconded by Haar, made a motion to not approve but rather note for the record that the commission accepted the 02/19/2013 site visit meeting as written as there was no official quorum present. Motion carried unanimously.
Dokken-McFann, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 07/16/2013 site visit as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Hacker, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 08/21/2013 site visit as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Hacker, seconded by Haar, made a motion to approve the 09/18/2013 site visit minutes as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearing: none
Zoning Administrator’s Report: Update provided.
New Business: 2014 site visit schedule. Consensus to designate the second Friday of the month at 10 a.m. as the official site visit timeframe beginning January 2014.
The planning commission meeting schedule lists the December 2013 meeting as “to be determined.”. Consensus to not hold a meeting unless applications have been received. In that case, the meeting would be held on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 6 p.m.
Old Business: Small Animal Ordinance. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the town board had reviewed the planning commission’s recommendations, raised a number of areas where they would like further research and/or discussion, and sent the matter back to the planning commission.
Under 3(b) Regulations, the commission recommended changing the second sentence to read as follows: “The keeping of small animals shall be an allowed use or an interim use, provided that….” They also recommended changing the number of Small Fowl/Poultry under an Allowed Use to be 5 and under an Interim Use to be 10. Oleson to forward the recommended changes to the town board.
Possible ordinance amendments for discussion included small-scale solar panels and wind towers/generators. Oleson reported that the county has formed a committee to discuss these issues. Consensus is to contact the county and request that Oleson be allowed to represent the township’s interests on this committee. In the event he is unable to attend, Commissioner Dokken-McFann will be the alternate.
Variance criteria/home occupation ordinance/pervious pavers. Consensus to table discussion until the next meeting.
Residential fences. Commissioner Hacker requested definitions for what constituted “temporary fencing” and “permanent fencing.” The commission discussed whether the town should institute guidelines as opposed to regulations. Consensus to table until the next meeting.
Discussion on comprehensive plans and training tabled until the next meeting.
Adjournment: Being no further business Haar, seconded by Hacker, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2013
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Larry Steidl, Chairman