A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 25th day of February, 2013 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were Julie Haar, Larry Steidl, Linda Dokken-McFann and Lyle Hammerschmidt. 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 Hammerschmidt at 6:00 p.m.
Agenda: Haar, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Haar, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 01/28/2013 meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearing: Conditional Use Permit application of Greg and Matthew Hill (G&M Advantage Auto Outlet, Inc.), Lambert Feda, landowner. The property is located at 3505 State Highway 27E (new County Road 82), PIN: 03-1776-000.
Motion by Dokken-McFann, seconded by Steidl, to recess the meeting and open the public hearing. Chairman Hammerschmidt noted that Greg and Elizabeth Hill were in attendance and invited them to state their purpose in applying for the CUP.
Mr. Hill stated their objective is to increase the number of display cars on their lot from 15 to 60. At the present time they have between 20 – 22 cars on display. This is in violation of their current CUP, which allows up to15 display cars. Mr. Hill said they have made considerable effort in cleaning up the property by eliminating garbage and trailers and have strived to keep up the maintenance, planning eventually to remove old signage as well.
Commissioner Dokken-McFann sought to clarify how much of the building was actually being rented. She said it appears to be one end of the building only. Mr. Hill elaborated on his plans for expansion. He stated that he may be purchasing and/or leasing the entire building, perhaps housing some of the display cars inside. His intent is to sell only passenger vehicles and/or light duty trucks. He also stated that in order for their business to remain solvent, they need to enlarge their inventory, providing customers with a greater variety of vehicles resulting in increased sales. Commissioner Dokken-McFann’s concern was that while Mr. Hill verbally stated the owner, Mr. Feda, had no issue with expanding the business, we had not actually heard from the owner himself corroborating that assertion. Vice-Chairman Steidl reported that he had spoken with Mr. Feda and confirmed there is no conflict with the proposed expansion.
Vice-Chairman Steidl asked if 60 vehicles would be too many for the available space. Mr. Hill responded that they would allow 200 square feet/vehicle. This would leave the center area open for customers to park and walking space. He said they chose to apply for 60, but realize 50 display cars would be a more realistic number.
Vice-Chairman Steidl stated this area is more residential in nature. It could look like too many cars are being “squeezed” into one area. Mr. Hill responded that he does not intend to jeopardize the appearance of his lot by cramming in too many vehicles.
Commissioner Dokken-McFann inquired if there is a second driveway onto the lot. Mr. Hill responded no. Customers would access the property off Freedom Road on the east side.
Deputy Clerk Fulghum read letters received from Joel and Connie Mondry of 308 E. Lake Geneva Road NE and from Mark and Mary Sponsler of 16 Freedom Road NE. Both letters were in opposition to the granting of the conditional use permit application.
Seeing there were no further comments, Chairman Hammerschmidt closed the public hearing and reconvened the regular meeting.
Commissioner Haar asked for more clarification on the zoning for this area, which is classified as Urban Commercial/Residential Shoreland. Zoning Administrator Oleson said there does appear to be overlapping regulations. He stated that the county had previously zoned the area as Commercial and historically when permits were issued, they were issued as Commercial. The reason for the RS designation is due to the property being within 1000 feet of Lake Geneva. Bottom line is that it was zoned Commercial before the shoreland regulations came into play, thus the Commercial designation supercedes RS.
Another factor with a Commercial designation is that the impervious calculations are at 75% compared to a Residential designation of 25%. Chairman Hammerschmidt asked if the applicants could potentially apply asphalt to the lot and Oleson said yes, due to gravel and pavement being considered the same for impervious calculations. At present, Mr. Hill has been addressing erosion problems with the gravel.
Chairman Hammerschmidt stated that the land use map and the zoning map seem to be at cross purposes regarding zoning designations. Oleson stated that the land use map is a tool to be used in projecting future use and does not reflect some of the zoning we inherited from the county. He also made mention that once an area has been zoned Commercial, it is very difficult to change the designation.
Motion by Dokken-McFann, seconded by Steidl, to recommend approval of the Hill conditional use application with the six conditions as outlined in the staff report, with the first condition to be revised as follows: “That the applicant be limited to no more than 50 display cars at any one time and that no display cars be allowed on the north or east sides of the building, eliminating nos. 39 – 42 and 55 – 60 as depicted on applicant’s site plan.” Motion carried unanimously.
Zoning Administrator’s Report: Zoning Administrator Oleson stated that there was an addition to a home (an existing portion of a house) moved onto a lot on Maple Drive.
Oleson said that he had met with the owner of Jack’s Family Recycling and that the owner is receptive to providing additional screening. This issue will be addressed at the next town meeting.
New Business: none
Old Business: Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the county had invited sign companies, governmental entities and other interested parties to a meeting to discuss the sign ordinance. Comments included size restrictions and billboards.
Consensus was to table the training on comprehensive plans and subsequent discussion.
Adjournment: Being no further business Steidl, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2013
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Lyle Hammerschmidt, Chairman