A regular meeting of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 28th day of March, 2011 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were John Knowles, Julie Haar, Russ Niskanen, Larry Steidl 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 Deputy Clerk Fulghum at 6:00 p.m.
Niskanen, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to nominate John Knowles as the Chairperson for the year. Nominations ceased. Motion carried unanimously.
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to nominate Russ Niskanen as Vice-Chairperson for the year. Nominations ceased. Motion carried unanimously.
The meeting was turned over to Chairman Knowles.
Agenda: Steidl, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of bee-keeping under New Business. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Niskanen, seconded by Haar, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 2/28/2011 meeting as written. Motion carried. John Knowles abstained.
New Business: Sylvia Luetmer, along with her building contractor, Mike Klimek of Northwoods Construction, were present to discuss the possibility of putting up a non-conforming building on her property located at 2204 E. Lake Jessie Road. They are proposing the construction of a 1,496 square foot accessory building for housing machinery.
Zoning Administrator Oleson stated that the new building would be deemed non-conforming as our ordinance stipulates, for parcels with five acres or less: 1) no permit shall be issued for the construction of more than two (2) accessory buildings and; 2) the floor area of all accessory structures shall not exceed 1500 square feet total. Even though Ms. Luetmer is willing to demolish two old buildings, the proposed building would exceed the maximum size of the 1500 square feet allowed for the combined total of all accessory buildings by approximately 1,156 square feet. Secondly, the new building would constitute the third accessory building on the property.
Oleson stated that there are two options: 1) apply for a variance; or 2) interpretation of the state statute, which allows for replacement, but not expansion.
Commissioner Niskanen asked if multiple buildings were torn down, would one building be able to take the place of multiple buildings, combining their square footage?
Niskanen, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to recommend interpreting state statute 462.357, subd. 1(e) as follows: allowing the square footage of multiple buildings to be combined into one structure, not to exceed the previous total square footage of the removed detached buildings. Roll: Niskanen, Steidl, Haar, Hammerschmidt, Knowles – yes. Opposed: none. Oleson to forward the recommendation to the town board.
Update: Land & Resource Management 2010 Annual Report.
Zoning Administrator Oleson commented that the township had been approached about bee-keeping and if it was allowed under our ordinance. He stated that the ordinance does not specifically address this issue. The consensus of the commission was to: 1) not allow in the UR district; 2) a canvass of neighbors where the hives are to be kept should be conducted; 3) ensure sufficient acreage is available and; 4) it may require an interim use permit.
CGI Training Session. Tabled until the next meeting.
Old Business: none
Zoning Administrator’s Report: none
Adjournment: Being no further business Niskanen, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:14 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2011
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John B. Knowles, Chairman