A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 26th day of July, 2010 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were John Knowles, Julie Haar, Larry Steidl and Lyle Hammerschmidt. Also present was 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 Knowles at 6:00 p.m.
Agenda: Haar, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of the Froemming CUP violation and the Conn Eastgate final plat as items 3 and 4 under Old Business. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Hammerschmidt, seconded by Haar, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 6/28/10 meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearing: Randy and Christa Thompson submitted an Interim Use application for consideration by the commission. The application is to allow the raising of farm animals/livestock, specifically up to two horses, in an Urban Residential district.
Chairman Knowles stated that this hearing was for an Interim Use Permit, not a Conditional Use. The paperwork that had gone out to the Echo Press and the neighbor notice had listed the application as a Conditional Use. He asked the zoning administrator to clarify the difference between the two uses.
Mr. Thompson told the commission that he wants to put up a 30 x 48 pole shed with two stalls, hay storage, and a horse trailer. The commission discussed whether there was enough of a buffer for the wetland area. Mr. Thompson stated that manure would not be an issue with only two horses, since the pasture is roughly 12.5 or 13.5 acres, 4 – 5 acres to be utilized for pasturing the horse(s). He also stated that the purpose of the application is for personal, not commercial use.
Zoning Administrator Oleson stated that while there is no required setback from a pasture to the wetland, Staff would recommend seeking comment from the Soil and Water Conservation District.
As there was no public comment, Chairman Knowles brought the issue back to the commission for discussion.
Motion by Steidl, seconded by Hammerschmidt, to recommend approval of the Thompson Interim Use application with the five (5) conditions outlined in the staff report. Roll: Steidl, Haar, Hammerschmidt, Knowles – yes. Opposed: none.
New Business: The commission discussed materials presented at the Douglas County Comprehensive Plan open house and the plan’s potential impacts on the township. The commission has requested the zoning administrator to review the county’s plan and provide monthly updates.
The township is scheduled to review its comprehensive plan in 2011. A timeline for that review will be discussed at a later date.
Old Business: The commission continued discussion of home occupations in non-commercial/industrial zoning districts. They reviewed the wording on the three categories for home occupations they had previously identified; i.e. Low, Moderate and High Visibility. The zoning administrator stated that there were two methods for regulating home businesses, the “traditional” method and the “performance-based method”. The commission chose to use the performance-based method, citing it as easier and simpler to apply. In light of this, the commission will focus on the wording of the three categories to make them as definitive as possible.
The commission discussed the timeframe for site visits and decided, beginning September 2010, site visits would be conducted the third Tuesday of each month at 11 a.m. This schedule will be re-visited in December 2010.
The next item was a discussion of the conditional use violation by Donnie Froemming of Dun-Rite Auto Body. A condition of the permit was to install an 8-foot fence up to the rear of the property. A 6-foot fence had been installed. Zoning Administrator Oleson stated that Mr. Froemming is willing to install a 2-foot lattice on the top of the fence. The commission was not in favor of the lattice; however, they would not be opposed to elevating the fence, leaving a 2-foot gap at the bottom, in order to meet the 8-foot requirement. Oleson said that Mr. Froemming does not want to leave a gap at the bottom, citing security reasons. Oleson to relay the commission’s findings to the town board.
Zoning Administrator Oleson said that he had been approached by Dennis Conn, owner of the storage units on State Highway 27, about filing the final plat for Eastgate. Mr. Conn had previously obtained an extension for completion of the preliminary plat from the town board. That extension has since expired. Mr. Conn plans on inquiring of the board whether they would allow the filing of the plat even though the timeframe has expired.
Oleson stated that in the past there had been discussion as to whether an applicant would be required to re-apply, being subjected to the fees again, in the event of failing to meet the necessary timelines for filing of final plats. If the regulations had changed which would affect the proposed subdivision, starting the process over could be validated. If regulations had not changed, however, Oleson felt going through the process would be redundant. Oleson said that in the case of Eastgate, the regulations had not changed and he could see no purpose in having the applicant re-apply. The commission felt that the applicant had a sufficient amount of time in which to complete the final plat and therefore should be required to re-apply and be subject to some form of fee. They felt that $300, the fee for a CUP, should be a bare minimum to cover the cost of another public hearing. This fee would be substantially less than the required upfront fees for a conditional use permit, planned unit development and subdivision.
Zoning Administrator Oleson asked the commission’s preference regarding changes to previous approvals, whether changes should come before the planning commission or directly to the town board. The commission felt that if it concerned an item that they had previously had input, they would like to re-visit the situation and provide their recommendation to the town board.
Zoning Administrator Oleson asked how the commission wanted to proceed with complaints that had previously been under the jurisdiction of Douglas County and which the county deemed resolved. The commission felt that the township needed to enforce its own regulations, not being bound by the county’s determination, on a case-by-case basis.
Zoning Administrator’s Report: Update given.
Adjournment: Being no further business Hammerschmidt, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2010
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John B. Knowles, Chairman