A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 26th day of November, 2007 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were John Knowles, Julie Feuling, Russ Niskanen, Larry Steidl and Lyle Hammerschmidt. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Township Clerk and Ben Oleson, Township Zoning Administrator. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Knowles at 6:30 p.m.
Agenda:
Niskanen, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of discussion of the interim zoning and subdivision ordinances. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes:
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 22, 2007 meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Feuling, seconded by Hammerschmidt, to recess the meeting at 6:34 p.m. to open up the public hearings and to reconvene at the end of the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting recessed at 6:34 p.m.
Public Hearing:
The Commission discussed the conditional use permit application submitted by Mark and Carmon Watkins to allow shoreline alteration on a steep slope located at 304 E. Lake Geneva Road NE. Mr. Watkins indicated that they have a purchase offer on the property contingent on the ability to correct the siltation problem that is occurring on the property as a result of an unprotected gully. Mr. Watkins desires to install a 2 ft. culvert connected to an existing pipe and run it down to the lake. In addition, the existing trees will be trimmed to allow sunlight to penetrate to establish surface vegetation. Scott Giroux has been contracted to complete the landscaping portion of the project and describe the procedure. Mr. Watkins presented a letter from the Lake Geneva Lake Association, which supports the project and allows Doug Thompson to speak in support of the project. Bill Matsky, 124 Freedom Rd., inquired into the plan at the entrance of the existing pipe. The plan is to install a rain garden or similar structure where the water enters the pipe. Zoning Administrator Oleson stated that staff recommended 7 conditions but recommended that condition 7 be removed since the conditions are duplication from 1 and 2. In addition, he recommended that the township be provided with written confirmation from the MNDNR indicating that no DNR permits are required. He also reported that if work proceeds this fall, all disturbed soil needs to be protected with fiber blankets to control erosion.
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use permit submitted by Mark and Carmon Watkins to allow shoreline alteration on a steep slope located at 304 E. Lake Geneva Road provided that the 6 conditions noted in the Zoning Administrator’s staff report are followed with the addition of the written statement from the DNR and the specification that fiber blankets be used for erosion control on exposed area. Motion for: Niskanen, Steidl, Feuling, Hammerschmidt, Knowles. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The commission considered the preliminary plat application for the Second Addition to Rambows Subdivision submitted by Arlynn Johnson. Mr. Johnson reported that he desires to plat a 3 lot subdivision which will be served by Deer Lane on the north and 50th Avenue on the south. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the staff recommends approval since the proposed subdivision meets the standards of the subdivision ordinance provided that the developer provides written approval from ALASD of the proposed sewer easement across lot 1 to serve lot 2. Feuling, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to recommend approval of the preliminary plat application for the Second Addition to Rambows Subdivision submitted by Arlynn Johnson with the one condition noted in the staff report. Motion for: Niskanen, Steidl, Feuling, Hammerschmidt, Knowles. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The commission discussed the feasibility of amending the comprehensive plan, identifying additional areas appropriate for commercial/light industrial uses and one area to be discussed is the SW1/4 of Section 27 and the NW1/4 of Section 34 along CO. Rd. 81. Jacks Family Recycling originally applied for a conditional use permit for this area to allow the construction of a new building which the current interim ordinance does not permit so therefore is interested in rezoning the area to commercial/industrial. Rezoning to commercial would require amending the comprehensive land use plan since this area is currently identified as transition residential in the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map. Commissioner Niskanen believes that this area may be a good fit for commercial. Commissioner Feuling reported that a lot of time and energy along with numerous public meetings went into the comprehensive plan and does not feel that changes should happen so soon. Commissioner Hammerschmidt reported that with the rebuilding of CR 81 and the possible new interchange off of I94 traveling through this vicinity, it may be a good fit for additional commercial areas in this location of the township. Chairman Knowles opened the discussion up to the public. Kathy Hodges indicated that the township has other areas in the township identified as commercial/industrial but none of the areas are located in the SE portion of Alexandria township and this area may be suitable for commercial uses. Charles Klimek reported that his farm is located in this vicinity and since the water table is high in this area, it would not be suitable for residential uses. Jeff Reed inquired into the process for land contiguous to land that has been rezoned commercial, if the contiguous land could be rezoned commercial. Zoning Administrator Oleson responded that the landowner could apply and could argue that the contiguous land should be rezoned also if requested. Bob Novak spoke to the fact that there are other businesses operating along CR 81 already so therefore it makes sense to rezone. Commissioner Feuling inquired into how many other non-conforming uses occur in the township. Niskanen, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to table the request to rezone the area located along 81 to get more information and to provide an opportunity for the planning commission to view the site and the surrounding area. Commissioner Feuling amended the original motion, seconded by Niskanen, to add the request to obtain additional information regarding other nonconforming uses in the township. Motion for: Niskanen, Steidl, Feuling, Hammerschmidt, Knowles. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The commission discussed potential amendments to the interim zoning ordinance to allow for improvements and/or expansion to legal, nonconforming uses on a case-by-case basis. Commissioner Feuling spoke in favor of allowing improvements for non-conforming uses since it is possibly in the best interest of the township and their residents. Commissioner Hammerschmidt also spoke in favor to allow improvements and/or expansion on a case-by-case basis. Chairman Knowles opened the hearing up to the public. Charles Klimek inquired whether agriculture would be allowed to add buildings to an existing operation. Feuling, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to recommend amending the interim zoning ordinance, with language similar to the City of Alexandria’s zoning ordinance, to allow for improvements and/or expansion to legal, nonconforming uses by the use of a conditional use provided they did not make any existing nuisances or other concerns worse. Motion for: Niskanen, Steidl, Feuling, Hammerschmidt, Knowles. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The commission considered the application submitted by Kathy Hodges, to rezone property located at 3801 Hazel Hill Road from Urban residential to Commercial-Rural or Light industrial. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that this request could not be approved until the comprehensive land use plan was amended to include this area. Chairman Knowles opened the hearing to public comments. Kathy Hodges indicated that she is interested in improving the property by the installation of new buildings. Her contractor reported that additional delays in the construction could cause additional problems and additional costs to the project. Feuling, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to table this request until a decision was made to amend the comprehensive plan. Motion for: Niskanen, Steidl, Feuling, Hammerschmidt, Knowles. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The commission considered the tabled conditional use application submitted by Kathy Hodges to allow light industrial use of a building in the Urban Residential district located at 3801 Hazel Hill Rd. Feuling asked Zoning Administrator Oleson whether this application could be acted upon before the ordinance amendments or comprehensive plan amendments discussed earlier were acted upon by the Town Board. Oleson stated that doing so would not be the most orderly process since any conditions imposed on approval might be dependent on the actual language approved by the Board. Since the Planning Commission was not passing on specific language to adopt, the Planning Commission would not know upon what ordinance language they were approving the building requested by Hodges. Upon further discussion, the Commission agreed that they would make a recommendation with an additional condition that if the Board approved significantly different ordinance amendments than discussed by the Commission, their recommendation to approve the proposed building would need to be sent back to the Commission for further review. The Commission then discussed the staff conditions proposed at the October 22nd meeting. The applicant and the commission discussed condition No. 4, which refers to screening and the recommended timeline for installation. Niskanen, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use permit with the condition noted in the staff report submitted by Kathy Hodges to allow light industrial use of a building in the Urban Residential district, located at 3801 Hazel Hill Rd., provided that the town board approves the amendments to the interim zoning ordinance. Motion for: Niskanen, Steidl, Feuling, Hammerschmidt, Knowles. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Knowles closed the public hearing and reopened the regular board meeting at 9:00 PM.
New Business: The commission considered the request to extend the interim zoning and subdivision ordinances for an additional 6 months to allow final amendments. Steidl, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to recommend to the town board that the interim zoning and subdivision ordinances be extended an additional 6 months. Motion carried unanimously.
Zoning Administrator’s Report:
Zoning Administrator Oleson discussed communications with the planning commission to determine if they were adequate. The Commission agreed that they were, but would continue to monitor and decide if changes were necessary in the future.
Adjournment:
Being no further business, Hammerschmidt, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…. Approved this _______day of ________, 2007
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk John B. Knowles, Chairman