A regular meeting of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 25th day of February, 2008 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
Roll Call: Commission members present were John Knowles, Julie Feuling, Larry Steidl and Lyle Hammerschmidt. Also present was Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk, Jeff Kuhn, Township Engineer, 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.
Minutes:
Feuling, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to approve the minutes of the site visit for 8/22/07 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to approve the minutes of the site visit for 10/16/07 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Steidl, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to approve the minutes of the site visit for 11/20/07 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Feuling, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to approve the minutes of the site visit for 12/11/07 as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Steidl, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 12/17/07 meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Feuling, seconded by Hammerschmidt, to recess the meeting at 6:37 p.m. to open up the public hearing on the Brede Addition preliminary plat and conditional use permit/First Supplemental CIC Plat of Eastgate preliminary plat and conditional use permit and to reconvene at the end of the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting recessed at 6:37 p.m.
Public Hearing:
Chairman Knowles requested that applicant Lori Brede make her presentation to the commission. Ms. Brede stated that she and her husband, Jeffrey Brede, have 14.58 acres of land that they want to separate into two lots; namely the home/garage would be on Lot 1 and the agriculture buildings would be on Lot 2. Lot 1 would consist of approximately one (1) acre. The Bredes’ plan is to sell Lot 1 and retain Lot 2.
Zoning Administrator Oleson stipulated that the only issue holding up this application, from staff’s point of view, is the lack of evidence of two (2) sewer sites on the property for each lot. The applicant has contacted various sewer contractors and was informed that samples cannot be taken until the ground has thawed. In light of this, staff’s recommendation is that the commission table this issue until information can be obtained regarding the sewer sites.
Chairman Knowles opened the meeting to public comment. Hearing none, he brought the issue back to the commission for discussion.
Motion by Steidl, seconded by Feuling, to table the Brede Addition preliminary plat and conditional use permit until the rest of the information is available. Roll: Hammerschmidt – yes, Feuling – yes, Steidl – yes, Knowles – yes. Motion carried unanimously.
The second item up for discussion was the Eastgate preliminary plat, First Supplemental CIC Plat. Chairman Knowles invited the applicant, Dennis Conn, to speak. Mr. Conn stated that he wants to plat the rest of the existing building with three (3) more lots and to also plat another building with eleven (11) lots. The new building would have larger lots to accommodate recreational vehicles, motor coaches, etc.
Stormwater retention was brought up as an issue. With regard to future development of the site, Mr. Conn stated that the building he had planned to construct on the south end of the property may not be feasible due to the township’s easement on the southern boundary and the wetlands to the north. Mr. Conn said that he would rather build one large pond to accommodate all projected buildings (five, excluding the south building) than the two ponds called for in the first approved phase of the Eastgate plat.
Chairman Knowles called upon the township engineer to clarify the stormwater issue. Township engineer Kuhn’s recommendation was to require the building of the pond as a part of this application. He stated that it doesn’t matter if it is one pond or two so long as all criteria per MPCA and the township are met.
Zoning administrator Oleson reiterated that the stormwater pond was not required to be constructed in the first phase of the development since the total impervious surface being platted did not equal the one acre trigger in the township’s stormwater management ordinance. The construction of this second building, however, will result in just under that one acre specification.
The commission also asked the applicant to expound upon wastewater drainage. Mr. Conn said that it has been stubbed out to the north side of the building. There is not, however, a holding tank in place yet. He was intending to wait to install any holding tanks until a unit owner wanted to install bathroom facilities or sinks that would generate sewage. The question was raised as to the feasibility of waiting to demand a holding tank being installed now as opposed to when it would be necessitated by a unit owner’s request. The applicant was asked if each building would have a holding tank and the answer was yes. The applicant also approximated on the drawing where each holding tank would be located. Commissioner Hammerschmidt was of the opinion that as long as the commission knew where the tanks were to be located, perhaps the requirement would not need to be enforced immediately.
In reviewing the staff’s recommendation, Commissioner Hammerschmidt inquired as to condition no. 9 which states that the applicant submits documentation from the fire marshal and/or the township building inspector that all state requirements are being met or exceeded. He asked if zoning administrator Oleson had communicated with either official on this topic. Oleson stated that he had spoken at one time with the fire marshal. Primarily the fire marshal said that code must be met. An example would be the spacing between the first two buildings being far enough apart, etc. In this phase, the spacing would be adequate.
Commissioner Feuling asked that condition no. 13 be changed to read, “that all required road, stormwater and other improvements be installed or sufficient financial guarantee given prior to final plat approval as outlined….”
Chairman Knowles opened the meeting to the public for comment. Hearing none, he brought the issue back to the commission for further discussion.
The commission inquired of Mr. Conn if he wishes to re-design the plat and the applicant said yes.
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to table the Eastgate First Supplemental CIC Plat and conditional use permit for Conn Maxistorage for re-design of the stormwater management ponds and the master plan layout of buildings, including the location of the holding tanks that would service each building. Roll: Steidl – yes, Feuling – yes, Hammerschmidt – yes, Knowles – yes. Motion carried unanimously.
Having completed the public hearing items, Chairman Knowles closed the public hearing portion of the meeting.
Old Business:
Chairman Knowles asked the commission to consider establishing timelines for agenda topics. The consensus of the commission was that they want to be flexible to ensure the public has opportunity to speak. They chose not to have formal “timelines”; rather, they wish to have the chairman use his discretion as needed.
New Business:
Zoning administrator Oleson asked the commission to consider the options, as outlined on page 41 of the staff report, regarding sewer requirements for subdivisions in the urban residential district. The primary purpose for discussion is to try and alleviate residents having to purchase a private sewer system and then having to hook up to ALASD.
The commission, along with Oleson, felt that option B would be the best pick of the four options presented. Option B would require the township to review subdivision requests in the UR district on a case-by-case basis to determine which are required to hook up to ALASD sewer and which are not. The subdivisions would also be required to show a “ghost plat” that would identify how the property could be further subdivided and roads laid out to achieve a density of 2-3 dwelling units/acre.
Oleson commented that this was something to be brought up to the town board. He was not clear, however, on whether it should be a policy change or an ordinance change.
Agenda:
Steidl, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Zoning Administrator’s Report:
No comment from the commission.
Adjournment:
Being no further business, Steidl, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this _______day of ________, 2007
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John B. Knowles, Chairman