A regular meeting of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 26th day of January, 2009 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 was Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Knowles at 6:00 p.m.
Agenda: Feuling, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition of Jack’s Family Recycling Center under Old Business. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Hammerschmidt, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 11/24/08 meeting with a correction, that the phrase “until a new building can be constructed” be deleted from the last paragraph under Old Business. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearing: None
Zoning Administrator’s Report: None
New Business: The Zoning Administrator had provided a handout for discussion purposes only regarding zoning in the RCR district. The township had been approached by a contractor who was inquiring as to whether he could move his heating and cooling business to a rural property in the township. The Zoning Administrator had asked the commission to consider the following points: 1) would moving the full heating/cooling business, including the employee traffic, the sheet metal work and some limited retail sales, be a prohibited business in the RCR district; 2) would a partial move of the business, so that the only business activity taking place was sheet metal work and essentially no exterior evidence of the business, constitute a home occupation and could therefore be processed as a conditional use; and 3) should the commission pursue more discussion and potential ordinance amendments which would allow for something like a home-based business in RR settings – or should the township maintain the current policy and ordinances which prohibit the majority of businesses in the RCR/RR districts.
The commission will pursue further discussion on all three points at their next meeting.
Old Business: Commissioner Hammerschmidt stated that he wanted a clarification of the type and placement of the fence(s) that the town board agreed to regarding Jack’s Family Recycling Center. Commissioner Niskanen suggested re-visiting this issue at the March 2009 meeting.
Adjournment: Being no further business Steidl, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk
Approved this _______day of ________, 2009
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John B. Knowles, Chairman