November 28, 2022 minutes

ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP

Alexandria, Minnesota 56308

Minutes of the meeting of November 28, 2022 

A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 28th day of November, 2022 at the Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway, and via teleconference.

Roll Call:  Commission members present were Shad Steinbrecher, Larry Steidl, Linda Dokken-McFann, Jessica Fettig and Julie Haar.  Also present were Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk (via teleconference) and Ben Oleson, Township Zoning Administrator.  As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Steidl at 5:00 p.m.

Agenda: Steinbrecher, seconded by Haar, made a motion to approve the agenda as written.  Motion carried unanimously.

Minutes: Haar, seconded by Steinbrecher, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 10/24/22 meeting as written.  Motion carried unanimously.

Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to reconvene the public hearing which had been tabled at the October 24, 2022 meeting on the conditional use request submitted by the Broken Arrow Cooperative and John and Marge Spinner.  The request was tabled to allow the applicants time to formulate a proposal on impervious coverage reduction for Tiers 1 and 2.  The property is located at 3408 Co Rd 82 SE.

Public Hearing:  Zoning Administrator Oleson provided a summary of the original request and a copy of the proposal submitted by the applicants. He reported the property was a resort which was converted into a cooperative.  A condition of the original CUP was that the sites remain seasonal.  A violation of the CUP occurred when some sites became year-round residences.  Since the cooperative is asking that more sites become year-round, a second CUP was required. The request was tabled at the prior meeting for the applicants to devise a plan on reducing the amount of impervious coverage on the tiers, in particular Tiers I and II, and to provide a stormwater management plan.  Oleson met with the cooperative to assist in the development of their plan.

Gary Cizadlo, Co-op President, stated they are proposing to change the use of the resort from a commercial enterprise to a residential cooperative.

Jim Schultz, Co-op Treasurer, stated the co-op has been in contact with the Douglas County Soil & Water District asking for their recommendations.  Based upon those recommendations, Mr. Schultz provided a plan delineating areas for rain gardens and recommended natural plant installation to help aid in rain collection.  He mentioned 75% of the boat launch will be removed, which entails eliminating a good portion of the road.  Rain gutters will be installed on cabins 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 to stop erosion. The sidewalk will be removed, as well as the concrete shuffleboard court and pavers between cabins 2 and 4.  They will eliminate four campsites in Tier II and one from Tier III.  Docking changes would include a reduction of six slips (22 to 16).  He said their goal is to implement these changes by the end of 2023.

Oleson clarified that on page one of the staff report, the reduction amounts listed in italics do not include the RV sites.

Alison Myhra, Co-op Vice President, stated they will use a centralized docking system.

A stormwater plan was considered as a possible condition.

Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public for comment. Hearing none, he closed the public hearing and resumed the meeting.

Commissioner Dokken-McFann asked how many cabins there are in total.  Mr. Cizaldo stated 7.  Of those 7, three owners are asking for year-round occupancy.

Dokken-McFann inquired as to what category this property would fall into.

Oleson commented that the application is for a CUP.  It is a mixture of Residential and Commercial.  He said conversions are not clean and simple and thus do not fall into any category totally.

Dokken-McFann asked how many campsites there were originally.  Mr. Cizadlo stated 13.  All but six campsites were sold, with only one site available for sale.  The other five are being eliminated per the current proposal.

Commissioner Haar questioned if four sites from Tier II and one from Tier III are to be eliminated. (This was later clarified that all five are from Tier II.)

Dokken-McFann queried if the remaining campsite were eliminated, would that aid in the overall impervious calculations?  Oleson said no, since the impervious coverage is by tiers, not as a whole.

Dokken-McFann inquired as to how the association came up with 16 docking slips.  Mr. Cizadlo stated by 8 permanent structures and 8 campsites.  He said even though they have listed 16 docking slips, there are people who will not use a slip and/or don’t even have boats.  He did not feel they would ever have 16 boats moored at one time.

Haar asked what will happen with the DNR if the 25% impervious coverage cannot be attained?  Oleson responded they can comment (which they did previously) if they don’t like the decision made by the town board, or they can challenge the decision in court.

Mr. Schultz mentioned they may elect to do a hybrid system for docking.

Commissioner Steinbrecher asked who would be responsible for maintenance for the rain gardens.  He also inquired as to snow removal.  Mr. Schultz said they would use contractors to provide maintenance services.  Ms. Myhra also commented that snow removal and securing space for emergency vehicles has been discussed by the Association.

Haar, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use request submitted by the Broken Arrow Association and the Spinners based upon the findings of fact and conditions in the staff report, along with the following changes:  Condition No. 3 to read: “All RV sites must remain RV sites only.  No decks or sheds will be allowed.  No other cabin/structure may be expanded and/or created that would add to the impervious coverage;” Condition No. 4b will be changed as follows:  “…Of these eight docks, no more than sixteen (16) spaces may be used…. Docks shall be centralized within three years, by December 31, 2026”; Condition No. 3c to read: “…shall be limited to that shown on the 2005 survey, 2011 sketch, and per the current proposal…;” and adding Condition No. 5:  “A stormwater management plan must be implemented during the 2023 construction season.”  Roll:  Haar – yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Dokken-McFann – yes, Steidl – yes, Fettig – yes.  Opposed:  none.  Motion carried unanimously. 

New Business:  none

Old Business:  Oleson presented new drafts of ordinance amendments for shouse dwellings and cargo containers.  Under Section V, AA. Shouse Construction, No. 1, the commission recommended changing the percentage to a square foot amount of 2400.

They discussed requirements for screening and/or windows.

Consensus to have Oleson present the drafts to the town board for their review and feedback.

Zoning Administrator’s Report:  none

Adjournment:  Being no further business, Dokken McFann, seconded by Haar, made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted…

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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk

Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2022

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Larry Steidl, Chairman