APPROVED
PLAN COMMISSION
March 6, 2008
Members Present: Ray Knapp, Dan Pearson, Chris Mueller, David Wolf, Bob Rolle, Mark Mitchell, Paul Mahler
Staff Present: Rob Jones, Cedar Corp., Josh Miller, Cedar Corp.
Recording Secretary: Sharon Weide
Others present: Paul C.J. Steiner, Charlie Macdonell, Doug Thompson, Jan Cuccia, Theresa Barnes, Jill Berke
Call to Order
Ray Knapp called the meeting of the Town of
AGENDA:
1. Approve Minutes;
Members of the Plan Commission reviewed the February
minutes.
Mark Mitchell
moved to approve the minutes of the February meeting. Dan Pearson seconded. Motion passed, all in favor.
2. Acknowledgement of applications for action as regulated by SDO;
There were none.
3. Public Hearing/Riverway review – Greg Pahl, lots 6, 7 & 8,
Paul Steiner represented both Greg Pahl and Ethan
Seltzer.
Ray Knapp asked Rob Jones to lead the Plan
Commission through the process of the Pahl and Seltzer applications. Rob explained that his comments would be
directed at both agenda items 3 and 4 as the uses were identical and the
conditions comparable. He reviewed that
the applicants had previous come before the Plan Commission for a concept
review. They have now applied for a
variance for filling and grading within 75 feet of the OHM in order to install
septic systems under the LSCRZO. At the
January meeting the Plan Commission asked that the following information be
submitted with the application:
1. A complete vegetation
management plan that illustrates exactly how the existing vegetation and visual
screening will be impacted.
2. Verification that the
private wastewater treatment system requirements of Commerce Chapter 83 and
3. Photographs that clearly
show the existing vegetation in the proposed areas of filling and grading.
Rob stated that the applicants both provided the
requested materials and that between the two projects 15 total trees will be
removed - 4 on one lot of 6 inches in diameter or less and 11 on the second lot
of 3 inches in diameter or less. The
drain fields will be wound around the remaining trees to preserve maximum
screening from the riverway.
He went on to say that the Plan Commission will need
to provide the Board of Appeals with a recommendation that takes the six issues
outlined in his memo into consideration.
Rob finished by saying that up until now the Town did not have
verification that these septic systems met the requirements of Commerce Chapter
83 but that the County has it in their minutes that they do.
Ray Knapp opened the public hearing for Greg Pahl,
lots 6, 7 & 8,
Ray Knapp discussed each of the six items outlined
in the Cedar Corp. memo:
1. whether hardship has been
demonstrated
-the applicants have
failing septics and meet the hardship condition
2. whether and who the public
interest is harmed by granting the variance
-the public interest is
helped, not harmed, by having sound septic systems where waste water is most effectively treated
3. whether satisfactory
evidence has been provided to ensure that the applicable core concerns of this
ordinance are met if the variance is granted
-there is satisfactory
evidence that the core concerns of the ordinance are met based on the vegetative plan provided
with the application and verification from the County that it meets Commerce Chapter 83
4. that the reconstructed
structure or new and expanded structure for which a variance is granted will be
visually inconspicuous from the river
-the applicant has
assured the Plan Commission that the only items above ground will be a couple of vent pipes that will not be higher than a
couple of feet
5. that best management
practices regulating erosion and surface water degradation are required for a
project for which a variance is granted
-Rob Jones has assured
the Plan Commission that the submitted plans include a detail erosion control plan
6. and the effect on the
neighborhood and property value has been considered, and that no adverse affect
will occur if the variance is granted.
-These projects will not
infringe on the walkway or trail system currently in use in the area. The applicant stated that there will be a detour
during the week of construction but as soon as construction is completed the walkway will be
back to normal.
Paul Steiner stated that there will be a
preconstruction meeting with the DNR and
Mark Mitchell asked if there are any inspections
during and after construction to insure compliance. Paul Steiner said that prior to completion
the County does an inspection. When
seeding is done the County will complete another inspection. Ray Knapp said that since the County will be
conducting the necessary inspections that the Town would not, again, in order
to save on duplication of resources.
Paul Mahler
recommended approval to the Town Board of Appeals of the variance request of
the Greg Pahl site, lots 6, 7 & 8,
4. Public Hearing/Riverway review – Ethan Seltzer, lots 9 & 10,
Ray Knapp opened the public hearing at 7:18 PM. No one came forward to speak. The public hearing was closed. He stated that during agenda item number 3
all of the issues to be addressed were considered and that it is his belief
that the issues are the same for agenda item number 4. Based on that, he felt that the six factors for
the Board of Appeals to consider have been properly addressed. Members of the Plan Commission agreed.
Mark Mitchell
recommended approval of the variance for filling and grading at the Ethan
Seltzer site, lots 9 & 10, St. Croix Beach.
David Wolf seconded. Motion
passed, all in favor.
Mr. Steiner asked what the next step was. He was told that the Board of Appeals grants
final approval and that it will meet at 7:00 PM on March 13.
5. Discuss plan for AED training;
Ray Knapp explained that the AED was donated through
the
6. Review & Revise January ‘08 version of Comprehensive Plan;
Ray Knapp explained that the Plan Commission is
responsible for developing the Comprehensive Plan and making a recommendation
to the Town Board for approval. There is
a draft that has been recently updated, to a certain extent, and now it is time
to refine that draft. He stated that the
review process would probably take several sessions. Once the Comprehensive Plan is in a final
format the Plan Commission will hold a public hearing to gain citizen input
prior to it going to the Town Board.
There will also be a public hearing held by the Town board after their
review of the recommended plan.
Ray started the discussion by reviewing the purpose
of a comprehensive plan. The plan is
supposed to be a general guide and overview of where the Town is now, where we
hope to go, and how we are going to get there.
He asked members to think about the level of detail they wanted to
incorporate into a final draft.
He then brought everyone’s attention to the
Introduction and asked for input on what members wanted this introductory
paragraph to convey. Members felt that
the first two paragraphs could be less wordy but still need to incorporate
information on what makes
The Commission members then looked at
“Methodology”. The consensus was that
this section, again, could be shortened but should speak to the planning
process, the TDR program, the Boundary Agreement, and the steps involved in
planning. Bob Rolle agreed to rewrite
this section.
The next section reviewed was “Setting”. It was agreed that the numbers not only need
updating but that this section needs to be beefed up by stressing Troy’s
commitment to permanently protect the best farmland while situated within a few
miles of a major metropolitan area. The
Plan Commission would like to stress how unique
Dan Pearson questioned if the “Historical Overview”
was accurate. The consensus of the Plan
Commission was that a historical overview should be included but that it should
be checked for accuracy. Dan Pearson
volunteered to gather the facts (more may be available at the Historical
Society in the Library at UWRF). Once
Dan has collected information Ray volunteered to help write the overview.
The commitment for completing these tasks is two weeks. All information should be forwarded to Josh
Miller at Cedar Corp.
At this point the Plan Commission began to review
Chapter 6 “Land Use”. They reviewed the
descriptions of each land use classification and maps of the same. There was considerable discussion on the
accuracy of the maps (if they depicted land use, classification for tax
purposes, or a combination of the two) and the proper definition of each land
use classification. The Plan Commission
discussed naming the following categories of land use:
·
Exclusive agriculture
·
Ag/Residential
·
Ag/Res developed
·
Ag/Res in farming
·
Ag/Res developed with open acreage
·
Farm Preservation
·
Commercial
·
Public and Private Conservancy Acres
Ray Knapp asked if the Plan Commission wanted Cedar
Corp. to make an exact map of the Town by parcel and if so, Cedar Corp. should
determine a cost. The Plan Commission
agreed that this should be done.
Rob Jones said that his overall impression of a
Comprehensive Plan is that the State is trying to encourage municipalities to think
about the planning process, as many currently do not. His feeling is that the plan should be a
“table of contents” for the Town. Its
goal isn’t to be 100% accurate, or detailed, but rather should tell the reader
where they can go to get additional information. He felt that a Comprehensive Plan should be a
continuing process, that is updated on an ongoing basis. Josh Miller agreed and added that the Plan
Commission needs to decide the level of detail they want included in the plan.
Ray Knapp asked if the Plan Commission wanted to
create a visionary document as described by Cedar Corp. now, or create a plan
with a higher level of detail. He
suggested that the Plan Commission complete the assignments already handed out
for the Introduction and that each member should think about which direction
they wanted to go. There was more
discussion about future land use maps, whether they should be included or left
out. Josh Miller explained that this
document is not meant to tell people what they can and can’t do with their
land. Instead it is meant to be a
guideline of what the Town would like to see.
As a first attempt to redo the maps, it was agreed
that the land use categories previously discussed would have Ag/Residential
decreased to two categories – developed and undeveloped. Rob Jones and Josh Miller (with the
assistance from Bob Rolle) will create a map that depicts the land uses with
out getting into minute detail. They
will determine the cost of mapping each parcel if the Town wants to take this
to the next level.
This item (Review and Revise Comprehensive Plan) will
appear on the April agenda with continued focus on Chapters 1, 6, 7, and 8.
7. Review procedure for setback determination;
Bob Rolle reviewed the original issue for members of
the commission (developed lots created prior to the Town’s Subdivision
Ordinance with no marked setbacks). He
felt that rather than writing a letter of guidance to the building inspector
the better alternative to solving this problem is require the land owner to
come before the Plan Commission and ask
for an exception to design standards. He
suggested that language be added to the Subdivision Ordinance (SDO) saying that
the building could be no more non-conforming than it is now, and that the
addition would be consistent to the area.
Dan Pearson asked what the process would be. Paul Mahler felt that the SDO applies to
newly created lots, not to those created prior to the SDO. There was additional discussion around these
two points and whether requiring appearance before the Plan Commission in these
cases was really necessary or made the process more complicated than it need to
be. Chris Mueller and Paul Mahler felt
that the process should be left as it is.
Ray Knapp felt that this has become more complicated than
necessary. It was decided that this item
would be tabled until after the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance draft was completed and hopefully would be
addressed as part of that work.
8. Building Permits/Utility Permits;
Building permits were reviewed. There were three alterations and one storage
shed.
Rob Jones reviewed the utility permits:
Permit # Applicant Address
Project Fee
U08-001 AT&T
Wisconsin 304 S. Dewey
Installation of a new pole on the
St.,
WI,
54701 south of
U08-002 Comcast
Cable 3050 Echo Lake Installation of an underground
Rd.,
Mahtomedi, communication cable along the
MN, 55115 west side of
Mark Mitchell moved to recommend approval of the utility permits. Chris Mueller seconded.
Dan Pearson asked if the
application from Comcast Cable was complete and Rob Jones explained that it
was. Chris Mueller asked if the
application from Comcast Cable was approved would the Town still be able to
issue fines. Rob answered yes.
Motion passed, all in favor.
9. Committee Reports & correspondence;
Ray Knapp explained to Bob Rolle that there was
interest by members of both the Plan Commission and the Town Board to sit in on
the initial meeting between the Riverway Committee and the DNR so everyone
would have a better understanding of the issues related to the final approval
of our updated riverway ordinance. Bob
explained that typically meetings with the DNR are held from 9 AM to 12 Noon as
employees of the DNR are generally in the field in the afternoon. He went on to say that each person involved
in the initial meeting will be developing a list of 5 to 7 items, in order of
importance, that they feel need to be addressed. The initial lists will be exchanged via
email. The plan is that once these lists
are exchanged meetings will begin. Once
the issues have been ironed out there will be public meetings to discuss any
changes being made to the Riverway Ordinance.
Ray asked that members of the Plan Commission and
the Town Board be informed of the initial concerns list. Bob Rolle suggested that Plan Commission
members and Rob from Cedar Corp. write their concerns down about the way the
Riverway Ordinance is being administered and to forward to him via email. He will ensure that these are incorporated
into discussions with the DNR.
10. Adjourn;
David Wolf
moved to adjourn at 10:05 P.M. Chris Mueller seconded.
Jill Berke, speaking as Park Board Chairperson,
stated that the Park board would like to meet with the Plan Commission in an
effort to work together in developing land use guidelines for parks in
Motion Passed,
all in favor.