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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesPLAN COMMISSION MINUTES July 21, 2020 PRESENT: Margy Davey, Derek Groth, John Hinz, John Kiefer, Phil Marshall, Justin Mitchell, Thomas Perry, Kathleen Propp, Jay Stengel EXCUSED: Mamadou Coulibaly, Michael Ford STAFF: Mark Lyons, Planning Services Manager; Kelly Nieforth, Economic Development Services Manager; Steve Gohde, Assistant Director of Public Works/Utilities General Manager, Public Works/Engineering; Brian Slusarek, Planner; Jeff Nau, Associate Planner; Steven Wiley, Associate Planner Chairperson Propp called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. The minutes of June 16, 2020 were approved as presented. (Hinz/Davey) I. STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY DEDICATION ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE 2900-3000 BLOCKS OF CLAIRVILLE ROAD Site Inspections Report: No commissioners reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant requests the acceptance of street right-of-way along the east side of the 2900-3000 Blocks of Clairville Road. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. This request involves a 1.736 acre area of land and an additional 17-foot wide long strip of land owned by United Cooperative. On July 14, 2020, the Common Council approved an attachment from the Town of Algoma to enable the City to widen the eastern half of Clairville Road to 50 feet. The widening of the Clairville Road right-of-way will allow for roadway improvements for access to the Southwest Industrial Park. The land proposed to be used for the additional right-of-way dedication is part of a land exchange agreement between the City and Untied Cooperative. In exchange for the right-of-way dedication, United Cooperative will receive 0.737 acres of City -owned industrial park land adjacent to the Wisconsin Southern Railroad for future rail spur expansions. Improving the safety and access on Clairville Road to the City's industrial park and transload terminal is critical to the growth of the industrial park. He said staff recommends approval of the right-of-way dedication along the east side of the 2900-3000 Blocks of Clairville Road as proposed. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 There were no technical questions on this item. Ms. Propp asked if there were any public comments. There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed public comments. Motion by Davey to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Hinz. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. There was no discussion on the motion. Motion carried 9-0. IIA. GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN & SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN APPROVAL FOR A PERSONAL STORAGE FACILITY FOR PROPERTIES (3 PARCELS) LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF JACKSON STREET AND W. FERNAU AVENUE Site Inspections Report: Mr. Groth and Mr. Hinz reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant requests approval of a General Development Plan and Specific Implementation Plan (GDP/SIP) to allow for a personal storage facility for 3 parcels (Parcel IDS 91519601801, 91519601802 and 91519601803) located at the northeast corner of Jackson Street and W. Fernau Avenue. Mr. Wiley presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The applicant is proposing five new buildings on the subject site. The two-story westernmost building is planned for the corner of Jackson Street and W. Fernau Avenue and would have a footprint of approximately 24,000 sq. ft. This building would include offices, a call center, climate controlled storage units, a restroom, an elevator, heating and cooling. The four buildings to the east are single story personal storage facilities. Three of these are approximately 9,120 sq. ft. and the other building is 8,800 sq. ft. in area. Personal storage facility is not permitted in BP-PD zoning, a Base Standard Modification (BSM) is required to allow the proposed use. The proposed development would have a single access drive from W. Fernau Avenue. The Department of Public Works will require finalized storm water management plans as part of the Site Plan Review process. The applicant shall submit a revised landscaping plan and a Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 revised code -compliant photometric plan for Department of Community Development review approval. All on -building and freestanding signage shall meet ordinance standards. Commercial building design standards require facades to consist of at least 50% Class I materials. The standards prohibit the use of Class IV materials on commercial facades. The applicant has requested a BSM to permit the use of Class IV materials on the east elevation. Staff is not supportive of the requested BSM to permit the use of Class IV materials unless the applicant greatly enhances the building foundation landscaping along the east facade of Building A. The mini -warehousing buildings located to the east of Building A would include Class IV materials and staff would support allowing these buildings to meet the Industrial Design Standards since these buildings are located on the east side of the site and off of the main corridor. The buildings meet code for using at least 15% Class I materials on their street facing facades. He said staff recommends approval of the General Development Plan and Specific Implementation Plan with the findings and conditions listed in the staff report. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. Mr. Perry asked where the snow would be stored. Mr. Wiley said it does show the location on the site plan in a few locations. Mr. Lyons pointed out on the site plan the snow storage areas. Mr. Perry said the areas on the east and south are a concern for him since Plan Commission has been notified about the moisture issues on the neighboring lot. He said he would hope that they could find a way to not increase the issue but maybe even find a way to decrease the issue with this development. Mr. Lyons explained the applicant has not provided final storm water management plans but will need to submit it prior to any construction on the project. He said the applicant has shown conceptual plans of where the drainage swale may take place but will need more specifics for the final storm water management plans. Mr. Wiley added he was just notified by Mr. Gohde from the Department of the Public Works that there are issues with the placement of the drainage swale by the bio retention area which is not acceptable and will have to be revised. He noted that the property owner from Lakeside Packaging Plus to the east of the property sent an e-mail about his concerns in regard to the snow storage areas/snow melt. He said the owner has had issues with flooding from the property on the corner due to the way it drains. Mr. Lyons commented that all Plan Commission members should have received a copy of that e- mail. Mr. Mitchell inquired about the sidewalks. Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 Mr. Gohde explained in reading through staff comments it looks as if the right-of-way was being required to be graded to accommodate sidewalk in the future not that it would be installed just for this single lot at this time because it would not connect to anything. He said the site needed to be set up to accommodate with minimal changes. Mr. Lyons commented this is very common for similar sites like this. Mr. Mitchell said he didn't want the owner to put trees in to have to relocate theirs later. Mr. Lyons commended Mr. Mitchell for making a great point. He said as staff gets into the final plan set, they will ensure the trees are spaced out so they will be outside of where the established sidewalk grade needs to be. Mr. Mitchell inquired about the Bio Filter. Mr. Gohde explained what a Bio Filter was, how the system works and that it would look very similar to a rain garden from the surface. He said the City has some Bio Filters outside of the Field Operations facility on Witzel Avenue if anyone wanted to see any example. He explained they are typically a water quality element and not a water quantity element. Mr. Mitchell inquired about the plantings and about the type of species. Mr. Lyons explained the final design and planting have to be approved by the Department of Public Works along with an O&M (Operations and Maintenance) agreement which outlines a lot of those details. Mr. Gohde added O&M agreements are relatively new and explained their history. Ms. Propp commented she could not recall if there were three or four storage units during the workshop. Mr. Wiley explained there was originally three then it was increased to four. Ms. Propp said it looks crowded and that there may be an issue with snow storage/runoff. She said it is a concern and hopes the applicant can speak to it. Ms. Davey commented that had occurred to her as well. She said she is surprised with that much hard space, about 67%, that there wasn't something else because the Bio Filter is not that wide. She asked Mr. Gohde if the Bio Filter is the same thing that is located outside of the Coughlin Center. Mr. Gohde replied it is very similar to the ones outside of the Coughlin Center but the ones at the Coughlin Center had a few features that made it slightly different. Mr. Lyons said it has not been engineered yet but the applicant is present and should be able to explain the civil plans and if the Bio Filter is that size or if it needs to grow. Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 Ms. Davey questioned if there could be something that could be done elevation wise that would prevent moisture going to the property on the east. Mr. Lyons stated the City's storm water management requirement require that they have to maintain their water on site and it cannot flow onto the neighbor's property. Mr. Gohde explained more in depth about the requirements. Ms. Propp asked if there were any public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. Jared Van Lanen (applicant), N1213 Mayflower Drive of Greenville, said he is with Fox Valley Storage. He thanked everyone for having him there and commended Mr. Wiley for helping him through this process. He said their vision is to establish a footprint in the City of Oshkosh. He said their facilities range from Appleton to Fond du Lac and they are growing to the point where they need an office facility to house staff. He said they would like to have a central location and have that be in Oshkosh. He explained why the location of the site and the location of Oshkosh is ideal to them. He said building A is going to be the most prominent building with temperature control. He gave a brief overview of building B, C, D and E and stated that their properties are very well maintained. He said the civil engineer is present and can answer any questions related to storm water management. He said they have not gone through the entire process for the storm water management because they are waiting on approval from the Plan Commission. Ms. Propp inquired about the amount of buildings on the property and questioned if one would have to be removed or revised if the storm water management cannot be accommodated. Mr. Van Lanen agreed with Ms. Propp that it is a derivative of what the site can handle. He said with them being under the maximum impervious surface, he believes the civil engineer will be able to accommodate the storm water requirements. He noted the building furthest to the east is only a westerly entry building and there is not any pavement along the backside of it. Ms. Davey asked if it was only one side facing if it was going to be twice as deep or if the site plan was not to scale. Mr. Van Lanen replied it is less depth and explained the sizes of each building. He also explained what types of items could be stored in each building depending on the size of the buildings. Ben Hamblin, 1445 McMahon Drive in Neenah, stated he is a civil engineer with McMahon Associates. He said he has been working on this site with Mr. Van Lanen. He reiterated there were staff comments but they held off on addressing them until they receive approval from Plan Commission. He said snow storage should not be an issue because there is room on the perimeter. He said they will remove the snow storage areas from the Bio Filter and detention areas. He explained more about the Bio Filter and how it works. He said the storm water device extends from the southeast to the northeast corner of the site and the site primarily drains from west to Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 east. He said all the water from the site that used to drain to the east will not happen anymore because it will all be intercepted and routed through the storm sewer to W. Fernau Avenue. He said there shouldn't be any moisture issues with the property to the north. Mr. Mitchell asked for more information about the storm water being routed through the storm sewer on W. Fernau Avenue. Mr. Hamblin explained in the southeast corner in the right-of-way there is an existing yard drain which drains into the storm sewer within W. Fernau Avenue. He said they plan to remove the yard drain and directly connect to the outlet structure for the Bio Filter. There were no other public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. Mr. Van Lanen reviewed the conditions. He said he does not have objections to conditions 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 but would like to discuss conditions 4, 5 and 6. He asked for an explanation of condition #4. Mr. Lyons explained more about Planned Developments and how they typically work. He said the applicant is requesting a Base Standard Modification, therefore, staff is requesting increased landscaping to offset the request. Mr. Van Lanen asked how he was deficient on the south side. Mr. Lyons replied it is the east side that is deficient and it is only the foundation landscaping points. Mr. Van Lanen inquired about the types of species. Mr. Lyons said staff can work with him on that. Mr. Mitchell asked about the island. Mr. Lyons said that is in condition #5. Mr. Van Lanen discussed condition #5 and said he wanted to share the semi tracking plan detail that shows how a semi would come in, back up and move in between building A and building B. He said it is imperative that they will be able to receive tractor/trailer type traffic. He said any island between building A and building B will not work for any flow of traffic. He shared the plan with Plan Commission and staff. Mr. Mitchell said he is surprised the island wouldn't be able to fit anywhere. He asked if there was already an island on the south side by the three parking stalls. Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 Mr. Lyons replied there is not an island. He explained the code requirement for the island. He said the plan is deficient in that area and would need a Base Standard Modification granted for being deficient. Mr. Van Lanen explained his interpretation of an island. Mr. Lyons explained to Mr. Van Lanen what an island was and where it could be placed. Mr. Van Lanen said he understands now and does not have any objections. He inquired about condition #6 and for an explanation of the code. Mr. Lyons explained the code and the requirement for bufferyards and how they work. He said based on the calculations, a fence would be required and would have to be located on the interior side of the landscaping. Mr. Van Lanen asked if he could eliminate the need for a fence if he moved building A to the south 2 feet to create a 20 foot setback. Mr. Mitchell asked if the island could be similar to the islands behind Main Street where it is a depressed elevation and could potentially help with storm water. Mr. Lyons said there is a minimal planting requirement that is required within it which could also be used for rain gardens, bio swales and so on. Mr. Lyons reviewed the code requirements and explained the options available for Mr. Van Lanen. Mr. Wiley explained how staff calculated the landscaping. Mr. Lyons explained more about the alternative options. Motion by Hinz to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Conditions: 1. BSM to allow the use: personal storage facility on a BP-PD-zoned parcel. 2. BSM to allow Class IV materials on only the east fagade of Building A. 3. Class IV cladding materials shall not be permitted on the west, south and north facades of Building A. 4. Applicant shall install at least 300 landscaping points of year-round landscaping along the east facade of Building A. 5. Applicant shall install at a minimum one (1) planter island meeting code requirements in the parking area east of Building A so that no more than 180 linear feet are between landscaping areas. 6. Applicant shall install a six (6) foot tall solid fence between the north facade of Building A and the plantings in the bufferyard along the north edge of the site. Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 7. For Buildings B, C, D and E, at least 15% of the facade area for each street facing facade shall consist of brick matching the brick used on Building A. 8. Lot combination shall occur prior to permit issuance. 9. Applicant shall submit a revised landscaping plan for Department of Community Development review and approval. 10. Applicant shall submit a revised code -compliant photometric plan for Department of Community Development review approval. 11. All on -building and freestanding signage shall meet ordinance standards. Seconded by Kiefer. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Mr. Perry stated he still could not support this. He said this feels like a premature decision because Plan Commission has not reviewed the Envision North Jackson Plan and the corner lot is zoned Mixed Use with retail and neighborhood services. He said it does not seem to fit with the Envision North Jackson Plan plus there are a lot of BSMs that are being questioned. He said it also does not seem to fit with that particular area. Mr. Mitchell inquired about the elevations and questioned how staff would ensure the building materials that are proposed will be the ones used. Mr. Lyons said the applicant could address the elevations. Mr. Van Lanen said he was not sure what sample Mr. Mitchell was referencing. He explained more about the materials that are going to be used. Mr. Mitchell inquired about the south elevation on the four buildings. Mr. Lyons explained condition #7 and said that condition addresses the south elevation. Mr. Hinz commended Mr. Van Lanen for the progress he has made since the workshop. He said Mr. Van Lanen has revised the plans drastically to satisfy Plan Commission's wants and needs. He stated he will support this request. Mr. Perry said he appreciates Mr. Hinz's comments but still feels as though the request does not fit into the general area for what is planned or developed for this particular part of the city. He appreciates the work Mr. Van Lanen has put into this and has nothing against the request but feels Plan Commission should review the Envision North Jackson Plan prior to making a decision on the request. He repeated that he currently cannot support this. Ms. Propp said she agrees with Mr. Hinz. She mentioned the Envision North Jackson Plan could take months to be approved. She said there has been issues along the way but Mr. Van Larsen has come a long way. She wished the Envision North Jackson Plan was approved before this request Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 came to Plan Commission but it did not. She said she feels the development will blend in with the area. Mr. Kiefer commented it is a vast improvement over what is there now. He said this will fit into the area well as other developments in the area come forward. He said Plan Commission should move forward with this request and approve it. Motion carried 8-1 (Nay: Perry). IIB. ACCESS CONTROL VARIANCE FOR A REDUCED LATERAL CLEARANCE LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF JACKSON STREET AND W. FERNAU AVENUE Site Inspections Report: Mr. Groth and Mr. Hinz reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The petitioner is requesting an access control variance to permit the following: 1. Reduced lateral clearance from W. Fernau Avenue to 30' where code requires a minimum of 75 feet. Mr. Wiley presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The proposed development will have one access driveway along W. Fernau Avenue providing two-way access. The intended use of the property is for a personal storage facility (Jackson Street Storage). In this situation, staff does not have concerns with the requested lateral clearance reductions as the proposed 30' lateral clearance provides for stacking of two vehicles in the driveway and significant paved area exists in the vicinity of the driveway access and throughout the site to accommodate vehicular traffic. The proposed driveway entrance for this property is located well over the 175 feet from the Jackson Street/W. Fernau Avenue intersection to comply with the required corner clearance. No other access drives are proposed for the site. The requested access control variance is only required to reduce the lateral clearance from the required 75 feet to 30 feet for the driveway. The Department of Public Works has reviewed the proposal and did not have concerns with the proposed reduced lateral clearances. He said staff recommends approval of access control variance to permit reduced lateral clearance from W. Fernau Avenue to 30' where code requires a minimum of 75 feet. Mr. Lyons added in reviewing this request, staff did not see a lot of concern with high traffic being generated. Ms. Propp opened technical questions to staff. Mr. Mitchell asked if there would be sufficient room for the truck/trailer traffic mentioned by the applicant earlier. Plan Commission Minutes July 21, 2020 Mr. Lyons showed Mr. Mitchell the semi tracking plan. He said the applicant may be able to explain more about the truck/trailer traffic. Mr. Mitchell said he wants to ensure the parking lot is designed to accommodate for the type of traffic using the facility. Mr. Van Lanen explained semi -truck traffic is generally a once in and once out on a household move. He said once the initial move is complete, it is typically only personal vehicles used after that. He said though it may not be often, he wants to make sure they can accommodate that use. Ms. Propp asked if there were any public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. There were no statements from the applicant. There were no public comments on this item. Ms. Propp closed public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. There were no closing statements from the applicant. Motion by Hinz to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Davey. Ms. Propp asked if there was any discussion on the motion. There was no discussion on the motion. Motion carried 9-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 5:07 pm. (Hinz/Stengel) Respectfully submitted, Mark Lyons Planning Services Manager Plan Commission Minutes 10 July 21, 2020