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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 1 September 5, 2023 PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES September 5, 2023 PRESENT: Thomas Perry, John Kiefer, Ed Bowen, Margy Davey, Paul Esslinger, Karl Loewenstein, Kathleen Propp, Meredith Scheuermann, DJ Nichols EXCUSED: Mamadou Coulibaly STAFF: Mark Lyons, Planning Services Manager; Justin Gierach, Engineering Division Manager; Jeff Nau, Planner; Emma Dziengeleski, Assistant Planner; Brian Slusarek, Planner Chairperson Perry called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. The minutes of August 1, 2023 were approved as presented. (Davey/Scheuermann) Mr. Lowenstein arrived at 4:02 pm. I. ACCEPT SIDEWALK EASEMENT ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF WEST LINCOLN AVENUE, EAST OF ELMWOOD AVENUE (750 ELMWOOD AVENUE) Site Inspections Report: Ms. Scheuermann, Ms. Davey, and Mr. Lowenstein reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The City of Oshkosh is requesting acceptance of a 2100 square foot sidewalk easement located along the south side of West Lincoln Avenue, at 750 Elmwood Avenue. Mr. Nau presented the items and reviewed the site and surrounding area. The City is requesting the easement to allow the installation of public concrete sidewalk. Currently Elmwood Avenue is under construction and the contract includes sidewalk reconstruction. The easement would allow the City to construct the sidewalk and provide continue access for future maintenance and replacements or upgrades as needed. The sidewalk would function as if it were located in public right-of-way. Staff recommends approval of the proposed sidewalk easement at 750 Elmwood Avenue as requested. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 2 September 5, 2023 Mr. Perry asked for any public comments. The City of Oshkosh is the owner/applicant. Mr. Perry closed public comments. No closing statement from the applicant. Motion by Davey to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Scheuermann. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Motion carried 9-0. II. STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY DEDICATION FOR WIDENING THE EAST 1000 BLOCK OF BAUMAN STREET Site Inspections Report: Ms. Scheuermann, Ms. Davey, Mr. Nichols, and Mr. Kiefer reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The City requests the dedication of street right-of-way to widen the East side of the 1000 block of Bauman Street. Mr. Nau presented the items and reviewed the site and surrounding area. The dedicate would widen the existing 60’ width of Bauman Street up to approximately 66’ in this section. On August 22nd, 2023 the Common Council approved adding a Planned Development Overlay to the existing Riverfront Mixed Use Zone District on the property east of the proposed dedication (1000 Bauman Street). On September 12, 2023 the Common Council will consider a GDP/SIP request for a commercial marina to operate at 1000 Bauman Street. If approved, the owner is responsible for providing a sufficient amount of parking stalls on site, however due to lot constraints, a base standard modification is proposed so that some of the required parking can be done off-site in the right-of-way. The proposed right-of-way dedication will provide the area needed for the on-street angled parking which is required to properly accommodate the commercial marina that is adjacent to said on-street parking area. The dedication is included on a draft Certified Survey Map (CSM) under review by staff. Once City staff approves the CSM it will be recorded at the Winnebago County Register of Deeds upon approval by the __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 3 September 5, 2023 Common Council. Staff recommends acceptance of the right-of-way dedication on the east side of the 1000 Block of Bauman Street as proposed. Mr. Lyons stated Common Council approved the pavement roughly 6-9 months ago for the angled parking. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. Mr. Nichols asked if the right-of-way accommodates eleven parking stalls Mr. Lyons confirmed that. Mr. Gierach stated originally the engineering plans allowed for nine stalls. After discussions with Community Development and the applicant, they were able to get it up to eleven. Mr. Perry asked for any public comments. The City of Oshkosh is the owner/applicant. Mr. Perry closed public comments. No closing statement from the applicant. Motion by Propp to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Kiefer. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Motion carried 9-0 III. PUBLIC HEARING: ZONE CHANGE FROM INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT (I) TO TWO FLAT RESIDENTIAL–10 DISTRICT (TR-10) FOR THE VACANT PROPERTY, 500 BLOCK OF WEST SOUTH PARK AVENUE BETWEEN OHIO STREET AND MICHIGAN STREET Site Inspections Report: Ms. Scheuermann, Ms. Davey, Ms. Propp, and Mr. Bowen reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 4 September 5, 2023 The applicant requests a zone change from the existing Institutional District (I) to Two Flat Residential-10 (TR-10) for the property located on the south side of the 500 Block of West South Park Avenue between Ohio Street and Michigan Street. Ms. Dziengeleski presented the items and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The subject area included in the zone change request consists of a vacant lot with a total of 0.1722 acres. The site was previously used as an old church site that is no longer needed. The surrounding area consists of commercial uses to the north and southwest, residential uses to the west and south, and institutional uses to the east. On July 18, 2023, Plan Commission approved an Offer to Purchase this property from the property owner directly to the west, 525 West South Park Avenue. This request is intended to provide appropriate zoning for future residential uses of the property, and is necessary to be able to combine this site with their existing residential property. Staff is supportive of the proposed rezone to TR-10 as this zoning designation is consistent with the 2040 Comprehensive Land Use Plan recommendation of Light Density Residential. The proposed TR-10 zoning will also be consistent with the neighboring properties to the south and west. Staff recommends approval of the zone change with the findings listed in the staff report. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. Mr. Perry asked for any public comments. The City of Oshkosh is the owner/applicant. Mike Karrels, 1418 Hazel Street, wanted to know what the use of the lot has been. Mr. Lyons stated it has been a City owned vacant lot for a number of years. The owner to the west requested to buy it from the City in order to have more yard space. The zone change would allow them to legally combine the parcels. Mr. Perry asked for any public comments. The City of Oshkosh is the owner/applicant. Mr. Perry closed public comments. No closing statement from the applicant. Motion by Scheuermann to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Kiefer. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 5 September 5, 2023 Motion carried 9-0 IV. COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN MAP AMENDMENT FROM INTERSTATE COMMERCIAL TO COMMUNITY FACILITY FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 425 N WASHBURN STREET Site Inspections Report: Ms. Scheuermann, Ms. Davey, Ms. Propp, Mr. Bowen, Mr. Loewenstein, and Mr. Kiefer reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant is requesting an amendment to the Recommended Land Use Map in the Comprehensive Plan. The subject area is designated for Interstate Commercial land use; the applicant is requesting a change to a Community Facility land use designation. Mr. Slusarek presented the items and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The subject site is a 10.26-acre commercial property located along North Washburn Street. The site includes a 24,360 square foot office building and associated parking area that was originally used as a car dealership and was most recently used as an office facility for Oshkosh Corporation. The surrounding area consists primarily of commercial uses along to the north and south along North Washburn Street, residential and open space use to the west, and Highway 41 to the east. The applicant is requesting to use the site as a church. That use would require a Comprehensive Plan Amendment from the existing Interstate Commercial designation to Community Facility. It would also require a rezone to Institutional District. The proposal was brought to a Plan Commission workshop on June 20, 2023. Plan Commission was generally supportive of the proposal. Staff has concerns that amending the future land use designation of the subject property to Community Facility would disrupt the cohesiveness of the commercial frontage along North Washburn Street. Staff believes that the existing Interstate Commercial land use designation continues to be the highest and best land use designation due to the site location within the City of Oshkosh’s I-41 commercial corridor and would be inconsistent with the surrounding development. The City of Oshkosh Comprehensive Plan establishes goals and actions. Goal LU3 states, encourage compatible land use development and LU3.1 states, promote land use decisions that do not conflict with adjoining properties. The proposed amendment would conflict with these goals and objectives. Staff evaluated other institutional land uses along I-41 in neighboring communities. Staff found the institutional land uses in Neenah and Grand Chute were not within the primary established commercial area, but rather were located in areas of less intense development and surrounded by other institutional uses and residential land uses. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 6 September 5, 2023 Staff recommends denial of the requested land use map amendment from Interstate Commercial to Community Facility for property located at 425 North Washburn Street with findings that the proposed amendment is not consistent with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan and is not consistent with the surrounding area. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. Ms. Propp did not recall that City staff was strongly recommending denial during the workshop. Mr. Lyons stated they did raise concerns at the workshop. City staff does not give a recommendation, they just lay out what the applicant is proposing during a workshop setting. City staff’s role is to evaluate any proposal against our ordinances and best practices from a planning standpoint once an application is filed. Staff took a look at the City’s Comp Plan, the primary planning principles, and ethically had to recommend denial. Mr. Perry asked if there was anything that adjoined this that would be the same zoning or close to it. Mr. Lyons stated there is no institutional zoning in this area. There is Suburban Mixed Use (SMU) up and down the 41 corridor both on the east and west sides. Single family residential with a mix of DR-6 and SR-3 to the west of it. Mr. Perry stated in surrounding communities there are a couple examples of this type of building on the interstate but when he went to look at one, he could see there were other institutional use surrounding it, near it, or touching it. Mr. Lyons said they reference it in the staff report. Staff took a closer look at similar situations of institutional land uses in Neenah and Grand Chute. In Neenah there are institutional land uses, with a cemetery in the area, as well as some single family residential. It is not right in the middle of their commercial corridor. Further north, in Grand Chute, as you go along that curve in the 41 corridor you have that very large institutional use. It is surrounded by single and multifamily residential. It is not in the middle of the commercial block. Ms. Davey inquired what the grey section, on the parcel above the subject, represented. Mr. Slusarek stated there are storage units there; industrial use. Mr. Perry asked if the owner/applicant wanted to make any statements. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 7 September 5, 2023 Caleb Ihrig, 3550 Bambi Lane, sits on the board at River Valley Church. He was at the informal workshop in June. River Valley Church’s current location is on High Avenue across from the Oshkosh Museum. It is a 1.5-acre lot with less than 100 parking spots. Currently Sunday attendance is about 700-725. Over the last number of years, they have torn down their parsonage, expanded the parking lot, and added a third service. They are starting to max out the third service, having to turn people away, which they never want to have to do. They have been looking for a suitable location for a number of years. Renovating an existing building is two to three times cheaper than new construction. They have been looking at repurposing a commercial property due to the building size and parking requirements they would need. This is the first property they have found that poses as a real possibility. Land use maps have never and will never account for churches. Churches have to fit where they can and where they are able. He believes this is a logical request to the future land use. In Section 30-50 of the City code the definition of institutional zoning districts intent: This district is intended to permit both large- and small-scale institutional development including those on single sites within larger areas of both residential and non-residential zoning districts. There is no requirement to have institutional neighbors. If that was the case churches would be extremely limited to where they could be located. There used to be a church on North Washburn Street in Oshkosh which is now the super Walmart. We have precedent to have a church on North Washburn. Father Carrs across the highway shows on the future land use map as being institutional, which is also on the 41 corridor. He understands City staff’s desire to pursue the best and highest use. He could make the argument that he does not think Shopko and Kmart being converted to storage units was the best and highest use, but that is technically commercial use. They would be willing to pursue a conditional use on this property but code does not allow indoor institutional as a conditional use on something that is zoned Suburban Mixed Use (SMU). Mr. Perry asked for any public comments. Steve Harris, 365 Westbrook Drive, lives in the residential area to the west of the subject property. He is in support of the proposal and believes it will enhance the community and breathe new life into an existing vacant building. Using the space for a new church instead of something like storage facilities would put to better use our limited resources and add value to our neighborhood. The church supports many people including those less fortunate. Their influence extends positively throughout the community. The proposal may help the west side of the 41cooridor by attracting 600-800 people every Sunday morning, potentially boosting local businesses. We would gain a peaceful and environment free from the noise and disruption of power tools or heavy machinery associated with industrial spaces. He hopes you consider the proposal favorably. He __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 8 September 5, 2023 pointed out an area north of this site which has been sitting empty for ten plus years, which has a stream running through it. Erik Gialdella, 1642 River Mill Road, is the owner of Rev’s Bowl Bar and Grill located at 275 North Washburn. Rev’s has been there going on nine years. He is in support of the proposal. He believes River Valley Church would be an amazing tenant for the property, knowing their foothold in the community, and what they do. Seeing the back part of the property for many years he knows it has not been maintained very well. He believes River Valley would have a beautiful looking facility and property that would raise the stacks over there quite a bit from what they see now. He has been traveling recently. At the intersection of Highway 32 and 43 over by Sheboygan, there is a huge church that has gone up and a very strong commercial market. In De Pere where there has been a lot of commercial improvements happening just after the Sheuring Road exit, heading north, there is also a large church right there. He thinks it can be done and it can be a benefit for the community in those areas. We see it is happening in those communities. It would bring a lot of value, respect, and appreciation to our City in that location. Mr. Perry closed public comments and asked if the applicant wanted to make any closing statements. Caleb Ihrig stated in Grand Chute it was Life Church which moved into what used to be a Dick’s Sporting Goods, repurposing a large commercial property with existing parking. Oshkosh Corp was previously in the building at 425 North Washburn, for the last thirteen years as corporate offices. They reevaluated their office needs and pulled out of this and many other buildings. People are not lining up for large office spaces. The best and highest use based off a recent appraisal is industrial, so a machine shop or something like that. Their plan is to do mostly interior renovations. They are not looking to do major additions or significant exterior modifications to expand the parking or anything like that. They just want to reconfigure the interior. They have been in Oshkosh for just over 70 years and their hope is this facility would provide them with a home for the next 70 Mr. Lyons noted that if Plan Commission was inclined to recommend approval, it would be necessary to make specific findings to go along with. Motion by Bowen to recommend approval of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment from Interstate Commercial to Community Facility. Seconded by Kiefer. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 9 September 5, 2023 Mr. Esslinger stated he would be voting present on this issue. He thinks there are more people for a Council Member to speak to after this meeting, and he wants more time for that. Mr. Perry stated that whatever action Plan Commission takes this will be going before Council as a recommendation. Ms. Scheuermann was wondering what Father Carrs zoning is, and if it would be rezoned institutional. Mr. Lyons stated it is zoned Suburban Mixed Use (SMU). There is no intention to rezone. Ms. Scheuermann wanted to know what the area to the north is zoned that Mr. Harris referenced. Mr. Lyons stated it is zoned Suburban Mixed Use (SMU). It has been on the market for a number of years. It is the old Kienast property, and has been marketed for commercial sale. It has some challenges with wetlands and floodplain. It is zoned commercial. Ms. Scheuermann asked where institutional falls within the different layers, like heavy industrial, commercial, light use, etc. Mr. Lyons stated institutional land uses do not necessarily fall in what you would typically think of in that pyramid of intensity of use. Institutional land uses cover a very broad range of things that can take place on a property, and have very different perspectives on intensity. There is a huge variety of institutional land uses, such as schools, warming shelters, and religious uses. Mr. Bowen asked if churches are allowed anywhere other than in institutional land use. Mr. Lyons stated indoor institutional is a conditional use permit. It is only allowed from rural holdings (least intense zoning district) through all of the single-family & multi-family residential districts, institutional, and in neighborhood mixed use (NMU) which is the lowest commercial district. It is not in any of the districts above NMU. Mr. Loewenstein asked when the City does long term planning, do they plan for churches. Mr. Lyons stated it is hard to predict, so the City has to take proposed church sites on a case-by-case basis. The City has to look at the proposed use and the surrounding area to see if it is compatible. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 10 September 5, 2023 Ms. Davey stated she is inclined to support the proposal. She thinks it is a logical use, and a very sustainable use for that area. The applicant does do not have to build anything new, nothing has to be torn down, and it will not look any different. Ms. Propp agreed with Ms. Davey, but she also understood City staff wanting to maintain the Comp Plan. Mr. Lyons stated these are unique land uses and that is why they go through Plan Commission and Common Council. Staff has to look at the big picture and the City as a whole. We are not making another Interstate 41 Corridor, we have one. It is our primary commercial corridor. When possible, we would like to keep that intact for commercial. It is up to Plan Commission and Common Council to evaluate these specific requests to determine if they want to deviate and change that. Mr. Loewenstein was wondering if they would be setting a precedent if they were to approved this. Practically, making this a church is a great use for the abandoned building that does not have a clear use right now. In the long term, we have to look at what we want the highway 41 corridor to be. Mr. Lyons stated it is important for Plan Commission and Council to articulate findings and reasons why if they are to support this. Then when future decisions need to be made for other proposals, we can look back upon this. Mr. Bowen stated at this location there is a very accessible arterial street, Washburn. It can carry a lot of traffic in and out. When the traffic is concentrated it does not necessarily back up. There is an existing parking field that can accommodate a tremendous amount if vehicles. There is the ability to function in a way that does not become an infringement upon the properties around it. We cannot forecast every location that a church or other religious facility is going to have. We can make a distinction and say these are the characteristics of that use, of the church use. If Plan Commission is going to approve this, he thinks the findings would be the specific physical characteristics of this particular property support this as a use in the way that others might not. We can rely on that in the future to guide decision making when looking at other institutional zones. In his opinion Washburn Street is a secondary commercial corridor compared to Koeller Street. Mr. Perry mentioned precedent setting and Shopko. Motion tied 4-4. Mr. Bowen left at 4:59pm. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 11 September 5, 2023 V. SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AMENDMENT FOR BUILDING ENTRANCE AND REFUSE ENCLOSURE ADDITIONS AT 2130 SOUTH WASHBURN STREET Site Inspections Report: Ms. Davey, and Ms. Propp reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The petitioner requests approval of a Specific Implementation Plan (SIP) amendment for a building entrance and refuse enclosure additions at 2130 South Washburn Street. Mr. Slusarek presented the items and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. The subject site is located on the east side of South Washburn Street, south of West 20th Avenue. The property is zoned Suburban Mixed-Use District with a Planned Development Overlay (SMU-PD) and contains an office building, previously used as Fox World Travel Training Center. The surrounding area consists of commercial uses as well as a cemetery to the north, and industrial use to the west. The applicant plans to convert the building to an optometry clinic (NEW Vision). The applicant is proposing a new entrance canopy at the southwest corner of the building and an additional pedestrian walk along the east side of the building. The applicant is also proposing to remove 7 parking stalls at the north end of the parking lot for construction of a refuse enclosure. The placement of the refuse enclosure will require a Base Standard Modification (BSM) as code requires refuse enclosures to be at least as far back as the building from the street, and not located between the street and the building. The refuse enclosure is located between South Washburn Street and the building. Staff does not have concerns with the proposed refuse enclosure placement as the double-fronted lot configuration limits available areas that meet the code requirement. Also, placement within the code-compliant areas to the north and south of the building would result in difficulties for trucks accessing the dumpsters. To offset the requested BSM, staff is recommending that the applicant provide a minimum of 30 landscaping points (example: 1 tall tree or 2 medium trees) along the refuse enclosure. The applicant has not submitted final renderings but has noted that the refuse enclosure will be 7’4” tall and clad with PVC boards, smooth EIFS, and pre-finished metal to match the existing and new principal structure materials. Final elevations for the refuse enclosure will be required for Site Plan Review approval and will be reviewed to verify compliance with refuse enclosure requirements. The applicant is proposing a new entrance canopy at the southwest corner of the building. The applicant has stated that the building materials will be a combination of stone veneers and architectural metals to match existing building materials. Staff is supportive of the proposed entrance design/materials as they will match existing building materials to meet design standards requirements. Staff recommends __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 12 September 5, 2023 approval of the Specific Implementation Plan amendment as proposed with the findings and conditions listed in the staff report. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. Mr. Perry asked if the owner/applicant wanted to make any statements. Mike Karrels, 1418 Hazel Street, stated the exterior hardscaping was revised to omit the eastern sidewalk. Not doing any new hardscaping, but replacing pavement with green space. Have no problem with the added landscaping points. Mr. Perry asked for any public comments. Mr. Perry closed public comments. No closing statement from the applicant. Motion by Propp to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Scheuermann. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Motion carried 8-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:05 pm. (Kiefer/Propp) Respectfully Submitted, Mark Lyons Planning Services Manager