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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 1 August 20, 2024 PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES August 20, 2024 PRESENT: Kathleen Propp, Margy Davey, Karl Loewenstein, Ed Bowen, Meredith Scheuermann, John Kiefer, Thomas Perry EXCUSED: Joshua Belville, Council Member Nichols STAFF: Mark Lyons, Planning Services Manager; Julie Calmes, Director of Finance; James Rabe, Director of Public Works; Justin Gierach, Engineering Division Manager; Brian Slusarek, Principal Planner; Katrina Malson, Office Assistant Chairperson Perry called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. Mr. Loewenstein arrived at 4:01pm. The minutes of August 6, 2024 were approved as presented. (Davey/Kiefer) I. PUBLIC HEARING: ZONE CHANGE FROM INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT (I) TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL-9 DISTRICT (SR-9) AT 929 WINNEBAGO AVENUE Site Inspections Report: Ms. Propp, Ms. Davey, and Mr. Bowen reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant requests a zone change from the existing Institutional district (I) to Single Family Residential-9 district (SR-9). 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 petitioner is requesting a zone change of the former Washington Elementary School site, along Winnebago Avenue and School Avenue. Common Council recently approved a comprehensive land use map amendment from Community Facility to Light Density Residential for the subject site. The proposed zone change to SR–9 will allow for the site to be platted for single-family lots for workforce housing. The SR-9 zoning designation matches the zoning of the surrounding residential properties, which allows for single and two- family residential uses. Staff recommends approval of the zone change with the findings listed in the staff report. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 2 August 20, 2024 Mr. Perry opened the public hearing and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. Mr. Perry asked if other members of the public wished to speak. Betty Shrader, of 1034 School Avenue in Oshkosh, wondered when the property will be purchased by the City and when will the property lines be established. Mr. Slusarek stated the City is currently working with a consultant regarding the platting process. Mr. Lyons stated the City has hired a surveyor and an engineering firm to begin the initial layout to figure out laterals, storm water management, and potential lot lines. We should have a preliminary plan in the next month or two. The City and Habitat will look at purchasing the property sometime after September 3rd. We do not have an exact closing date. Mr. Perry closed the public hearing. There was 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 7-0. Items II.A and II.B were presented together with discussions after. II.A. PUBLIC HEARING: ZONE CHANGE FROM INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT (I) AND SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL-9 DISTRICT (SR-9) TO INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT WITH A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY (I-PD) AT 108 WEST NEW YORK AVENUE AND PROPERTY LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF WEST CUSTER AVENUE & KENTUCKY STREET (PARCEL 1500740100) Site Inspections Report: Ms. Propp, Ms. Davey, Mr. Loewenstein, Mr. Bowen, Ms. Scheuermann, Mr. Kiefer, and Mr. Perry reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The applicant requests a zone change from the existing Institutional district (I) and Single Family Residential-9 district (SR-9) to Institutional district with a Planned Development Overlay (I-PD). __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 3 August 20, 2024 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 area includes the former Merrill School site and a vacant residential parcel north of that, with frontage on West New York Avenue, Kentucky Street, Central Street, and West Custer Avenue. The applicant is requesting to have both of these lots rezoned to Institutional district with a Planned Development Overlay (I-PD). The Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) owns both of the properties. The zone change will allow them to combine these two properties into one, tear down the existing school building, and establish athletic facilities, for the neighboring Vel Philips Middle School, without providing additional parking. 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 opened the public hearing and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. Jim Fox, representing the OASD at 1404 South Main Street in Oshkosh, made himself available for questions. The OASD has decided to go with decorative fencing along West New York Avenue. Mr. Perry asked if other members of the public wished to speak. Ethan Newby, of 302 West New York Avenue in Oshkosh, stated his driveway comes onto Kentucky Street. That street currently does not allow parking. He wants to know if there will be any on-street parking allowed and/or a two-way lane road. Mr. Slusarek stated the OASD believes they will not need much on-street parking based on having the on-site parking at the school. Mr. Gierach stated as part of the original Vel Philips Middle School development, the OASD did a pretty intensive traffic impact analysis (TIA) of the area with the changes they were looking to make. Part of that analysis was to flip the one-way pairs on Kentucky Street and Central Street to help facilitate the traffic drop off and student pedestrian access to the school. Removal of the on- street parking was done for safety. I do not see Kentucky being changed to a two-way as there is not enough right-of-way for it. On-street parking is something that may be considered. We can work with the Transportation Director to see if there is any availability, but as of right now there is no plan for any changes. Ms. Propp wondered if there was on-street parking on New York Street. Mr. Gierach stated he thinks there is, but would have to look to verify. Charles Williams, of 1416 Menominee Drive in Oshkosh, has concerns with if there is enough room for this facility. He wants to know if setbacks are being reduced. There is no parking, no lighting, and will it be big enough for what they’re going to do there. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 4 August 20, 2024 Mr. Slusarek stated they are meeting all of the setbacks. They are under on the hard surface requirements, actually about half of what they’d be allowed for impervious surfaces. Mr. Perry closed the public hearing. There was 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 7-0. II.B. GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR ATHLETICS FACILITY AT 108 WEST NEW YORK AVENUE AND PROPERTY LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF WEST CUSTER AVENUE & KENTUCKY STREET (PARCEL 1500740100) Site Inspections Report: Ms. Propp, Ms. Davey, Mr. Loewenstein, Mr. Bowen, Ms. Scheuermann, Mr. Kiefer, and Mr. Perry reported visiting the site. Staff report accepted as part of the record. The petitioner requests General Development Plan and Specific Implementation Plan approval for an athletics facility. 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 area includes the former Merrill School site and a vacant residential parcel north of that, with frontage on West New York Avenue, Kentucky Street, Central Street, and West Custer Avenue. The applicant is requesting to have both of these lots rezoned to Institutional district with a Planned Development Overlay (I-PD). The Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) owns both of the properties. The zone change will allow them to combine these two properties into one, tear down the existing school building, and establish athletic facilities, for the neighboring Vel Philips Middle School, without providing additional parking. The athletics facility will include a track, football/soccer field, basketball courts, and a storage building. According to the applicant, the site will primarily be used by students from the adjacent school but will also be available for general use by the public. A neighborhood meeting was held on August 13, 2024. Neighbors in attendance had several questions, including questions related to facility amenities, public access, fencing, lighting, surfacing and general use of the site. The neighbors did not voice opposition to the proposed use or design of the site. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 5 August 20, 2024 No scoreboards, field lights, or public address system is included in the design. The plan shows 6’ tall PVC privacy fencing along the residential properties to the north with some extending into the 25’ front setback along Central Street. Staff is recommending a BSM to allow this fencing within the front yard setback as it is not within a driveway vision triangle and will further buffer the site from the neighboring residences to the north. The plan also includes 6’ tall coated chain link fencing around the basketball courts, which meet setback requirements. They are proposing 4’ tall coated chain link fencing along West New York Avenue. Code prohibits chain link fencing in front yard areas. The applicant will need to exchange the 4’ chain link fencing along West New York Avenue for a permitted front yard fencing material (example: wrought iron or picket fence) or move the chain link fencing out of the required 30’ setback area. At the neighborhood meeting, a neighbor noted that decorative fencing was installed on the Vel Philips school site along Jackson Street and recommended similar decorative fencing be used along West New York Avenue. Final fencing material can be addressed during Site Plan Review. The site does not include parking stalls. Based on the provided seating capacity (300 seats), code would require a minimum of 75 parking spaces for the facility. The applicant is requesting a BSM to allow 0 parking stalls. Staff does not have concerns with allowing 0 parking stalls on the site as the facility will primarily be used by students of the adjacent school. The school parking lot will be available for parking during after-school hours. Landscaping is required for street frontage, yards and bufferyards. The plan is exceeding the overall street frontage point requirement along Kentucky Street, and also meeting the 50% street frontage medium tree requirement. The total point requirement is being exceeded along the Central Street frontage, but the provided medium tree points are slightly less than the requirement. Staff does not have concerns with that as they are preserving existing overstory trees, which limits available space for medium trees. The provided landscaping along West New York Avenue does not meet the total point requirement or medium tree requirement, but here they have 20’ X 20’ vision clearance triangles, limiting available area for plantings. To offset the requested BSMs, the applicant is exceeding the total street frontage point requirement along both the Central Street and Kentucky Street frontages. A 0.2 opacity bufferyard is required along the neighboring Single Family Residential -9 (SR-9) zoned properties to the north of the site. The applicant is providing a 25’ wide bufferyard along the north property line along with a 6’ solid fence to meet the bufferyard requirement. Staff recommends approval of the General Development Plan and Specific Implementation Plan with the findings and conditions listed in the staff report. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. Ms. Davey commented about the existing large canopy trees that the applicant is keeping. In other projects in the City sometimes they say they are keeping trees and they do not. What are the plans to make sure, at this project, during the building demolition that they do not remove those trees. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 6 August 20, 2024 Mr. Slusarek stated from a Planning and Zoning standpoint, they are likely going to need those trees, because it provides them twice the point value of a new tree. It is advantageous for the OASD to keep them for landscaping, but as long as they are meeting the points shown on their plan we would it during site plan review. We cannot force them to keep their existing trees based on this plan but they are meeting points by keeping them. If someone has a concern about the trees they should talk to the OASD. Ms. Scheuermann wondered about a facility like this being built and how parking would work when there are events. Mr. Lyons stated it is not a competition space. It is only for practice and gym class activity use. Sport competitions will be held at other locations/facilities in the City that are appropriately sized for competition events. Mr. Loewenstein asked how many parking spaces are across the street. Mr. Slusarek believes it exceeds 75 spaces. Ms. Scheuermann stated that parking lot is also for staff at the school. Mr. Slusarek stated that is correct. Mr. Bowen had questions about drainage since this will be a grass field. He noted that Congress Field is filled with water a lot. Mr. Lyons stated as a redevelopment site this will have to go through site plan review and storm water management requirements per City standards. Anything additional above that he will have to defer to the OASD. Mr. Perry opened public comment and asked if the applicant wanted to make any statements. Geno Carlson, Senior Design Technician with Point of Beginning Inc. at 4941 Kirschling Court in Stevens Point, wanted to reiterate that they will be swapping out the chain link fence on their plan for decorative fencing along West New York Avenue. Regarding the storm water question that came up, the intent of our design is to include sideline storm sewer along the interior of the field since it is going to be a grass field. That will tie into the existing municipal storm sewer. At this time, I am guessing it will all tie in on Central Street but we are not quite to that point in the design yet. Ms. Davey wondered if they are responsible for razing the building. Mr. Carlson stated no, they will not be handling that. The OASD is handling that with someone else. Mr. Perry asked if any members of the public wished to speak. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 7 August 20, 2024 Charles Williams, of 1416 Menominee Drive in Oshkosh, stated he has been concerns with the tearing down of the school for two years. What he has heard from the OASD is that they need this 400-meter running track so they can compete with different schools and have this be a competitive facility. This is the first time he has heard that they are only going to use it to supplement gym classes. This is a two million dollar facility, there is no parking, limited parking, and it seems that it is a big facility. We suggested they build a 200-meter track on the north half of this, or build on the East Hall Fields on New York Avenue and Jackson Street, which is 8-acres. Vel Philips is squeezed into where it is, and I guess the rationale is that they would not have to cross Jackson Street to get to this location. He was hoping at least the front part of the Merrill School building could be reused for something else, and not torn down. Mr. Perry closed public comment and asked if the applicant wanted to make a closing statement. Jim Fox, representing the OASD at 1404 South Main Street in Oshkosh, wanted to make a few comments. The demolition team is aware of the trees that are to be kept. The track is being built with the intent to enable Vel Philips students the ability to compete internally and have a fair practice venue to fully prepare them for competitions elsewhere. During the day it will be used for green space and physical education. Mr. Lyons stated there are 147 parking stalls in the Vel Philips parking lot. Motion by Davey to adopt the findings and recommendation as stated in the staff report. Seconded by Loewenstein. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Ms. Propp commented that she finds it sad that the older portion of Merrill School is being torn down, but understands why the OASD feels they need to do it, so she will support this proposal. Motion carried 7-0. III. 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Staff report accepted as part of the record. Staff requests review and acceptance of the 2025 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Mr. Slusarek presented and stated the purpose of this review is for the Plan Commission to make a determination of consistency regarding the proposed programs and activities within the 2025 CIP with the City’s Comprehensive Plan, official maps, or other planned activities. Staff has reviewed all proposed projects and activities and none have been identified as being contrary to the Comprehensive Plan, official maps or other planned activities. Staff recommends acceptance of the __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 8 August 20, 2024 2025 CIP with a finding that listed projects are not in conflict with the City of Oshkosh’s Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Perry opened up technical questions to staff. Motion by Davey to approve the 2025 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) with a finding that listed projects are not in conflict with the City of Oshkosh’s Comprehensive Plan. Seconded by Scheuermann. Mr. Perry asked if there was any discussion on the motion. Motion carried 7-0. PLANNING DIRECTORS REPORT Mr. Slusarek stated on September 17th a review of the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreational Plan (CORP) will come to Plan Commission, and we wanted to see who may want a hardcopy. Ms. Propp, Mr. Bowen, Ms. Davey, and Mr. Kiefer were interested. Mr. Bowen talked more about having hardcopies and/or pdf versions of various programs/plans. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:36 pm. (Kiefer/Propp) No workshops were held after the meeting. Respectfully Submitted, Mark Lyons Planning Services Manager ML/km