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__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 1 October 20, 2009 PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES October 20, 2009 PRESENT: Thomas Fojtik, Dennis McHugh, Kathleen Propp, Kent Monte,
John Hinz, Karl Nollenberger EXCUSED: David Borsuk, Ed Bowen, Jeffrey Thoms, Robert Vajgrt STAFF: Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services; David Buck, Principal Planner; Jeff Nau,
Associate Planner; Deborah Foland, Recording Secretary Chairperson Fojtik called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. The minutes of October
6, 2009 were approved as presented. (Monte/McHugh) I. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A PARKING LOT USE AT 608 ALGOMA BOULEVARD (LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) The petitioner is requesting a
conditional use permit for utilization of an existing parking area at Lincoln Elementary School. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the
land uses in said area. He stated that the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is leasing the site from from the Oshkosh Area School District for the use of 104 of the 107 parking stalls
to alleviate parking shortages in the University Campus. The use of the site would be in effect until the School District either sells the property or reopens the elementary school.
He further stated that the use on the site would not change other than there would be overnight parking allowed. There is a section along the paved parking area which was previously
greenspace that recently had gravel laid over it without a building permit or approval from the City. This area would not be allowed to remain as City ordinance requires all newly created
parking surfaces be constructed with a dust-free surface. This issue resulted in adding a third condition to the request that the gravel parking area be removed or improved per requirements
of Section 30-36 of the Zoning Ordinance, Off Street Parking and Loading Facilities. Mr. Nau also commented that a citizen came to the office last week and voiced his concern over assaults
taking place in this area in the past and that the overnight use of the parking lot would increase such activity. He further commented that he had contacted the Police Department regarding
this matter. The Police Department searched their records for the past five years and do not show any such activity in this area, but the Commissioners have the option of adding an additional
condition requiring increasing the lighting in the parking lot or the addition of emergency call boxes on site. Mr. McHugh inquired who illegally installed the gravel section on the
site. Mr. Nau responded that he did not know if it was the School District or the University. Mr. McHugh then questioned how long the gravel had been present.
__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 2 October 20, 2009 Mr. Nau replied that the aerial photo was taken in April of this year and the gravel had been laid sometime
since then. Mr. McHugh asked if the additional gravel area did not require a conditional use permit first and if this request was proceeding now and if so, he would not be voting in
favor of the conditional use permit as the petitioner had a potential code violation for installing the gravel and he felt that the process should not be allowed to proceed until that
issue was addressed. Mr. Buck responded that if a conditional use permit was approved, the petitioner had 12 months to finish any parking lot improvements related to the CUP and that
the request today was to consider if the use of the site for a parking lot was appropriate. The issue of installing the gravel was part of the building permit process and that part of
the site would be required to be brought up to code. Mr. Nau added that the petitioner could also apply apply for a variance to resolve the issue. Mr. Monte inquired if the parking was
by permit only for the University. Mr. Nau replied yes. Mr. McHugh questioned if this request did not have to be presented to the Traffic Review Committee first for their approval. Mr.
Nau replied that this was not required for the re-use of an existing parking lot. Mr. Hinz stated that he has had previous conversations with other business owners who had approached
the City with the concept of acquiring property adjacent to their site for additional parking and were told that it was not possible to receive approval for such a request. He questioned
why this circumstance was different. Mr. Fojtik commented that in this case, the University was not proposing to acquire the site to construct the parking lot, but lease the site where
the parking lot already existed. Mr. Burich added that this parking lot was in place and although he was not aware of which situations Mr. Hinz was referring to, the issue may possibly
be that the site site did not meet current ordinance requirements. Newly constructed parking lots need to meet underlying zoning code requirements such as setbacks, landscaping, etc.
and the adjacent lots considered may not have been able to meet said requirements. Mr. McHugh questioned when the University would be taking out the necessary building permit for the
parking lot improvements. Mr. Burich replied that the University is exempt from the requirements of obtaining the building permit, but would be required to comply with the zoning ordinance
for any reconstructed areas of the lot.
__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 3 October 20, 2009 Mr. Monte inquired when the University would have to comply with the additional condition regarding the
removal or improvement of the gravel parking area. Mr. Burich responded that the additional gravel section of the lot cannot be used without approval. Mr. Buck added that if the use
continues without the necessary improvements, correction notices would be issued followed by citations if compliance is still not met. Mr. McHugh asked if the School District is responsible
for the improvements as the owner of the property. Mr. Burich replied that the issue would have to be worked out between the School District and the University; however the University
would most likely cover the expense for any necessary improvements. Raymond Schmelter, 645 Amherst Avenue, stated that he has lived adjacent to the school site for the past 48 years
and does not have an issue with the additional gravel section, but with the proposed use. He further stated that the University has paid $10,000 for the use of the site for this year
and that they have been using it for the past six weeks. The gravel was installed when the University started using the lot and he felt it appeared that its purpose was to keep people
from driving on the grass when exiting parking stalls. He did not feel that this gravel area was a big deal, but was concerned with the City changing the zoning on the site for this
use only which may allow other undesirable uses in the future. Bernard Pitz, 617 West Irving Avenue, stated that he owned the property across the street from the school and that he was
the party who brought the addition of the gravel area to the attention of the Planning Services office. He commented that the purpose of the additional gravel section appeared to him
to be for use as a driveway and that the previous use of the parking lot was for a maximum of 30 cars when the school was in operation and that the University had expanded this use to
accommodate 107 vehicles. He voiced his concern that all the vehicles would be exiting the parking lot facing his apartment buildings and commented that the University had already erected
signage on the site. He spoke with Mr. Nau on Friday regarding his concerns and stated that part of the area was downzoned from R-5 to R-2 years ago and that his rental properties on
Wisconsin Street were still zoned R-5 and he did not want to see the zoning changed in this area for this use which could lead to a more undesirable use after the property is sold. He
felt that the University was turning this into a commercial parking lot and he did not want this use across the street from his apartment buildings. He also commented that there was
a dumpster in the setback area and distributed photos of various angles of the parking lot including one of the “Zoning Petition Pending” sign obtained from the Planning Services office.
Mr. Fojtik stated that the area was not being considered for a zone change, but for approval of a conditional use permit for the re-use of the parking lot only. Christine Miles, representing
the University, 800 Algoma Boulevard, stated that she cannot speak to all the history of the site however the University was not aware that a conditional use permit was required for
the reuse of the existing parking lot and that she obtained the necessary application form as quickly as possible once the issue came to her attention. An employee of the University
determined that
__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 4 October 20, 2009 approximately 100 stalls would be available in the lot and she assumed that the gravel was installed to
provide an area to back up into when exiting the last row of parking stalls. She further stated that she would contact the School District regarding paving the graveled area and gave
her assurances that the University did not intentionally violate any ordinances. She also commented that additional lighting and emergency call boxes will be installed and that if the
School District is not agreeable to the paving of the graveled area, they would remove the ten parking stalls at the end of the lot. The dumpster located in the setback area can be relocated
as it does not serve much of a purpose for their use on the site. Randy Johnston, representing the School District, 215 South Eagle Street, stated that the gravel area was not installed
by the School District and the dumpster in the setback area would be moved as they were still utilizing it for cleaning out the school building. Ms. Propp questioned if the School District
would have any objection to the gravel area being paved. Mr. Johnston responded that the matter would have to be reviewed by the School Board and there may be an issue with the loss
of greenspace. Mr. Monte inquired who laid out the striping of the parking stalls. Mr. Johnston replied that the University striped the layout of the stalls. Ms. Propp commented that
it sounded as though the parking lot may not meet the parking lot zoning ordinance, but that she understands the University’s desire to utilize the lot and feels it is a good use for
the interim period until the School District decides what to do with the site. Mr. Buck commented that the parking lot would not meet current ordinance requirements as shown on this
plan as the lane widths and stall depths are not adequate. However the conditional use permit is to approve the use only. Ms. Propp commented that if the CUP request would be approved
today, it will be forwarded to the Common Council next week and would still have to come back and go through the process for zoning code compliance. Mr. Burich commented that he anticipates
the zoning code issues may require some base standard modifications and he felt that the best course of action at this point would be to lay the item over for two weeks until the next
Plan Commission meeting to give staff, the University and the School District time to further discuss the matter. He further commented that it appears that when the parking area was
re-striped, the lot was expanded to include a portion that was not previously used for parking. Mr. Hinz questioned if the “Zoning Petition Pending” sign that the Planning Services office
requires to be posted on sites that are coming before the Plan Commission with a request should be altered to be more specific as it appears to be confusing. It gives citizens the impression
we are looking to change the zoning on the property which in this case was not correct, the request was for a conditional use permit only.
__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 5 October 20, 2009 Mr. Burich responded that technically all the requests that come before the Plan Commission are zoning petitions
of various types and the signs are generic to cover all requests. Mr. Nollenberger inquired if the University would be able to continue to utilize the site for the next two weeks until
the request comes back before the Plan Commission. Mr. Burich replied that the use could continue in the interim and if the conditional use permit would be denied, the University would
have to vacate the parking lot at that time. Mr. McHugh asked if there were any other implications such as stormwater issues that would require to be reviewed. Mr. Burich responded that
the Department of Public Works would be reviewing any stormwater plans for the site. Mr. McHugh asked if the changes to the parking lot would require additional landscaping. Mr. Burich
replied that the site would have to comply with the revised parking ordinance only if the parking lot would be repaved. Motion by Nollenberger to table the request for a conditional
use permit for a parking lot use at 608 Algoma Boulevard until the next Plan Commission meeting. Seconded by Monte. Motion carried 6-0. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Buck commented that he is currently
working on an update to the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation Plan and wanted the Commissioners to consider if they would be interested in serving on the Steering Committee for
said update. The item will be put on the agenda for the next Plan Commission meeting. Mr. Burich stated that Paul Lowry has recently resigned his position as a member of the Plan Commission
and he also served on the Extraterritorial Zoning Committee. Due to his departure, Mr. Burich asked for any volunteers to fill Mr. Lowry’s seat on the Extraterritorial Zoning Committee.
He further stated that if no other members were interested, Mr. Thoms, who could not be in attendance today, had expressed a willingness to fill the vacancy. Motion by Propp to appoint
Mr. Thoms to the Extraterritorial Zoning Committee. Seconded by Monte. Motion carried 6-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 4:47 pm. (Nollenberger/Monte)
Respectfully submitted, Darryn Burich Director of Planning Services