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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesPLAN COMMISSION MINUTES April 5, 2011 PRESENT: Jeffrey Thorns, Thomas Fojtik, Kathleen Propp, Robert Vajgrt, Karl Nollenberger EXCUSED: David Borsuk, Ed Bowen, John Hinz, Tony Palmeri, Dennis McHugh, Donna Lohry STAFF: David Buck, Principal Planner; Jeffrey Nau, Associate Planner; Steve Gohde, Assistant Director of Public Works; 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 March 15, 2011 were approved as presented. (Nollenberger /Vajgrt) L LAND ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1250 S. OAKWOOD ROAD The City of Oshkosh Department of Public Works is requesting approval to acquire approximately 1.26 acres of land from Robert E. Stauffer et al. for the construction of a wet detention basin to service the Sawyer Creek Watershed. Mr. Buck presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the zoning classifications in said area. He explained that the property is entirely located within the floodway, which is basically undevelopable by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) standards and that the home on the lot to the north of the site has been removed and the property acquired by the City in 2006. The City was approached by the land owner to acquire the site and is intending to use the area for stormwater detention purposes. The detention pond would service 13 acres to the west of the site and would help to address flooding issues. Mr. Fojtik commented that the property to the north of this area at 1150 S. Oakwood Road is not a residential property but a storage facility for the golf course. Mr. Thorns questioned why the lot was determined to be unbuildable. Mr. Buck responded that the property was located in the floodway and the WDNR does not allow construction in areas determined to be in floodways. Sawyer Creek runs through the south end of this property. Mr. Thorns also questioned if constructing a detention pond in this area would add to flooding issues. Steve Gohde, Assistant Director of Public Works, responded that the construction of the detention basin would not be adding any water to the area and the intent is to direct the water into the basin rather than into Sawyer Creek. This would create a larger area for water to pool alleviating some of the flooding issues in this neighborhood and improving quality of water discharged. Gerald Jagodinski, 5590 County Road R, inquired if there is heavy rainfall, how the drainage for this area would be handled as too much standing water could create problems with mosquitoes and odors. Plan Commission Minutes April 5, 2011 Mr. Gohde responded that the basin would be designed with certain features that would mitigate these issues. The depth of the basin's safety shelf would be only one foot deep with emergent plants on the shelf which would alleviate algae growth whereas the remaining portion of the pond is deeper to deter mosquitoes and other vegetative and insect growths. It will be designed as a wet basin and will have turnover in the water as well which also assists with these issues. Motion by Nollenberger to approve the land acquisition of property located at 1250 S. Oakwood Road. Seconded by Propp. Motion carried 5 -0. HL ACCESS CONTROL VARIANCE TO PERMIT A TOTALOF THREE DRIVEWAY OPENINGS TO 3125 MEDALIST DRIVE (SW CORNER OF MEDALIST DRIVE AND W. WAUKAU AVENUE The petitioner is requesting an access control variance to permit a total of three driveway openings to service the property at 3125 Medalist Drive (southwest corner of Medalist Drive and W. Waukau Avenue). The property currently has two driveway openings, both on W. Waukau Avenue. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the zoning classifications in said area. He reviewed the current accesses to the site and the location of the proposed new access off of Medalist Drive. He explained that the petitioner had acquired the property across from the site on Medalist Drive and the proposed new driveway would provide easier access between the sites. Mr. Nau also stated that the small size of the parking area does not warrant two accesses on Waukau Avenue and the westernmost driveway on this street should be eliminated with the addition of the proposed access on Medalist Drive. He also reviewed the driveway access requirements for commercial sites and the condition recommended for this request. Ms. Propp inquired if there would be adequate room for the driveway access to accommodate trucks on Medalist Drive. Mr. Nau responded that there was 38 feet from the street to the building which should provide adequate area for delivery trucks to the site. Brian Gliszinski, Vice - President of Fox Valley Metrology and petitioner for this request, stated that he does not understand the need to close off the driveway on Waukau Avenue as the technicians use this access and it will involve additional costs to the business. He stated that they would like to have the condition removed requiring the abandonment of the westernmost driveway on Waukau Avenue. Mr. Vajgrt questioned if there would be a problem if the third driveway was allowed to remain. Mr. Buck replied that there may not be any physical issue with it remaining, however three driveways on a site this small was overkill and unnecessary and the zoning ordinance regulates the number of drive accesses allowed to a property based on the size of the site to alleviate excessive accesses. The city needs as much compliance with the ordinance as possible and does not wish to set precedence by allowing three times the permitted drives on one site and denying other requests of the same nature. The two driveways on the one site is already more than permitted by code and staff believes that if a new drive is added that an existing should be removed thereby not increasing the nonconformity of the site from current conditions. Plan Commission Minutes April 5, 2011 Mr. Thorns stated that the Plan Commission has required other parties to abandon excessive accesses on their sites and he felt it was necessary to be consistent and therefore would be supporting the request with the condition of removing the third driveway access. Motion by Vajgrt to approve an access control variance to permit a total of three driveway openings to 3125 Medalist Drive as requested with the following conditions: Westernmost driveway on W. Waukau Avenue shall be properly abandoned per Department of Public Works requirements. Seconded by Thoms. Motion carried 5 -0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 4:20 pm. (Vajgrt/Propp) Respectfully submitted, David Buck Principal Planner Plan Commission Minutes April 5, 2011