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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES May 21, 2013 PRESENT: David Borsuk, Ed Bowen, Jeffrey Thoms, Thomas Fojtik, John Hinz, Kathleen Propp, Donna Lohry, Robert Vajgrt EXCUSED: Steve Cummings, Karl Nollenberger STAFF: Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services; Jeffrey Nau, Associate Planner; David Patek, 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 May 7, 2013 were approved as presented. (Propp/Hinz) I. ACCEPT PARKING/SIDEWALK EASEMENT FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2307 OREGON STREET Oshkosh Corporation is requesting the City of Oshkosh to accept a parking/sidewalk easement to allow rd construction of 16 angled parking stalls along W. 23 Avenue. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area. He explained the reasoning for the easement request which would allow for the additional angled parking spaces. He reviewed the site plan for the parking area which would accommodate 16 stalls and the Department of Public Works and City Attorney will draft the necessary easement documents to be recorded at the Register of Deeds. Mr. Thoms questioned why 246 feet was necessary for the length of the easement and why it could not accommodate more than 16 parking stalls. Mr. Nau responded that angled parking stalls take up more space. David Patek, Director of Public Works, added that it would result in a narrower right-of-way but the angled parking was necessary as there was not enough area for 90 degree parking stalls. Mr. Thoms then questioned how much area the vehicles would occupy and if this was a low traffic flow street. Mr. Patek responded that there would be 11 feet for the travel lane which should be adequate and that it was a low traffic flow on this street. He further stated that there was a main entrance to the facility rdrd on 23 Avenue and a lot of driveways near the intersection of 23 Avenue and Montana Street however the traffic flow should have no issues east or west bound with the addition of the parking easement. Motion by Lohry to approve the acceptance of the parking/sidewalk easement for property located at 2307 Oregon Street. Seconded by Borsuk. Motion carried 7-0. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 1 May 21, 2013 II. STREET DEDICATION LOCATED NEAR EASTERN TERMINUS OF ADAMS AVENUE LOCATED ADJACENT TO 891/895 ADAMS AVENUE City Administration requests additional right-of-way dedication on the south side of Adams Avenue, adjacent to 891/895 Adams Avenue for street/cul-de-sac construction purposes. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area and explained that the request was initiated by the condominium amendment that separated the one parcel into separate parcels. The previously approved certified survey map split the completed condo units from the unimproved portion of the lot which resulted in the loss of access to Adams Avenue for the completed units. The city offered to extend Adams Avenue to allow access to these parcels and constructing the cul-de-sac at this time would be beneficial as it would allow for more maneuverability for trucks and city vehicles. Mr. Vajgrt arrived at 4:10 pm. Mr. Thoms stated that he believed the Commission discussed this previously however he could not recall the results of said discussion. He felt the completed condo units should continue to use the road through the unimproved parcel to the west to gain access to their parcels. Mr. Borsuk also recalled a previous discussion on the matter and thought that the City’s lack of desire to extend Adams Avenue was the reasoning to have a cross access agreement over the unimproved lot to the west. Mr. Burich stated that having a cul-de-sac at this location was a benefit as the road permanently dead ends at this point and it would make turnarounds to exit the street more maneuverable. Mr. Patek commented that the certified survey map created different lots and the initial use of this site was no longer coming to fruition therefore extending the street and constructing the cul-de-sac was in the City’s best interest. Mr. Burich stated that the previously approved recorded certified survey map from 2010 required the removal of the existing gravel drive through the unimproved lot to the west which would require the creation of a new access drive for the completed condo units. Ms. Lohry commented that it appeared to be a housekeeping issue that needs to be addressed and now was the time to do it. Mr. Burich stated that extending the public road was necessary in this case and that the condo units do not require any single point of control for access. When the condos were planned for development on this site the gravel road through the development was to be their one point of access however with the remaining units not being developed, the issue had to be addressed. Mr. Borsuk commented that keeping track of conditions from previously approved developments was difficult as some of them required adjustments over the years if the initial development was altered. Mr. Patek stated that the construction costs of the cul-de-sac was included in the Capital Improvement Program for 2013 and would resolve the access issues. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 2 May 21, 2013 Mr. Bowen commented that the certified survey map appeared to have been done in 2010 and questioned why it was being resubmitted at this point with the access drive going through the unimproved lot and the dedication being requested. Mr. Burich responded that the certified survey map was not being reviewed and the usual process was convoluted since the condo units initially planned for the site did not complete the development. As the parcels are configured now, there is cross access leading to the developed units from the undeveloped lot and no public access to the units constructed. Mr. Bowen questioned if the driveway easement on the unimproved lot was to be removed. Mr. Burich responded affirmatively and stated that there would be a cross access agreement to allow access to 881/885 Adams Avenue through 891/895 Adams Avenue. Motion by Lohry to approve the street dedication located near eastern terminus of Adams Avenue located adjacent to 891/895 Adams Avenue. Seconded by Borsuk. Motion carried 8-0. III. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT (RACETRACK USE) 500 E. COUNTY ROAD Y Winnebago County is requesting an amendment to the conditional use permit (CUP) that governs motorsport racing events at the Winnebago County Exposition Center at 500 E. County Road Y. The County is requesting to amend a condition that currently curfews events at 10:30 pm and extend that time by 30 minutes for an 11:00 pm curfew. th This item was laid over from the May 7 Plan Commission meeting with no changes made to the original staff report other than to add additional recommended conditions based on comments made at th the May 7 meeting and to add an additional attachment of the City’s Noise Ordinance from the Municipal Code. Mr. Burich presented the item and stated that racing events have been held at this facility since 1994 with the current conditional use permit not expiring until 2018. At the last meeting the Commission heard discussion from neighboring property owners regarding the noise issues which after further investigation he verified that the noise ordinance for the city is enforced by the Oshkosh Police Department. He further commented that the enforcement of the noise ordinance can be difficult as conditions such as wind can affect decibel readings. Winnebago County’s request to extend the curfew for the events from 10:30 until 11:00 is the issue and he has discussed it with Robert Way from the Winnebago County Parks Department and is recommending approval of the time extension and reviewed the additional three conditions recommended to be added to this request. He commented that the installation of a video monitoring system to document racing event curfew compliance should enable the city to monitor when events are ending at the facility. Mr. Thoms requested clarification of condition #1 stating that events shall cease at 11:00 pm. He questioned if this meant that everyone has to be gone by 11:00 pm or if this meant that the races would end at 11:00 pm regardless if they are finished or not. Mr. Burich responded that the condition meant that the racing events would have to shut down at 11:00 pm regardless whether the event was finished or not. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 3 May 21, 2013 Ms. Lohry questioned condition #2 requiring video monitoring to document racing event curfew compliance and who outside of the area would be handling the monitoring of the curfew compliance. Mr. Burich replied that if the city would receive complaints about curfew violations, staff would be contacting Rob Way from the Winnebago County Parks Department to verify at what time the event was finished. Patricia Diener stated that she attended the races last week and the event ended at 10:35 pm. She commented that it was a family event that citizens take their children to and she felt that we should not take events such as this away from the community. Jeff Lemiesz, 2230 Plymouth Street, stated that he was the promoter for the racing events and was hoping that the Plan Commission would move forward with this item today. He stated that they would only be continuing the events past 10:30 pm if unusual circumstances occurred delaying the event. The 11:00 pm curfew will not be used on a regular basis as most attendees bring their children and their attention span is too short for long events. He stated that the City ambulance crew is on site during the events and could provide information regarding when the races ceased as they have to document when they are on and off duty for any services as this would save the County some money as far as the costs to install the video monitoring equipment. He further stated that he did decibel readings last Friday at several locations however the noise ordinance is hard to interpret with the effects of wind. Mr. Hinz inquired what the scheduled length of time was for the final racing event of the evening. Mr. Lemiesz responded that the last event is 20 minutes or 20 laps whichever came first but that this could be adjusted if necessary. They look at the time frame left and adjust the schedule accordingly to finish within their curfew. Mr. Thoms questioned if he had any issues with the first condition of not operating past 11:00 pm. Mr. Lemiesz responded negatively and stated that there is a time limit on all heats which can be adjusted as necessary as well as the B main features and final race. Gerald Frey, Island View Drive, questioned what time the races started. Mr. Lemiesz responded that they started at 7:00 pm. Mr. Frey commented that the races should be started earlier in the evening and suggested 6:00 pm for a start time. He further commented that the residents near the race track complain about bad management of the races and if they would start the event at 6:00 pm it could be ended by 10:00 pm. Jim Erdman, 2492 Hickory Lane, stated that he used to enjoy the races and that they used to be located at the fairgrounds on Murdock Avenue and they should have moved the racetrack farther out so the noise was not an issue. The other option would be to start the races earlier so they would end earlier in the evening as he has received numerous complaints from Town of Oshkosh residents. He felt the document should be gone over and if the track is kept where it currently exists, limit the racing events. He felt the noise from the races was more disturbing than a plane or train as it is an ongoing noise. Robert Way, Winnebago County Parks Department, apologized for not being able to attend the last meeting due to conflicts in his schedule and stated that he only received two complaints last season __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 4 May 21, 2013 from the same individual but that residents could contact him with issues regarding the racetrack use. The renewal of the contract between the racing promoter and Winnebago County is coming up in 2014 and he stated that they would be willing to stick with the restriction of ending events at 10:30 pm. They have a complaint mechanism in place with Winnebago County and the cut off for alcohol sales would be 10:30 and will be included in the new contract as a provision. He commented that the curfew has been violated occasionally but they have every intention of abiding by the City’s conditional use permit requirements. Ms. Propp stated that the City’s conditional use permit requirements should come first and questioned if this amendment is approved, would ceasing racing events at 11:00 pm be included in the new contract. Mr. Way responded affirmatively and added that a lot of other provisions would be included as well. Mr. Borsuk commented that if the current contract expires at the end of 2013, possibly the conditional use permit could be correlated to expire at the same time as the new contract and questioned the period of time that the new contract was to cover. Mr. Way responded that the new contract would be for a five year period. Mr. Burich stated that the current conditional use permit is in effect until 2018. Ms. Lohry questioned how many video monitoring systems would be necessary to document the racing event times and at what cost. Mr. Way replied that there would only be one system and he estimated the costs at $400 for the purchase of the system and some additional expenses for the wiring costs which could increase the expense to approximately $800. Ms. Lohry then questioned if the suggestion to have the ambulance personnel document the time they were present a feasible solution to installing the video monitoring system. Mr. Way responded that he was not sure about that as it is the City’s requirement that the emergency personnel be present during the event. Mr. Hinz inquired if it was possible to have the Oshkosh Fire Department personnel document the times they left the event. Mr. Vajgrt responded that the Fire Department personnel were required to document at what time they arrive at a scene and at what time they left. Mr. Hinz questioned whether this documentation could be used instead of installing the video monitoring system required in the new conditions. Mr. Vajgrt replied that the Fire Department is still on duty for the City and if called out for another emergency situation, they may have to leave the racetrack to address another issue. Carol Kaufmann, 2677 Indian Point Road, commented a Ms. Diener had mentioned that the racing events were a good opportunity for youths in the community to participate in and she felt that this issue is the difference between the events ending at 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm which she thought was rather late __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 5 May 21, 2013 for small children. She further commented that the racing event last week was not completed until 10:35 pm so they exceeded their curfew by five minutes which she felt was inappropriate since this issue was just discussed at the last meeting. She also stated that she called other cities regarding the time that their racing events ceased and found that other cities started their events earlier. She had contacted the Sheriff’s Department a few weeks ago regarding the noise issue after 10:30 and felt that they have put up with enough with events such as Country USA, a fireworks display show, and the racing events and would not like to see the time limit extended. She commented on the current technical capabilities and felt that the video monitoring system could be installed at a cheaper cost than $400 to $800. She also stated that the decibel readings taken were performed on the south and west sides of the site and she felt that the properties to the north and east of the site suffered more from the effects. Skip Zacher, Island View Drive, agreed with the other town residents regarding the noise levels and lateness of the event and stated that he built berms by his housing development and the racetrack has berms as well however to start the events earlier and end them earlier would be more ideal. Mr. Bowen suggested that the conditional use permit run contiguous with the Winnebago County contract with the racetrack promoter as a ten year conditional use permit for something this controversial may not be a good plan. If the County enters into a three year contract, promoters could change as well as other provisions. He suggested that condition #3 could be replaced with a condition for the renewal of the conditional use permit at the time of the contract renewal. Mr. Burich responded that this approach would pull the City into the contract negotiations with the promoter and the County however it would be possible to renew the contract on a 3-10 year basis with the conditional use permit running consecutively. Mr. Way stated that he did not see any conflicts with this and the issues could be worked out as the new contracts are worked on about a year ahead of the current expiration. Mr. Bowen commented that it would be more administratively burdensome to handle it in this fashion. Mr. Burich stated that he felt the conditions recommended for this request were appropriate but enforcement can be the issue. Mr. Thoms suggested that we could add a fourth condition and leave condition #3 for re-review or revocation of the conditional use permit if curfew violations were occurring. The fourth condition could address changes to the conditional use permit when the contract is renewed. Mr. Burich indicated that the contract does not dictate the conditional use permit requirements and in this case it is issues regarding performance such as the noise issues. The conditional use permit requirements override any stipulations in the County’s contract with the promoter. Mr. Hinz commented that the conflict was not created by Winnebago County. Ms. Lohry stated that she did not feel that we have the authority to require the Fire Department to document the racetrack ending times and that the video monitoring system should be installed as recommended in the conditions. She further stated that we want the racetrack at this facility and for the sake of a long term agreement starting at 6:00 pm and ending at 10:00 might be a better solution. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 6 May 21, 2013 Ms. Propp commented that we should not be micro-managing Winnebago County’s contract with the promoter and trying to process the conditional use permit at the same time of the contract renewal was not necessary. She felt the races should end at 10:30 and the video monitoring to ensure they have ceased by 11:00 was a good idea. Mr. Borsuk commented that the conditional use permit continuing with a transfer to a new promoter could cause issues. He felt that linking Winnebago County’s contract to the conditional use permit could be helpful and he would not have a problem with adding a condition to require this. Mr. Bowen stated that he did not want to dictate terms of the contract to Winnebago County when they are entering into it with the promoter however a ten year conditional use permit was a long time as it does not give people a chance to address issues. He suggested amending condition #3 with a renewal requirement on the conditional use permit based on the renewal of the contract. Mr. Burich suggested that considering the current racing contract between Winnebago County and the promoter expires at the end of the 2013 season, condition #1 could be amended to be “Motorsport operating time for racing events shall cease at 11:00 pm through the 2013 racing season.” This approach would allow the condition to revert back to the 10:30 pm time for 2014 and the video monitoring system can determine if the curfew was violated this past season. This would also give staff more time to further explore the situation and whether alternative conditions could be explored. Mr. Fojtik questioned who has the authority to move the starting time back to 6:00 pm for the racing events. Mr. Burich responded that the starting time adjustment is determined by the promoter and Winnebago County. Motion by Hinz to amend condition #1 to include that the operating time for racing events shall cease at 11:00 pm through the 2013 season. Seconded by Bowen. Ms. Lohry questioned what the process would be after the 2013 racing season. Mr. Burich responded that the curfew time would revert back to 10:30 pm. Motion carried 8-0. Motion by Bowen to approve the conditional use permit amendment for racetrack use at 500 E. County Road Y with the following conditions: 1)Motorsport operating time for racing events shall cease at 11:00 pm through the 2013 racing season. 2)Winnebago County Parks Department shall install video monitoring system to document racing event curfew compliance. 3)Documented curfew violations shall result in re-review of the conditional use permit for consideration of additional conditions or possible revocation of said conditional use permit. Seconded by Thoms. Motion carried 8-0. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 7 May 21, 2013 Mr. Thoms questioned if other conditional use permits covering events such as Country USA and OshVegas come back to the Plan Commission for review and renewal. Mr. Burich responded that Country USA’s conditional use permit will come back to the Plan Commission in 2015 however the OshVegas development would not as that approval was not for an event and it would just be a matter of if compliance had been achieved on the conditions. Mr. Borsuk requested that the Plan Commission discuss at a future meeting how the City confirms compliance for conditions placed on developments and how the ordinance is enforced. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 5:13 pm. (Vajgrt/Bowen) Respectfully submitted, Darryn Burich Director of Planning Services __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 8 May 21, 2013