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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 1 May 6, 2014 PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES May 6, 2014 PRESENT: Ed Bowen, Jeffrey Thoms, Thomas Fojtik, John Hinz, Kathleen Propp, Robert Vajgrt, Karl Nollenberger EXCUSED: David Borsuk, Steve Cummings, Donna Lohry STAFF: Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services; David Buck, Principal Planner; Jeffrey Nau, Associate Planner; Benjamin Krumenauer, Assistant Planner; Allen Davis, Director of Community Development; Darlene Brandt, Grants Coordinator; 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 April 15, 2014 were approved as presented. (Propp/Vajgrt) I. HICKORY VI ANNEXATION The petitioner is proposing direct annexation (by unanimous approval) of approximately 0.12 acres of land currently located in the Town of Oshkosh. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in said area. He stated that the purpose of the annexation request is to obtain sanitary and sewer services from the City as the property owner is planning on extensive remodeling plans and the County has restrictions on the amount of alterations that can occur on existing structures. The petitioner is requesting R-1 Single Family Residence District zoning classification which is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Department of Public Works stated that City sanitary sewer and water main were constructed in front of the property in 2000 so services would be able to be provided and Oshkosh Fire and Police Departments have reviewed the request as well and do not have any concerns with providing services to this property. Ms. Propp questioned if the adjacent properties were in the City. Mr. Nau responded affirmatively. Mr. Thoms inquired if the connection to the sanitary and sewer system would be at the expense of the property owner. Mr. Nau again responded affirmatively. Motion by Nollenberger to approve the Hickory VI Annexation. Seconded by Bowen. Motion carried 6-0. II. LAND DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY LOCATED ADJACENT TO 3555 MOSER STREET __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 2 May 6, 2014 The City requests land disposition of a property containing a railroad spur located north of and adjacent to Pacur, LLC, 3555 Moser Street. Mr. Nau presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in said area. He stated that the request was initiated by Pacur, LLC, in conjunction with plans to expand their manufacturing facilities onto their undeveloped land north of the spur property. The area is located in the City’s North Industrial Park and Pacur, LLC, will be requesting annexation of the undeveloped parcel in the near future. Mr. Thoms questioned if the City owns the land, who owns the rail spur located on it. Allen Davis, Director of Community Development, replied that the City was having a title search completed at this time to make that determination but believed it was owned by the City. Mr. Thoms commented that if the railroad owns the spur on the property, there is no point to the proposed land disposition. Mr. Davis responded that he believes that the City installed the spur in conjunction with the Pacur facility. Mr. Burich added that the item is moving forward with the assumption that the railroad spur belongs to the City. Mr. Thoms inquired if this information will be known prior to it proceeding to the Common Council for action on this request. Mr. Davis responded affirmatively. Mr. Bowen asked for details on how the land disposition would be processed. Mr. Davis indicated that since the railroad spur is located on a separate parcel owned by the City that it would be handled as a land disposition rather than a vacation and a quick claim deed will be processed by the City Attorney’s office to complete the transaction. Mr. Thoms then questioned if there were utilities in the right-of-way that would cause concerns. Mr. Davis responded that there were no utilities in this area as they were all located on Moser Street. Motion by Vajgrt to approve the land disposition of property located adjacent to 3555 Moser Street. Seconded by Nollenberger. Mr. Thoms commented that the ownership of the railroad spur needs to be verified prior to the request being forwarded to the Common Council for action. Motion carried 6-0. III. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST TO ESTABLISH AN AUTOMOBILE SERVICE BUSINESS AND TOWING OPERATION AT 1980 W. FERNAU AVENUE __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 3 May 6, 2014 The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to establish an automobile service business and towing operation with gated outdoor storage on a previously developed lot. Mr. Krumenauer presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in said area. He explained that the site was previously developed with an existing structure and fenced in area and reviewed photos of the site as it currently exists. He further stated that the property is zoned M-3 General Industrial District and is currently vacant but the proposed use is consistent with the City’s 10 and 20-year land use plans. He reviewed the proposed use of the site and the site plan submitted and stated that all service vehicles and materials would be contained on site in the fenced in area and out of view. He also reviewed the conditions recommended for this proposal and discussed the landscaping features for the site which would require approval by the Department of Community Development. He reviewed the graveled area referenced in the staff report that was recommended to be removed and replaced with turf. Mr. Hinz arrived at 4:15 pm. Ms. Propp commented that the staff report indicated that the building would not require any major remodeling however from viewing the photos of the site, it appeared that the structure was in need of repairs. Mr. Krumenauer replied that the structure would be painted, the fencing repaired, and repairs completed on the driveway surface with the addition of landscaping to the site. Mr. Bowen commented about the new zoning ordinance update which would include new zoning maps and questioned how frequently the Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping is updated. He felt that with all the Department of Transportation’s reconfigured right-of-ways, it has changed a lot of things and the maps are kind of confusing when they do not reflect the most current changes. Mr. Krumenauer responded that there is a timeline for updates to the City’s GIS system as all the changes take time to incorporate into it. Mr. Buck commented that the new zoning map will be parcel by parcel and areas that contain both City and Town parcels such as this one make things confusing. Mr. Thoms questioned that the conditional use permit was for the use only and questioned why there was no signage requirements discussed. Mr. Burich responded that this area was not a planned development therefore the signage was considered an accessory use and was permitted in the M-3 zoning district. Any signage on the site would need to meet code requirements or the petitioner would have to request a variance if the proposed signage did not meet code regulation standards. Mr. Thoms voiced his concern about this area being a gateway corridor to the city and the aesthetic effects of this site. Mr. Buck indicated that the landscaping conditions were to address the towing operation as the fenced in area for service vehicles and materials for storage use purposes on the site leaves a blank wall for an extended area. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 4 May 6, 2014 Mr. Burich added that the landscaping will hide the storage use on the site and although it was previously an automobile service and towing facility, the property was located in the Town at that time. Ms. Propp commented that the staff report indicates that the towing truck will be located off-site at night and questioned where it would be located. Mr. Burich replied that since towing services are necessary 24 hours a day, the truck is usually stored in someone’s driveway during the night when a driver is on-call which is allowed by City code providing it is only one commercial vehicle and within certain size dimensions. Motion by Vajgrt to approve a conditional use permit to establish an automotive service business and towing operation at 1980 W. Fernau Avenue with the following conditions: 1. No outdoor/un-enclosed storage of tow trucks, service equipment, inoperable vehicles, parts or other materials be allowed on the property with the exception of customer parking. 2. Fence enclosure to be repaired and maintained with complementary materials that are consistent with the existing fence enclosure. 3. Landscaping to be installed on the Algoma Boulevard frontage which includes the west 30 feet of the south side of the lot and a detailed landscape plan be submitted for Planning Division staff review. 4. Removal of all gravel within the right-of-way and replaced with turf and the existing drive be repaired where necessary with complementary materials. Seconded by Bowen. Motion carried 7-0. IV. PLANNED DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL TO ESTABLISH A FOOD CONCESSION AND OUTDOOR DINING AND RECREATION AREA AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF JACKSON STREET AND PEARL AVENUE The applicant is requesting a development plan approval to establish a stationary mobile vending site including a replica of a historic circus wagon used for food vending, outdoor dining and passive recreation area within a heavily landscaped setting. Mr. Buck presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in said area. He reviewed the site plan and described the vending site in greater detail which would operate from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm seven days a week. He reviewed photos of the vending wagon and stated that no signage was proposed on the site with the exception of the signage on the wagon itself. He reviewed the landscaping concepts for the site and stated that the proposed use was permitted in this zoning district and no parking was required for this type of use. He further explained that the site was not usable for redevelopment of a brick and mortar type structure as it was a Brownfield site and this proposal was a good intermittent use for the property. He discussed the potential for additional food carts on the site however that option was being left at the applicant’s discretion. He further commented that the proposal meets all code standards with the exception of the ingress/egress width to the vending area circle which is recommended to be reduced to no greater than 30 feet with the addition of a pedestrian access to the public walk on Jackson Street. He commented that this would be an aesthetic improvement to the area and reviewed the conditions recommended for this request. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 5 May 6, 2014 Mr. Thoms inquired what ordinance would govern this application. Mr. Buck responded that the petitioner has a mobile vending license which would govern this type of activity. Mr. Thoms then questioned if there were any safety concerns with vehicle traffic issues and the pedestrian use on this site. Mr. Buck replied that there was sidewalk and curbing on Jackson Street separating the use from the traffic and landscaping, large stones, and sidewalk and curbing on Pearl Avenue. Mr. Burich added that there was a curb cut on Pearl Avenue however this is addressed in the conditions recommended for this request with barriers to be erected during proposed business hours. Mr. Thoms inquired if the City knows how far down contamination on this property extends and if there were concerns about issues due to it being a Brownfield site. Mr. Burich responded that it was a capped site so he did not anticipate any issues with this type of use and should not disturb the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s (DNR) closure of the site. Mr. Buck added that the landscaping and ground cover does not extend that deep into the soil. Mr. Thoms questioned if the signage on the vending wagon was the only signage proposed for the site. Mr. Burich responded affirmatively and stated that he had seen sandwich board signs utilized in other communities for this type of use however the petitioner has not included any signage request in his application. Mr. Thoms questioned if a condition could be added to the request to address signage. Mr. Burich replied that the applicant is not proposing any signage for the site at this time and no ground signs would be allowed on this property however a condition could be added to allow one sandwich board sign per vending unit on site. Mr. Vajgrt questioned if the DNR had remediated the site. Mr. Buck responded that the gas tanks were removed from the site prior to its closure by the DNR. Mr. Vajgrt commented that if the site was a filling station only, the contamination would be quite deep in the ground and should not be an issue with this type of surface improvements. Jeff Fulbright, 506 Jackson Street, the petitioner for this request, explained that this was an iconic hot dog venue and reviewed the narrative for the proposal. He stated that these would be surface improvements only and a lot of top soil and crushed granite would be added to the surface of the site. He passed around photos of the landscaping features and vending wagon and discussed the concept of the proposal and the potential for a franchise to develop in the future for this food venue. He felt this use would help increase land values and development in the area as he was investing $26,000 in the purchase of the vending wagon and another $30,000 in landscaping expense. He discussed startup __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 6 May 6, 2014 costs for this venture as compared to a brick and mortar restaurant facility which requires a much higher upfront investment. Mr. Thoms inquired if the petitioner envisions having multiple vendors on the site. Mr. Fulbright discussed how the concept of “clustering” can work however examples of it that he has witnessed that were successful were located in multi-block areas and this is a small area. He also discussed the maneuvering of vehicles into the site as each food cart would have to be brought in and removed from the site on a daily basis. Other vendors would also have to agree on the hours of operation and he does not want to have the responsibility of being a landlord. His food vending wagon would be the only one the first year of operation and having additional food vendors on the site may be problematic for various reasons. Mr. Vajgrt questioned if the truck had to be connected to the food vending wagon. Mr. Fulbright explained that a large truck would be necessary to pull the vending wagon and explained the difficulties of maneuvering it to fit into this small site. He did feel that the addition of other food vendors was a good idea, he just was not sure it would be feasible. Mr. Buck commented that the condition was only to allow two additional vending units on the site and it was at the petitioner’s discretion. Mr. Fulbright commented that there was already another food vendor across the street at the cycle repair shop. Ms. Propp commented that the landscaping looked beautiful however maintenance would be necessary to keep it in good condition. Mr. Fulbright responded that the landscaping features would be maintained on a regular basis. Ms. Propp also questioned what the shed proposed for the site would look like as there were no renderings in the application that included any example. Mr. Fulbright passed around a photo of the proposed shed structure and stated that he was on a limited budget and the shed would be used for storage use only. Mary Murken, Murken Properties, 1729 Knapp Street, stated that she had concerns with the parking situation as they have property across Jackson Street adjacent to this site. She voiced her concerns with what kind of agreements they would be looking to acquire for parking from other property owners and she also had concerns with trash removal. She further commented that the petitioner can anticipate a certain amount of landscape damage on Jackson Street from the road salt in winter and vehicle traffic safety was also a concern. Mr. Nollenberger commented that it was a unique concept and he felt that there would be adequate parking in the area for this type of use. Mr. Buck distributed a map of the vicinity depicting the location of on-street parking and the time limits on various streets. He also commented that the church located adjacent to the site would be ideal for an area to develop a parking agreement with however as this site is located in a C-3 zoning district, no parking requirements are necessary. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 7 May 6, 2014 Mr. Burich added that the use is a model to attract pedestrian traffic more so than the driving public. Mr. Vajgrt asked for clarification on the map depicting the on-street parking areas. Mr. Nau pointed out areas on the map that allowed on-street parking and stated that Riverway Drive and High Avenue both had adequate on-street parking areas. Mr. Buck stated that he felt the site would be more utilized by office workers in the area and campus pedestrian movements than vehicular traffic and trash would be removed from the site every evening. Mr. Fulbright stated that small receptacles for trash would be stored in the shed daily and removed from the site on a nightly basis. Mr. Fojtik commented that it was an interesting approach to the redevelopment of a Brownfield site. Motion by Nollenberger to approve a planned development to establish a food concession and outdoor dining and recreation area at the northwest corner of Jackson Street and Pearl Avenue with the following conditions: 1) Allow an additional two mobile vending units to be located on the site, at the petitioner’s discretion. 2) Vending/concessions wagon, refuse and dining furniture be removed from the site or internally stored between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. 3) Entrance to the site from Pearl Avenue is reduced in width to no greater than 30 feet at the property line. 4) Barriers that block vehicular entrance to the site be erected during proposed business hours of operation, as approved by the Department of Public Works. 5) Pedestrian linkage is made from the vending area to the public sidewalk on Jackson Street. 6) Design of the proposed on-site shed is approved by the Department of Community Development. Seconded by Vajgrt. Mr. Thoms requested to amend the motion to add a condition to include that no permanent sign would be installed and that only one sign per vendor on site would be allowed. Motion by Nollenberger to approve a planned development to establish a food concession and outdoor dining and recreation area at the northwest corner of Jackson Street and Pearl Avenue with the following conditions: 1) Allow an additional two mobile vending units to be located on the site, at the petitioner’s discretion. 2) Vending/concessions wagon, refuse and dining furniture be removed from the site or internally stored between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. 3) Entrance to the site from Pearl Avenue is reduced in width to no greater than 30 feet at the property line. 4) Barriers that block vehicular entrance to the site be erected during proposed business hours of operation, as approved by the Department of Public Works. 5) Pedestrian linkage is made from the vending area to the public sidewalk on Jackson Street. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 8 May 6, 2014 6) Design of the proposed on-site shed is approved by the Department of Community Development. 7) Signage limited to on-unit signage only and one sandwich board per unit. Motion carried 7-0. V. PUBLIC HEARING: 2014 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM ACTION PLAN BUDGET Staff requests review and acceptance of the 2014 Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Action Plan. The purpose of this review is for the Plan Commission to make a determination of consistency of the proposed programs and activities in the 2014 CDBG Action Plan budget with the City’s Comprehensive Plan or other planned activities. Mr. Bowen left the meeting at 5:02 pm. Darlene Brandt conducted the presentation of the 2014 Community Development Block Grant Program Action Plan for the period of May 2014 through April 2015, which anticipates the 2014 budgeting for this program. She explained that 70% of the federal funds received are required to be spent on programs which meet the national objectives of this funding which are to benefit low to moderate income persons, (LMI), aide in slum/blighted removal and prevention, and urgent need assistance such as disasters. The funding for 2014 is anticipated to be $735,085 and is budgeted as follows: Central City Development and Community Facilities 100,000 Housing & Neighborhood Development 440,085 Public Services 75,000 Administration and Planning 120,000 All programs require heavy reporting to HUD accounting for program expenditures and the Action Plan also requires Common Council approval. Ms. Brandt reviewed photos of the past year’s projects and the various programs and agencies that received funding under the housing programs and Public Services category and what programs these funds are utilized to support. She briefly discussed the flexible use of these funds and that the majority is spent on housing related activities. Housing rehabilitation assistance is scattered throughout the city with some concentration in certain areas that are older and in poor condition. A public hearing was held on April 29th at City Hall with the Plan Commission meeting today acting as a second public hearing venue and the final public hearing and Council review will be on May 13th. Mr. Thoms commented that the funding seems to be half of what it used to be in past years and yet the administrative expenses and activities seem to be the same. He questioned if we have considered changing some of the activities these funds support. Mr. Burich responded that we could utilize all the funds towards housing rehabilitation projects as the most LMI benefit is received from this type of work however the removal of blighted properties also has a benefit to the community as a whole. Mr. Thoms felt we should concentrate on how to get the most “bang for the buck” out of this funding. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 9 May 6, 2014 Mr. Burich stated that Planning Services staff is also researching funding from other sources to help finance additional projects and that the Public Service Consortium needs to be funded to continue programs in place that benefit the community. He felt we have to take the opportunity to improve neighborhoods by removing blighted properties that negatively affect property values in the vicinity. Mr. Nollenberger commented that we need to balance priorities and he felt we should move forward with the budget as proposed. Mr. Fojtik opened the public hearing at 5:15 pm for public comment. As there were no citizens present, the public hearing was closed. Motion by Nollenberger to accept the 2014 Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Action Plan. Seconded by Vajgrt. Motion carried 6-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 5:20 pm. (Hinz/Vajgrt) Respectfully submitted, Darryn Burich Director of Planning Services