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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes__________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 1 June 21, 2016 PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES June 21, 2016 PRESENT: Thomas Fojtik, John Hinz, Steve Cummings, Kathleen Propp, Donna Lohry, Karl Nollenberger EXCUSED: David Borsuk, Ed Bowen, Jeffrey Thoms, Benjamin Krumenauer, Robert Vajgrt STAFF: Darryn Burich, Director of Planning Services; Brian Slusarek, Zoning Code Enforcement Inspector; 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 June 7, 2016 were approved as presented. (Nollenberger/Cummings) I. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APPROVAL FOR AN EXCEPTION TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE DOWNTOWN OVERLAY DISTRICT AT 531 NORTH MAIN STREET (DEALERSOCKET) The applicant is requesting approval of a conditional use permit for an exception to the signage standards of the Downtown Overlay District to allow a hand painted sign, greater than 32 square feet in size, to be placed higher than 18 feet above grade and above the second floor window sill. Mr. Slusarek presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. He discussed the history of the site and reviewed a photo of the sign which he stated was consistent with the historical sign that was in the same location on the building when it was originally constructed. He reviewed a photo of the building from the 1920’s depicting the original signage on the structure and stated that the Landmarks Commission had reviewed and recommended approval of the signage as it is historically accurate. Motion by Nollenberger to approve a conditional use permit for an exception to the provisions of the Downtown Overlay District at 531 N. Main Street. Seconded by Propp. Ms. Propp commented that she liked the look of the new signage. Mr. Hinz agreed however he would have preferred to see the vertical lettering on the current sign to be more similar to the original historical lettering of the original signage. Motion carried 6-0. II. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED CREATION OF TAX INCREMENT FINANCING DISTRICT #29 MORGAN REDEVELOPMENT; DESIGNATION OF BOUNDARIES AND APPROVAL OF PROJECT PLAN __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 2 June 21, 2016 Tax Incremental District #29 (the “TID” or “District”) is a proposed 36 acre blighted area district located in downtown Oshkosh on the south side of the Fox River in the general area of Oregon Street and Sixth Avenue. The proposed District, referred to as the “Morgan District” will be created to facilitate a proposed 27 acre $55 million redevelopment project consisting of residential, commercial and retail uses. The City owns an additional 8.9 acres within the proposed District with redevelopment potential. Five residential parcels at the edge of the district have also been included for future rehabilitation or redevelopment activity. Mr. Burich presented the item and reviewed the site and surrounding area as well as the land use and zoning classifications in this area. He discussed the 14 parcels to be included in the district and the life span of the TID which is proposed to be 27 years. He discussed the uses to be included within the district which consist of residential, commercial and retail including mixed use and the costs related to this project. He further stated that the redevelopment would occur in five phases and reviewed the anticipated uses in each phase. He discussed the city expenditures for this project which would include development incentives, riverwalk construction, street reconstruction, and administrative costs. He explained that the properties currently possess a zoning classification of C-3 PD Central Commercial District with a Planned Development Overlay which would remain and the developments would be required to come back to the Plan Commission for further review when moving forward. The plans are consistent with the City’s 1993 and 2005 Comprehensive Plans as well as the “Let’s Be Pioneers” riverfront visioning project and the Vision Report. He explained why the TIF assistance is necessary for the redevelopment of this area and reviewed the cash flow analysis both with and without the TIF. He discussed the next steps in the process which would be developing plans to move forward with Phase I of the redevelopment and planned development review for the entire site based on the concept plan, a developer’s agreement and more detailed plans for Phase 1. He stated that the planned development overlay will require approval of each phase by the Plan Commission and Common Council and reviewed the area as it currently exists and photos of the site from the past history of this portion of the city. He reviewed the parcels included in the district and the land use plan for the proposed district and discussed the completion of the riverwalk in this area. He also reviewed a concept plan for the district and reviewed the areas involved with each phase of development and reviewed a rendering of Phase 1. Ms. Propp stated that there appeared to be six to seven private properties included in the district and questioned if there were any down side to the property owners. Mr. Burich responded that this should be a benefit to the property owners as the City could create “mini paygos” to make development incentives available to property owners who desire to do improvements to their homes. He further stated that it also opens the possibility for the properties to be acquired and incorporated in the overall development. He further discussed the paygo options for rehabilitation of the private homes and how the property owner could be provided grant or loan money to assist with home repairs and increased tax assessments that could help offset the costs of the improvements. William Carey, 247 W. 6th Avenue, displayed on the map where his home was located and questioned how the traffic generated from this development would be handled and if there will be trees along the perimeter or if he would be looking at a view of a parking lot from his residence. Gary Gray, 815 W. Linwood Avenue, stated that the map on page 5 of the project plan is labeled as preliminary and questioned if this was the actual map or if it could be altered. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 3 June 21, 2016 Mr. Burich responded that everything is preliminary at this point. Mr. Gray then questioned if the actual map would be approved at a later date. Mr. Burich responded affirmatively. Mr. Gray commented that there was previously a TIF district #20 in this area that would overlay the current district area of TIF #29 and how this would be handled. Mr. Burich replied that TIF #20 would be frozen and TIF #29 would receive the new tax increment. Mr. Gray also discussed the Valuation Test Compliance Calculation on page 8 and asked for further explanation on the evaluation data. Todd Taves, Ehlers, Inc., explained the increment values in each TID district and the current values of each existing district plus the base value of the proposed new district which to date cannot exceed the 12% threshold of the City’s overall equalized value which the table reflects that the increments pass the compliance calculation. He further explained the margin available in this calculation which is in compliance with the statutory test. Mr. Gray felt that the table should be updated to reflect the 2016 values as it reflects the valuation data from 2015. He also questioned if there is going to be any site preparation to be paid by the city in regard to pollutants or contamination. Mr. Burich replied that the city would only be paying for the riverwalk construction areas and any work on the site preparation would be paid by the developer. Mr. Gray felt that there should be two or three options on how to fund the expected expense to the city as he felt it would be helpful for the Common Council to evaluate expenses for the riverwalk construction and street reconstruction that is not covered by the TIF. He discussed the street reconstruction which he felt should be extended from W. 6th Avenue to W. 8th Avenue and that the Capital Improvement Program, (CIP), includes the reconstruction of Oregon Street from 8th Avenue to 28th Avenue in the coming years. Ken Voss, 507 W. 4th Avenue, questioned if W. 4th Avenue was going to be extended through to Iowa Street and W. 6th Avenue. Mr. Burich indicated that this has not yet been determined and the planned development approval in the future will address this issue as part of the plan includes potential reconstruction of streets in this area. Mr. Voss then questioned what the area adjacent to the old City’s Sanitation building is proposed to be used for. Mr. Burich responded that the building was to be demolished and it was proposed to be possibly for park extension as well as parking for the trail and boat/kayak launch and other public use. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 4 June 21, 2016 Dorothy Reinke, 333 W. 6th Avenue, inquired about access and egress to the proposed new development and how the traffic generated from these new uses would be addressed. Mr. Burich explained that the main access to the site would be through Minnesota Street and traffic studies could be completed to address any concerns. Ms. Reinke then questioned if there would be additional traffic lights installed. Mr. Burich responded that this has not yet been determined and the west side of the development would require future consideration as far as traffic control. Ms. Reinke discussed street repairs necessary and with the extra traffic and additional wear and tear of the streets in this area due to the increased traffic from this development, if property owners would receive some type of break in the expense of the street reconstruction costs. Mr. Burich replied that he did not have any information on that issue and felt that the normal assessment policy for property owners would be utilized and the TIF district may be able to offset some of those costs. Ms. Reinke commented that the acquisition of existing residential homes was a possibility and questioned if it was just the homes located within the TID district area or would that be applied to other residential properties in the vicinity. Mr. Burich responded that the acquisition of residential homes was the properties located within the district only. Ms. Reinke inquired if the grant money mentioned that could be available for residential property owners would apply to her home or was this just for the properties within the TID district area only. Mr. Burich indicated that the grant money associated with the TID district would be for properties within the district area only however the city has other programs available for residential homeowners. He discussed the housing rehabilitation program that the City administers and that if a neighborhood association would be created in this area it could offer more assistance for opportunities for financial aid with home improvements through neighborhood programs. Paulette Feld, 416 W. 5th Avenue, stated that street improvements were scheduled for next summer and questioned if this project would delay this and if it will increase the responsibilities to the property owners. Mr. Burich responded that the CIP improvements scheduled will still be moving forward as proposed and that W. 6th Avenue and Oregon Street will be the main access for this development and W. 5th Avenue should not be impacted by this proposal. Nicholas Lang, 1950 White Swan Drive, Grant Schwab, 4006 Stonegate Drive, and Peter Lang, 2300 White Swan Drive, were present as the developers for this proposal. Mr. Lang discussed the plans that they have been working on for the last three years and that landscaping and other details __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 5 June 21, 2016 of the redevelopment will come back to the Plan Commission for review and approval at a later date. He discussed the riverwalk plans for the City at this location and the 27 acres of the site to be redeveloped. Ms. Propp requested a further description of the concept plan. Mr. Schwab displayed the area on W. 6th Avenue that would serve as the main entrance to the development and discussed the grocery store, apartments, and parking facilities planned for this area. He further described the outdoor patio for the residential uses, the two additional apartment buildings, condominiums and townhouses, and office buildings which would be constructed at a later date than the residential uses. He displayed on the map the location of the proposed uses described and stated that the apartments will be market rate units. Mr. Lang added that there would be no low-income housing units in this development. Ms. Lohry questioned if there would be shrubs located along the perimeter of the development on Oregon Street. Mr. Schwab responded that the conceptual plan is preliminary at this time and that the site is very large and the landscaping depicted on the plan is conceptual only. Ms. Lohry questioned how the parking facilities would be handled for the development. Mr. Schwab responded that there would be parking for one car per apartment unit underground and surface parking for the remaining stalls necessary. He further discussed the placement of parking facilities for the remaining development. Ms. Lohry stated that the developer should keep in mind that the Commission likes trees and green space within developments and not largely visible parking areas. Mr. Schwab replied that the developers are all local parties who desire to construct the perfect project for this site which will be aesthetically pleasing. Ms. Propp questioned if there would be any park area located by the riverwalk. Mr. Schwab responded affirmatively. Ms. Propp also questioned if there would be any boat launches constructed within this area. Mr. Schwab stated that it was not part of the project at this time but they will be working with the DNR on transient docks within the development area. He displayed on the map where there are currently transient docks located in the area. Mr. Lang added that they have had discussions with the City Parks Department in regard to this matter and would like to maximize as many docks as possible for the residential uses for the condominiums and that transient docks funded by the City are not currently proposed as there are already multiple transient docks in the area for public use. He continued to discuss the amount of water frontage in Oshkosh and the desire to take advantage of this amenity. __________________________________ Plan Commission Minutes 6 June 21, 2016 Jeff Maurer, owner of grocery establishments in other community’s campus locations, discussed an overview of the urban market that is proposed as part of Phase I of the redevelopment project. He discussed his campus grocery stores that are designed for development in high density areas such as this one and the background of his other stores currently in operation. He stated that his concept works well in multi use buildings and reviewed a floor plan of one of his other establishments. He also discussed the construction of transient docks that he felt would make use of his establishment as it provides ready-made, high quality food products that could be utilized by boating enthusiasts and reviewed photos of his other locations and some of the products they had to offer. He discussed his concept of building smaller stores that offer online shopping and free deliveries to homes as well as a catering program and that his facility utilizes smaller parking lots due to these features. He further discussed their products and quality of foods offered and that they have been in the grocery business for 40 years. Ms. Lohry inquired about the ability to order groceries and have free delivery to homes. Mr. Maurer responded that they offer shopping online or in the store with the benefit of having the groceries delivered at no cost which promotes more pedestrian and bicycle traffic and reduces the amount of parking necessary as the order can be delivered. Ms. Lohry commented that she is a representative of aging and disabled citizens and is looking for benefits such as this for their purpose. Mr. Maurer stated that orders can be called in or may be placed online if the individual cannot find transportation to come to the store. Mr. Fojtik commented that he felt it was a very nice concept. Motion by Nollenberger to approve the designated boundaries and Project Plan for TID #29-Morgan Redevelopment. Seconded by Cummings. Motion carried 6-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 4:50 pm. (Hinz/Propp) Respectfully submitted, Darryn Burich Director of Planning Services