Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. Welcome to the Village of Cottage Grove Plan Commission on Wednesday, August 13th, 2025. It's um this is a hybrid meeting both um on Zoom with the Zoom link on the top of the agenda and in person at Village Hall. Um it is 6:30, so I'll call the meeting to order. Uh we have a quorum and the agenda was properly posted. So we'll stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

All right. This is the public appearances public's opportunity to speak. Okay. We do have um someone from the for one of the zero lot lines just in case there are questions when we get to that. Um but there is no one on Zoom or no one else in the audience. So we'll move on to discuss and consider the minutes from the plan commission meeting on July 9th, 2025. Those minutes are linked in the agenda. Motion to approve as presented. There's a motion by Alex and second by Don. Is there any other discussion? Otherwise, all those in favor?

I opposed abstain. Motion carries. Um we do have um items six and seven which are discuss and consider zero lot line applications. The first one um is at 101 and 103 East School Road. Um this was um both of these were just approved at the utility commission prior to this meeting. Um Aaron if you want to give a background on it.

Yeah. And Mr. Bisby is here kind of representing both of these. Um so this same thing came through for approval in 2013 but I guess they never got recorded at that time. So they're they're bringing them back again now. This is just taking two existing duplexes that are one one lot each and splitting them in in two. So going from two lots to four basically. Um as Cindy said, the utility commission did approve these earlier. So the only condition um that would still be applicable is just having them record the uh maintenance agreement with the register of deeds, which we were just kind of looking at that before the meeting. So I don't think that's an issue either. Any discussion or questions on the 101 and 103 school road parcels first?

Yes. Sorry. Wait, my turn. No worries. Um, I don't know who the question is for. Probably more Aaron. I mean, we're seeing a lot more of these. did from a future approval status from a history. Should we not be doing duplexes as one lot future state or should we because everyone's converting. So obviously there was some choice was made and now we're changing owners or whatever side changing minds. So should we be a little more aware of when there's other future approvals for multien? Sometimes we get them where people are requesting it the other way where they're combining two two into one. So, it's just kind of cyclical and I think just kind of a coincidence that these are

so these could actually come back and want to go back into one property could theoretically. Fair enough. So, we can turn it back into a farm at some point, I guess. Okay. A little extreme, but thanks. All right. Other comments or questions? Use your microphone. I'm recommend

going to recommend we um approve the application from the Steven T. Randall revocable trust to split an existing duplex at 101 and 103 East School Road to two parcels with the condition that the uh maintenance agreement be recorded. And uh I see the plumber has signed off. We always make sure that the plumbers signed off that they have separate water and sewer laterals, otherwise they got to do a different agreement. So, and I would second that motion. There's a motion by Don and a second by Heidi. Any more discussion on this? All those in favor? I

opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Uh we then have the zero lot line application um at 105 and 107 East School Road. I would make the motion then to recommend approval of the zero lotine application from the McFarland Meadows LLC to split an existing duplex at 105 and 107 East school road into two parcels with conditions. Second motion by Heidi and second by Kim. Any discussion on this anymore? All right. All those in favor? I

opposed abstain. Motion carries. Uh moving on to number eight. um potential amendments to the subdivision ordinance. This is for feedback only and I'll let Aaron kind of give an overview. There is an agenda um or a memo in the packet that kind of outlines um some of the findings that would be up for consideration.

Yeah. So, these are some recommendations that came out of the housing study from a couple years ago. Um kind of put them on hold as we went through a few different public works directors, but now that Kyla's here, we're kind of taking these up again. Um, not really intending to get too far into the details of this tonight, more just to notice that this is something that's upcoming. Um, one thing that may be of interest to this group last Thursday as part of a committee I'm with with Dane County. We took a tour over at Grand View Commons with the guy who designed the neighborhood. We kind of looked at different lot sizes and how alleys affect neighborhoods and different street widths and things like that. Um, and he said he is open to doing similar tours with other groups like this one. So, if there's any interest in this group in doing something like that, we could set that up and that might be a good way to kind of get into some of these issues. See, General Nodding. Yeah.

Well, I I would think so. Um that would be helpful for this group especially because few meetings ago we did have a proposal that would have included uh potentially houses with alleys too. So it would be really nice to have that discussion. Granted that was a concept that's getting feedback before they move forward but would be helpful. I think one of the considerations like I was sort of going through it looking at the streets and alleys and that type of stuff though too is it does potentially it changes the dynamic of of what cottage Grove is right so we don't have this and then we have that and so I think feedback from residents would be good too right so this this we're the bedroom town we don't do a lot of businesses all that stuff is there and some people that's that's why they're here and we we hear that comment we also here. We want growth and businesses at the same time. So, it's it's that tough mixed push pull of of what we want to do. So, I think visiting these these places, you know, we hear about it, we see the pictures, you know, it might be, you know, whether we can do it on our own time or as a group as opposed to meeting it would probably be helpful so we can talk better to the community about, hey, this is this is the direction we're thinking about.

Is this is this really what Cottage Grove needs to look like? We don't we hear the same thing. We don't want to be some prairie. We don't want to be Madison. We want people to, you know, blah blah blah where it's um some of these changes, smaller roads, you know, with the alleys. It turns it changes the dynamic a bit. Um so I think yeah, more information, more more hands-on would be good because it is a bit of a a pivot. Yeah. Thanks. So I will try and set that up as soon as we can.

I'm not crazy about narrower streets. We had a a long time ago, we had um kind of a phase where they wanted to narrow all the streets in the name of traffic calming that if we narrow the streets, everyone's going to slow down. No, if we narrow the streets, they're still going to drive fast and it's just going to be worse, you know. So, I I don't like I live on a nice wide street and I like it, you know. So, I don't really not crazy about that. The alleys I think are pretty cool. I think it's a good way to get the density that the developers are looking for without more multifamily, you know, so they're getting their density and and I'm not a huge multif family fan. Um, and I think a lot of times they it ends up being kind of an old fa, you know, an old school older fashion feel to it. And I think if you drive, you know, around Metro Market where there are a bunch of them, I those have all been maintained very well. Um I just think it's kind of nice and neat. They got the the little alleyways. I think most of them are all

So that's the neighborhood we'd be trying to So most of them are all private, aren't they? The alleys, Aaron, believe most of them are. He said, "Yeah, I could see it being a nightmare to add that for public works as far as plowing." So, I I guess I'd like to see I'm pretty sure they're private and for them to remain that way, but I like them. I I think it's a good, you know, it it ends up with a good housing mixture and but I just don't want any narrower streets. So, and I think the idea is is that this is going to go through public works first, too, and they'll give feedback on, you know, what's too narrow.

We'll get the fire department involved and make sure it works with all their fire codes and things, too. So, yeah, I think it'd be beneficial for a tour. U especially if we were together or had, you know, really specific things that we were looking for that we'd be considering. So, I think that that's kind of a a good benefit to be together or have you guide us Aaron like things that we should be looking at when rather than just driving over there ourselves like I might not notice things that I should be.

Yeah, I'd like to do it with the designer because he spent 30 years kind of thinking about an inch here, an inch here makes this kind of difference. So, it's it's interesting to do that. I think the other piece if you do that I'm agree with the shorter no shorter roads but the narrow roads but if you did narrow that you in increase the sidewalk setback right the the biking we hear a lot on on the the Facebooks and the neighbors like the kids are zipping through they don't do stop lines all that well bikes should be on the road that's kind of where they're designed to be if we give them a better purchase you know on that sidewalk make those wider I saw the five foot but actually say hey these are the bike lanes like a lot of the communities they're been building out the bike lane. They're talking about, you know, the bike lane up into the schools and stuff like that, the bike pass. And I think that's super beneficial for a community like this. That's that ultimately I think is is the direction. It's community. It's not industry, right? So, I think all that would help to see.

Are there specific in the bike pedestrian plan that was approved last fall? Are is there anything that is complimentary to these kind types of changes that have to do with sidewalks or road designations? for safe biking and what I'm talking about. Yeah, I'll have to check in with Kylo. We're kind of working on this anyway. So,

okay, that's kind of all I had for this evening. So, if we're interested in doing that, I'll try and get that set up. Do you want any other feedback from us on what was outlined in your memo? I don't think so. I think the comments we've had are are good, but I think just seeing it in person kind of helps, too. So,

I guess Aaron, um, kind of playing off of what Alex mentioned, I know the curb radius part of that also is tied to pedestrian safety, bike safety as well. Um, so I would just encourage staff as you go through this to be aware of that and as part of you doing the research and to also include those uh some data on that and what's recommended based off of research studies, things along those lines. All right, there's no more discussion on this item. Um, future agenda items, anything in the pipeline?

Nothing specific that I can think of. Um, we'll see when we can get this field trip scheduled. Otherwise, uh, number 10. Motion to adjurnn. Second. All right. A motion by Alex, second by Don. Non-debatable. All those in favor? Hi. Hi.