Planning Commision - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Good evening, everyone. It's 6 p.m. The August 3rd session of the City of Eau Claire Plan Commission is called to order. I will call the attendance roll. Commissioner Brewster? Commissioner Erickson is absent. Commissioner Guttinger? Here. Commissioner Holtzman is absent. Commissioner Lawson?

And the chair is present. We have a quorum. I will read our standard introductory statement for how we conduct business at our meetings. During tonight's meeting, Plan Commission members will be participating in person to deliberate and take action on the agenda items before us. The Plan Commission attempts to conduct its public hearings in a relatively informal manner within the constraint that we must deal with the issues before us in an orderly and business-like fashion. We give the applicant an opportunity to speak first and then others are each permitted to speak either for or against the

Then I will entertain a motion then to first approve the items remaining on the consent agenda, which will be A and C. Move. Commissioner Lenard, is there a second? Commissioner Brewster? And then we will take the vote. Commissioner Brewster? Commissioner Erickson is absent. Commissioner Guttinger? Aye. Commissioner Holtzman is absent. Commissioner Lawson?

Commissioner Lenard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. And the chair votes aye, and that passes. Okay, Mr. Noel, you are going to present on item B, is that right?

Thank you, Mr. Noel. Is the applicant here and would like to speak? Or take questions?

I have some questions for the applicant. Yes. Commissioner Goodenshire. Can the applicant come forward because there are questions for you? If you could state your names and your address before you begin. Thank you.

Thank you. What are the ranges, the price ranges of the houses that are going to be in your subdivision? Okay, I don't know that.

Will you be building any houses or just selling the lots to builders?

Any other questions from commissioners? Thank you so much. So I will entertain a motion, but first, Mr. Noel, could you state the staff condition that you're recommending again, please?

Okay, so I'll entertain a motion with the staff recommendation. Commissioner Brewster.

Thank you, Commissioner Leonard. Okay, so we'll move into discussion.

Yeah, I'll second that. Thank you, Commissioner Reid. Any discussion before we vote on that? Okay, I'll take the vote. Commissioner Brewster? Aye. Commissioner Gettinger?

Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reid? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. And the chair votes aye, and that passes. So I will now entertain a motion on D, the excess land item.

Commissioner Leonard, and then Mr. White, you have a presentation? Yes. Thank you.

Any questions from the commissioners? Commissioner Brewster.

On the top of page 28, you have the statement that it costs $500,000 to build a single family home in Eau Claire. That's the cost of the land and the cost of the building, but doesn't include any profit for the developer. that number kind of riled me the wrong way so i started doing some checking and i checked with a local developer who immediately pointed me to a mls listing of a property on jeffers road that's brand new property three thirteen hundred forty seven square feet two bedrooms two baths two car garages selling for three hundred and fifty two thousand nine hundred fifty five dollar

Mr. White, was most of the feedback from the community there that they wanted to see it undeveloped, did that include the residential areas that are stubbed in, or are they concerned that there would be further development behind those properties?

Any other discussion from the commissioners on this item? Commissioner Brewster. Oh, I'm sorry.

Commissioner Brewster? Oh, nothing. Any further discussion on this item? We do have a motion and a second. Commissioner Brewster?

Commissioner Reed has seconded that. Any discussion on that?

I do. Commissioner Zoig? From the presentation Mr. White gave us, these are all meant to be developed lands. They just stopped being developed and somehow the city took possession of it. I think we're just starting back up what was supposed to be finished and completed. I don't know why we got to separate all the, just, I'm questioning why is more like the reasoning, why we're separating everything.

Any other discussion before the vote on separating out these two parcels? then we're taking a vote on separating out these two parcels. Commissioner Brewster?

Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? No. And the chair votes aye, so that passes. Now I'll entertain a motion on the remaining two items in D on the consent Agenda?

Okay, okay. Any other discussion on the remaining two items? Then we'll take the vote. Commissioner Brewster? Commissioner Gettinger? Aye. Commissioner Lawson? Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. And the chair votes aye, and that passes.

Okay. You have to excuse us. This is probably the most complicated consent agenda item that we've had. So we are back to discussing those two parcels. Commissioner Brewster.

Any discussion from the commissioners before the vote? Commissioner Reid?

Then I will take the vote. Commissioner Brewster? Commissioner Gettinger? Aye. Commissioner Lawson? Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? And the chair votes aye, so that item passes. So we will now move on to our regular agenda. Item number five is a public hearing for recommendation to city council, the land development ordinance amendments. City of Eau Claire is the applicant. The location is citywide and our staff presenter is Mr. Noel.

Thank you, Mr. Noel. Are there any questions from the commissioners? Commissioner Brewster.

Any other questions for Mr. Noel from the commissioners? Seeing none, thank you so much, Mr. Noel. This item is a public hearing. If you're here to speak to this item, please approach the podium. State your name and address and spell your last name before you begin your comment. I'll wait just a minute. Seeing none, let's see. I'll entertain a motion on this item.

Commissioner Leonard, any discussion on this item? Seeing none, I will take the, oh, excuse me, Commissioner Brewster.

Any other discussion? I'll take the roll. Commissioner Brewster? Commissioner Lawson? Aye. Commissioner Leonard? Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. And the chair votes aye and that motion passes, that item passes, excuse me. Item number six is a public hearing for consideration by the Plan Commission, a conditional use permit, heavy truck parking within an NR zoning district. The applicant is, I believe I'm spelling this, pronouncing this correctly, Reen, location 3014 Seymour Road. Good evening, Mr. Baumgardner.

Thank you, Mr. Baumgartner. Are there any questions from the commissioners? Commissioner Zoig.

On the front fence, could you go back to that and kind of explain where it would need to be if it was included in the conditional use? So that one where it was coming, yeah, right there. So it would have to cover. Yeah, it would.

Any other questions from Mr. Baumgartner? Seeing none, thank you. Oh, excuse me, Commissioner Lawson.

If we approve the conditional use without requiring the screening to be more private, do we set the precedent then for others to appeal or apply? And would we be stepping on ourselves in the future if we don't require that to be screened?

Any other questions for Mr. Baumgartner? Thank you so much, Mr. Baumgartner. Is the applicant here? Commissioners, plan commission. Good evening. If you could state your name and your address, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Reen. Are there any questions from the commissioners for Mr. Reen? Commissioner Zoig.

I have two questions, actually. First of all, what is your Your work cycle. How long are you on the road? Are you every night? Are you on the road?

Okay. So the final phase of this is here, correct? I mean, the city council has made these rules to accommodate this situation. I addressed it in our last planning commission. So the only final piece that is is to put a, by the LDO that we have in place that is for all public, is to have something in the front. So the reason I asked the, our city staff here is what would it need to be done? I don't want to overdo things. I don't want to have you build a building for any of this stuff. I just want to see this completed. with the rules in place that the city council and everyone has established

Thank you, Mr. Baumgardner. Are there any other questions for Mr. Reen from the commissioners? Thank you, Mr. Reen. This item is a public hearing. If you're here to speak to this item, please approach the podium, state your name and address, and please spell your last name before you begin your comment.

Is there anyone else that would like to give public comment? Please come up and state your name and your address and spell your last name, please.

Thank you Mrs. Lessard. Are there any questions for Mrs. Lessard? Thank you so much. Is there anyone else that would like to come up and speak to this item? Seeing none, then I will entertain a motion on this item, and also if you want to state a condition. Commissioner Brewster.

Are you seconding? I'll second. Commissioner Leonard, any discussion? Commissioner Brewster.

Is there a second on this amendment? I'll second that as well. Commissioner Leonard, is there any discussion on this amendment? Commissioner Zoig?

So, I know the city council has pretty much made this option in our LDO for this specific incident. I mean, we've pretty much made the rule for this applicant going forth from what I've seen. So as of the rules that the city council created, I mean, he's 98% there. I mean, there is a rule with the front screening. That's not for me to decide how it should be manufactured or made. So, I mean, it's, just remember what we're doing right now. I'd like to make a note of that, that we're, making exemptions to the rules for one homeowner in this facility, and he was, you know, the rules were in place

Commissioner Brewster, would you like to speak a little bit more to your amendment in terms of your rationale?

Any other discussion on the amendment? Commissioner Reed.

Any other discussion, Commissioner Brewster? Okay. So we're calling the roll on the amendment. Can you state it one more time, please?

Thank you. I'll call the roll. Commissioner Brewster? Aye. Excuse me. Commissioner Gettinger?

Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Commissioner Zoig? No. And the chair votes aye. Do you have the numbers on that, Mr. Noel?

So that item, excuse me, the amendment passes. So now I will.

So the supermajority of commissioners present would be what?

So the amendment would not pass in this case? So the amendment fails. Can I have a motion on the item without that amendment? And if you're also adding a condition, please state that.

Is there a second to this? Commissioner Reid.

So the amendment passed, and now we're going to move on the conditional use permit itself. Is there, Commissioner Zoig, is there a second? I'm not second. Oh, I'm sorry.

I have a question here. Okay, go ahead. I feel like we're going in circles here, and I'll be honest with you. I would vote this if there was some type of screening to follow the LDO. I would 100% vote yes if there is. puts a gate with a pole and a little hook that goes into his concrete and blocks it when he's parked and swings open when he backs it in and closes. That's what I would most likely see someone doing. If that was in this conditional use permit with these amendments, I would 100% vote this and move on. I feel like we're we're all trying to do three different things here and it's ki

Commissioner Brewster, did you want to comment on that in terms of the wording of your amendment at all?

Commissioner Lawson. I'll just go. I would agree with Commissioner Zoig that I want to see this get resolved also. I don't want to see this drug out anymore. We've spent enough time on this over the last several months. But the rule is screening. And if we don't pass it now, are we going to have problems later? I know it's the first time that we've had it come up since we passed the LDO, but I think we need to stand firm and go with the requirements that were passed in the beginning, just for ease of sake in the future.

Commissioner Brewster, anything additional?

Just meets whatever that says right there that some type of. I mean, he's got, he built all that other stuff, and he was planning on building a garage, and I don't know, a gate seems a lot cheaper than a brand new garage for a semi. So, I mean, that's what the rule is that we have, and whatever that is. So, that's just the conditional use that would be number six, and... in what the staff recommended, so.

I have a comment, but you wanna go ahead?

Is your amendment going to stand as is? So it's going to stand as is? It's been passed, right, okay. So now we are, we've already voted on the conditional use, correct? Now we have to have five votes for the conditional use. Okay, all right. Go ahead, Commissioner Reid.

Thank you, thank you. So we do need a motion now, correct?

So I will entertain a motion based on what Mr. Baumgardner just said.

Are you seconding that? Well, you can't because it's your motion. Okay, is there a second? Yeah, I'll second it. You'll second? Okay. Any discussion on Commissioner Leonard's amendment?

Okay, I'm going to call the roll on this amendment. Commissioner Brewster. Aye. Commissioner Gettinger. Aye. Aye. Commissioner Lawson?

And the chair votes aye and that passes. So now we have the original motion and it's a vote on the original motion only, correct? Because even I am getting just a bit dizzy at this point. Commissioner Brewster? Okay. Okay, we'll take the vote on the original motion. Commissioner Brewster?

Commissioner Zoig? Aye. And the chair votes aye, and that passes.

So we, we kind of are saying amongst ourselves, we want to clap. So we're going to clap silently. Okay. Calls for acclimation. Don't look that up. Okay. Item number seven, a public discussion for recommendation to city council, the annexation in the town of Washington to consider an annexation. The application is Hall. The location is 4222 East Hamilton. Welcome, Mr. Noel.

There is no applicant, okay. This item is not a public hearing. It is a public discussion amongst the commissioners. I will entertain a motion on this item.

Commissioner Zoig. Any discussion on this item from the commissioners? Seeing none, I will take the roll. Commissioner Brewster? Aye. Commissioner Gettinger? Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? He stepped out. Oh, excuse me. Commissioner Zoig?

And the item passes. Thank you. Item number eight is a public discussion for consideration by the plan commission, a site plan for an industrial building The applicant is ISG and only, excuse me, Ole Americas, 6120 Venture Drive. Who is the staff? Oh, okay. Welcome, Mr. Baumgartner.

Thank you, Mr. Baumgartner. Commissioner Brewster.

Yeah, thank you. Any other questions for Mr. Baumgartner? Commissioner Zoig in the, no, yes, Commissioner Zoig. I'm sorry, Commissioner Reid.

Commissioner Zoig. So I don't know if this will be an answer for you or the applicant. Is there going to be a proposed second driveway for this facility, or is this all going to be one driveway?

Thank you, Mr. Baumgartner. The applicant can come forward. Good evening. Good evening. If you could state your name and address and spell your last name, please.

Yes, my name is Daniel Rutledge, 40 Canterbury Court, Mankato, Minnesota, 56001. Last name is spelled R-U-T-L-E-D-G-E. Is there anything that you'd like to add, Mr. Rutledge? No, I think that Mr. Baumgartner hit it fairly well.

Are there any questions from the commissioners for Mr. Rutledge? Commissioner Zoig.

On any of these future phases, is there on your site plans for a second driveway onto Venture Drive?

At this point, the second drive would be determined when we start to look at future phases. The plan right now is currently to where we could extend this to be able to have access all the way around so that truck track could be separated from personnel traffic. But at this point, we would re-look at that when we get to engineering for future phases. Thank you. Yeah.

Any other questions for Mr. Rutledge? Commissioner Brewster.

for having that and then it would be replaced with something else are we talking like a year from now or as far as future phases on when the expansions would occur and when that would be removed at this point working with our client which is only america's we know that they're looking at utilizing this first phase as kind of a proving ground for developing out the future expansion so um We know that they have plans in mind, but it still just needs to be able to come to fruition financially in order for it to move forward. So I can't state with any confidence on what that's going to be, but we

Any other questions from the commissioners for Mr. Rutledge? Seeing none, thank you so much. Yeah. This item is not a public hearing. It's a public discussion amongst commissioners. I'll entertain a motion on this item. So moved. Commissioner Brewster, a second.

Commissioner Reed. Any discussion on this item?

Any other discussion? Commissioner Reid.

Is there any discussion on the amendment? So we all take the roll on the amendment. Commissioner Brewster?

Commissioner Gettinger? Aye. Commissioner Lawson? Aye. Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. The chair votes aye and the amendment passes. Now I have to do a motion on the actual item. Okay.

Commissioner Zoig, is there any discussion? We will take a vote on that. Commissioner Brewster? Aye. Commissioner Gettinger? Aye. Commissioner Lawson? Aye. Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. Chair votes aye, that passes. Now I'll take a vote on the item. Commissioner Brewster? Aye. Commissioner Gettinger? Commissioner Lawson? Aye. Commissioner Leonard? Aye. Commissioner Reed? Aye. Commissioner Zoig? Aye. And the chair votes aye, and that passes.

Thank you. I feel like this has been an episode of Survivor. It is 7.40 and our meeting is adjourned.