Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. You are at a planned commission for the city of Wausau. It is Tuesday, June 16th, 2026. It is 5.02 p.m. Wausau City Hall Council Chambers. First item tonight is public comment on agenda items, and we have a public hearing, so there are several items that you'll have an opportunity to speak during the public hearing. If you wanted to speak to the some of our land use ordinances on the bottom or the meeting in a box template regarding data centers, this would be your time to do that. Otherwise, you can come up at public hearing when you... Anyone here for the data center? There is.

Would I be able to make comment now or not?

Let me just confer on the agenda here. Okay, so we do have that covered under public hearing and this possible action. So if it was a meeting in a box comment, you could do that now. Otherwise, public hearings section, you can come up.

Would that be right now or at a later time in this meeting?

That would be item 6A on the agenda, so it would be several items in.

Understood.

Okay, seeing no public comment, we will consider the minutes of the preceding meeting of April 21st. Regular plan commission meeting minutes. Would entertain a motion. From Balkan, second from Brueggemann. Barnum and sorry, Brueggemann's checked out today. Thanks, George. All right. All those in favor of accepting the minutes from the April 21st meeting, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? And that passes. All right. Item four is a public hearing. And the first item under four is A, discussion on approving a conditional use permit for 1740 Business Highway 51, 820 Business Highway 51 and 1735 Merrill Avenue to allow a vehicle sales use in the suburban mixed use SMU zoning district of Leadcar, Wausau, Inc. Is the petitioner here for that one? If you'd care to comment.

Do you need name and address?

Yes.

Brand in Greece, 500 North Commercial Street, Nino, Wisconsin. We're looking at the potential building of a new Toyota store over on Business Highway 51 at the addresses located approximately 35,000 to 40,000 square foot. Standard store would be a replacement of what's currently in town here. And just here to answer any questions on particulars about the site.

Okay, thank you. So this will be the public comment for this item, or the public hearing, and it will come back to the next planned commission meeting for action. Anyone else care to speak on that Business Highway 51 and Merrill Ave. vehicle sales use? I do. Hi, you can state your name.

My name's Amanda Nitchie, and I own the property 1740 Merrill Ave. I guess, so the The plot of land that they're wanting to build this on is directly across from my home that I purchased. Majority of the people surrounding me are just renters, so I have a feeling I'm probably standing on my own here. But I guess I would like to know exactly what is supposed to be going up there. Obviously, my concerns, can I voice those now or... This would be the time to voice your concerns. Yeah, well, so obviously, Merrill Ave is a very speed-ridden area already. I've seen multiple accidents right in front of my house. I'm concerned about congestion, obviously. If you're going to put up a dealership across from there, I just don't think the flow is going to be appropriate. Obviously, any kind of construction noise, I mean, how long is this going to take? If it does go through... Again, if it's a car dealership, there's going to be lights. There's going to be movement. I didn't purchase my house to look at a dealership. Obviously, I knew with not having the funds to be able to purchase that property across from me. I knew potential could, you know, something like this could possibly happen. However, I, you know, for me, it's when I called the assessment department, they couldn't tell me how this was going to affect my property value. Obviously buying a home is an investment. So for me, it's, the fact that you can't tell me if I'm going to lose on this house. Um, because there again, if I do ever decide to sell my home, which obviously I'm not planning on it, nobody does. However, I don't feel like anybody is going to hop on the, the opportunity to, to buy a home that is looking at a car dealership. I know I wouldn't want to. So, but again, you know, Noise, traffic is my main concern. I do have kids, so it's a huge concern.

So I guess that's all I have. Okay, thank you.

Thanks.

Anyone else? You have an add-on comment?

So I just want to address a few things. The Merrill Street parking area is really employee parking and overflow inventory. All the sales operation and customer vehicles will be down low. There is not going to be sales traffic through that upper parking area. That building should be down low enough where it's not visible through Merrill because there's quite a great change between the two properties. There is a connecting drive because, again, employees and overflow inventory would be up tall, but there's no structure or no sales going on on that upper lot. So traffic pattern shouldn't be heavy going in and out because it's not going to be a customer through access. Everything would be coming off Highway 51.

Okay, thank you. So this is in the area of the old NIGBR furniture. Okay.

Thank you.

Okay. Any other comments on the conditional use for vehicle sales? Last call. All right. We'll close the public hearing on that item. Next item is another public hearing. And this is under 4B. It's a discussion on rezoning 1010 South 16th Avenue from a single-family residential five-zoning district to a PUD, planned unit development zoning district, to allow for expansion of a commercial business, Brass Properties LLC. And I think the petitioner is here with the consultant from REI, if you'd like to come up first.

Do you need? Brandon from Thunder Lubin Service, Wausau. I'm looking at this. We have a parking problem, storage problem, and an efficiency problem at our shop. The parking lot that I want to put in, which is 1010 16th Avenue right now, It's going to be for my employees. We want to take the rental house out of there, landscape all that, save the trees, the big mature trees. REI has, we have rows of trees going and make it look really nice. And I'd like my employees to park back there. We want to add on to our thunder lube and service. We want to add 35 feet on the south end there to put a couple more bays, two more service bays. and a storage bay, so it'll be three bays on the back end. The reason for this is because I get over two weeks out because I do not have enough bays. If I have three mechanics, I should have five bays because you need about a bay and a half per mechanic to be really efficient. And what happens is I don't have enough bays, so if I can add just two more bays, I'm not really going to increase my... I'm not really going to be increasing the workflow in the customer base and all this other kind of stuff. I would just like to make things more efficient at my shop. I've been around for over 25 years. Everybody knows what I do. I don't expect me to add this on there and all of a sudden have some big boom in business or nothing like that. I already know I'm there. I just would like to get – when I built the shop back in 2014 – It's a little small, so I have the chance to add a little bit. There won't be a whole lot more traffic. The traffic will flow the exact same way in and out of my shop through Sheridan and Rosecrans like it always has. They won't be going through my new parking lot because that's for employees. So the only... At the end of the day, my employees will exit on 16th Avenue instead of Sheraton, and that will be the only extra flow coming out of 16th Avenue. So, like I said, I'm not looking to increase the volume of my business. I just need more... I need to solve my garbage problem. I need to move my garbage can also because sometimes my garbage people can't get back in there because my parking lot's too big, too full. I'm sorry. Other times, some of my employees have to park out in the street, and then I get complaints, and the police show up, and they need to wedge my cars back in, so this will solve that problem. And... So all these problems I can solve with doing this right here. And if you let me do this, I will promise that it will look very nice, just like the rest of my shop. I have very good landscaping for the rest of my shop. I take very good care of my lawn, my parking lot, my building. So it'll all blend in really nice. REI will make sure of that. And that's all I got. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak on... On the rezoning of 1010 South 16th Avenue to allow for a planned unit development for Thunder Loop. I do. Come on up, sir.

I'm David Berna, 1600 Sheridan Road. I actually own the property. My dad lives there. Grew up there my whole life. I don't think there's ever really been an actual traffic study done on that whole situation, even since the whole 17th Avenue project, which was all residential. You widened the street and you took the homes that were there out of our neighborhood and therefore giving the opportunity for the successful business that he has, which is great, but we already gave up that. We're not looking to give up more of our neighborhood. And all due respect, you can't, in my mind, if you're going to make that kind of investment, to say you're going to have no more customers, no more traffic, it just doesn't make sense to me. It just sounds like wishy-wash. I think there should be something some type of a traffic study done, the impact. I mean, there's kids playing in the streets, walking over to Judy Jones School to use those facilities. There are no sidewalks. There's nowhere for people to go to be safe. To me, it just doesn't make any sense to me. So we're definitely not for this project expanding into our neighborhood at all. I mean, what kind of provisions are going to be made for the kids in the neighborhood, people walking their dogs, riding their bikes, normal neighborhood behavior, not industrial, commercial, Napa guy coming with parts and all that stuff. You know, it's a regular neighborhood. Real people live in there.

Okay, thank you. We did have a couple other mail-in if we want to summarize those. Let me finish up here.

I'd like to say something.

Sure, come on up.

I'm Gordon. I live at 1600 Sheridan Road. I've been there most of my life. Now they want to take the property away and put another business in there. We've got traffic now coming, going to the gas station or oil place or whatever you want to call it. We have kids in the street. It's unreal. We've got traffic coming now. We've got trucks and everything coming by. Sheridan Road, 16th Avenue, the cars coming around, going into his parking lot. There's more traffic, and now we're going to have more traffic? We have the little kids playing in it. It's just... It's unreal. I bought that house years ago, and now they're going to have another business. They're going to take the house away and put a business in there. What's going to happen to my property? The value going to go down? Who's going to buy something like that next to a business? If he needs business, he needs space to build right across the road from here, there's big lots for sale. He can go across 17th Avenue, right across the street from him, and go there instead of taking a house away, property, and people living there. So to me, it doesn't make sense. With all the extra traffic and Jones School there, all with the kids in it, we don't need more traffic. We don't need more traffic.

Thank you. Another call, sure, come on up.

Hi, my name is Douglas Berna. I grew up at 1600 Sheridan Road. That was my whole life. There were no other homes around there when we lived there. And I'm actually a customer at Thunder Lube when I come to town. I get my oil change there. But I don't see any reason that they have to expand right there. As a kid, I played on those streets. And in winter, when they plow the streets, I mean, the snow mounds are high. So if there's an oil delivery truck coming down the road and another parts delivery truck coming down there, and there's a kid out there, what's a kid going to do? Run up the snow hill. But the chances of falling back down and rolling under a truck are very high. And I want you all to remember that because this is something that it's very possible that it could happen. And I want you all to think about that because that is not the correct place to have all those cars coming through. And if you use numbers from AI to see how many customers that business would have to have to maintain and to get financing to expand the business, it's a lot of customers. It's like a customer every minute or more than that. And those streets cannot handle that. And there's too many kids there. So please think of that. Thank you.

Thank you. I have something to say. Sure. Any other comments? Come on up.

Hello, members of the council. I wasn't going to bring my two here, but I am against it, too. I have my two here. I have to watch. I can't keep my eyes on them all the time. And if a ball rolls down, they're dashing for it. And even right now, we have no offense to the owner of Thunderloo, but we do have people driving really fast so that they can make it to the other end of their parking lot because it's They do have two entrances. So I am against it. I was raised at 1009 self 16th Avenue and I have seen it and just looking out for my daughters. That's all. And I just wanted to come here and just put my opinion in and say that my little two here don't know right from wrong if they should be running out and getting the ball. I tell them not to, but they still do it anyways. You know, they're kids. I do try to keep my eyes on them all the time, and it's nothing against Thunder Lube, and I do wish them well. I am a customer of them, but... expanding there and having their customers drive through, it's hell. Sometimes loud exhaust and stuff like that going through wakes them up from their naps and stuff like that. So just wanted to get it out there that I am against it too.

Thank you. Anyone else? Sure, come on up.

Hi, I'm Sherry Berna, Gordy Berna's daughter-in-law. I'm kind of concerned if we're here to just go through the actions to make this go through, because it's been published, I guess, twice in the paper. You have to do that. You have to have this meeting, bring it to public awareness. You have to do that. But he already owns that property, from what I understand, to expand it. He didn't ask to have it rezoned and then decide to buy the property. He has it. The other day, my husband was outside, and... There's a lady there all excited because they're going to move that house. She wondered if Dave was the person who was going to be moving that house. They already have the plan to move the house and have this rezoned. And my concern is, are we here to think about that residential neighborhood and what you're doing to it? Or are we here to go through the actions so that the Lou place can be expanded? You're going to bring in more traffic. They shortcut and come off of Thomas Street and through that little neighborhood now. It's going to be more. And I don't care if it's somebody late for work. There are no sidewalks there. There's no place for children to play on a sidewalk. And if this doesn't go through, This lady's already planning on moving her house out onto Highway J or something. Now you've got a hole in the ground, and he hasn't even had the zoning redone yet. So my concern is, is this a done deal? Are we just here going through the actions? Or do you really all care about the neighborhood, its residents, how you're changing and pushing commercial into residential area, and what precedents this is setting forward for other businesses? The safety of those kids is so critical. They play out there. That is part of their backyard. We don't have sidewalks. Please consider the safety. And if that house is being moved, now we have a vacant lot. that eventually, I bet, will get zoned and rechanged. And I don't think the people that are living there thought that they would be living in a commercial neighborhood in the event they want to sell their house in the future. That property value is only going to decline. So please consider the safety. Think about the traffic. You can't say there's not going to be more traffic. There already has. And they keep taking a shortcut right off Thomas Avenue, straight through. And I hope we're not just going through the actions and making this convenient for the zoning to go through. I hope you really consider that neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else to speak on 1010 Sheridan? Seeing none, we did. Did we get some paper?

Yeah, we did receive three written correspondences. Two are from the Bernas, from Gordon and David, who spoke earlier. And then one other one from Marsha Nualeni on 16th Avenue. She didn't leave her specific address, but she was also opposed to the rezoning. So those are the three written ones we got.

OKAY, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, SEEING NO FURTHER COMMENT FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING, WE'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM FIVE, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON IMPROVING REZONING 1010 SOUTH 16th AVENUE FROM SR 5 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL 5 ZONING DISTRICT TO A PUD PLANNED UNION DEVELOPMENT ZONING DISTRICT TO ALLOW FOR EXPANSION OF A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS Brass Properties LLC, also known as Thunder Lube. And we'll ask Assistant Planner Carrie Edmondson to walk us through this process. Maybe you can touch on the issue of the sidewalks that came up.

Yes, thank you, Mayor Denny and members of the Plan Commission. Good evening. Looking at the application, I just want to point out one error. Under purpose, it's expand vehicle service and repair use. There's no change to the use. That was a typo. So this is for a proposed rezone of the parcel as described from SR5 single family residential five zoning district to PUD, which is what the existing... Thunderlube parcel is zoned now. So that would make that all contiguous PUD zoning The intent of sr5 is to create preserve and enhance areas for moderate density single-family detached dwellings approximate density of five dwelling units per acre and The PUD of course we have flexibility with that zoning district depending on the use and the proposal So looking at the background, that's been described pretty well already. There's an existing vehicle service business that is looking to expand their business on the existing parcel, and then for the proposed parcel, that would be a parking area. So we have outlined in our zoning code for any zoning map amendment, we look at... criteria for approvals. We have different standards that we need to do an analysis of. So one is asking if it's advancing the purpose of the title. Upon staff's review, it's mixed. I would say that it would create a potential increase in intensity. Typically we look at additional gross floor area or paved areas and increase in intensity. It is keeping with the scale and mix of the existing neighborhood. The future land use map does allow for public facing commercial businesses to be mixed in with residential zoning. And we can see on the zoning map, there's a vicinity map on page 29 of your packet. You can see across the street, for example, there's commercial zoning pretty consistently along 17th Avenue throughout, and then it goes to varying degrees beyond 17th Avenue. So we do have examples of that. I mean, it doesn't mean that it's a good example everywhere, but we typically, when we're looking at land use decisions, we do look at the greater surrounding area. So the future land use map designation of urban residential does support neighborhood scale commercial uses. And this proposal presents no conflict with the comp plan goals. We do have to look, we also want to look at if it's maintaining the desired overall consistency of land use, land use intensity, land use impacts. So again upon staff's analysis this is mixed. we do have an increase in intensity of the scale particularly along if you look along sheridan road right now there is a mix of commercial and residential but particularly along 16th avenue right now you have a complete residential block face so when you're looking across the street you're seeing residential end to end and this would change that so i think there's definitely a character change to the neighborhood Again, though, the future land use designation does support neighborhood-facing commercial business. that's kind of the analysis. And then the last factor is they ask if it's due to a variety of things that in this case it isn't. This is due to a potential expansion of a neighborhood business. So the process is that planning commission makes a recommendation for approval or denial to the city council, and then the city council would consider that recommendation at their next meeting. And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Questions for staff? Mr. Barniman.

Can I ask a question of the applicant?

Yeah, that will allow that, sure.

Quick question. I'm just trying to get a sense of the general traffic pattern there okay is it typically I know there's there isn't a driveway out onto 17th correct no they go with both one on Rosencrantz one in Sheridan that's correct and your typical traffic pattern then is off of Rosencrantz or Sheridan and do they

I think most of the traffic that we have probably goes in and out of Rosecrans. That's the easier street because you can go both ways. Sheraton, you can only go north out of.

Okay, so if you're southbound, there's no left turn.

That's correct. They have that blocked off.

So typically it's Rosencrantz that come through and do their business and they head out onto that small part of Sheridan. And then the other part is you've already provided some testimony that it's primarily employee parking that's going to be on the new park. There's going to be no structures back there. It's just going to be parking.

Yep, just employee parking. I won't even have any lights back there because I don't need them. We're out of there before, well, except for maybe two months out of the year, but we're out of there before it gets dark. Weekends, it'll be empty. After 6 o'clock at night, it'll be empty. So it's just for employees. This is all it is. I want to park the employees in there. We have 10 of them. So we can all park back there. And most of us are older men with families, so we understand the importance of being safe.

Currently, do you use off... on-road parking?

No, we're on the south end of our shop, which is the Sheridan side of our shop, and basically we're stacked up back there. And if we get too busy, then well, I agree with the neighbor. I don't like any of my employees parking out in the street either. They don't like it. I don't like it. I'd rather have our employees and all our customers, of course, be inside our parking lot.

I'm just wondering if this will take that parking and put it into a parking lot rather than on street.

Well, if we get really busy, sometimes we have to use the street, but normally we try to avoid that. Mostly we're double stacking and stuff like that in our shop, and that's not good because we're moving cars and stuff like that. It's a lot better if everybody just has their own parking stall. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to even this all out so it looks nicer and it flows better. I'm not trying to increase traffic anywhere. The traffic is going to stay the same for customers. They come in one side and they're not going to leave THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LEAVE OUT THE 16th STREET SIDE, OR 16th AVENUE SIDE. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT, BECAUSE THEY'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH OUR EMPLOYEE PARKING LOT, WHICH WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME. IT'S A ONE-WAY DEAL. YOU COME IN, YOU PARK LIKE THIS. WHEN WE LEAVE, WE'LL HAVE TO LEAVE THROUGH THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY, AND I WILL HAVE MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS WITH MY, I HAVE A COUPLE YOUNG EMPLOYEES ON MY LUBRAC, SO WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH 20-YEAR-OLDS THAT, HEY, THIS IS NOT YOUR Be careful. We're family around here, right? Okay. My older guys are all older with families and stuff. They understand the safety and the importance of being not spinning out or whatever.

And how many employees do you have?

I have 10. Okay. All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Any other questions?

Mr. Trueblood.

You had mentioned that this would help alleviate trash. Would the garbage truck use this entrance as well?

Yeah, so the garbage truck comes in on the Sheridan side, and he backs all the way up to my building, and I have a, right against the building, there's a spot that you can pull the garbage cans out. So what happens is, especially during the winter, because we get snow that kind of, what happens is sometimes they can't get in there. We got too many cars and they're blocking up. So he just, he goes by and says, I can't get in there. So he bypasses me. Well, then now I have a garbage problem, you know, because I can't go two weeks without garbage. So then I'm trying to, I got to call them and say, Hey, you know, so what I'm going to do is, well, my addition will come out, but what we're going to do is we're going to make a, a, a brick, you know, something like a, would you say at a McDonald's or something like that? Uh, thing right on the corner of my new parking lot and, and, uh, my property it'll be angled right so they can just pull right in they won't have to worry about you know too many cars in their way open some gates up dump my trash and go so that'll alleviate that problem i have the my garbage company you know they try their best but you know they're always calling me and say you know you're we're just it's a little bit of a mess when we get really busy around there because we're so stacked up and double stacked and stuff like that So that's all we're trying to solve. That's what we're trying to do.

And is there a plan? So you're going to build a garbage corral. They'll still come off from the Sheridan and exit from to Sheridan.

Yeah. What they do is they pull up the back. Well, actually, pull straight in because they have the hook in the front and they do it. And then they then they back back on the exit out on 17th Avenue.

And is there any other, I mean, you're isolating your garbage, is there any isolation around the parking? Solid fencing, trees, barricades, barrier of some sort?

Yep, so on the, are you talking about on the new parking? Yes. Okay, so on New Wally's, which is my neighbor, there will be a white fence, just like I have, so it'll block his house off, right? On Sheridan, there'll be, I think it's four, and you can ask these guys. I think it's four feet of grass and we'd be putting a row of trees, right? Then you got on 16th Avenue, you have the two big, city owns these trees. We're keeping those and then some landscaping right there and a small exit out of there. So it'll all be landscaped all the way around there and stuff like that. And we got a big maple, red maple in the back that we're keeping that's gonna shade the whole thing. So it should look pretty nice when we get done with it.

And on the Rosecrans side, there are two entrances, correct? One on the 17th Street side and then one further back closer to 16th?

No. On the north side of my building? Yes. On the north side of my building, I have one exit out on the Rosecrans. One exit, okay. It's the main exit.

I have a question for the... Sorry. Has there been discussion of a traffic study?

So typically, if we do traffic study, it'd be for a more robust kind of project mix, like a development that's more extensive. This, for a singular use, that would be very unusual. I mean, typically, it's not going to, like the ebb and flow isn't going to be enough to...

Perhaps a traffic study is not the correct term. There was a concern around one of the Catholic churches in town near Thomas. The concern was a parking issue. What I heard from several of the residents was people are cutting from Thomas. Looking at the map, it makes no sense that they'd be necessarily going to his business from Thomas. So are people using that as a shortcut to multiple places and are in fact creating a traffic hazard that should be addressed? We know that since they merged the schools, traffic at G.G. Jones has increased. So are people trying to get to school, trying to get wherever, using the neighborhood as a convenient place as they were, and they shouldn't be using it like that. Is that something we've considered addressing?

I think one committee of the city that could potentially look at that is the Infrastructure and Facilities Committee. We looked just briefly at the DOT website. They have traffic counts on different streets. This one is shared in specifically as a local neighborhood street, so there aren't any counts done by the DOT website. Those are more for arterial streets, so we don't have any data on it. Could we potentially get it? The city engineering may have some traffic counters that they could put out. Again, I think the direction to do something like that would probably go through the INF committee in the streets and the engineering department. Thank you.

Any more questions? No, good. Thank you.

Mr. Balkan.

Just a comment. I was on the commission here when you did this project originally. Yes, we are. And I remember the detail. I mean, this was one of the big redevelopment stories of 17th Avenue. And the detail that you put into it, and I remember the details of the landscaping, and I trust that if you do this, that you'll pay that attention to this expansion of things and the safety issues, of course.

I take great pride in my landscaping. It shows. I take great pride in my lawn and my landscaping, and I really like how it looks. I came from Thomas Street, as you know, and I couldn't do nothing there on that little rental property. It was a piece of junk, and I hated it. Every... year I was there, I just hated it. This is my baby. My customers tease me all the time about because I'm down in Bowen and weeding and fertilizing. I think it reflects on the business.

Your pride shows. I think that's great.

I appreciate that. I try.

Any other questions? Thank you. Any other comments, questions for staff?

I can't see... All the traffic that's coming out of his place is coming, they don't go on 17th Avenue, they come up on Sheridan Road. Now we're gonna have garbage trucks coming right across the road from me picking up this garbage, which doesn't make sense to me. Unreal. All the trucks and everything. We should have a sign put up, no trucks allowed on these streets. Then what would happen? All right. I don't want to watch a garbage truck coming right across the road from me picking up their garbage. Mr. Mayor, point of order. This is public hearing. It's already closed. Okay.

I don't know why, but the garbage truck will pick up garbage in the exact same place they picked up before. It's just going to move about 35 feet forward, so they won't have to come in so far. But they pick up the exact same place, so I won't be changing that at all. I'm not going to try to traffic any trucks. down Sheridan if I don't have to. They pick it up off of Sheridan, off of 17th. Are they picking it up right now?

Let's keep the comment to the board here.

I just want to say that the garbage will be picked up exactly the same as it's been for the last 11, 12 years.

Okay, thank you. Alder Watson.

Thank you, Mayor. So in the packet in your trunk, the blue part is what we're sort of looking at. And that larger blue part, is it already PUD? It's already pink. Okay, so what is, I guess, what's the difference between UMU and PUD?

So PUD is kind of, for lack of a better way to say, it's kind of like customizable, but typically there's like an extra benefit to the city. So it's like there's some flexibility allowed with like dimensional standards and things like that, but the idea is that the city gets a benefit in terms of like something offered by the project. So because it is a PUD, that's a two-step process. So it's a GDP, a general development plan, and then a specific implementation plan. So it's kind of a big picture and then more of a lot specifics. So because this is a PUD and it would be a lot combination, he would theoretically need to go through an SIP amendment. So that's where we'd really look at the details of the flow, the landscaping, the fencing, etc.,

And with that then, would it come back to the plan commission? Yes. Okay, that more specific details of the renderings and stuff like that. Yep, exactly. And so it allows for a little more flexibility. I guess I was just looking at it and seeing that a lot of it's already UMU, which is municipal. I mean, it's already like business-y?

Yep, it's a commercial district basically, yeah.

Can I ask a question? Thanks.

No, this wouldn't be the point to ask a question.

Can I make a comment on this map? Thank you. Regarding this map? What you see in blue?

Okay, I'll tell you what. We've got some follow-on. Come on up and let's finish it up.

This is the first time I actually saw this map. So this is the first time I actually saw this map and I do see that everything in red must be like commercial. Is that what you're saying?

Correct. Yep. Yep.

Okay. So the blue, his long port parcel is also on 17th Avenue. I think you need to take into consideration that the roads that all that red is on are busy, um, They can be commercial. When you go around that corner, that little extra area that he wants to add, that is going directly into residential. That's not 17th Avenue and Thomas Street and Rosecrans where businesses are. That is going directly into a neighborhood.

follow-up question so i would mr true blood when was 17th designated as a commercial district because shopco i mean a lot of 17th has commercial businesses on it so was that when the snake bridge was changed or because that was a while ago

Yeah, I'm not sure what you mean by designated a commercial district. I mean, I think there has been some zoning changes over the years on 17th. I mean, we'd have to go back to the old zoning code to see when those happened. Some of them happened, you know, piece by piece. You know, up the street here, there was a bank and... Another commercial property that were developed after the street, so I think some followed the street construction. I can't say that's the case every single property.

And when you say street construction, you mean the widening? 17th Avenue, yeah. Okay.

Okay, I would entertain a motion on the approving of rezoning for 101016th Avenue. from SR5 to PUD to allow expansion. Motion from Balkan, second from Horniman. With a motion and a second, all in favor signify by saying aye. Any opposed?

I'm opposed.

Okay, that'll go forward to council and that recommendation. And that will be the, council will be the deciding factor on this, and then there will be other components coming back as plans come forward.

Mayor, when is that one going to appear on council agenda?

July 14th.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, up next is item 6A is another public hearing, and this is discussion amending sections 23.03.05, table of land uses, 23.03.14, industrial land uses, and 23.06.06 off-street parking and traffic circulation to define and create regulations for data centers in the zoning ordinance. So this is a public hearing for your opportunity to speak on data centers. Is anyone here to speak on that? Mary, come on up.

Good afternoon, Mary Clues, I live in Kent Street 127. I have some thoughts about data centers. One thing is I'm really glad that I see my city being more proactive than some places. Thank you so much for the Planning Commission for considering these things. I'm here to ask you to please take your time. Pay attention and raise your own awareness of what's happening in other communities if you're not aware yet. This can be a very divisive issue, and it would be, I would just say, wise to listen to city residents before making any regulations. Oh, these notes, sorry, hang on. So to ask, what part can local officials play to uphold standards for livable communities? Reports are that data centers are not good neighbors, noise, pollution. Some people are saying their water is being ruined. Energy consumption regionally is driving up utility costs for families who are already struggling financially. Please consider consulting with your very own Sustainability, Energy and Environment Committee. The committee has been charged with advising the council on such matters and data centers affect sustainability, energy and the environment. They are wise people on the committee. Please consider having a well publicized public conversation before settling on the regulations you choose. I believe people will really be happy to have a chance to at least be heard before action is taken. They know what's going on in the world. I also know this city has embraced greenhouse gas reduction for its own facilities and activities. What part can you play to encourage a reasonable energy use to mitigate the creation of greenhouse gases in the private sector? I believe you have a part to play. And beyond that, I encourage you to pair your forward thinking and action of the plan commission, pair this with working with state agencies to develop standards so we as a society are not subsidizing industries that degrade our quality of life. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mary. All right, anyone else? Come on up, sir.

Hello, hello. My name is Les Berestail. I'm a Wausau resident, and I appreciate being given the platform to speak today. The main focus of my message here today will be on the establishment of zoning requirements for data centers within the bounds of the city of Wausau, and I would like to make a few comments and points here while I have the chance to do so. Large-scale websites have existed for decades at this point, with prominent examples being Amazon or Google, and operations of that size would definitely need data centers to operate at the load that is required of them. And to my knowledge, the city of Wausau has never considered housing a data center for website hosting, computing, or logistics processing. That is not unusual. What is unusual and is of growing concern to people across the country is the rapid adoption of data centers for the purposes of housing and training AI models. These data centers are horrendously unpopular and would impact the lives of all people in the Wausau area detrimentally. The only areas that could possibly be reconsidered for zoning for this purpose is the industrial park out on 72nd. And not only is that home to over 80 single family homes and multiple apartment complexes on 68th, the workers at every single one of the businesses there would have to be inundated with constant sound that they have no control of. To leave the door open for the construction of a data center in Wausau would signal a broader disconnect from policymakers and the residents of the area. This proposal for requirements should not be made just to codify the definition of what a data center is, but should also be built in with protections to mitigate the undeniable negative effects that this new type of construction would have. The water quality of Wausau, the everyday lives of people working and living in the industrial park, and the stability of energy prices for the average family would all be things that would be sacrificed by having this type of proposal go forward. Please, I ask, do not allow this to proceed in a manner that paves the way for something we will all come to regret. I thank you for your time and your attention, and I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Thank you.

Come on up. Hi, I'm Jay Coldwell, 1508 Merrill Avenue in Wausau. And I'll just reflect a couple of things that have been said already. Thanks for trying to codify this in a way that's sensitive to the environment and the residents of the city. There's, of course, such a huge range of data centers, as the previous speaker mentioned. And that's kind of... plays into one of the main points that I want to address. Data centers really have kind of trivial economic impact on a city. They don't employ very many people. There's some property taxes paid, but it's probably not the premier industry that we would want to attract. The people behind the explosive growth of AI and other huge net-aware housing are kind of the oligarchs of our society. They are relentless. And we have water. We have electricity, perhaps. They will be pushing this. There will be waves and waves of these things coming, probably. There's some extreme examples. You might be familiar with Elon Musk's Colossus data centers in the Memphis area. They're powered by dozens of methane turbines that are essentially jet engines. that dump hundreds of tons of nitrous oxides into the air of the area, causing cancer and asthma and that sort of thing. So I don't think that we're talking about that scale of things, but as we start, things can change. Data centers also, I think we need to be interested in what the use of the data center is. Data centers are used for small scale things. They can be used to support small businesses, local businesses. They also are being used to spy on us. They are being used to take our jobs away. They are being used in maybe very soon will be used as the brains behind war machines, maybe even policing. And I would hope that we're not going to bring something like that into our community. The technology of data centers changes rapidly. There's at least one example where a data center was many months into construction and was demolished to make way for a new design that was but that made more sense because of the new generation of Nvidia chips. And many variations on that theme will probably come up in the future in something that's changing so rapidly with such huge capital investment. You might be able to envision making some changes to accommodate a data center and investing maybe a lot in power and that sort of thing. And then suddenly you're left with a stranded asset, kind of like the village of Brokaw was left with their water system that they couldn't pay for and bankrupted the village. So two requests. If we can build something in there that the purpose of the data center would be some sort of human scale application used by local businesses, local regional residents. And can we draw a line in the sand somehow that says, we'll consider up to a certain size. And if it's above this size, we're not zoning for you. I think a smaller data center is not going to have huge negative effects. The big ones certainly do. And then the other request is Wausau is county seat, takes a leadership position, and a mega-dentist center anywhere in the county is going to affect all of us. It will affect the reliability of our power, quality of our water, noise, quality of the air. Taking that kind of leadership and making sure that we don't get some of these snuck through NDAs in some unincorporated township somewhere that affects every resident in the area would be a great role for the city to play. Thanks.

Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, delegation. My name is Andrew Purcell. I live on 1221 South 7th Street off of Thomas there. So thank you for suffering my opinions this evening. I am a visual guy. I do talk with my hands. And I will have a copy of what I just say if you'd like to read it over. Okay. I wanted to speak regarding the agenda pack code for 231034B. regarding amendments for data centers. single favorite initiative with the proposed change is aligning future data centers to undergo the scrutiny of a conditional use permit the staff memo on the discussion mentions establishing a clear definition and regulatory framework to better position the city to evaluate the facilities as they rise regulatory frameworks and clear definitions are things I can support while contending with such a major change Bullet point number four on your packet mentions objective one, maintaining a harmonious balance of existing land uses within the city in Wausau. We leverage the winter climate for economic activity through venues that include skiing, downhill sledding, parks, and wildlife trails. These kinds of things give Wausau its unique identity as a city and as a place people want to visit. Moreover, Wausau is a neighbor to places like the Wisconsin Dells and their many recreational water parks. Reports suggest that data centers require a tremendous amount of water, thousands of gallons, to cool their server farms that run 24-7. They also use large amounts of electricity. You've heard this before, raise utility bills for area residents. and they may increase local pollution through the power plants required to run them. If I can go off script for a second, the University of Wisconsin has an aquifer study. They generated a map, a 3D model, if you will. Wisconsin is a plate. I like to refer to that Daniel Day-Lewis scene from There Will Be Blood. You know, if you have a milkshake and I have a straw over here and I drink from your milkshake, you have less milkshake over here. Okay, so that came to mind doing that study. Let's see here. The idea of hosting a data center in Wausau is a conflict with the city's development plan as it's written. Before even beginning to move ahead, the city ideally should quantify our water needs and the water needs of our neighbors and provide those metrics in the required utility reports to ensure that our area and our state is not damaged. Another point, our neighbor state of Michigan, this isn't a WASA thing, it's a Michigan thing, they have enacted moratoriums on all construction in local jurisdictions because of the dramatic changes in the water tables before proceeding building more data centers. Such a moratorium, if you had to enact that here, would be incompatible with WASA's comprehensive plan to grow the city. Bullet point number six on the packet here, Excuse me. It says here, you know, addresses any of the following factors that may not be addressed in the current zoning text in your letter D. Any other factor deemed appropriate by the city? Very open thing there. I would request that an additional fact to be addressed. If a data center is eventually established here by our local government, A complete plan for shutting it down, shutting down the facility in the future, if it's necessary, should be established and made public right from the start. A lot of your manufacturing accidents, what makes them so bad is that you can't stop it. I think of Green Bay packaging. That's not Wausau, that's Green Bay. They couldn't stop the fire. There was so much paper packed together. Industrial finishing. you have to cut the power off from the line. You couldn't shut the machine off. If you could consider that in the design thing, that might not be an appropriate thing to mention here, but I think that would deliver a lot of good. On a second point, there are reports of data centers being approved through legal settlements, sidestepping the will of local residents. We can design the best laws for zoning a data center, And we need to consider leveraging citizens' interests not to be out-negotiated through mediation in legal process with outside interests who would be incentivized and well-provisioned in the event that data center initiatives are not aligned with WASA residents. The subjugation of WASA and its resources from a foreign interest, it does scare me. Data center technology driven by rapid expanding AI boom is evolving fast, but that doesn't mean we have to leap ahead of the pack. I would ask the commission to provide more quantifiable metrics about the impacts of establishing a data center here that support preserving our quality of life in Wausau and in Wisconsin. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

All right, the public hearing is still open on our data center ordinance recommendation. Anyone else here to speak on that? Last call for public comment on this public hearing for our data center zoning ordinance recommendation. Do we have any write-ins, mail-ins, e-mails? Okay. Okay, we'll close the public hearing on that and move into discussion and possible action on, and this is under Item 7A, amending sections 23.03.05, table of land uses, 23.03.14, industrial land uses, and 23.06. 0.06 off street parking and traffic circulation to define and create regulations for data centers in the zoning ordinance. I would entertain a motion on that before we get by Watson. Second from Balkan. Comments, questions for staff. Had some good comment, public comment out there and every day in the Wall Street Journal there's articles on AI, data centers, data centers that are built and then the infrastructure that goes along with it to support it. If the data center goes away, the community is already invested or the public service commission is already invested in those. How do we manage paying for it once that data center is gone? An exit strategy would certainly be good to know there. Good news is we don't necessarily have those mega lots in the city to be able to do this, but points were made about surrounding communities. So our awareness and trying to get ahead of at least Putting something in the books and on ordinance because we currently don't have anything to address it I think is a good move forward and and I would ask assistant planner Carrie Edmondson to Fill us in a little more

Yeah, thank you, Mayor Denny and members of the Planning Commission. There was a lot of really good public comment. And we've been lucky enough to be part of a Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition work group for the last several months, have learned a lot from that. Of course, this technology evolves very quickly, so I wouldn't pretend to know everything by any means. What this does enable us to do, if we receive a proposal, it limits it to two zoning districts in the city, neither of which we have a lot of land availability, but there is some. And then we also, by requiring conditional use permit, we have the ability to request the list that you see in the regulations, water consumption and thermal management report, wastewater management report, sound study, sustainability plan, traffic study, so that we can ascertain what needs the proposal would have and determine if it would even be the right fit for the city of Wausau, which it may or may not be. With the conditional use permit process as long as we have substantial evidence and can say why that may or may not be the case That gives this body the ability to approve or deny a proposal Whereas right now it would likely fit into our light industrial categorization Which of course doesn't have supplemental standards specific to a data center use because these were just kind of coming into play commonplace existence when our zoning code was created. So this does enable us to hopefully do a thorough analysis of a proposal, determine if it would be a fit, and move forward as this body would see fit. So that's the reason that we're trying to get some language organized, and hopefully it's pretty thorough and in terms of what we'd be able to request from any potential applications. And I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Questions for carrier staff? Mr. Barniman.

OK. Yeah, I appreciate what's been brought before us and I know we had some discussion at the previous meeting about this and, you know, I knew I think had addressed the size. Like say Aspirus or some large organization, when AI kicks in or something, it needs a small footprint building to house their data center. Are they then going to have to come in, if they wanted to put it close by, change the zoning to something industrial for that site? And would that be the process?

So if it were like an Aspirus, we would still identify that use by the principal use. So it would still be like hospital or however our zoning code defines that. So if it was ancillary use in terms of size, scope, only used for that business, Because there's other ancillary uses that can fall under that principal use. But if they had a separate parcel, they're doing a data center, they're doing co-location, they're leasing space to other entities, we would look at that differently. Then it would be a separate principal use. It would have to be zoned appropriately. So businesses with small aspects of that located in buildings they have, you know, as part of their greater operations, that would be characterized as the principal use.

Okay.

Mr. Trublitt.

Go ahead. Just one other point, just so we're all on the same page with this. When it comes to this process, it's in your zoning that this is now allowed in the medium and large industrial. It comes to us as a conditional use, and then we would approve it. It would not go back to council. Correct.

Yeah. And I guess just to clarify, I'm sorry, clarification on the terminology. I mean, it's not It's not allowed by a right. It would potentially be allowed with a conditional use permit. So, again, we're not saying they are allowed or they're not allowed. We're saying you need to prove it to us that it's going to be acceptable.

But we would, those of us here, would be the ones making that decision. Correct. And I guess, you know, kind of my concern with it, and I don't know how the council members and the mayor may feel, but, you know, Like four of us are unelected. And this is obviously a hot-button issue that I don't know if council really wants to give that up. But I'm going to vote for this. I want it to go to council. I want to see what they're the ones that are going to have to decide. I think we're fully capable of doing that. We're the ones that do. are really involved with planning and zoning and all those issues. I think we've got a good sense of what we need to look at and what the city would want. But just so we're all aware, that we would be doing. Correct.

I guess a clarification. A zoning change, it'd have to fit into those two districts only, the medium and heavy industrial. So anything that's not those two would go through council for a zoning change first and on top of the conditional use. you know if there's an if there is a large proposal outside the city there's other processes involved there's annexation there's establishing the zoning district that those would go through council so it's just kind of the you know if there is the cinderella slipper of the zoning THAT'S IN PLACE, THEN THIS BODY WOULD BE THE DECIDING GROUP. BUT IN PRACTICALITY, A LOT OF TIMES, THE ZONING, THE BASE ZONING DISTRICT NEEDS TO CHANGE. OR AGAIN, IF WE'RE ANNEXING LARGE PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE DECISIONS THAT THE COUNCIL MAKES.

THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT, GEORGE. MR. TROUBLET.

THANK YOU. THERE ARE SEVERAL medium-sized data centers in town. We don't know about them because they're purpose-built. Aspyrus has one, I'm sure. Marshfield Clinic has them. Many of the industrial sites have them. You can't run a modern business without that computing power. And in the history of the state, we have had some heavy-duty water and electrical use companies, corporations, industries, Marathon Rubber. They made rainwear. You wouldn't think they would use a lot of water. They used gallons and gallons of water every day. Think of Brokaw Paper was mentioned, Schofield. Mosin-E, every time you go through there, you smell the effects of the water running over that cardboard. And many of those factories have transitioned, or the Wisconsin Rapids, think of the size of that plant that they closed and had to tear down. So we have, as a state, had much larger facilities that were using our water and power in the past that we just don't have anymore. Were they perfect neighbors? No, they were not. However, the state has gone to great lengths to make sure they have become better neighbors over time. And I appreciate the fact that we're looking at this now. It is unfortunate I was not in the previous meetings. I just got to see them in video form. I do wonder what is the impact of the legislation that's before the governor even now. They just passed... The Assembly's bill went before the governor on data centers. How is that going to affect us? It does emphasize the environmental impact and it makes it much more difficult for the bait and switch. So they promise one thing and then in the end we get something else. So I appreciate the legislature and the governor looking into that. I do still, following Jefferson and many other communities in our state, I do think we need to do something. The question I have, again, is as we look at this, and we know technology is advancing so quickly. 18 months ago, we would have never thought of this. When I was a kid, the most impressive piece of electronics you could have was a calculator. Think about what we do now that we couldn't do I realize that's ancient history. But just think about how technology is changing. And the main process we see is miniaturization. So in five, 10 years, we're going to have small data centers that are doing this computing at incredible speed. So as we do address this, I do think We should address it as, okay, so the next ask may not be for 36 acres or 64 acres. It may be for that four acres next to the river. And we can't really say, well, we don't want that because look at all the other industry. Well, we moved a lot of it out to the industrial part, but think about all the industry we still have in town that we're still having to monitor for... forever chemicals or whatever. So I am for the strictest possible rule that still promotes the economic viability of our community. Because without healthy citizens, really, what do we have? So I think that I would really like to see this a little A little further thinking. Let's go with that. So that it's not just about what could happen today. It's what could happen if the mechanism of transformation is less than 18 months now. In a year, what are they gonna come? And they're gonna say, well, you said as long as it's less than X number of feet or X number of zones, You can build it, because now it's just a small thing that is creating as much havoc as that big one did, but your ordinance doesn't cover us because we're small. And it goes back to the, we won't allow a nuclear plant, but now you can get a nuclear generator that'll fit in a closet. Are we gonna allow those? So, and I mention that because I just saw a documentary on a submarine where just this teeny tiny little nuclear reactor runs for 30 years, totally encased. Who would have thought somebody could have just, you know, had that 20 years ago? So... Again, if this is just a starting off point, jumping off point that we can then review, I don't have a problem with that. But if this is what we're saying this is what it is, I have a problem with that. I would like it just to be a jumping off point, get it passed, and then review this on a fairly regular basis, especially as if it happens as we anticipate, these requests start coming in fast and furious.

Thank you. Steph, any comment on that?

I do have one comment. If the desire is to create an ordinance that's a little bit stricter and go from there, to me the most intuitive way to dial it in quite a lot would be to only allow a conditional use permit in heavy industrial. If we just want a starting point and we want to say you have some ability to locate in the city, we have a very, very limited amount of heavy industrial property, but there's some. So, I mean, if we wanted to start with something, that would be a starting point. Medium industrial does open it up more. A lot of that at this time is city-owned, but it's not always going to be city-owned. So, I mean, that's what would come to mind for me from a planning standpoint if we wanted just something to begin.

Yeah, I agree with that. And also, we do occasionally, well, constantly review our zoning code. It's 450 pages, but usually once or twice a year we bring zoning amendments back to this body and the council just for improvements, tweaks, and it's not necessarily going to be etched in stone forever. When we pass an ordinance, I mean, there may be something that was unexpected that we could make better, and we're part of the statewide coalition that is still looking at this and will continue. State legislation may change, as you mentioned, so probably I would say there is going to be an iterative process to this thing, I would imagine, potentially.

Holder-Watson. Holder-Watson.

Thank you, Chair. So I was also going to say that, Brad. I sort of see the zoning code as a living document. It's something we can change. And I see this as a really stellar way of starting our baseline. Because I think if we had it in MI or HI, whatever it would be, I think it's something we should say, yes, we would like a little check off about that. And the ones that I think we've sort of talked about so far about water usage, land usage, sound, you know, was making a mention about sound. I mean, all those things are, I think, just beginning steps. But maybe we can start to, like, dig into it as it goes. So I really like this. The one thing that I didn't really understand a lot about was the C versus the, like, if it's conditional or if it's, you said by right, right, the P. So if it's conditional, it would never go back to, it would never go to council. We would just, as a plan commission, we would pass it, unless it was having to be rezoned to MI or HI, right? So is there any way that, like, and maybe this is just putting a lot of extra hurdles in our way, but, like, anything that gets, like, some kind of work in our departments that is an MI or HI could just come, like not to us, but like be, hey, we're talking with an MI, you know, an MI customer or I don't know. I guess, does it happen a lot? Like the mid-industrial, high-industrial, like changes or things that... You mean like if they come in like for preliminary review?

I mean, usually, I guess, usually the preliminary review is more done at a staff level, but I mean... I mean, we could look at doing that differently, but I think because we have the two-step conditional use process, that'd be a lot of steps. Just because we have, like, the public hearing, like we did tonight for... Would that be for changing the zoning? Zoning map? No. That would be... Zoning map amendment would be planning commission to council. Okay.

Yeah. So then if somebody wanted to make some improvements or changes on something that's already... Is it medium industrial? That's MI? They wouldn't have to go through this process even though?

They would always need a conditional use permit. Regardless. Yep. So they would always need to do public hearing, come before planning commission public hearing, and then come again for the decision.

So there would always be two times it would be in front of the public too, right? And that we would have people from the community be able to weigh in. So it still gets a lot of public facing discussion. So I'm comfortable with that as well because then we still get access to it a couple times to have some discussion.

Yeah, and another process that I didn't mention earlier is that, you know, if it is an empty medium industrial in our business campus, the city basically owns most of the vacant properties. So there's a property disposition process that goes through ED, potentially finance and council to transfer ownership that's separate from the zoning part. So that's another, you know, set of eyes, multiple sets of eyes on it at that point.

Sorry, George.

Someone else gets a crack at it. All right, any other, Mr. Trublatt. Just point of clarification. The ordinance is primarily for specific use data centers or general use. So people who are coming and want, who do not currently have that functionality in their business in town already.

Well, if they're a business and it's a part of their business, theoretically they may not come forward. But if it's the principal use of a lot, then they would need to have a conditional use permit and come forward.

Right. So they're building it for...

that lot for that specific purpose correct yep then they would need conditional use permit they need to come before a Planning Commission for a public hearing and then the decision again before the Planning Commission

And we're assuming they don't already own that lot or whether or not they own it.

I mean, I mean the, the conditional use permit is tied to the use. So, I mean, because the data center use would be happening, they need a conditional use permit. And because it's a conditional use permit, we have the ability to ask for the list of sustainability plan, sound study, utility study, water report.

And a lot of that we would do for any construction, correct? Correct.

I mean, this is more intensive. This is a lot more intensive. I mean, we typically wouldn't ask for a sustainability plan. We'd ask for stormwater, but not necessarily their water usage. I mean, they'd need a water utility permit, but I mean, it wouldn't necessarily be part of the site plan review. I mean, our conditional use permit review, whereas in this case, this is a lot more required of them. Okay.

All right. Mr. Balkan.

JUST A, I WANT TO DO A PUBLIC THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN PUTTING IN ON THIS THING. WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS OFF CAMERA FOR MONTHS AND I HAVE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT ME ON TO SOME SOURCES AND I'VE READ SOME STUFF AND MOST OF IT I DON'T UNDERSTAND, BUT IT'S LIKE I UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THESE THINGS AND what I hope with doing this, that other communities find this and copy it and improve it, and then we can, I mean, it goes back and it starts something really good. I mean, there's going to be a bunch of stuff coming up in the future, but, you know, I look at this and it's like, this is a little bit of protection, but then I also look at the other side and say, who among us is using less data these days? And, you know, I just don't think that exists. So good work. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. With a motion and a second on the floor to accept the amendment, the action amending. I'll just go ahead and read it for the record. 23.0305, table of land use. 230314, industrial land uses. 230606, off-street parking and traffic circulation to define and create regulations for data centers in the zoning ordinance. All those in favor? Mr. Warnemann.

Buddy this more. No, just so we're clear, we're voting on it as is. We're leaving in the MI. Okay. I'm good with that.

Unless he had a motion to amend it. Okay. All right. All those in favor of accepting as is signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? All right, and that passes. That'll go to council on the 14th of July. Up next, under 7, is item B, approved meeting in a box template, public engagement for Wausau County. Comprehensive plan and that I think again is System yes, Edmondson.

Thank you, and I'll try to make this brief So this is our meeting in the meeting in a box template It's one of our work. We're really kicking off now that our public participation plan was approved by council we're really beginning to kick off our we've scheduled some neighborhood group meetings our survey is being developed by regional planning and Brad and I have met with H2N about some different options with them. And then our meeting in a box template, my preference was if the planning commission wouldn't mind looking through it and just if there are any comments or anything that they see that they think would be an enhancement or anything that we've missed. Otherwise, in the next couple weeks, we'll hope to get this public along with our survey and be able to start collecting that public engagement piece because we really want that to direct our comprehensive planning process.

Questions for Carrie. Alder Watson.

Oh, I guess I would move to approve it.

Motion from Watson to approve meeting in a box template.

Yes.

Second from Horniman. Any further discussion on the meeting in a box?

I have a question.

A question from Alder Trueblood.

At the end, would it be possible for other comments not covered herein section?

Yes, that's a great suggestion. Yes, definitely.

Because in these discussions, a lot of stuff will come up. Was there something you feel we should know that we didn't cover?

Yep, that's a good, definitely will add. Good suggestion.

OK, do we need to amend for that or can we? Trust have to add that line alright. So now. The motion in a second. All those in favor of adopting meeting in a box template for comp plan signify by saying I I any opposed. Alright, that passes.

I think we skipped electing the vice chair.

Was not on the agenda. Let's put that on the agenda for next time. Help me out here. Oh, it goes from one to three. What happened to two? Interesting. There's a little button you have to check, I think. I don't know. All right, we'll put that on next time. So put your campaign hat on for Vice Chair. I don't know when our next meeting is scheduled for. We don't show what it is, but we'll have to. The 23rd.

There's a special meeting next week.

Special meeting, planned commission the 23rd. That's correct, and that will be right before the committee of the whole, so it will be a short one. I would entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved. Second.

Watson, Bolkin, all in favor?

Aye.

See you later. Thanks. Meeting's adjourned.