City Council

Watson Township Planning Commission August 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes 1. Call to order- Chairman Bruce Bos called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Roll call and recognition of visitors- Present: Bruce Bos, Nick Evans, Jim Davis and Brad Stalker. Absent: Jay Roberts-Eveland, John Caras and Owen Ramey Visitors: Jason Derry – Professional Code Inspections, Inc. Kevin Travis – Watson Township Supervisor Kevin Kutcher – Watson Township Assessor 4. Public Comment not on Agenda. None 5. Reading and review of the Agenda. Nick Evans motioned to accept the agenda. Brad Stalker seconded the motion and the motion was approved. 6. Reading and review of the Minutes from the June, 2023 meeting did not take place and will instead be completed at the next meeting in September. 7. Old Business: a) None 8. New Business: a. Public Hearing pertaining to the amending of Sections 3.32 and 22.09 of the Watson Township Zoning Ordinance to include a definition of “Storage Containers”.  Bruce Bos asked Jason Derry (PCI) for a final summary of what the amendments would state and if there were any further changes. After Jason reviewed the amendments, Bruce Bos asked for any further comments or questions from the Planning Commission. There were none. Nick Evans motioned to approve the amendments. Jim Davis seconded the motion and the motion was passed. The revised amendments are now approved by the Planning Commission and Bruce Bos handed over the final draft of the amendments to Kevin Travis for the Township Board to grant final approval. b. Discussion as to whether there is a need for considering making changes to the definitions and requirements pertaining to the minimum acreage and road frontage in the A-2 Zoning Ordinance. Bruce B. had Kevin Travis explain his concerns about the existing minimums within the existing ordinance and whether we should consider increasing these minimums in order to discourage too much growth in the township as he sees happening. Then Bruce B. had Kevin Kutcher express his views as to where we are at with growth withing the township and where his concerns are, if any. Discussion then took place among the Commissioners as well as Jason Derry (PCI) and Kevin Travis and Kevin Kutcher. Kevin K. stated that approximately 70 percent of the township is classified as A-2 and that approximately 20-25 percent is classified as A-1. Many ideas were then discussed as to how some of the possible projected growth might be limited if desired. Kevin K. suggested that if the minimum size would not be expanded, then possibly expanding the required road frontage might discourage further growth and reducing parcel splits. Jason D. also added that another option to consider might be considering the use of overlay districts. It was commonly agreed that this topic would take further continued discussion and would require more time in its consideration. 9. Jim Davis made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Nick Evans. Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Bruce Bos Watson Township Planning Commission Chairman