City Council

TOWN OF VERMONT PLAN COMMISSION MEETING 4017 County Hwy JJ, Black Earth, WI 53515 Monday July 28, 2025, 6:00 P.M. Call to order and posting certification Tim called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was properly noticed: posted on the front door of the Town Hall, posted on the town website, emailed to the online subscribers, and published in the Mount Horeb Mail and Times Tribune. Present: Tim Pierce, Diane Anderson, Jim Elleson, Polly Kawalek, Doug Meier, Max Scoll Absent: Dean Bossenbroek Approval of agenda Doug moved and Polly seconded a motion to approve the agenda. Carried 6-0. Approval of June meeting minutes Polly moved and Jim seconded a motion to approve the June meeting minutes. Carried 6-0. Public input/general comments Dave Stanfield mentioned an article in a Madison paper where they are undertaking a plan for low- income housing. Do we have policies that could be changed to address this issue? This is a constant problem for young people. The problem is that developers control the issue. It is very expensive to build in the Town of Vermont. Polly mentioned a solution used in Chicago. Churches bought plots of land, sold it to their parishioner who then built two flats. We need to have conversations with foundations and philanthropic organizations. Wanda Marling, 3975 Moe Road, Discussion on next steps for property. • Wanda Marling and her grandson were at the meeting requesting information on steps to take to be able to build in the Town of Vermont. • Town records and 2 density studies show there is no PDR available on the property. • The Land Use Plan allows 1 PDR per 35 acres and 1 GF house. The GF would require a habitable house with a fire number assigned as of January 1, 1985. • Options available for the Marlings: o A LUIF for a driveway/building site could not get approval from this committee. o Maps showing a PDR on the property were taken down because they were inaccurate. o They could go to the county and see when the mailing address for the cabin was assigned. o They could purchase 2 acres from any neighbor with a PDR and build on the 2 acres. o If Michael Smith would take his last PDR and assign it to the ½ acre, they could add it to a CSM and then build anywhere on the lot. Tim will contact Roger Lane, Dane County, to see if they are willing to accept this scenario.  • Richard Anderson, 4551 Pleasant Valley Road, Rezone application • • Last month we discussed our policy of not approving a rezone to residential without an approved driveway and building site. • We discussed having a deed restriction that could be put in place that would allow Anderson’s to proceed with their request and give the town a degree of safety to prevent a house popping up in the future. • Roger Lane did provide a deed restriction that would be recorded on the deed stating no approvals until Town of Vermont approvals are granted. • Town records show that Anderson’s have 4 PDRs available, however on 2 density studies, the detail shows 109 acres to Anderson’s and 28 acres to the O’Connells. • Our plan says that if there is no agreement in writing, the board can assign the PDR’s according to number of acres. • Original sheet with the town states there is an assumption that the O’Connell sale did not include a PDR. • We will take no action tonight and follow up in August after the 4th PDR is determined. Discussion regarding PC policy of only considering rezone requests if accompanied by a homesite and driveway request concurrently. • Tim likes giving the homeowner an option. If the homeowner wants to go through a rezone, driveway, and building site, fine. Otherwise, a deed restriction if no driveway would protect the town and potential buyers. • The County may not be able to give a highway permit until the town gives a building permit. • Most rezones are FP to Residential o Is this just a one off or is it a common occurrence? o Would this change of policy trigger a lot of housing? o Option could be offered if they do not want to build in the foreseeable future. Comprehensive Plan Review – working topic. • Jim went through the County plan. His observations included: o There are a lot of statistics in the County plan, since their sample size is so small, it is all estimates and not real data from the census. o The definition page was spread throughout the document and should be put back in front. Driveway Permit Status – working topic • Jeff and Nancy Bell on Old Indian Trail have no culvert. This does not affect the road. • Bryant Fisher’s driveway is not finished. • David Moyer’s driveway has not been fixed. The wing on the plow could break. An agreement was made in the past for this to be fixed so it is time for another letter. • Fisher’s gate is still in place, so we need to contact Fisher to get access.  Agenda items for the next meeting Comprehensive Plan Review Richard Anderson Next Meeting Date. August 18, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Adjournment Jim moved and Max seconded a motion to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Diane Anderson, Planning Commission Secretary