Plan Commission

Minutes Village of East Troy Plan Commission 2015 Energy Drive April 8, 2019 6:30 p.m. 1. Call to order- President Seager called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Verification of open meeting notice– Administrator Suhm verified the meeting had been posted according to open meetings laws. 4. Roll call Present: President Seager, Trustee Renucci, Commissioners Roger Hayes, Mary Nugent, Benny Stichmann, Erin Seaverson Excused: Commissioner Edward Arendt Others: Zoning Administrator Tim Schwecke, Administrator Suhm, Deputy Clerk Alexander, Building Inspector Johnson, Youth in Government Advisory Member Michael Rosin 5. Approve Plan Commission minutes of March 11, 2019 Motion by Commissioner Renucci, second by Commissioner Nugent, to approve the minutes from March 11, 2019. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried 6. Citizen participation – no citizen participation President Seager took item 13 out of order and it is reported in the order of the agenda. 7. Design review for a change to second floor exterior on rear facade of The Global Glass located at 2884 Main Street (CB District); Melanie and Richard Denhart, applicant (application 2019-06) A. Possible action by the Plan Commission Richard Denhart, Global Glass, was present for a design review for a second-floor exterior rear façade change. Zoning Administrator Schwecke reviewed his staff report dated April 4, 2019 and indicated this request fell under the downtown design review district process by the Plan Commission. Motion by Trustee Renucci, second by Commissioner Nugent, to approve the façade as proposed. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. 8. Conditional use for a telecommunication tower located at 2030 Young Street (RXUP00209B1); AT&T, applicant; Phase 1 Consulting, Sal Randazzo agent (application: 2018-39) A. Public hearing President Seager opened the public hearing – there were no comments. Motion by President Seager, second by Trustee Renucci, to adjourn the public hearing until the next Plan Commission meeting on May 13, 2019 at 6:30. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. B. Possible recommendation by the Plan Commission to the Village Board Note: The applicant has requested that the public hearing be adjourned to the meeting on May 13, 2019 to allow more time for them to evaluate the results of the PIM testing. 9. Site plan for a telecommunication tower located at 2030 Young Street (RXUP00209B1); AT&T, applicant; Phase 1 Consulting, Sal Randazzo agent (application: 2018-42) A. Possible action by the Plan Commission Village of East Troy Plan Commission Minutes - continued April 8, 2019 Page 2 ________________________________________________ Motion by President Seager, second by Trustee Renucci, to table this item. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried, with Trustee Renucci voting no. 10. Conditional use for indoor mushroom production at 2681 Main Street, Units A and B; Matthew Wanasek, applicant; (application: 2019-04) A. Public hearing President Seager opened the public hearing. Matt Wanasek, applicant, thanked the Plan Commission for their help and support and expressed that he is excited to get his business started. Zoning Administrator Schwecke reviewed his staff report dated April 4, 2019 and discussed the building area that will be used for the mushroom production and Mr. Wanasek reported that he will have a store front open within the next three months. Mr. Wanasek also stated that he has reviewed the Conditional Use order and agrees with the document. Zoning Administrator Schwecke stated that there had been no written comments received for the public hearing. With no further comments, President Seager closed the public hearing. B. Possible recommendation by the Plan Commission to the Village Board Motion by Commissioner Seaverson, second by Commissioner Nugent, to approve the Conditional Use subject to the terms in the draft Conditional Use order dated April 4, 2019 as the proposal meets the findings and our development standards. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried 11. Site plan and plan of operation for indoor mushroom production at 2681 Main Street, Units A and B; Matthew Wanasek, applicant; (application: 2019- 05) A. Possible action by the Plan Commission Motion by Commissioner Stichmann, second by Commissioner Seaverson, to approve the site plan/plan of operation as set forth in the submittal documents, provided the Village Board approves the conditional use for the proposed. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. 12. Discussion with Brian Pluess regarding the property located at 2584 Main Street (site of Wisconsin Cabinets) Mr. Pluess was not present. Direction to staff was to place this item on next months’ agenda if Mr. Pluess requests inclusion. Discussion followed including non-compliant situations, enforcement procedures and ways to communicate to the business community that as much as the Plan Commission works with businesses to solve issues there are processes in place that need to be followed to be fair and protect everyone. 13. Discussion with Gus Athanasopoulos related to sign standards for statutes (sic – should read statues) and other 3-dimensional features as it may apply to Gus’s Drive-In located at 3131 Main Street Village of East Troy Plan Commission Minutes - continued April 8, 2019 Page 3 ________________________________________________ Jessica Athanasopoulos, 3131 Main St., discussed the item in question, a large fiberglass statue, and stated that she felt this addition fell under the definition of Lawn Accessories as statuary, not under the signage ordinance. Her understanding of the Lawn Accessories ordinance was that these items were allowed in the Highway Business District if all setbacks were met. She explained that this statue will not have any verbiage and is decoration or art. She explained that this statue is an original that is being restored and brought to Gus’s. It will be placed on the east side of the building on the concrete pad and attached to the canopy. Zoning Administrator Schwecke explained that this would fall under the sign ordinance as the figure is holding a hot dog and milkshake, which are items they sell and therefore should be considered a sign. The definition and examples of signs were discussed. President Seager explained that with this business owner who would like to install this item the Plan Commission needs to have a discussion regarding the sign ordinance that identifies signage in the business district and invited comments from the Commissioners. President Seager stated that the Plan Commission would like to help this happen and what needs to happen to help this move forward. Zoning Administrator Schwecke explained it would be best done with a text amendment and the process for this was discussed. This is the best way to accommodate these new situations. Motion by President Seager, second by Trustee Renucci, to direct Zoning Administrator Schwecke to put language together for a text amendment. Discussion followed of what is included in the current sign code and that the sign code needs to be reviewed. It was also stated this situation was discussed last year, prior to the item being purchased, detailing the approval process as the item was identified as a sign, but that process was not done. President Seager explained that the ordinances and codes are in place for everyone and to protect business owners and home owners to protect the integrity of the community. That the processes are in place to allow for the due diligence of the Commission to be fair and protect all within the community. He stated that they wanted this situation to happen but are asking the processes that are in place be followed Zoning Administrator Schwecke suggested that the next step would be to move forward with a text amendment to allow this issue to proceed and then review the sign ordinance and the lawn accessories ordinance to have better definitions. Zoning Administrator Schwecke suggested moving forward to address the situation with the statue/sign which would allow for a quicker solution to move this situation ahead. Then as a phase two address the sign ordinance and the statuary ordinance to make it less vague. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. Ms. Athanasopoulos asked about the time frame for a text amendment and was told it would come before the Plan Commission at the May meeting and then would take about two months. The language would need to be drafted, reviewed at the May 13, 2019 Plan Commission meeting, Village of East Troy Plan Commission Minutes - continued April 8, 2019 Page 4 ________________________________________________ then a public hearing date would be set, and the final approval would be by the Village Board. Ms. Athanasopoulos expressed her concern of creating an ordinance violation. 14. Discussion related to revisions to the zoning code with regard to nonconformities A. Possible action by the Plan Commission Zoning Administrator Schwecke reviewed his staff report dated April 8, 2019. He explained that there are some legal nonconforming businesses within the Village that have come into this classification over time due to changes in the zoning code. The suggestion is to revise the zoning code to establish a nonconforming use registry – the language of the proposed revision establishes a procedure to register a nonconforming use to provide clarity for the current property owner and any future owners of what is allowed by code at the property. This will provide certainty of scope of operations now and in future as well as addressing changes prompted by Act 67 relating to conditional uses. The revision also removes a provision that allows the expansion of a nonconforming use through a Conditional Use and corrects an unintended error in the text regarding digital signs on nonconforming monument signs. Discussion included exploring other avenues of discretion over conditional uses after Act 67, how aggressive the plan would be to pursue the registry process, perhaps notifying businesses with a nonconforming operation and introducing the registry option and the benefits of defining that use. Motion by Commissioner Stichmann, second by President Seager, to set public hearing date. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. 15. Discussion related to development standards for garages within the older parts of the Village A. Possible action by the Plan Commission Zoning Administrator Schwecke reviewed his staff report dated April 8, 2019 and the draft ordinance. Discussion included the number of accessory buildings, their size, placement and need of driveways. It was explained that the draft ordinance is written with a narrow focus to address a specific need for the older lots within the Village. Motion by Commissioner Stichmann, second by Commission Seaverson, to set public hearing date. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. 16. Comprehensive Plan work session (time permitting) – no discussion 17. Recommendations for future agendas (no packet materials) Pending Items (no packet materials) 1. Possible amendment of the zoning code regarding pavement requirements to access detached buildings 2. Possible amendment of the zoning code regarding metal shipping containers (for storage) Village of East Troy Plan Commission Minutes - continued April 8, 2019 Page 5 ________________________________________________ 3. Possible amendment of the zoning code regarding tree protection standards for new development 18. Next meeting: April 16 at 5 p.m. for comprehensive plan workshop; May 13 (if needed) 19. Adjourn Motion by President Seager, second by Trustee Renucci, to adjourn at 8:30 p.m. Advisory – Motion carried, Commission – Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Lorri Alexander, Deputy Clerk