Plan Commission

MINUTES EAST TROY PLAN COMMISSION 2015 Energy Drive 10/13/2025 6:30 PM Call to order- President Johnson called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance Verification of open meeting notice – Clerk Smith verified the meeting had been posted according to open meetings laws. Roll call: Present: President Johnson, Trustee Bryan Harding, Commissioners Roger Hayes, Jacob Lederhaus, John Merath Excused: Jennifer Olson, Administrator Suhm Others: Zoning Administrator Sumwalt, Clerk Smith Approval of Minutes – September 8, 2025 Ordinances/Code Amendments 1. Amend the general development plan for Honey Creek Planned Development district for property located on Honey Creek Road west of South Executive Drive to change the maximum building height for Lot 2 of CSM 4915 from 20-feet to 30-feet; I-43 Investments, LLC, applicant (Paul Van Henkelum, PE, PLS, agent); (application 2025-20) a. Public hearing - No members of the public were present to speak at the public hearing. Zoning Administrator Orrin Sumwalt explained to the commissioners that Teronomy Builders had applied in August for a final development plan amendment so they could move forward with the personal storage facility development (with some proposed changes) within the Honey Creek Planned Development District (PDD). Upon review, staff realized that the height of two proposed storage buildings exceeded the maximum building height allowed within the PDD. Paul Van Henklum spoke on behalf of the builder and explained the reasons for the requested changes. His proposal stated, “While the total building count remains at 10, updates to building design and unit configuration have been made since the last GDP approval: • Building 19 (RV storage building) • Originally approved Building high was limited to 20-feet. • We are requesting redesign as climate-controlled buildings with 66 units each. • Building envelopes adjusted to accommodate interior hallways accessing temperature-controlled units. • Additional pavement provided around these buildings for parking to support access to climate-controlled units for the tenants.” In addition, the developer was requesting that the temporary entryway on Honey Creek Road be a permanent entryway. Mr. Sumwalt further explained that the Plan Commission is advisory with regard to code amendments, as the Village Board makes the final decision, and public notice is required to be published with the proposed amendment to the zoning map. b. Discussion and recommendation to the Village Board Motion by Commissioner Hayes, second by Trustee Harding, to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance as drafted amending the Honey Creek Planned Development District for the property located on Honey Creek Road west of Executive Drive (RA 491500002) subject to the two conditions listed. Motion carried. 2. Conditional use application for a restaurant for property located at 2885 Main Street bearing Tax Parcel No. ROP 00107; Frank Price, applicant; (application 2025-21) a. Public hearing – President Johnson opened the public hearing and there were no members of the public present to speak at the public hearing. Mr. Sumwalt told the commissioners that the petitioner was requesting approval of a conditional use permit for a candy store and ice cream parlor (restaurant) to occupy the former barbershop space and also proposing that the site would also serve as a commissary for Frank’s Lunchbox food cart. The submitted conditional use permit application, site plan application and floor plan were all reviewed. Mr. Price was present to answer questions. President Johnson closed the public hearing. b. Discussion and recommendation to the Village Board Motion by Commissioner Lederhaus, second by Commissioner Hayes, to recommend to the Village Board Approval of the Conditional Use Request for a restaurant for Frank’s Main Street Sweets Station at 2885 Main Street for Frank Price for the property located at 2885 Main Street, (ROP00107) subject to the terms in the draft conditional use order. Motion carried. 3. An ordinance to amend the Village’s zoning regulations (Chapter 510) regarding nonconforming structure requirements. a. Public hearing – President Johnson opened the pubic hearing and there were no members of the public present to speak at the public hearing. Mr. Sumwalt explained that the Village initiated the request in regard to language contained in Ordinance 2024-15 and a recommended amendment by the Village’s attorney. Administrator Suhm’s memo stated that the ordinance allows for reconstruction of a nonconforming structure that does not meet required setbacks (if it did not meet them prior to reconstruction) per the zoning code. Since the ordinance referred to these as an encroachment agreement, each one would need to be approved by the Village Board. The requirement to be on agendas for approvals may delay projects unnecessarily, so the proposed change would instead permit the Building Inspector to issue permits to reconstruct the nonconforming structure, and he could verify the status of encroachment prior. He could then complete a notice of encroachment to be recorded with the Walworth County Register of Deeds. President Johnson closed the public hearing. b. Discussion and recommendation to the Village Board Motion by Commissioner Lederhaus, second by Commissioner Hayes, to recommend to the Village Board approval of Ordinance 2025-08, an ordinance to revise subsection 510-63(B) (5) of the Village of East Troy Municipal Code. Motion carried. Miscellaneous Business 1. Plan Commission review of new signage at Frank’s Main Street Sweets Station located at 2885 Main Street; Frank Price, applicant; (application 2025-23) a. Discussion and possible action by the Plan Commission Mr. Sumwalt presented the sign proposed for the new business, and explained that due to the unique layout of the windows and size of the building, the sign as proposed would exceed the permitted size for a sign in the Downtown Design Overlay District. One portion of the sign (the logo) would be placed between the two upper story windows, and the remaining text would stretch the length of the space above the lower story windows. President Johnson acknowledged that the design of the proposal only exceeds the permitted size by one foot, and asked Mr. Sumwalt if there was a way to grant an exception to permit the sign as proposed. Mr. Sumwalt was unsure if there was a path forward, but said he would look into it. President Johnson suggested Mr. Price attempt to redesign his sign and work with the Building Inspector, but that if he could not reconfigure his sign to meet the 30-ft. requirement, to bring it back to the Plan Commission after research could be done on whether there is an exception process. Motion by President Johnson, second by Commissioner Hayes, to approve the sign petition subject to the planner’s comments for the property at 2885 Main Street. Motion carried. 2. Kreuger Certified Survey Map in extraterritorial jurisdiction area (ETJ) for the Sheltering Oaks Campground located at 1591 Sawyer Lane in part of Block A, B, and C, Part of Lot 30, and Lots 31-43, of Oak Park Subdivision, recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds on April 12th, 1894, and part of the Southwest ¼ and the Southeast ¼ of the Northwest ¼ and the Northwest ¼ and the Northeast ¼ of the Southwest ¼ all in Section 16, Township 4 North, Range 18 East, Town of East Troy, Walworth County, Wisconsin (PO 00011); Ron Kreuger, applicant; Tom Jurasinski, agent (application 2025-22) a. Discussion and recommendation to the Village Board Mr. Sumwalt explained that the property is within the extraterritorial plat review jurisdiction of the Village of East Troy, and the petitioner is requesting a review of a certified survey map. The proposed certified survey map consists of one lot, which modifies the lot line between two adjoining parcels to add land to the Sheltering Oaks Campground at 1591 Sawyer Lane in the Town of East Troy to comply with Walworth County regulations. Upon review, Mr. Sumwalt said he has no concerns with the proposal as the petitioner was just bringing the property into compliance with Walworth County requirements. Motion by Commissioner Lederhaus, second by President Johnson, to recommend to the Village Board approval of the certified survey map for Ron Kreuger for the property located at 1591 Sawyer Lane (PO 00011) subject to the two conditions listed. Motion carried. 3. Amend the final development plan for Honey Creek Planned Development district for property located on Honey Creek Road west of South Executive Drive to have a permanent entryway at Honey Creek Road, climate-controlled buildings, increased impervious surface, revised site plan, and revised landscape plan; Teronomy Builders, applicant (Ryan Cardinal, agent); (application 2025-20) (no packet materials) a. Discussion and possible action by the Plan Commission Mr. Sumwalt explained that a resubmittal of materials from the developer for this agenda item had been received on Friday when the packet materials were going out. The materials addressed some staff comments that had been sent out prior, but there was not time to prepare a proper staff review or to address various issues that staff discovered during an initial review of the petitioner’s proposed revisions to the final development plan. Mr. Sumwalt said the issue that requires a general development plan amendment arises from the standards for self-storage facilities in the zoning code; they allow for self-storage, but they preclude having electrical service to individual units. He said the final development plan could not be approved as proposed without going through the process to amend the general development plan. Also, he said the fire chief had expressed concerns about the availability of fire hydrants on the site and the turning movements for emergency vehicles. The commissioners and staff expressed concerns with the possibility of people living in the units or operating businesses out of the storage facility if electricity is provided, but overall, supported the climate-controlled storage units. Mr. Van Henkelum explained that Teronomy does not want people living in the units, and that staff could tell when people would be going in and out of the units and how often by monitoring security cameras and entries by fob/card. The idea for electricity and climate control is for renters to be able to work on or take out their RVs or boats year-round. He acknowledged that the fire chief was concerned about the location of fire hydrants, but said he thinks there is plenty of coverage with the hydrants outside. Other changes included the location of the fence, connecting instead to the back of the garages and eliminating landscaping there to assist with maintenance. Another item was to make the connection to Honey Creek Road permanent. He said that he would like to get the project up and running, and start work on the units without the RV, climate control and electric. Mr. Sumwalt stated there were changes to all of the units so that would not be advised. President Johnson noted that the commission would need to follow the process correctly as stated by Mr. Sumwalt and also wanted to be certain that the fire chief’s concerns are met. In order for the commissioners to be able to consider the item, a public hearing must be noticed and the item revisited at the November 10 meeting, until which President Johnson postponed the item. 4. Discussion related to revising requirements for rezoning petitions Mr. Sumwalt explained that he had come up with verbiage that differentiates between a property owner rezoning petition and a Village property rezoning petition, with the main difference being that the Village does not have to notify by mail everyone within the Village when you want to do a Village-wide rezoning. Upon the direction of the commissioners, a draft ordinance will be brought back to the commission and a public hearing will be scheduled. Recommendations for Future Agenda • Revise requirements for conditional use permit notifications Next Meeting: November 10, 2025, at 6:30 pm Adjourn: Motion by President Johnson, second by Commissioner Lederhaus, to adjourn at 7:36 p.m. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted by Dannett Smith, Clerk Note: Recordings of the meeting may be found on our YouTube Channel - Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGPfzVwLzE2Pqt4-g450Klg