Plan Commission

1 2 VILLAGE OF SISTER BAY 3 PLAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 4 THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026 5 APPROVED AS AMENDED 6 7 8 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 9 Chair Denise Bhirdo called the Plan Commission meeting to order on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 10 5:30 P.M. and requested Bertges to conduct a roll call. 11 12 Present: Plan Commission Chair Denise Bhirdo, and Commission members Steve Bacsi, Nate Bell, 13 Laurel Harff, Skip Heidler. Patrice Champeau was excused. 14 15 Staff Member(s): Village Administrator Benjamin Andrews, Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges. 16 17 Others: Kurt Harff, Ellie Soderberg-Guger, Rick Dahlstrom, Steve Musinsky, Gary Overby, Kim 18 Erzinger. VIA ZOOM: Jonathan Leeb, Louise Howson, “JEG”, “rgazl”, “iPhone” 19 20 2. Approve of Agenda 21 Motion to approve the agenda as presented was made by Bell, second by Heidler. Motion carried -all 22 ayes. 23 24 3. Approve Meeting Minutes: December 18, 2025 25 Motion to approve the minutes of December 18, 2025, was made by Heidler, second by Harff. Motion 26 carried -all ayes. 27 28 4. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns from the Public 29 Gary Overby stated he was attending to observe the meeting and had questions about local 30 properties. Andrews offered to follow up with Overby on a staff level regarding any specific 31 questions. 32 33 5. Public Hearing 34 a. Ord. 2026-001; Amending the Village of Sister Bay Future Land Use Map 35 Bhirdo opened the public hearing at 5:33 PM. Andrews presented the staff report regarding the 36 future land use map amendment for correcting three parcels currently shown as business for 37 residential, which included 10283 Sunset Drive, 10705 South Spring Road, and 10569 Fieldcrest 38 Road. 39 Overby asked about development near his property at 2629 South Bay Shore Drive. Andrews 40 clarified this was not related to the current hearing but offered to follow up separately. 41 Jake Gazlay and his father, Ronald Gazlay, inquired about their property at 2698 South Bayshore 42 Drive, which had been designated as R2 multifamily residential. They requested it remain R1 single 43 family residential as that was its current and historical use. They also questioned the partial open 44 space designation on their property. Gazlay noted their family had owned the property for 98 years 45 and intended to maintain it as a single-family residence. 46 Steve Musinsky raised several questions about properties along Fieldcrest Road, including: 47 ● The access driveway to the Glen Lane apartments shown as R1 when it should be multifamily 48 ● A parcel marked as woodland that had been cleared for home construction 49 ● The southwest corner of the Glen Lane apartment complex that remained wooded but wasn't 50 designated as such  January 27, 2026 Plan Commission Meeting- Approved As Amended 1 The Commission examined the maps and by consensus agreed the Glen Lane apartments driveway 2 should be designated as multifamily residential to be consistent with the apartment complex parcel. 3 After extensive discussion about the Gazlay property at 2698 South Bayshore Drive, the Commission 4 determined: 5 ● Changing the entire parcel from having a split designation (residential and open lands) to a 6 consistent multifamily designation made the most sense 7 ● This would maintain consistency with adjacent properties 8 ● The R2 zoning would still permit single-family use while avoiding spot zoning concerns 9 ● The multifamily designation would be appropriate for future planning purposes 10 Bhirdo closed the public hearing for item 5.a. at 6:07 PM. 11 Following discussion, the Commission identified two issues to address: 12 ● The driveway at 2520 Glen Lane should be consistently designated as multifamily 13 ● The property at 2698 South Bayshore Drive should have the open space designation removed 14 and the entire parcel designated as R-2 multifamily 15 Motion to recommend to the Village Board that: 1) 2520 Glen Lane, entire lot be designated as 16 multifamily; and 2) 2698 South Bayshore Drive have the open space designation removed and the 17 entire parcel be designated as R2 multifamily. Motion by Bhirdo Second by Bell, Motion carried -all 18 ayes. 19 The Commission also identified typos in the ordinance document that needed correction before 20 presentation to the Village Board: 21 ● Page 17: The ordinance needed to include the Planning Commission's recommendations 22 ● Page 17, line 24: "map" was misspelled as "ma" 23 ● Page 18: The effective date incorrectly showed 2025 instead of 2026 24 25 b. Ord. 2026-002; Adopting a New Zoning Map for the Village of Sister Bay 26 Andrews opened the public hearing for item 5.b at 6:23 P.M. and presented the item regarding 27 aligning zoning with the comprehensive plan and incorporating changes discussed in prior meetings. 28 Musinsky noted discrepancies in the zoning map, particularly that the Glen Lane apartment complex 29 was shown as B1 Business in the zoning map but as R2 Multifamily in the land use map. The 30 Commission reviewed the maps and found several inconsistencies, raising concerns about the 31 accuracy of the maps provided in the packet. 32 After discussion, the Commission determined that the maps appeared to contain errors and needed 33 verification with Bay Lake, the firm that had prepared them. Public hearing for item 5.b. was closed 34 at 6:35 P.M. 35 Motion to postpone agenda item 5.b. until the maps can be confirmed with Bay Lake and the 36 Commission can feel confident in having another public hearing on this item. 37 Motion by Bhirdo, Second by Bacsi. Motion carried -all ayes. 38 39 c. Ord. 2026-003; Amending Ch. 66 of the Municipal Code, Zoning 40 Bhirdo opened the public hearing for item 5.c at 6:37 P.M. Andrews presented the proposed text 41 amendments to Chapter 66 of the village's zoning code. The updates included: 42 ● Aligning non-conforming uses and structure provisions with state statutes 43 ● Removing conflicts with state building codes 44 ● Revising substandard lot regulations to comply with Wisconsin statutes 45 ● Adding regulations for the Woodland overlay district 46 ● Updating definitions and provisions for community living arrangements and family daycare 47 homes 48 ● Miscellaneous amendments for lighting standards, site plan review exemptions, and CS1 district 49 clarification 50 Musinsky raised several questions and concerns: 2  January 27, 2026 Plan Commission Meeting- Approved As Amended 1 ● Regarding non-conforming uses and structures, particularly about mother-in-law suites and the 2 50% rule for non-conforming structures 3 ● Regarding the Woodland Overlay District, suggesting a forestry policy was needed to truly 4 protect the tree canopy 5 ● About the wording related to disease prevention in the woodland provisions, suggesting an 6 arborist should be specified rather than landscape engineers/architects 7 ● Regarding solar collectors, noting that the code seemed to restrict them to principal structures 8 when there were good reasons to place them on accessory structures 9 Bhirdo closed the public hearing for item 5.c. at 6:52 P.M. 10 The Commission noted several typographical errors that needed correction: 11 ● Page 37, line 19: Missing the letter "a" (should read "a different number of children") 12 ● Page 23, line 30: Issue with the R1 district header being crossed out 13 ● Page 37, line 5: "who do not require care" had incorrect punctuation 14 Bhirdo raised a question about outdoor lighting regulations, noting concerns about residential 15 properties with excessive outdoor lighting that affects neighbors. The Commission briefly discussed 16 the challenges of enforcement but agreed this could be a topic for future discussion. 17 Motion to recommend the proposed ordinance to the Village Board with the corrections identified 18 during the meeting. 19 Motion by Heidler, second by Harff. Motion carried 4-1- with Bell opposed. 20 21 6. Discussion/Action Items 22 a. Standard Zoning Permit Application; Review/Approve Modifications to Existing Tower; 2530 S 23 Bay Shore Drive 24 25 Andrews presented an application from Jonathan Leeb of Terra Consulting Group for a class 2 co- 26 location for an existing mobile service tower facility at 2530 South Bayshore Drive. 27 Andrews explained that while initially the application appeared to meet the village's requirements 28 for administrative approval, additional information received indicated the antenna size would 29 exceed the dimensions allowed under the village ordinance, which would trigger public hearing 30 requirements. 31 The applicants, Leeb and Shaw, contended that state statutes would supersede the village ordinance 32 and that their application should be considered a permitted use rather than requiring conditional 33 use approval. 34 Bell expressed concern about accepting legal interpretations from the applicants rather than getting 35 guidance from the village's attorney. The Commission agreed that legal clarification was needed 36 before proceeding. 37 Motion to postpone this item until the Commission receives an opinion from the village attorney. 38 Motion by Bell second by Bacsi. Motion carried -all ayes. 39 The Commission also discussed concerns about the timing of the application submission, noting it 40 had come in after the standard deadline and additional information was received the day of the Plan 41 Commission meeting (1/27/2026). 42 43 7. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 44 The Commission identified two items for follow-up: 45 ● Andrews would consult with the village attorney regarding the tower modification application 46 and state statutes that may supersede local ordinances 47 ● Andrews would contact Bay Lake regarding the discrepancies in the zoning maps 48 49 8. Next Meeting 50 The next regular monthly meeting was confirmed for February 24, 2026, at 5:30 P.M. in the Large 51 Meeting Room, Sister Bay-Liberty Grove Fire Station. 3  January 27, 2026 Plan Commission Meeting- Approved As Amended 1 2 9. Adjournment 3 Motion to adjourn at 7:15 PM. 4 Motion by Heidler second by Harff. Motion carried -all ayes. 5 6 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 4