Plan Commission Meeting

1 VILLAGE OF SISTER BAY 2 HYBRID PLAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 3 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2024 4 SISTER BAY-LIBERTY GROVE FIRE STATION – 2258 MILL ROAD 5 APPROVED VERSION 6 7 At 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 Denise Bhirdo, the Chair of the Plan Commission, called the 8 hybrid regular monthly meeting of the Village of Sister Bay Plan Commission to order. 9 10 Present: Plan Commission Chair Denise Bhirdo, and Commission members Patrice Champeau, Nate Bell, 11 Ron Kane, Laurel Harff, and Mitch Ohnesorge. 12 13 Staff Members: Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer and Administrative Assistant Janal Suppanz. 14 15 Others: Kurt Harff, Chris Schmeltz, Amanda Zielinski, Don Peters, Steve Musinsky, Karen Berndt, Dave 16 Matesek, Judy Kordus and one unidentified individual. 17 18 Agenda Item No. 2: Approval of the Agenda: 19 Motion by Bell, second by Harff that the Agenda for the November 26, 2024 meeting of the Plan 20 Commission be approved as presented. Motion carried – All ayes. 21 22 Agenda Item No. 3: Approval of minutes as published: 23 Motion by Bell, second by Harff that the minutes for the October 22, 2024 meeting of the Plan 24 Commission be approved as presented. Motion carried with Kane abstaining. 25 26 Agenda Item No. 4. Comments, correspondence and concerns from the public: 27 Bhirdo asked if any correspondence had been received that would require the attention of the Plan 28 Commission, and Suppanz noted that a letter from Carl and Stephany Madsen had been included in the 29 digital meeting packets. (In their letter Mr. and Mrs. Madsen refer to allegations which were made by 30 Schmelzer that the municipal boundaries shown on the maps in the draft of Door County’s 31 Comprehensive and Farmland Preservation Plan are inaccurate, and they express concerns about the 32 implications of the alleged inaccuracies.) 33 34 Schmelzer noted that at the November 12, 2024 meeting of the Village Hall Planning Task Force Bjorn 35 Johnson commented on the need to address parking if any land use changes are suggested for the 36 Village Hall. The Task Force members subsequently referred the parking issue to the Plan Commission. 37 38 Steve Musinsky suggested that the Plan Commission consider recommending that the Village’s short- 39 term rental regulations be amended with respect to the utilization and the size of fire pits that are 40 allowed at short-term rental properties. He also indicated that he was one of the individuals who was 41 asked to provide input to DNR officials in 2012 when NR115 was revised, and would be happy to answer 42 any questions the Commission members have regarding that legislation. 43 44 Agenda Item No. 5. Discussion/Action Items: 45 (a) Site Plan Review; Vestibule Addition; CHOP – 2345 Mill Road: 46 Chris Schmeltz has requested that he and his associates be allowed to have a winter vestibule on CHOP. Such  Minutes for the November 26, 2024 Meeting of the Plan Commission 1 a use is “not listed” in the Zoning Code, and, therefore, Schmelzer initially made the determination that a 2 Conditional Use Permit would be required. Mr. Schmeltz recently informed Schmelzer that the vestibule will 3 actually remain in place all year long, but the sides will be removed once the weather improves, and since the 4 vestibule will be a permanent structure she now believes it can be treated as an “addition”. Therefore, there 5 will no longer be a need for a Conditional Use Permit to be issued, but the Plan Commission must formally 6 conduct a related site plan review. 7 8 The site plan for CHOP was reviewed, and during that process Bhirdo asked if it would be possible to 9 construct the vestibule out of wood and/or have the color of it match the siding on CHOP. Mr. Schmeltz 10 indicated that he was not sure if either of those options will be possible, but would be happy to do some 11 related research. He will inform Schmelzer of his findings ASAP. 12 13 Motion by Bell, second by Kane that the Plan Commission grants permission for representatives of CHOP to 14 have a vestibule on CHOP, on the condition that those individuals must attempt to incorporate two different 15 colors into the vestibule that either match or complement the existing siding on the building, and, if that is not 16 possible, a concerted effort must be made to match the color of the awnings on the building. Before any final 17 color choices are made for the vestibule the Plan Commission Chair and the Village Administrator must review 18 the preferred colors and grant written approval of them. Motion carried – All ayes. 19 20 (b) Site Plan Review; Change of Use; Former Aurora Building, Unit 1 – 2521 S. Bay Shore Drive: 21 Amanda Zielinski, who was previously granted permission to change the use of the rooms within Unit 3 in the 22 former Aurora Building, which has been assigned an address of 2525 S. Bay Shore Drive, has requested that 23 the Plan Commission now grant permission for the use of the seven rooms within Unit 1 in that building, 24 which were all utilized as a medical clinic, to be changed in such fashion that they now house providers of 25 “personal care services”. (That portion of the building has been assigned an address of 2521 S. Bay Shore 26 Drive.) There are currently 37 parking spaces available on-site, but if the Plan Commission determines that 27 it’s necessary three parking space credits could be granted. Discussion took place regarding this issue, and It 28 was eventually the consensus that there is sufficient on-site parking and there won’t be a need for the 29 Commission to grant any parking credits. 30 31 Motion by Bell, second by Harff that the Plan Commission grants permission for Amanda Zielinski to see that 32 all seven rooms within Unit 1 in the building that is commonly referred to as “The Aurora Building”, which has 33 been assigned an address of 2521 S. Bay Shore Drive and were formerly utilized as a medical clinic, to now 34 house providers of “personal care services”, i.e. manicures, massages, dietician services, etc. Motion carried – 35 All ayes. 36 37 (c) Proposed Text Amendments: Chapter 66 – B-2 Overlay: 38 A draft of proposed B-2 Overlay regulations was included in the meeting packets, and the Commission 39 members jointly reviewed that document. During the review process Schmelzer and Suppanz took note of all 40 the grammatical revisions that were suggested. Bhirdo stated that she doesn’t believe professional offices, 41 physical fitness centers, restaurants or laundromats and dry cleaning services should be considered 42 “permitted uses” in the B-2 District any more, and then requested that the Commission members give that 43 suggestion some thought and be prepared to discuss it at length at their next meeting. She also suggested 44 that the requirement be added to the B-2 Overlay regulations that Plan Commission approval is required 45 whenever any property owners in that zoning district wish to change the color of a building(s) or the style of 46 windows that are utilized on those buildings. 47 48 Bell expressed concerns about imposing the requirement that the Plan Commission must approve any -2-  Minutes for the November 26, 2024 Meeting of the Plan Commission 1 building color changes, and Schmelzer suggested that as an alternative an approved color palette be 2 established for buildings in the B-2 Overlay District. It was the consensus that that would be a good idea. 3 4 (d) Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 66 - B-3 Height Limitations: 5 Following the July Plan Commission meeting Schmelzer did a considerable amount of research regarding 6 other municipalities’ downtown building height limitations, but was unable to find any examples of the type 7 of regulations the Commission members had asked for. Lengthy discussion took place regarding this issue, 8 and the suggestion was eventually made that the Village’s B-3 regulations should be amended in such fashion 9 that they state that no buildings in the downtown area may be altered or reconstructed in such fashion that 10 the existing “view shed” is negatively impacted. It was also the consensus that the B-3 regulations shall state 11 that as of a designated date requests to exceed the height of existing buildings in the B-3 District will be 12 considered “conditional uses”. 13 14 (e) Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 66 – Open Space: 15 Discussion took place regarding the fashion in which the terms “open space” and “green space” are utilized in 16 the Zoning Code, and it was eventually the consensus that “open space” shall be deleted and replaced with 17 “green space” throughout the entire Code. The Commission members jointly reviewed the definition of 18 “green space” that appears in the Zoning Code, and made the determination that the definition is acceptable 19 and shall remain “as is”. 20 21 Schmelzer noted that the Zoning Code currently states that the minimum amount of green space which is 22 required in the R-1 District is 20%, but she firmly believes that regulation should be amended in such fashion 23 that it states that the minimum amount of green space which is required in the R-1 District is 50%, and all the 24 Commission members concurred. They also agreed that the minimum amount of green space that should be 25 required in the R-2, R-3 and R-4 Districts shall be 40%, 30% and 20% respectively. Schmelzer was asked to 26 see that a map that accurately depicts the location of the previously mentioned zoning districts is included in 27 the digital packets for the next meeting of the Commission. 28 29 (f) Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 50 and Chapter 66 – Miscellaneous Provisions: 30 Drafts of the first of a series of recommended revisions to Chapters 50 and 66 of the Municipal Code were 31 included in the digital meeting packets, and the Commission members jointly reviewed all of that 32 documentation. During the review process Schmelzer and Suppanz took note of all the recommended 33 revisions. 34 35 When the existing temporary sign regulations were addressed Schmelzer noted that a local business owner 36 has asked if he needs a permit to erect a sign/banner that designates his business as a “Toys For Tots Drop- 37 Off Location”. Since the Sign Code is quite vague with respect to temporary signage for charitable 38 organizations, Schmelzer asked if the Plan Commission members believe a permit will be required for the 39 “Toys For Tots” signage. Lengthy discussion took place regarding that issue, it was eventually the 40 consensus that a permit will be required. 41 42 Schmelzer indicated that she will see that revised drafts of all the previously mentioned text amendments are 43 included in the digital packets for the next meeting of the Commission. 44 45 (g) Fee Schedule 46 The existing Fee Schedule for the Village was included in the digital meeting packets, and the Commission 47 members also jointly reviewed that document. Discussion took place regarding the fee that is currently 48 required for temporary banners or signage, and it was eventually the consensus that when considering the -3-  Minutes for the November 26, 2024 Meeting of the Plan Commission 1 “totality of the circumstances” that fee is acceptable and shall not be amended. The Commission members 2 did agree that the Fee Schedule should be amended in such fashion that it states that the “Fee in Lieu of 3 Parking” is “$1,000.00 per year per parking stall that would normally be required”, and Schmelzer indicated 4 that she will see that all applicable Zoning Code amendments are made. She also indicated that she will see 5 that a draft of the revised Fee Schedule is included in the digital packets for the next meeting of the 6 Commission. 7 8 (h) Identify Location for the “Little Library” That Will be Erected to Recognize Marge Grutzmacher’s Service 9 To The Community: 10 At a previous meeting the Plan Commission had determined that a “Little Library” should be erected to 11 recognize all of Marge Grutzmacher’s service to the community, but, in particular, her many years on the 12 Plan Commission, and Schmelzer was asked to reach out to Marge to determine where she would like her 13 “Little Library” to be erected. She has not had an opportunity to do that yet, but does intend to do so soon. 14 15 Motion by Kane, second by Harff that Agenda Item No. 5 (h) - Identify Location for the “Little Library” That 16 Will be Erected to Recognize Marge Grutzmacher’s Service to the Community, shall be postponed until the 17 next meeting of the Commission. Motion carried – All ayes. 18 19 Agenda Item No. 6. Permit Report: 20 A report on which all the Zoning and Sign Permits that were issued from October 18, 2024 through 21 November 14, 2024 are delineated was included in the digital meeting packets, and the Commission 22 members jointly reviewed that documentation. During the review process Bhirdo noted that the new 23 Shell gas pricing signage will actually be erected at “Sister Bay Mobil”; not “Country Walk BP”, and 24 Suppanz was asked to see that the required amendments are made to the related spreadsheet. 25 26 Agenda Item No. 7. Administrator’s Report: 27 Schmelzer’s Administrator’s Report for November, 2024 was included in the digital meeting packets, and 28 the Commission members also jointly reviewed that document. During the review process discussion took 29 place regarding potential amendments that could be made to the Village’s lighting regulations to ensure 30 that “Dark Sky” initiatives are complied with, and Schmelzer indicated that she will do related research 31 and inform the Commission members of her findings at their next regularly scheduled monthly meeting. 32 33 Agenda Item No. 8. Matters To Be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or 34 Employee: 35 Agenda Item No. 9. Next Meeting: 36 Regular Monthly Meeting – Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 5:30 P.M. – Large Meeting Room – Sister 37 Bay-Liberty Grove Fire Station: 38 Several scheduling conflicts arose because of the Christmas Holiday, and, therefore, the Plan Commission 39 will not be meeting at all in December. The next regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission will be 40 called to order at 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. At that meeting further discussion will take 41 place regarding the following issues: 42  Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 66 – B-2 Overlay District; 43  Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 66 – B-3 Building Height Limitations; 44  Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 66 – Open Space; 45  Proposed Text Amendments; Chapter 50 and Chapter 66 – Miscellaneous Provisions; 46  Proposed Fee Schedule Amendments; 47  Potential Lighting Regulation Amendments; and, -4-  Minutes for the November 26, 2024 Meeting of the Plan Commission 1  Identification of the Preferred Location for Marge Grutzmacher’s “Little Library”. 2 3 Agenda Item No. 9. Adjournment: 4 At 7:56 P.M. a motion was made by Kane, seconded by Champeau that the November 26, 2024 regular 5 monthly meeting of the Plan Commission be adjourned. Motion carried – All ayes. 6 7 Respectfully submitted, 8 9 Janal Suppanz, Administrative Assistant A:\4. Agendas Complete\Plan Comm\2024\11. November\112624 Plan Commission Meeting Minutes - Approved Version.dot Created by Janal Suppanz on 11/26/2024; Last Printed: 2/18/2025 4:06 PM -5-