Plan Commission Meeting

1 VILLAGE OF SISTER BAY 2 HYBRID PLAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 3 TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025 4 SISTER BAY-LIBERTY GROVE FIRE STATION – 2258 MILL ROAD 5 APPROVED 6 7 At 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Denise Bhirdo, the Chair of the Plan Commission, called the 8 hybrid meeting of the Village of Sister Bay Plan Commission to order. 9 10 Present: Plan Commission Chair Denise Bhirdo, and Commission members Nate Bell and Ron Kane. 11 12 Staff Members: Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer and Code Compliance Officer Carla Heck. 13 14 Excused: Commission members Patrice Champeau and Laurel Harff, and Administrative Assistant Janal 15 Suppanz. 16 17 Others: Andrew Hendrickson, Karen Berndt, Steve Musinsky, Louise Howson, Roly Tvedt, Ellie Soderberg- 18 Guger, Jill Ghodes-Wiebe, Skip Heidler, Richard and Jeannie Hoffman, Victoria Wuolett, Sally Pfeifer, Bjorn 19 Johnson, Tyler Duvall, “Jenn”, and William Woodward. 20 21 Agenda Item No. 2: Approval of the Agenda: 22 Motion by Kane, second by Bell that the Agenda for the March 18, 2025 meeting of the Plan Commission 23 be approved as presented. Motion carried – All ayes. 24 25 Agenda Item No. 3: Comments, correspondence and concerns from the public: 26 Bhirdo asked if anyone would like to comment regarding a non-agenda item. No one responded. 27 28 Agenda Item No. 4: Approval of February 25, 2025 and March 11, 2025 meeting minutes: 29 Motion by Bell, second by Kane that the minutes for the February 25, 2025 meeting of the Village of Sister 30 Bay Plan Commission be approved as presented. Motion carried – All ayes. 31 32 Motion by Kane, second by Bell that the minutes for the March 11, 2025 special meeting of the Village of 33 Sister Bay Plan Commission be approved as presented. Motion carried – All ayes. 34 35 Agenda Item No. 5. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns From The Public: 36 Bhirdo asked if anyone would like to comment regarding a non-agenda item. Andrew Hendrickson of 37 10649 Chalet Lane asked if the Plan Commission works with D.O.T. officials when access points are 38 designated for businesses that are located along S. Bay Shore Drive, and Schmelzer responded that before 39 any Village approvals are granted for such driveways, written approval must be received from the D.O.T. 40 41 Steve Musinsky stated that he believes the Commission members “are on the right track” with respect to 42 the proposed R-4 regulations, and would be happy to provide some insight on that issue at a future 43 meeting. He also stated, “Sister Bay is not Flagstaff”, and indicated that he believes it will be very difficult 44 to get people to comply with the suggested “dark sky” initiatives if the decision is made to adopt 45 regulations that are identical to the lighting regulations that were adopted in that community. 46  Minutes for the March 18, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission 1 Louise Howson of 10637 Westwood Drive indicated that it doesn’t look like the proposed Land Use Map 2 that was included in the draft of the Village’s 2025 - 20 Year Comprehensive Plan was amended in the 3 fashion that had been suggested by the Plan Commission at their last meeting, and Bhirdo stated that she 4 had also observed that. She then explained that she intends to recommend some map amendments when 5 the next agenda item is addressed. 6 7 Agenda Item No. 6. Ordinances/Resolutions: 8 (a) Resolution 2025-001 – Recommending Adoption of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan: 9 A revised draft of the 2025 – 20 Year Comprehensive Plan for the Village as well as a draft of Resolution 10 No. 2025-001, which recommends adoption of that plan, were included in the digital meeting packets, 11 and the Committee members jointly reviewed all of that documentation. During the review process Bhirdo 12 noted that several of the grammatical revisions to the Comprehensive Plan that were suggested by the 13 Plan Commission members at their last meeting had not been made yet, and she then proceeded to point 14 out all of the revisions that had apparently been overlooked. Schmelzer took note of all those items, and 15 indicated that she will provide all of that information to Sydney Swan of the BayLake Regional Planning 16 Commission. Discussion then took place regarding the Future Land Use Map that is contained in the plan, 17 and Bhirdo noted that there are actually two versions of that map in the plan – the original map, that 18 should have been deleted, and a map that only contains some of the revisions that were recommended 19 at the last meeting of the Commission. She went on and indicated that it does not appear that any type 20 of use was designated for a small portion of property by the Door County Highway Shop as there is a 21 “white blob” on the map, and also noted that all of the Johnson property, with the exception of the natural 22 area, should have been designated as “Commercial”. Further, the portion of the Trenchard property that 23 had been a golf course should have been designated as “Natural Area”. 24 25 Discussion took place regarding the issues that Bhirdo had pointed out, and it was eventually the consensus 26 that Ms. Swan shall be asked to see that all the required revisions are made to the Comprehensive Plan as 27 well as the Future Land Use Map in time for the revised document to be included in the digital packets for 28 the April 15, 2025 Village Board Meeting. 29 30 Motion by Kane, second by Bell that the Plan Commission recommends that the Village Board pass and 31 adopt Resolution No. 2025-001 as presented, and approve the 2025 20 Year Comprehensive Plan for the 32 Village of Sister Bay as amended at this meeting. Motion carried – All ayes. 33 34 Agenda Item No. 7. 35 Discussion/Action Items: 36 (a) Introduce Code Compliance Officer Carla Heck: 37 Schmelzer introduced Carla Heck, the Village’s new Code Compliance Officer, and Bhirdo, Kane and Bell 38 welcomed her and indicated that they look forward to working with her. 39 40 Bhirdo indicated that she has some concerns about a couple of the provisions of the Code Compliance 41 Officer job description that was included in the digital meeting packets, and then pointed out that the job 42 description states that the Code Compliance Officer will research and recommend amendments to Village 43 Codes and documents, will engage with the community and developers, and review and approve permits. 44 All of those duties will require a thorough understanding and working knowledge of the Zoning Code, and 45 she is concerned that any new employee, regardless of how much zoning or Code enforcement experience 46 they already have, would have a very difficult time satisfying those job requirements for quite some time 47 as the Village’s Zoning Code is very “convoluted”. Discussion took place regarding Bhirdo’s concerns, and -2-  Minutes for the March 18, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission 1 it was eventually the consensus that Heck will definitely not be expected to perform the previously 2 mentioned tasks unless and until she feels comfortable doing them. The Commission members also 3 pointed out that they’re certain Heck will have a number of questions about the provisions of the Zoning 4 Code, and should not hesitate to ask for clarification. 5 6 (b) Site Plan Review; Change of Use; New Café; Country Walk Unit 11; Victoria Wuollett: 7 Victoria Wuollett would like to move her children’s retail store, The Little Rad House, to an existing retail 8 area in Unit 10 at the Country Walk Shops. Because there will not be a change of use Plan Commission 9 review will not be required for The Little Rad House. 10 11 Ms. Wuolett would also like to convert Unit 11 in the previously mentioned building into a small café. 12 Since there will not be any changes to the exterior of the building, architectural review, lighting review 13 and landscaping review will not be required, but based upon the number of seats that will be provided 14 and the number of employees who will be on-site at one time there will be a need for 16 parking stalls. 15 Because the new businesses are in the B-1 Zoning District a credit of three spaces could be granted for 16 each of them, and, therefore, 10 parking spaces are really only required. Ms. Wuollett provided a copy of 17 a document that describes the parking rules that are imposed by the Country Walk Owner’s Association 18 to Schmelzer, and based upon the provisions of that document she does not believe there will be any 19 parking concerns for either of the previously mentioned businesses. Schmelzer indicated that under the 20 circumstances she does not believe a Development Agreement should be required for either of Ms. 21 Wuolett’s businesses, and all the Commission members who were present concurred. They also agreed 22 that there is more than sufficient on-site parking provided in the parking lots at the Country Walk Shops, 23 so there won’t be any need for them to address that issue. 24 25 Motion by Kane, second by Bell, that the Plan Commission approves the request from Victoria Wuollett to 26 convert Unit 11 in the Country Walk Shops from a retail area to a café as presented. Motion carried – All 27 ayes. 28 29 (c) Site Plan Review; Architectural Review, Development Agreement; Hoffman Rentals; Chalet Lane; 30 Richard Hoffman: 31 In 2022 Richard and Jeannie Hoffman received the required approvals to construct an 11-unit hotel on 32 Parcel No. 181-00-08312844P, which is located off of Chalet Lane, a private road, and is located in the 33 B-1 Zoning District. A Development Agreement was required, but Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman never applied for 34 a Zoning Permit, and the Development Agreement eventually expired. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman recently 35 informed Schmelzer that they still would like to construct the previously mentioned building, but want to 36 amend the floor plans in such fashion that one of the units will be converted into a Manager’s Quarters. 37 That unit will be adjacent to the lobby and the laundry area on the lower level of the building. Schmelzer 38 noted that when the previously mentioned approvals were originally granted there was some controversy 39 over the fact that Chalet Lane was a private road. The Zoning Code now allows a two-way private road to 40 be 22’ wide as long as there is an 18’ wide strip of asphalt on the surface. The affected portion of Chalet 41 Lane is 22’ wide, but Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman will have to add a layer of asphalt that is 18’ wide from the 42 intersection with S. Bay Shore Drive to the access point for their development. The Code also requires a 43 fog line, and Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman are aware of that fact. Revised floor plans as well as a site plan, a 44 landscaping plan, a grading plan, a lighting plan and related elevation drawings were included in the digital 45 meeting packets, and the Commission members jointly reviewed all of that documentation. 46 47 -3-  Minutes for the March 18, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission 1 Discussion took place regarding this issue, and it was eventually the consensus that if the required 2 approvals are granted for Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman’s project the related Development Agreement must 3 contain all of the following conditions: 4 • All trees exceeding six inches in diameter that are removed from the site of the building 5 footprint, or necessary for removal during construction, must be replaced elsewhere on the 6 site with trees at least three feet in height; 7 • No parking will be allowed along Chalet Lane at any time; 8 • The height of the parking lot pole and the lumens of any exterior lighting that will be utilized on Mr. 9 and Mrs. Hoffman’s property must satisfy the lighting specifications that were required for the Eagle 10 Mechanical and/or The Door County Medical Center Projects; 11 • Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman must see that an 18’ wide strip of asphalt is added to the surface of Chalet Lane. 12 That strip of asphalt must run from the intersection of Chalet Lane with S. Bay Shore Drive to the access 13 point/driveway for their development, and they must also see that a fog line is added to that portion 14 of Chalet Lane. 15 16 Motion by Bell, second by Kane that the Plan Commission grants approval for Richard and Jeannie Hoffman 17 to construct the 10-unit hotel with a manager’s quarters as well as a lobby and a laundry area on the lower 18 level of the building to be constructed on Parcel No. 181-00-08312844P as presented, on the condition that 19 all of the previously mentioned conditions must be included in the related Development Agreement. The 20 draft of that Development Agreement will be reviewed at the next regular meeting of the Plan Commission. 21 Motion carried. 22 23 The Commission members agreed that whenever they consider further Zoning Code amendments the 24 parking requirements for units that contain multiple bedrooms will be addressed as there is potential for 25 people who rent those units to travel to their destinations in more than one vehicle. 26 27 (d) Potential Amendments to the R-4 Zoning District Regulations: 28 In accord with the Plan Commission’s directives Schmelzer met with a local builder in an attempt to 29 determine if it would make sense from a developer’s perspective for the Village to pursue creation of an 30 affordable housing complex. That individual, who has worked on affordable housing projects in other Door 31 County communities, indicated that he thought such a project would be very well received up here as 32 there is a definite need for affordable housing, and agreed to draw up some plans for small, affordable 33 homes that could potentially be constructed on “the Wiltse Property”. Those plans depict homes that 34 have one bedroom and one full bath, two bedrooms and either one or two full baths, and three bedrooms 35 and two full baths. The sizes of the one bedroom homes range in size from 728 square feet to 832 square 36 feet, the two bedroom homes range in size from 952 square feet to 1122 square feet, and the three 37 bedroom homes range in size from 1092 square feet to 1350 square feet. It very quickly became evident 38 that in order for the previously mentioned homes to be constructed the current setbacks that are required 39 in the R-4 District would have to be modified. Those regulations require that one side of a home must be 40 5’ from the lot line, but the total of the side setbacks must be 20’. This means that homes could either be 41 10’ apart or 30’ apart. Additionally, it means that lots would have to be 20’ wider than the projected 42 homes. After doing a considerable amount of research Schmelzer is recommending that the Village’s R-4 43 regulations be amended in such fashion that 8’ side setbacks are required and state that measurements 44 must be taken from the walls of the homes. An 8’ setback is consistent with the setbacks that were 45 imposed in Sturgeon Bay’s affordable housing subdivisions, and Chris Hecht, the Fire Chief, has verified 46 that a separation of 18’ between the homes will be acceptable. Schmelzer is also recommending that a 47 reduced road setback of 10’ be required to encourage communication within neighborhoods, and is -4-  Minutes for the March 18, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission 1 suggesting that the minimum lot width for one and two bedroom homes be 50’. Additionally, the 2 recommendation is being made that the minimum lot width for three bedroom homes be 60’ to 65’, the 3 recommended minimum lot size be 5,000 square feet, and the minimum lot depth be 100’. If the R-4 4 regulations were to be amended in the fashion that has been suggested by Schmelzer it would be possible 5 for garages to be constructed behind several of the homes in the previously mentioned development, and 6 driveways would quite likely only need to be 10’ wide. 7 8 Lengthy discussion took place regarding this issue, and it was eventually the consensus that the Plan 9 Commission shall make a formal determination as to how much of “the Wiltse Property” should actually 10 be set aside for affordable housing in as timely a fashion as possible so that the zoning designation for 11 that property can be changed to R-4 - Small Lot Residential. It was also the consensus that a draft of an 12 Ordinance that contains all of the previously mentioned Zoning Code revisions shall be included in the 13 digital packets for the next meeting of the Commission. Schmelzer indicated that she intends to contact 14 Brett Guilette, the Village’s Building Inspector, to see if the State Building Code requires a minimum square 15 footage for single family homes, and she also stated that she intends to do some research regarding the 16 possibility of requiring that front setbacks for all zoning districts in the Village be determined by taking the 17 required measurements from the centerline of the roadway. She will keep the Commission members 18 advised of her findings, and, if possible, will see that the Public Hearings on the re-zoning recommendation 19 as well as the revisions to the R-4 Zoning District regulations are scheduled for the same date. 20 21 (e) Potential Amendments to Lighting Regulations: 22 Schmelzer recently met with representatives of Wisconsin Public Service, who offered to see that actions 23 are taken that will ensure that all the streetlights which are north and south of the Village on Highway 42 24 as well as Highway 57 satisfy “dark sky initiatives” at no cost to the Village, but they informed her that 25 they won’t make any of the required changes unless and until formal Village approvals have been obtained. 26 She subsequently contacted Door County representatives as well as representatives of the Wisconsin 27 Department of Transportation to see if they had any objections to the proposed lighting changes, and they 28 did not. Discussion took place regarding this issue, and it was eventually the consensus that a related 29 referral shall be made to the Parks, Property & Streets Committee in as timely a fashion as possible. 30 31 In accord with the Commission’s directives Schmelzer met with Brian Grube from Newport State Park to 32 discuss “Dark Sky Initiatives”, and he forwarded her a copy of a related ordinance from Flagstaff, AZ. ( A 33 copy of that document was included in the digital meeting packets.) Schmelzer stated that it is her 34 understanding that Bell is very knowledgeable about lighting requirements, and asked if he would be 35 willing to review the sample ordinance and recommend any applicable revisions. He agreed to do that, 36 and as soon as he has provided his comments and recommendations for revisions to Schmelzer she will 37 see that a related referral is again made to the Plan Commission. 38 39 (f) Request for Proposal; Multi-Family; Northwoods & Ava Hope Court: 40 The Village’s Housing Committee has recommended that the Plan Commission consider the possibility of 41 recommending that an RFP be issued for developers who are willing to create affordable multi-family 42 housing units on the Village-owned lots that are adjacent to Northwoods Drive and Ava Hope Court. The 43 recommendations have also been made that as an incentive to encourage development the previously 44 mentioned lots be gifted to a developer, and that increased density be allowed, but that the condition be 45 imposed that any developers who submit a proposal must suggest a creative way to create a community 46 park on a portion of the property. The Housing Committee has also recommended that Village officials 47 require that deed restrictions be imposed that will require that all the homes within the previously -5-  Minutes for the March 18, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission 1 mentioned development must remain affordable in perpetuity. 2 3 Schmelzer noted that an e-mail had been received from Vivian Nienow regarding the previously 4 mentioned property, and proceeded to read that document aloud. (In her e-mail Ms. Nienow indicates 5 that it is her understanding that the Village Board designated a portion of the previously mentioned 6 property as parkland, and urges the Commission members to honor that decision.) 7 8 Bell explained that the previously mentioned property is comprised of four individual parcels, and one of 9 those parcels contains a retention pond. He also stated that he believes it’s very important that a park be 10 created on one of the previously mentioned parcels as the Village Board committed to that action, but 11 pointed out that it is his understanding that it could be very difficult for Village officials to ensure that any 12 deed restrictions are monitored and/or enforced. 13 14 Lengthy discussion took place regarding this issue, and Schmelzer was asked to see that a draft of the 15 previously mentioned RFP is prepared and included in the digital packets for the next meeting of the 16 Commission. The Commission members stressed that they believe a statement must be included in the RFP 17 which makes it perfectly clear that deed restrictions will be imposed and recorded in the Office of the 18 Register of Deeds for Door County. (The deed restrictions will specifically state that any homes that are 19 constructed on the Village’s property must remain “affordable” in perpetuity.) They also indicated that 20 they believe it should be made perfectly clear that no Occupancy Permits will be issued for any of the 21 homes that are constructed on the previously mentioned property unless and until a “neighborhood park” 22 has been formally approved and accepted by the Village Administrator. 23 24 Agenda Item No. 8. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or 25 Employee: 26 Agenda Item No. 9. Next Meeting: 27 The next regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission will be conducted on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 28 5:30 P.M., and that meeting will be conducted in the Large Meeting Room at the Sister Bay-Liberty Grove 29 Fire Station. At that meeting the following issues will be addressed: 30 31 1. Discussion regarding changing the zoning designation for a portion of “The Wiltse 32 Property” to R-4 – Small Lot Residential, and scheduling of a related Public Hearing; 33 2. Review of a draft ordinance that recreates Section 66.0314 of the Zoning Code – the 34 R-4 - Small Lot Residential Regulations, and scheduling of a related Public Hearing. 35 3. Discussion regarding potential amendments to the Zoning Code; more specifically, 36 • Amendment of the front setback regulations that appear throughout the Zoning 37 Code in such fashion that the requirement is imposed that applicable measurements 38 must be taken from the centerline of the roadway; and, 39 • Amendment of the parking regulations for units that contain multiple bedrooms; 40 4. Review of the draft Development Agreement for the 10-unit hotel that will be 41 constructed by Richard and Jeannie Hoffman on Parcel No. 181-00-08312844P, which is 42 located off of Chalet Lane, and will contain a manager’s quarters as well as a lobby and 43 a laundry area on the lower level. 44 5. Review of the draft of the Request For Proposals from developers who are interested in 45 creating a multi-family housing development on the four Village owned parcels that are 46 adjacent to Northwoods Drive and Ava Hope Court. 47 -6-  Minutes for the March 18, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Plan Commission 1 The draft of the proposed lighting regulations that address “Dark Sky Initiatives” will be referred to the 2 Plan Commission as soon as Bell has provided that document to the employees in the Village 3 Administration Office. 4 5 The offer from representatives of Wisconsin Public Service Corp. to take actions that will ensure that all 6 the streetlights which are north and south of the Village on Highway 42 as well as Highway 57 satisfy “dark 7 sky initiatives” at no cost to the Village will be referred to the Parks, Property & Streets Committee in as 8 timely a fashion as possible. 9 10 Agenda Item No. 10. Adjournment: 11 At 7:04 P.M. a motion was made by Kane, seconded by Bell that the March 18, 2025 regular monthly 12 meeting of the Plan Commission be adjourned. Motion carried – All ayes. 13 14 Respectfully submitted, 15 16 Janal Suppanz, 17 Administrative Assistant -7-