Plan Commission

VILLAGE OF WAUNAKEE PLAN COMMISSION MEETING 500 West Main Street September 9, 2024, at 5:30 PM Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Kristin Runge, Joe Zitzelsberger, Tricia Braun, Brian Wallace, Chris Zellner, Sue Springman, Mike Steinl. Absent: None Also Present: Lauren Dietz, Jared Heyn, Tracy Meinholz, Karla Endres, Maria Patt, Robert McPherson, MINUTES 1 August 12, 2024 Motion Springman, second Steinl, to approve the August 12, 2024, Plan Commission Minutes as presented. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENT Mary Heimbecker, via Zoom, spoke in support of new business item 1 on the agenda. There were no other comments received. BUSINESS ITEMS 1 Discussion/Action on an Amendment to Sec. 133-11 of the Village Ordinances to Change the Maximum Allowable Size of Accessory Buildings (Brought back from previous meetings. For recommendation to Village Board) At the May 6, 2024 Village Board meeting, the Trustees voted to approve an amendment to the ordinances allowing accessory dwelling units by right. As part of this deliberation, they also agreed to allow detached ADUs up to 900 square feet to be in-line with other municipalities in Dane County (Sec. 133-1139). Currently, Sec. 133-11 Use Regulations only allows by right for accessory buildings up to 800 square feet. In order to reconcile the allowable 100 square foot size difference between the ADU ordinance and Use Regulations, the Village needs to update Sec. 133-11. Page 1 of 3  This issue came before Plan Commission at the July 2024 meeting, but Plan Commission deferred to a future meeting when this could also be considered alongside an amendment to the ADU ordinance limiting the size of ADUs based on the size of the primary structure. However, after further staff research, the limit already exists in 133-1139(g). The issue then came before the Plan Commission at the August 2024 meeting. Plan Commission deferred to a future meeting when they could consider how 50% of the primary structure is defined. Staff proposes using the local assessor data for the first floor livable footprint of the primary structure. Motion Braun, second Wallace, to recommend Village Board approval of the change to Sec. 133-11 of the Village Ordinances increasing the maximum accessory structure size to 900 square feet. Motion carried 5-2 with Springman and Steinl opposed. 2 Discussion/Action on Repealing and Replacing Sec. 14-12 and Creation of Sec. 133-1140 Related to Beekeeping Ordinances Beekeeping is currently allowed within the Village of Waunakee as a conditional use. The regulations are currently housed in Chapter 14 – ANIMALS within the Village Code. The proposed ordinance repeals the current code, replaces Sec. 14-12 with licensing requirements, and creates Sec. 133-1140 within the Zoning Ordinance to regulate site requirements for beekeeping. The ordinance is primarily based on the City of Madison's regulations for beekeeping. Commission members were concerned with the health and safety of the neighboring residents and were reluctant to remove the conditional use requirements that the neighboring properties be notified. No action taken. 3 Discussion/Possible Action on a Recommendation to Contract with Dane County Planning & Development to Update the Housing Chapter of the Village’s Comprehensive Plan The Dane County Planning Division is offering a technical assistance program for municipalities seeking to update the housing element of the local Comprehensive Plan. This is separate from, but related to the recent Regional Housing Strategy plan that was released earlier this summer. It is a first-come, first-served program. Additionally, new Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) programs aimed at addressing housing affordability require a Comprehensive Plan Housing element that has been updated within the last 5 years. Page 2 of 3  The most recent Village Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2017. In addition to the Comprehensive Plan being more than 5 years old, the Village population has increased more than 20% since 2017, and hundreds of new homes have been built since. The current plan does not reflect the Village’s current realities. Staff are also budgeting for a new Village Comprehensive Plan to be done in 2025, which would include an updated housing element. However, it is unlikely to be done until early 2026, whereas this updated section would be done approximately 6 to 12 months from now. Plan Commission, the Community Development Authority, and Village Board will need to weigh the potential timeliness of a new Housing element versus having it done as part of a complete Village Comprehensive Plan. Commission members took no action. 4 Discussion/Possible Action on a Rule for Requiring Plan Commission to Have and Use Official Waunakee.com Email Addresses for Plan Commission Business At the February 5, 2024 Village Board meeting, Board members voted to approve expanded use of the @waunakee.com email addresses for communication among members of official boards, committees, and commissions (BCC). This was to ensure Village staff had ready access to emails between and among committee members and staff for public records compliance. After further staff research and review, this decision was modified at the September 3, 2024 meeting to create a training policy and module for BCC members regarding roles, responsibilities, and compliance. However, the Village Attorney expressed an opinion that it was reasonable to require Plan Commission members to have and use @waunakee.com email addresses for Plan Commission communications due to the frequency of meetings, volume of decisions, and the high potential for communication records requests. Motion Runge, second Braun, to request that the Plan Commission receive waunakee.com email addresses from the Village of Waunakee. Motion carried 7-0. WAUNAKEE/WESTPORT JOINT PLAN COMMISSION UPDATE Staff gave an update. ADJOURN Motion Springman, second Braun, to adjourn the meeting at 6:32 p.m. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Tracy Meinholz, Plan Commission Secretary Page 3 of 3