HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-31-2013 Board of Adjustment
ST. CROIX COUNTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
Thursday, January 31, 2013
8:30 am.
Government Center, Hudson, Wisconsin- County Board Room
AGENDA
A. CALL TO ORDER/ ROLL CALL
B. OPEN MEETING LAW STATEMENT
C. ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES
D. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: February 28, 2012
E. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
F. PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. St Croix Animal Friends, Inc., Amendment to Special Exception approved in August
2010 (SE87022) to operate a non-profit animal shelter facility (kennel) in the
Commercial District.
2. Charles W. Wahlquist, James R. Wahlquist, and Robert L. Wahlquist, property owners.
After-the-fact Special Exception permit for filling and grading an area exceeding
10,000 square feet.
3. Mathy Construction, Amendment to Special Exception permit to mine into the
groundwater.
G NEW BUSINESS
H. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE
L ADJOURNMENT
(Agenda not necessarily presented in this order.)
SUBMITTED BY: St. Croix County Planning and Zoning Department
DATE: January 4, 2013
COPIES TO: County Board Office County Clerk
Board Members News Media/Notice Board
* CANCELLATIONS/CHANGES/ADDITIONS
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
The St. Croix County Board of Adjustment has scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, January 31, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. at
the Government Center, 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, Wisconsin, to consider the following requests under the St. Croix
County Zoning Ordinance. The Board will view the site in question, after which the Board will deliberate and vote on the
request.
SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS AND VARIANCE
APPLICANT: St. Croix Animal Friends, Inc. a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization
AGENT: Diana Neubarth, President SCAF
LOCATION: NE'/4 of the SE'/4 of Section 33, T29N, R18W, Town of Warren
ADDRESS: 638 Hwy 65
REQUEST: Amendment to Special Exception approved in August 2010 (SE87022) to operate a non-profit animal
shelter facility (kennel) in the Commercial District pursuant to Section 17.18(9)(p) of the St. Croix
County Zoning Ordinance.
APPLICANT: Charles W. Wahlquist, James R. Wahlquist, and Robert L. Wahlquist, property owners
LOCATION: NW'/4 of NW'/4 of Section 1, T28N, R17W, Town of Rush River
ADDRESS: 2017 60th Ave.
REQUEST: After-the-fact Special Exception permit for filling and grading an area exceeding 10,000 square feet
pursuant to Section 17.29(2)(d) of the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance.
APPLICANT: Mathy Construction
AGENT: Milestone Materials, Candy Anderson
LOCATION: Section 35, T29N, R15W, Town of Springfield
ADDRESS: 3232 Highway 12
REQUEST: Amendment to Special Exception permit to mine into the groundwater pursuant to Section
17.15(6)(g) of the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance and Section 14.2 A.B. of the St. Croix County
Non Metallic Mining Ordinance.
All interested persons are invited to attend said hearing and be heard. Additional information may be obtained from the St.
Croix County Community Development Department, Hudson, Wisconsin at (715) 386-4680.
Clarence W. Malick, Chairman
St. Croix County Board of Adjustment
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING AND HEARING MINUTES
January 31, 2013
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Clarence (Buck) Malick at
8:35 a.m.
ROLL CALL - Members Present: Sue Nelson and David Peterson
Jerry McAllister and Joe Hurtgen were absent and excused.
STAFF PRESENT: Kevin Grabau, Code Administrator; Alex Blackburn, Zoning Specialist;
Pam Quinn, Zoning Specialist; Steve Olson, Conservation and Land Use Specialist; Tammy
Wittmer, Planning and Conservation Specialist; and Bonita Clum, Recorder.
Staff confirmed to the Board that this was a properly noticed meeting.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING: The date of the next meeting is set for Thursday, February 28,
2013, at 8:30 a.m. in the County Board Room of the Government Center in Hudson.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Application #1: Amendment to special exception for St Croix Animal Friends.
Quinn presented the application and staff report. Staff is recommending approval.
Chair Malick asked Olson if he had examined the application. Olson confirmed that he did and is
recommending approval.
Chair Malick asked Quinn if there was a condition to avoid nuisance barking. Quinn stated that by
limiting the number of dogs allowed outside at one time and soundproofing the building, that
would take care of this. Also, no dogs will be allowed outside, unattended after dark.
Chair Malick asked if there was an erosion plan prior to construction of the building. Quinn gave
an explanation of the current erosion plan.
Chair Malick asked if anyone would like to speak in favor or opposition of this application.
Glen Wiese, adjoining neighbor to the north, signed an oath and spoke in favor. Wiese wanted to
clarify that there has to be a wide enough right-of-away to cross over the easement. He thought it
better to discuss this before the construction starts.
Diana Neubarth, president of St Croix Animal Friends, signed an oath and spoke in favor.
Neubarth says that they are more than willing to work with the county. She wanted to clarify that
St Croix Animal Friends is not just an animal adoption center, but also an educational facility.
They also want to make sure that they are giving back to the community. They plan to have guest
speakers and events. Their goal is to be a positive influence and a place to go for trainers, and a
place for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to learn. They want to be known for the educational aspect,
as well as an animal shelter.
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There were no other comments made in favor or in opposition.
Chair Malick closed the hearing.
ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES: Motion by Peterson, 2nd by Nelson approving the minutes
of December 27, 2012. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Application #2: Charles W Wahlquist, James R Wahlquist, and Robert L Wahlquist. After the
fact Special exception permit for filling and grading an area exceeding 10,000 square feet.
Quinn presented the application and staff report. Staff is recommending approval with 11
conditions and 8 findings.
Chair Malick asked Quinn and Grabau to explain the shoreland maps and if this area is navigable.
Quinn and Grabau both agreed that this site is not navigable.
Chair Malick asked if anyone would like to speak in favor or opposition of this application.
Robert Walquist, owner of property, signed an oath and spoke in favor. He just wanted to say that
this was quite confusing as he had talked to the Town Chairman and thought he had taken the
necessary steps. He wants assurance that the debris that the county wanted removed, has been
removed. There is still a small pile of black dirt, but that is out of the high-water mark. Quinn
stated that the whole reason for that request is to eliminate run off, etc.
Chair Malick noticed that this property is shown on the primary environmental corridor. Quinn is
recommending reestablishing vegetation along the bank to protect the corridor.
There were no other comments made in favor or in opposition.
Chair Malick closed the hearing.
Board recessed for break at: 9:30 a.m.
Board reconvened from break at: 9:45 a.m.
DECISIONS:
After reviewing the material in the record, the Board rendered the following decisions.
Application #1: Amendment to Special exception for St Croix Animal Friends.
Motion by Peterson, 2nd by Nelson to approve amendments to Conditions #1, 46, 48, 412 and #15 of
the special exception permit approved on August 27, 2010.
Motion carried unanimously. (Specifics on file in the Zoning Office)
Application #2: Charles W Wahlquist, James R Wahlquist, and Robert L Wahlquist. After the
fact Special exception permit for filling and grading an area exceeding 10,000 square feet.
Motion by Nelson, 2nd by Peterson to approve with 8 Findings and 11 Conditions Motion carried
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unanimously. (Specifics on file in the Zoning Office)
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Application #3: Mathy Construction, Amendment to Special exception permit to mine into the
groundwater.
A presentation overview was done by Tony Tomashek, Tara Wetzel and Dr. John Tinker, all of
Mathy Construction. (Specifics on file in Zoning Office)
Chair Malick asked Dr. Tinker, if in his professional opinion, the GFLOW is the most suitable
tool for modeling this. Dr. Tinker responded with yes. Chair Malick asked what the most recent
dates that we have to work with for the water levels in the private wells. Dr. Tinker stated for the
private wells, those wells would be based upon well construction report when the wells were
constructed. Dr. Tinker does not have exact dates, but thinks it would be within the last ten years.
Chair Malick also had questions on the private well capture zones for wells around mining area.
Dr. Tinker also has a publication that went into one of the professional journals where he studies
private wells and their relationship to septic systems. He studied five subdivisions in this area and
also found that the capture zone was very narrow.
Blackburn and Wittmer presented the application and staff report. Staff is recommending
approval with 31 findings and 33 conditions.
Chair Malick established there were twenty people listening to the hearing. He asked that if
anyone had something to say please feel free, but to cut down on redundancy, please do not repeat
what has already been said, only add additional information.
Chair Malick asked if anyone would like to speak in favor or opposition of this application.
Dan Janke, signed an oath and spoke in opposition. Concerns were mainly about water level and
property values.
John Strom, signed an oath and spoke in opposition. Strom questioned the methodology of
testing water level.
Tim Mittlestadt, signed an oath and spoke in opposition. Mittlestadt is concerned about
neighboring ponds being contaminated. Mittlestadt also wonders how much land is being used
since this application is for a total of 120 acres.
Gary Kasprzak, signed an oath and spoke in opposition. Kasprzak is concerned that this is the first
time he has been notified. He feels that his property values are dropping and wonders who will
reimburse him for his loss. He wonders who monitors the 20 acres of active mining limit.
Kasprzak takes comfort in knowing that Wittmer is a geologist and is looking at both sides of this
issue. Kasprzak states that he lives in this beautiful valley and is concerned that silica will settle in
his area. He appreciates the reassurance, but he feels that his beautiful area and way of life are
being destroyed.
Bob Servais, from Mathy's, answered some of these concerns.
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Chair Malick thanked everyone for their concerns and will take them into consideration when
making the final decision.
Chair Malick closed the hearing at 12:50 p.m.
Chair Malick reconvened the hearing at 2:15 p.m.
DECISION:
After reviewing the material in the record, the Board rendered the following decision:
Application #3: Mathy Construction, Amendment to Special exception permit to mine into the
groundwater.
Motion by Peterson, 2nd by Nelson to approve with 31 Findings and 35 Conditions.
Motion carried unanimously. (Specifics on file in the Zoning Office)
Chair Malick adjourned the meeting at: 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Nelson, Secretary Bonita Clum, Recording Secretary
January 31, 2013
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