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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Adjustment 12-22-09 i c 7 ST. CROIX COUNTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Tuesday, December 22, 2009 8:30 a.m. 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 MEETINGS: January 28, 2009 E. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Richard & Kat Nordby — Special Exception/Variance Request for Reconsideration 2. Murr F. PUBLIC HEARINGS — See Attached G NEW BUSINESS 1. Closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(g) to confer with legal counsel concerning strategy to be adopted by the Board with respect to litigation in which it is involved. Reconvene in open session. H. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE I. ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order.) SUBMITTED BY: St. Croix County Planning and Zoning Department DATE: December 16, 2009 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 Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. at the Government Center, 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, Wisconsin, to consider the following request 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 EXCEPTION 1. APPLICANT: Brent Wirth property owner & Dennis St. Aubin/Country Comforts; agent LOCATION: SW' /4 of the SW' /4 of Section 5, T3 1N, RI 6W, Town of Cylon ADDRESS: 2301 Highway 46 REQUEST: Item #l : Special exception request to operate a bulk petroleum storage facility in the Commercial District pursuant to Section 17.18(1)(a) of the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance. Item #2: An addendum to a special exception request to rent the existing house to the current property owner in the Commercial District pursuant to Section 17.18(1)(a) of the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance. 2. APPLICANT: Teens For Christ LOCATION: NE '/4 of the SW ' / 4 of Section 4, T28N, R19W, Town of Troy ADDRESS: 538 Old Hwy 35 REQUEST: Amendment to a Special Exception request for institutional use to erect a temporary structure and fence in the Ag- Residential District pursuant to Section 17.15(6)(s) of the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance. All interested persons are invited to attend said hearing and be heard. Additional information may be obtained from the St. Croix County Planning and Zoning Department, Hudson, Wisconsin at (715) 386 -4680. Clarence W. Malick, Chairperson St. Croix County Board of Adjustment VORIGINAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING AND HEARING MINUTES December 22, 2009 The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Clarence "Buck" Malick at 8:30 a.m. A roll call was made. David Peterson, Joe Hurtgen, Jerry McAllister and Sue Nelson were present. Staff included: Kevin Grabau, Code Administrator; David Fodroczi, Planning and Zoning Director; Alex Blackburn, Zoning Specialist; Pam Quinn, Zoning Specialist and Becky Eggen, Recorder. Staff confirmed to the Board that this was a properly noticed meeting. The next meeting for the Board is scheduled for Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. in the County Board Room of the Government Center in Hudson. Unfmished Buisness -- Richard & Kat Nordby — Reconsideration Rick and Kat Nordby signed the oath and were in favor of the reconsideration. They testified the majority of the ruling was based on the hardship of not meeting the 700 foot setback. Kat stated all land for sale in the Town of Emerald is zoned Ag- Residential and that would cause them to purchase more land around her 40 acres to meet the setback. She said more land would create a larger facility and she wants to keep her facility small to give better care for the pets. Rick testified they have signatures of neighbors showing their support. No one testified in opposition. Motion by Nelson, second by Peterson to reconsider the request based on a previous decision of a kennel and based on the facts presented. Motion carried 4 -1. McAllister opposed. Application #1: Brent Wirth/Country Comfort Propane — Special Exception The applicant requested a special exception permit to operate a bulk petroleum storage facility in the Commercial District and a request to rent the existing house to the current property owner in the Commercial District in the Town of Cylon. Staff presented the application and staff report. At the August and September Planning Commission and Town Board meetings the Town recommended not granting the permit. The application was brought back to the Town for the December 2009 meetings. The minutes of the meeting were not available. Brenda Kaczmarski, Town of Cylon Clerk, stated that on December 1 st the Planning Commission recommended denial to the Town Board. She also stated on December 9 1h the Town Board tabled the application until the January meeting. The application was tabled to get more information on some fire code issues and whether or not the Village of Deer Park could be evacuated in case of an emergency. St. Croix County Land and Water Conservation Department reviewed the application and visited the site. They recommended the applicant submit and have approved a stormwater and erosion control plan prior to any grading activities for the JAMOVIO proposed site. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reviewed the application and no Chapter 30 permits are needed. However, if greater than one acre is disturbed a DNR stormwater permit would be required. Staff recommended tabling both requests based on 17 findings of fact and conclusions of law. Brian Nodolf, attorney for Country Comfort, signed an oath and spoke in favor of the request. He testified there was no need to delay the request and requested a decision from the Board of Adjustment before Town Board approval. He stated there was an attempt to contact all the neighbors to address their concerns, however, no one wanted to meet and talk about the concerns. He said the drive that is off of Highway 46 will be closed and there will be a new driveway that will split off to the propane facility and to the home off of the town road. He stated his clients have agreed to put an evergreen tree barrierlbuffer towards the north. The trees would be five to six feet in height. He testified there would not be any noise as a nuisance with the facility. He stated there will be four to six trucks coming and going during the peak of their business. He believes there will be no gas smell emitted from the property which will have no impact on the neighbors. He said a buffer was going to be created at 33 feet but it could be shrunk down to work with the driveway. He stated at no time Country Comfort has been offered to be bought out. He testified traffic would be greater in the area if a convenience store was placed on the property rather than Country Comfort since it is a commercially zoned property. He questioned out of the 20,000 vehicles on Highway 46 in a day how many of those vehicles are transporting propane other than Country Comfort? He stated the current fire chief of Deer Park stated at the last Town meeting the Department would be able to cope with any situations if they arose from the propane facility. Dennis St. Aubin, signed an oath and spoke in favor of the request. He testified building a facility starts with a plan that has to be approved by the State and they review the tanks and the setbacks of where the tanks will be positioned and all the piping. He stated there will be emergency shut off valves installed. He stated that fencing is only required around the bulkhead of the tanks and they are going above and beyond and placing fencing around all the tanks. He said there is nothing combustible at the plant that would make the gas flammable other than the tree line that is to be planted for a buffer. He stated the tanks are single wall storage vessels. He also said the location of the facility is important because of time and miles the trucks spend on their deliveries. They have no intentions of building an office or needing a sign. He stated Country Comfort only owns the tank in Amery and not the land so they would like to move that tank to the Cylon property if granted the permit. He stated under his best estimation there will only be a total of four to six delivery trucks in and out of the property during peak season. He said they will satisfy the setbacks that are required by code. He also stated the driveway width will be 30 feet. He testified they have plans to expand the Turtle Lake location. The Board recessed at 9:59 a.m. The Board reconvened at 10:09 a.m. Greg Kaczmarski, property owner to the North, signed an oath and spoke in opposition to the request. He testified there are seven houses within 1000 feet of the proposed 2 ti property. He stated the issue isn't just looking at the tanks but the safety factor is a big concern. He stated he worked with the Deer Park Fire Department for 35 years and the department uses tanker trucks as they have no city water hookups, meaning no fire hydrants to use. He said he has to look at the tanks out of his windows and is concerned if an end blows out that it will head right towards his home. He stated he does not feel the proposed property is the right property for the propane facility. He said the entire Village of Deer Park is on natural gas rather than propane which makes him feel the proposed property is not the best location. He stated there is property available four miles south. He stated safety is a big concern because the fire department does not have all the resources. Gary Nichols, property owner east of the driveway, signed an oath and spoke in opposition to the request. He stated his biggest concern is the traffic being generated on the Highway 46 and County Road H corner. He said he has lived at his property for 33 years and he has seen a few accidents on that corner. He said if there are only four to six deliveries coming to the facility that means there are four to six vehicles leaving the facility. Now the total is 8 -12 vehicles in and out of the facility on average. He said the trees and brush will have to be removed out of the right -of -way if they get the driveway permit which will entail removing some of his trees. He stated he always has concerns with the business hours since there are no definite hours of when deliveries will be made. James Thompson signed an oath and spoke in opposition to the request. He testified that Mr. Wirth can sell the property and do what he wants with the property. He stated there is a lot of traffic on County Road H. He said there have been many accidents with people killed at the intersection of Highway 46 and County Road H. He testified there hasn't been commercial business in the area for many years. He stated his opinion is Country Comfort is getting the property pretty cheap rather than purchasing any other property, hence the reason they are fighting hard to have their facility on this property. He stated he did not think there would be issues if another business moved onto the property. The Chair recessed the hearing. Application #2: Teens for Chirst Inc — Amendment to Special Exception Permit The applicants requested an amendment to an existing special exception permit that was approved on May 27, 2004 to construct a temporary structure, replica tabernacle, and fence for an educational exhibit. Staff presented the application and staff report. The Town Board included the request on the agenda for their December 10 meeting. Comments were not submitted. Staff recommended approval with nine findings of fact and conclusions of law with 11 conditions for consideration. James Cicchese, Executive Director, signed an oath and spoke in favor of the request. He testified that the map showing where all the trees were to be planted had been misplaced, hence the reason the trees had not been planted. He stated they will do their best to comply. He stated the locations of the trees are not currently in the best spot. He said the 3 wastewater testing was ignorance on their part and he simply didn't know it needed to be done. Paul Martin, teacher at Teens for Christ, signed an oath and spoke in favor of the request. He showed the Board pictures of what the tabernacle would look like. No one testified in opposition. The Board left for lunch and site visits at 11:28 a.m. The Board reconvened at 1:33 p.m. Decisions After hearing the testimony and reviewing the material in the record, the Board rendered the following decisions: Application #2• Teens for Christ, Inc — Amendment to Special Exception Motion by McAllister, second by Nelson to approve an amendment to a special exception permit to construct a temporary structure (replica tabernacle) and fence for an educational exhibit based on the following finding of fact and conclusions of law: 1. The applicant is Teens for Christ, Inc., property owner. 2. The 8.50 -acre site is located on the corner of Tower Rd. and Old Highway 35 and abuts the State Highway 35 corridor in Section 4, T28N, RI 9W, Town of Troy, St. Croix County, Wisconsin. 3. The applicants filed with the Planning and Zoning Department an application for an amendment to their special exception permit approved on May 27, 2004 to allow construction of a temporary fence and life -size replica of the Old Testament Tabernacle. 4. In April 2005, site plan modifications were reviewed by zoning staff and a letter summarized the minor changes that were approved. Finding of fact #5 stated "the new service drive on the north side of the church will be screened from adjacent residential properties with eight (8) additional trees" and a revised site, lighting, and landscaping plan dated 4/4/05 indicated the locations for all trees to be planted on the Teens for Christ site. With conditions for completing the revised landscape plan, the request would meet the original special exception permit's requirement for planting screens. 5. The applicants provided a letter with a summary of other permits and/or approvals required for construction of this display in other locations (Exhibit 6). This project will be conditioned to obtain any permits required by the Town of Troy for construction of the fencing and tabernacle structure. 4 Y 6. The POWTS was designed with a capacity for 295 persons plus kitchen facilities, office /employees, and classrooms. The estimated number of persons on the site for tours will be 100. The state - approved sanitary wastewater maintenance and contingency plan included sampling of the effluent to determine if it meets the high - strength requirements set forth in Comm 83. Sampling results were to be submitted to the zoning office, but no records of sample testing are on file. With conditions for completing the state - approved sampling and wastewater tests according to the approved contingency plan to determine if high- strength wastewater is being treated and, if the POWTS is currently code - compliant, the request would not be contrary to public health, safety, or general welfare, nor would it be substantially adverse to property values in the neighborhood affected. 7. This amendment request would not violate the spirit or general intent of the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance. The purpose of the Ag Residential District is to allow uses that are compatible with both agricultural and residential land uses. The tabernacle exhibit is temporary in nature and will be located on property that has been approved for institutional use and is in an area surrounded primarily by low - density residential uses. 8. The paved parking lot currently has 94 stalls that include 6 handicap spaces, which are not filled to capacity on a daily basis. Eighteen (18) of the parking stalls shown on the revised site plan have been converted to a basketball court, but the total parking exceeds the requirements in Section 17.57(7). With conditions for limiting the number of vehicles at any time to the number of designated paved parking spaces, providing adequate receptacles for and proper disposal of trash, and providing adequate sanitary facilities for visitors to the exhibit, the request would not constitute a nuisance by reason of noise, dust, smoke, or odors. 9. The Town Board included this request on the agenda for their December 10 meeting. A letter from Ray Knapp, Town Chairman, was received on December 18 and summarized the Town Board's recommendation for approval of the request with the following concerns: • Support would be reconsidered should a neighbor have concerns about issues not covered in the application; • The structure does not fit within the property setbacks and needs a temporary setback variance if this request is approved by the Board; • A building permit is necessary for the tabernacle replica structure; • No additional signage should be approved as part of the amendment. 10. The county does not have jurisdiction over the setbacks from town roads. With the following conditions: 5 1. This amendment of the special exception approval would allow construction of a temporary fence and a replica of the Old Testament Tabernacle exhibit on the grounds of Teens for Christ in the Ag Residential district. 2. No additional signage is included in approval of the amendment. 3. Prior to constructing the fence and tabernacle exhibit, the applicant shall secure all necessary local, state, and federal permits and approvals, including but not limited to an approval from the Town of Troy for a temporary structure in town road setback. 4. Prior to construction of the exhibit, the applicant shall complete the landscape plantings shown in the approved site, lighting, and landscaping plan revised on April 4, 2005. Photos shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator to document compliance with Condition #1 of the special exception permit approved on March 27, 2004. 5. Prior to construction of the exhibit, wastewater sampling and testing required for determination of high - strength effluent will be completed and results submitted to the Planning and Zoning Department staff for compliance review. If any modifications of the POWTS are required as a result of the tests, those modifications must be completed before tour groups are allowed to visit the proposed tabernacle exhibit. 6. The total number of people visiting the site during the Tabernacle exhibit may not exceed 295 people per day. 7. All vehicles and heavy equipment shall access the proposed tabernacle construction site via existing paved driveways and parking lot area to avoid damage to the tanks and dispersal cells of the POWTS, which are located on the northeast portion of the lot. Visible barrier, such as fencing, shall be placed as soon as weather permits to prohibit vehicular traffic over the POWTS. 8. Maintain the property in neat and orderly manner, by limiting the number of vehicles at any time to the number of designated paved parking spaces, providing adequate receptacles for and proper disposal of trash, and providing adequate sanitary facilities for visitors to the exhibit. 9. The applicant shall remove the fence and tabernacle structure by November 10, 2010. 10. This is a one time approval for 2010. 11. These conditions may be amended or additional conditions may be added if unanticipated circumstances arise that would affect the health and/or safety of 6 I i Y � citizens or degrade the natural resources of St. Croix County. Conditions will not be amended or added without notice to the applicant and an opportunity for a hearing. 12. Accepting this decision means that the applicant and all property owners have read, understand, and agree to all conditions of this decision. Motion carried 4 -1. Malick opposed. Application #1: Brent Wirth/Country Comfort Propane Special Exception Motion by Peterson, second by Hurtgen to table the request to operate a bulk petroleum storage facility in the Commercial District in the Town of Cylon until the January 28, 2010 meeting in order to obtain more information on the following: 1. Accurate hourly and daily traffic counts on Highway 46. 2. Information from the current Fire Chief, Duane Krueger on the possible need for a water pond or high capacity well in case of a fire. Also, information on any evacuation plans that may exist for the Village of Deer Park and the surrounding area. 3. Information from the Town of Cylon in a written form that outlines their concerns about this proposed propane facility. The town meeting minutes from the December meetings will suffice. 4. The impact on the market values of the nearby houses. 5. Guidance from Corporation Counsel on the ordinance language pertaining to town approval of a special exception permit and the validity of the Commercial Zoning District section of the ordinance. Motion passed unanimously. Minutes Motion by Hurtgen, second by Peterson to adopt the December 2, 2009 minutes. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned by the Chair at 2:42 p.m. Respectfully submitted, �� " Sue Nelson, Secretary �� Becky Egg , R ding Secretary 7