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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning & Zoning Committee - Minutes - 8/18/2022 Page 1 of 6 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – August 18, 2022 MINUTES BAYFIELD COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING AUGUST 18, 2022 1. Call to Order of Public Hearing: Chairman Rondeau called the public hearing to order at 4:04pm. 2. Roll Call: Pocernich, Ray, Rondeau, Silbert, and Strand – all present. Other’s present: Director-Ruth Hulstrom, Tracy Pooler-AZA, Mckenzie Slack-AZA, Erica Meulemans-AZA, Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Marty Milanowski, John Carlson-Corp Counsel, Heather Doubek-Secretary. 3. Affidavit of Publication: Hulstrom stated the affidavit of publication was fulfilled. Published August 2, 2022, and August 9, 2022. 4. Public Comment –John Nyara, Chairman of the Town of Barksdale, informed the committee that the first or second week of May 2022 he went to the zoning office to get a permit for their new ice-skating rink building. After six or seven trips to the zoning office they got everything squared away. Each time he spoke with someone at the zoning office he received different information and different pricing. He stated that at the last meeting a month ago the permit was approved. It has been four weeks and he is looking for the status of the permit. He has not received it in the mail. He asked the committee if anyone would like to comment. Rondeau stated that the committee does not usually comment on public comment. Nyara asked what the next steps are and if he can start building without a permit. Rondeau confirmed to Hulstrom that she could respond to Nyara during public comment. Hulstrom responded that construction should not begin without an issued permit and confirmed that the start of construction is when laying concrete foundation or building vertical walls if no concrete is being installed. Hulstrom further stated that due to the loss of a staff member that could issue permits, the department is now working on training other staff members to be able to issue permits and the data entry that goes along with the permit process. Abeles-Allison added that the county is working on expediting the process and doing better every day. Will update Nyara in the next several days on when he will receive the permit. Nyara further stated the Town of Barksdale is considering dropping out of Bayfield County zoning. They feel they would be better off without Bayfield County zoning if things do not get better and the law will allow. 5. Corp Counsel Comment(s)- John Carlson stated that there are a lot of things that need to be expedited to get things moving. Current zoning code has areas that need to be changed. One of them being the short-term rentals. Current process is cumbersome and does not need to be that way anymore. Process was developed back when there was more that the county could say and do on short-term rentals and now do not have that ability. Carlson was looking for the committee’s blessing to move forward with rewriting this portion of the ordinance. Carlson would like to see the process completely done in house versus the long drawn out process that it is currently. Conditional use requirements for units four and above and under that is special use permits with requirements for town board approval and notice. Carlson further states if we cannot restrict short-term rentals no purpose to have the extra work involved. Strand asked and Carlson confirmed that Page 2 of 6 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – August 18, 2022 there would no longer be conditional use permits but Class A special use permits. Strand stated his concern is that we remain consistent with the various comprehensive plans and would like to see the town board’s recommendation. Silbert agreed with Strand and confirmed with Carlson that substantial evidence is required to deny use. Carlson clarified that for conditional use permits you have to have substantial evidence to put restrictions on the conditions. The substantial evidence has to relate to the purpose of having it as a condition and the substantial evidence cannot just be the neighbors not wanting that particular use in their neighborhood. Discussion continued on what conditions can be added to the ordinance and how are the conditions enforced. Silbert would like to see some protection for the taxpayers. Rondeau asked Carlson on timing. Carlson stated a rough draft could be done next month. Hulstrom asked whether it applied to a Class A permit or just a land use permit. Carlson confirmed Class A permit. Ray commented on the topic as well. Pocernich confirmed with Carlson that short term rentals less than 29 days have room tax. Strand withdraws his request that town boards be notified based on the right to rent laws. 6. Review of Meeting Format – Chairman Rondeau explained the procedure of the meeting. He asked everyone who wished to speak to fill out a form; and stated they will be asked to come forward and speak into the microphone. 7. Public Hearing: A. Robert Schierman, agent on behalf of the Town of Russell, owner/Paul Tribovich (Russell) in petition for ordinance amendment (Section 13-1-63). Deregulate the town of Russell overlay. Robert Schierman, as agent of the Town of Russell, spoke on behalf of the request. Schierman stated in 2009 the Town of Russell adopted the Town of Russell overlay. This addressed historic properties, old growth properties and subdividing. Originally in 2009 they wanted the town to provide input on subdivisions less than 20 acres. Few years back, this was amended and brought the land area requirement down to 9 ½ acres. Town has had this on their agenda every month since March 2022. The town is asking for the zoning committee and the county to deregulate the Town of Russell overlay. The town has found that over the years it is causing delays in development because of the additional bureaucracy of getting the approval of the town board. Additional costs with the cost of surveying. Delays in property owners being able to pass on their property to their heirs. The town would like to remove all the old growth language and the dimensional requirements. The Town of Russell wants people to be able to subdivide their property just like anywhere else in the county. If this is approved by the committee and the county board then everybody in the Town of Russell would be subject to the same subdivision control ordinance as all the other towns. Schierman states this will be easier for the Town of Russell and the zoning department. Rondeau asked three times if anyone would like to speak in support. No one spoke. Rondeau asked three times if any would like to speak in opposition. No one spoke. Discussion ended. Page 3 of 6 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – August 18, 2022 B. Richard & Nancy Sauer (Iron River) in operation of micro-brewery (Tax ID 20431) (Doc# 2022R-594854), described as Original Plat of Iron River, Lot 10, Block 3, Town of Iron River, Bayfield County, WI. Richard Sauer spoke on behalf of the request. Business is already in existence and has been running for three years. They are looking to move their business to another location in the Town of Iron River. Rondeau asked three times if anyone would like to speak in support. No one spoke. Rondeau asked three times if any would like to speak in opposition. No one spoke. Discussion ended. 8. Adjournment of Public Hearing: Silbert made a motion to adjourn the public hearing, Ray seconded. Motion carried, 5- 0. Adjourned at 4:40 pm. 9. Call to Order of Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting: Rondeau called the meeting to order at 4:40 pm. 10. Roll Call: Pocernich, Ray, Rondeau, Silbert, and Strand - all present. Other’s present: Director- Ruth Hulstrom, Tracy Pooler-AZA, Mckenzie Slack-AZA, Erica Meulemans-AZA, Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Marty Milanowski, Heather Doubek – Secretary. 11. New Business A. Town of Russell, owner/Paul Tribovich (Russell) – Petition to amend ordinance (Section 13-1-63) File Report: Hulstrom stated that the background information from Rob Schierman was helpful. She informed the committee that the notice of the ordinance amendment was sent out to the towns by certified mail. The only confirmations not received back were from Mason and Port Wing. Pocernich motion to send to the county board for approval based upon consistency with the town’s comprehensive plan, town board recommendation, maintenance of safe and healthful conditions in the community, the general welfare, and economic impacts of the proposal, seconded by Ray. Motion carried, 5-0. B. Richard & Nancy Sauer (Iron River) – Operation of micro-brewery File Report: Hulstrom informed the committee that this has been reviewed by McKenzie Slack the AZA for this area. Request is for a micro-brewery, changing the use of the existing structure which requires a conditional use permit for proposed use change. Micro-brewery is proposing 2,340 gallons per year, which meets the standard for a micro-brewery. Staff did reach out for some more detail for the terms of use. Typical hours of operation are 3pm to 10pm. Aside from Page 4 of 6 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – August 18, 2022 special events. They do have three off street parking stalls along with on-street parking. They have a 30-person occupancy load for the building. Silbert motion to approve based upon consistency with the town’s comprehensive plan, town board recommendation, maintenance of safe and healthful conditions in the community, the general welfare and economic impacts of the proposal seconded by Pocernich. Motion carried, 5-0. 12. Other Business C. Discussion and Possible action regarding waiver of fees for Ben Shanks (Grand View) (Tax ID# 16635). Hulstrom confirmed that the Shank’s authorized agent, Mike Furtak submitted a land use permit application for a proposed residence along with the sanitary permit application on June 21, 2022. The AZA reviewed both the land use and the sanitary applications on July 11, 2022. She realized a maintenance agreement was needed so she reached out to the plumber. The AZA performed her onsite inspection on July 15, 2022. At that time, the AZA became aware that footings had already been poured which would indicate construction has started without an issued permit. The department followed up with a violation letter being emailed to the authorized agent, Mike Furtak and mailed a copy of the violation letter to the property owners. The department heard back from both the agent and the property owner. The property owner, Ben Shanks did speak at last month’s meeting. The property owner did come into the office and pay the after the fact fees. Silbert asked what the total after the fact fee is. Hulstrom confirmed that the after the fact fee is double fees and confirmed that in this instance an additional $1,700.00 is the fee for starting construction without an issued permit. Silbert asked for confirmation on the clearing by the lake and if an additional fee needs to be collected. Hulstrom stated that the violation letter did state several items but in terms of the department being reasonable to the situation and that construction had clearly been started on the structure the department prioritized it and felt it was important to collect the after the fact fee for the land use permit application. After discussion with the property owner the department decided not to pursue any additional fees. Strand asked for confirmation that the application was submitted on June 21, 2022. He asked if the department knows when construction began, and Hulstrom stated she did not. Abeles-Allison asked for confirmation that clearing by the lake does not constitute the start of construction. Pooler confirmed that the department does allow the property owner with an active pursuit for a permit to do some clearing of the property. Strand motion to deny the waiver of the after the fact fees, seconded by Ray. Motion carried, 4-1. D. Discussion and Possible Action regarding short-term rental ordinance amendment. Hulstrom informed the committee that the staff is in support of John Carlson’s proposal of the short-term rental ordinance amendment. Hulstrom would like to see more of an administrative review process, since the town or the committee do not have a lot of oversight over the short-term rentals. Ideally, Hulstrom would like Page 5 of 6 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – August 18, 2022 to see some other tools available as the staff has more time to manage the short- term rentals better. Would like to see the county code align with the state statute. Pocernich motion to direct our corp. counsel to update the short-term rental ordinances, seconded by Silbert. Motion carried, 5-0 E. Discussion and Possible Action regarding multiple unit development language (MUD). Hulstrom informed the committee with the other items that have come up within the department she has not been able to do further research on this. The committee will see this on future agendas. Hulstrom asked for committee recommendations on what should be prioritized. Strand states other items have more priority than this at this time. Silbert agrees with Strand but does not want this to be forgotten. Pocernich agrees with Strand. Permits need to be prioritized at this time. This can be looked at again in six to eight months or let corporate counsel work on it. Hulstrom will look at adding this back into the agenda in three months once the department is through the development season. F. Discussion regarding comprehensive plan update. Hulstrom updated the committee that there have been two comprehensive plan steering committee meetings. Covered a lot trying to get up to speed on the direction of the data and trends within the county. Last meeting consisted mainly of the Northwest Regional Planning Group providing a basic overview of the statistics and trends in the county. County is trending upward in age, and this will continue to happen. And looking at what factors are involved to plan for this. Hulstrom would like to see as many towns involved as possible in getting their future land use maps and comprehensive plans updated consecutively with the county’s. Hulstrom asked for the Committees input on how the information can best be shared with the towns and Northwest Regional Planning Group. Further discussion continued. G. Minutes of Previous Meeting (July 21, 2022): Ray motion to approve the minutes from July 21, 2022 as presented, seconded by Silbert. Motion carried, 5-0 H. Committee members discussion regarding matters of the Planning and Zoning Department Strand requested a welcome and introduction of the new secretary, Heather Doubek. Strand commented that the conditional use permit issue has him concerned. He feels as a committee they need information, education, and guidance on what the committee can and cannot do. Strand suggested that the ordinances need to be reviewed and updated. Hulstrom commented that her and Abeles-Allison have discussed pursuing a full code rewrite in the future. There are areas within the code that conflict with state statutes that exist today or are unclear. This is making it very difficult for the staff to do their jobs in a timely manner. Staff has been having to reach out to resources, including corporate counsel and the DNR to help them Page 6 of 6 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – August 18, 2022 interpret the code that exists for Bayfield County zoning. Potentially looking at a grant to help with the code rewrite process that is due in November. Hulstrom stated that she will work with Abeles-Allison on this. Ray stated that he was contacted by a constituent that applied for a permit in April 2022 and has now ran into a delay until May 2023. Permits are currently only good for one year and there is no administrative ability for the department to extend permits. Ray proposing that corporate counsel give us some language that the committee can approve and forward to the county board to update our ordinance that the zoning director have the administrative ability to extend any permit if needed. Ray would like to see this on the agenda for the next meeting. Abeles- Allison asked Ray to confirm he is proposing a 24-month permit. Ray verified he is proposing that the zoning director can extend any permit for an additional 12 months if needed. Pocernich confirmed with the committee that they have been receiving the emails he has been forwarding to them with complaints on delays in permits. Silbert agrees with Pocernich that the permits need to get processed. 13. Monthly Report / Budget and Revenue Hulstrom reported that both new sanitary and land use permit applications continue to come in. The number of land use permits for July 2022 are just under July of 2021. Sanitary permits for July 2022 are also just under July of 2021. Anticipating that the issuance of permits for August won’t be as rocky with additional staff being able to issue permits. Hulstrom further stated that the way the department operated in the past the assistant zoning administrators and the director did not issue or have the knowledge to issue permits. This contributed to the slow-down in the process along with the current circumstances of the department. The staff is doing their jobs to the best of their abilities every day. Hulstrom would like to see the processes within the office streamlined. Abeles- Allison stated that new staff has been added to the department and this should help a lot. The department is making progress. Silbert motion to receive and place on file the monthly report, seconded by Ray. Motion carried, 5-0 14. Adjournment Rondeau called adjournment at 5:26 pm. Prepared by HRD on 8/31/22; given to REH on 8/31/22 Approved by REH on 9/8/22 Sent to PZC on 9/14/22 Final Approval on 9/15/22 (P&Z Comm) cc: (after final approval)- (8) Supervisors, Cty Admin, Clerk, DNR, Web k/zc/minutes/2022/#8 Aug