Richland County

Office of the Zoning Administrator

Courthouse

181 West Seminary Street

Richland Center, WI 53581

608-647-2447

www.co.richland.wi.us/departments/zoning

 

ZONING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

FEBRUARY 1, 2010

 

1.      The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rasmussen at 9:30 a.m.  Those present were Richard Rasmussen, Marilyn Marshall, Virginia Wiedenfeld, Robert Holets, Carol Clausius, Harriet Pedley and Gerald Annear.

 

2.      Motion by Wiedenfeld, seconded by Marshall to approve the agenda and publication.  Motion carried.

 

3.      Motion by Clausius, seconded by Holets to approve the minutes of January 4, 2010.  Motion carried.

 

4.      The committee heard a petition from Gerald Annear to rezone 2.74 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Residential-2 in Section 6 of Eagle Township.  Annear stated that this parcel of land at one time had a homestead that burned down several years ago.  A 60’ X 12’ mobile home was placed there and Pedley stated it is a legal non-conforming use.  Annear stated he owns about 400 acres and does not need this property and the person who is interested in buying it is a relative of the person Annear rented the mobile home to but at this time she is in a nursing home.  Pedley stated that she had a conversation with Brian McGraw, the Eagle Township Chairman who stated that Annear did not have enough time to get to the township for their approval but if the zoning committee would agree, they could approve the rezone pending the town approval.  Annear stated he is aware of the conversion fee and said that his buyer is willing to make the payment.  Motion by Holets, seconded by Clausius to approve the rezone pending town approval and pass it to the next available county board session.  Motion carried.

 

5.      Pedley reported on the Public Forum that was held at the campus on January 16, 2010 concerning Working Lands Initiative.  She stated that her intention for that day was to explain the new rule in a way that people could understand.  According to the survey results it appears that most did understand with a few exceptions.  She has contacted those people and reviewed the rule again with them.  All in all, Pedley stated she felt it was a good day with the only down side being that the crowd was not as large as she hoped.

 

6.      Discussion concerning when the conversion fee should be paid to the county followed.  Pedley explained to the committee that it may be a good idea to require the payment before the petition goes to county board.  If the rezone is not successful, the check could be returned to the petitioner.  If we waited until after county board sessions it may be hard to collect.  Motion by Wiedenfeld, seconded by Clausius to require conversion fee payment up front before the county board session where the petition will be voted on.  The office is to hold the check until after the county board meets and either turn in the check upon approval or return the check upon denial.  Motion carried.

 

7.      The committee had a long discussion concerning Working Lands and the new Chapter 91.  Pedley stated that after many hours of study and thought she is going to recommend that the county adopt the new rule.  That way our farmers will be eligible for increased tax credits, landowners will not have to pay the exorbitant conversion fees as long as they sell their land under a conditional use permit scenario and, depending on the parcel size of the Agriculture and Forestry zoning district, the development rights would remain about the same as we have now.  Pedley provided the committee with a draft of the amended zoning district for their review.  The committee still has some questions with some details and directed Pedley to get the answers and bring them to a special meeting for discussion.  At that meeting, the committee will decide on a parcel size, among other things, and then hold an informational meeting for the public and other county board members.  Pedley stated it would be nice to get this to the March county board session if possible.  A straw vote was taken concerning the parcel size for the Agriculture and Forestry Zoning District and the Agriculture and Residential Zoning District and the results were as follows:

Ag/For                                     Ag/Res

            Holets              2 w/required clusters                             5

            Wiedenfeld       2 or 5                                                   5

            Marshall           5                                                          5

            Clausius            5                                                          5

            Rasmussen       5                                                          5                     

 

8.      Included in Item #7

 

9.      Pedley passed out the most recent letter sent to Herbeck concerning his horses on Commercial property.  She will report again at the next meeting.

 

10.   No further report

 

11.  The next meeting will be February 18, 2010 at 9:00 A.M.  The next regular meeting will be March 1, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.  Motion by Holets, seconded by Marshall to adjourn.  Motion carried.