Richland County

Office of the Zoning Administrator

Courthouse

181 West Seminary Street

Richland Center, WI 53581

608-647-2447

 

RICHLAND COUNTY ZONING COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

September 5, 2006

 

Item #1            Rasmussen brought the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.  Those present were Richard Rasmussen, Marilyn Marshall, Bruce Wunnicke, Carol Clausius, Betty Havlik, Harriet Pedley, Mary Storms, Ray Starnes, Mark & Al Vignieri, Jay Frazier of ERA, Dan Mockler and family, Virginia Wiedenfeld, Rick & Peggy DeYoung and Carl Klinzing.

 

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

 

Item #3            Motion by Havlik, seconded by Clausius to approve the August 7, 2006 meeting minutes.  Motion carried.

Start of Public Hearing 1:02 p.m.

 

Item #4            The committee heard the petition of Rick & Peggy DeYoung to rezone 3.2 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Commercial and obtain a conditional use permit for a farm implement sales and repair business in Section 6 of Buena Vista Township.  DeYoung presented a power point presentation.  His new business will be called “Homesteader’s Store”.  They will be doing equipment and landscaping rental.  Rasmussen stated one of his big concerns is the driveway entering Hwy 14.  DeYoung stated they are still trying to find out about a gas line that is suppose to be buried in the area of the road right-of-way and that will have a bearing on the placement of the driveway.  DeYoung stated he has been in contact with the Department of Transportation regarding the driveway entrance.  The road frontage is a 174 feet and the driveway will gradually slope up to the business.  Rasmussen stated concerns over the amount of soil that will have to be removed for the driveway.  Wunnicke asked how much of the parking area will be blacktop and DeYoung stated the driveway will probably be gravel and the customer parking area will be blacktop.  If the driveway was blacktop the equipment tracks would just tear it up.  DeYoung also stated there will be a retention pond behind the building for the runoff so it will not be going towards Hwy 14.  Rasmussen asked Carl Klinzing if he had any concerns as one of his fields adjoins this parcel.  Klinzing stated that as far as he is concerned his questions has been answered as long as they are allowed to use the same driveway and he has no problem with this request. Pedley stated they will need to look into the septic system sizing, traps, and a holding tank for hazardous waste.  DeYoung stated he has been in contact with the Department of Natural Resources regarding what their requirements are.   There was continued discussion between the committee and DeYoung regarding issues such as lighting, hours of operation, parking lot size, landscaping and other matters.  Rasmussen was still skeptical of the driveway and would like a more definitive answer from DeYoung.  After much discussion it was suggested that a vote first be taken regarding the rezone and then apply the conditions.  Motion by Havlik, seconded by Clausius to grant the rezoning of 3.2 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Commercial.  Vote was taken with Rasmussen voting no to the rezone request and the other members voting in favor of the request.  Motion carried.  DeYoung was advised he would need to attend the next county board session for the rezone request which will be held on Thursday, September 21st. 

            The conditional use permit was then discussed.  After extensive discussion it was agreed that further information needs to be obtained by the committee before placing the conditions on the parcel.  Motion by Wunnicke, seconded by Clausius to approve the conditional use permit but the conditions are subject to review of the final plans due to the Zoning Committee by the January 2007 meeting.  Issues to be addressed are lighting, landscaping, hours, signage and the final plan.  Motion carried.

 

Item #5            The committee heard the petition of Robert & Jean Worden, owners, and Roger Peterson, Buyer to rezone 23 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Agriculture/Residential in Sections 26 & 35 of Forest Township.  Ray Starnes, real estate agent from Century 21 Affiliated, was present to represent the Worden’s.  Starnes explained to the committee that Forest adopted zoning in 1982 and in 1984 the Worden’s gave their 2 daughters 5 acres each.  When this happened the Worden’s parcel became an undersized illegal parcel.  Havlik mentioned she did not like rezoning such a large parcel to Agriculture/Residential as that would allow for additional parcels to be created and new homes to be placed on them.  Starnes stated that the Worden’s had no problem stating on the deed to the buyer that the land could not be divided.  Motion by Havlik, seconded by Clausius to grant the rezone request to rezone 23 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Agriculture/Residential in Sections 26 & 35 of Forest Township.  The vote taken resulted with Wunnicke voting no to the request and the other members all voting yes.  Motion carried.  Rezone request to be brought to the next county board session on September 21st.   

 

Item #6            The committee heard the petition of Charles & Lorrain Vignieri, owners, and Mark Vignieri, buyer, to rezone 3 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Residential-2 in Section 2 of Richland Township.  The Vignieri’s were represented by their son Al who has power of attorney for his parents, Charles & Lorrain.  Al stated that they brought Mark in to help run the business and he needs a residence in which to live.  The area they chose for the building site works best for the orchard since there are some old trees there that are not productive. A neighbor, Dan Mockler, who lives right across the road from where Vignieri is planning on building, is opposed to the rezone as it will lower the value of his home which is on the market.  He stated built their home there to be in the rural area.  Wunnicke stated that what the Vignieri’s are suggesting for a building site and the reasons are consistent with what is granted in this area.  Rasmussen stated he can see no reason to deny the request.  There was discussion between Vignieri’s and Mockler about planting trees to restrict the view of the new home.  Mark Vignieri showed a picture of the home he is planning and stated that because of the intended placement; only the roof should be visible to Mockler.  They intend to plant trees along Cooper Hill Rd and Hustlers Ridge Rd to block the view of the new residence.  There has been no soil test done on the site yet as they were waiting to see if the rezone was granted.  Motion by Wunnicke, seconded by Clausius to grant the rezone request of 3 acres from Agriculture/Forestry to Residential-2 in Section 2 of Richland Township.  Motion carried.

 

Item #7            The committee heard the petition from Ithaca Township for Jay Walsh in the SW of the NE and SE of the NW Section 6 (approximately 25 acres).  Virginia Wiedenfeld, Ithaca Township Zoning Administrator, explained to the committee that Jay Walsh had requested a rezoning from the Town of Ithaca for approximately 25 acres from Agriculture to Agriculture/Residential which the Town of Ithaca approved.  The petition needs the zoning committee approval to be passed on to the next county board session which will be held September 21st.  Motion by Marshall, seconded by Clausius to pass the rezone request to the next county board session.  Motion carried.

 

Item #8            Motion by Wunnicke, seconded by Marshall to bring the Freeman Decorah petition off the table.  The petition was to rezone 5 acres in Westford Township from Agriculture/Forestry to Agriculture/Residential in Section 7 of Westford Township.  Motion by Wunnicke, seconded by Marshall to deny the rezone request because of the length of time the request has been before the committee with no one present to proceed with the petition.  Motion carried. 

 

End of Public Hearing 2:35 p.m.

 

 

Item #9            Friends of Richland County vs. Richland County – Pedley stated she had nothing to report at this time but will keep committee apprised of any news.

 

Item #10          Intergovernmental Data Sharing Agreement with the City of Richland Center – Pedley explained to the committee that this should have been acted upon some time ago, but the County has been waiting to receive a signed copy back from the City.  Committee advised Pedley that the form needs to be presented to Land Records Committee.  Pedley will take it to the Land Records Committee for their signatures.  Pedley also advised the committee that Thursday night the City is holding a public hearing on the extra-territorial land, anyone is welcome to attend if they so desire.

           

Item #11          Zoning Violations –  Pedley stated she has received 2 letters regarding the Bunker Hill Tavern about their septic and neither has been signed.  She was advised by the committee to dispose of the unsigned letters.  She also stated that there is a property in Gotham, but the nurse’s office is working on it at this time.

 

Item #12          Report from zoning administrator – Nothing to report at this time.  Wunnicke stated he had been contacted by an attorney regarding the Holets property and wondered what the status of this situation was.  Pedley explained she has been in contact with that attorney, Holets and Corporation Counsel Ben Southwick regarding this situation.

 

Item #13          2007 Budget -  Pedley went over the budget figures for expenditures and revenues.  These figures do not reflect any proposed personnel changes in the office at this time.  Motion by Marshall, seconded by Wunnicke to accept the proposed budget of $156,461.09 for expenditures and $94,250.00 for anticipated revenues.   Motion carried.

 

Item #14          The next meeting will be Monday, October 9, 2006 at 1:00 p.m.  Motion by Wunnicke, seconded by Marshall to adjourn.  Motion carried.