DRAFT Minutes of the Town of Cross Plains
Plan Commission Meeting
September 4, 2007
PRESENT:
COMMISSION MEMBERS: Jim Boland, Chair; Carl (Pat) Jones, Vice Chair;
Mike Coyle (15 min late); Ken Esser; Wayne Parrell; Jeff Baylis; Amelia Williams
CONSULTANT: Arnold Harris
TOWN OF CROSS PLAINS BOARD SUPERVISORS: Vera Riley;
Approximately 15 citizens
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
After Jim Boland brought the meeting to order, Williams called the roll. Finding all commission members, one board member, and about 15 citizens in attendance, Williams read the minutes from the August 20th meeting. Approval as read was passed 7-0, with several amendments for misspelled names.
Jones mentioned that we had forgotten to vote at the previous meeting about whether or not to continue the meeting past 10 P.M. (The rule to vote on meeting extensions had been decided previously, but not followed at the August 20th meeting.) All agreed to abide by it in the future.
THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Mike Coyle suggested that the entire document be read again for any further corrections. The commissioners and citizens had a good chance to ask questions and suggest improvements, including the addition of “condominiums” to kinds of dwellings which might be developed in the Town, and the elimination of “antique” from “antique car touring”. The motion to accept the questionnaire as amended was called by Boland seconded by Esser, and passed, 7-0. Harris showed the group how the final survey would look when printed, posted, and returned to the Commission.
REZONE APPLICATION
Jim Wills and John Peterson asked once more for a discussion, to see how the board would react to a rezone of the 10 acres east of the ball field on the South side of Mineral Point Road from A1-EX to C-2 commercial. The intended use was four commercial parcels, one of them used for some type of storage, such as maxi storage. Baylis had concerns about the entrance road on Mineral Point Rd, which might interfere with the commuter traffic in the morning. Wills & Peterson thought that the people using the commercial space would be coming from the west, going east to Madison. Also, they felt that this was a good place for Pine Bluff to grow, though others thought this was not so certain. Stephi. Harris felt that it was important to know exactly what sort of enterprise would locate there the before accepting the proposal.
The particulars of C-2 Zoning were discussed, and Baylis and several citizens felt “unlimited” commercial use of this category was not in accord with the plan, and that it might be impossible to change the zoning later, when the property was sold. Wills and Peterson countered that deed restrictions would be possible to limit the uses, though other citizens felt that deed restrictions were at best a weak control.
Many citizens felt that the survey and comprehensive plan, which would be covering such questions as commercial development, should be completed before such an application could be accepted. Louise Klopp felt that such commercial development could be done north of the Village, where sewer and water are available, and that a public hearing should be held in any case because the local population had not been consulted. Others commented that the land was quite low, that pollution was possible, that it was prime farmland, and thus not in accord with the present plan. Wills and Peterson replied that not much traffic would be generated; only that the sewage system equivalent to a 4-bedroom house would be needed. Esser produced a document discussing the overflow parking which was required on this land for the tavern. The question came up about the non-profit group running a platform tennis court on the same land. Jones said that the County was in charge of this application, and Klopp said that we could find out through the County Office. Wills also mentioned that the County level would be the level at which the decision should be made, and that the county’s primary concern was that commercial properties be contiguous. Baylis replied that the Town also has a say about it, and it was this input we were trying to figure out. Commission members fell into a consensus to table the issue, giving the petitioners the opportunity to come again for a more formal decision at a later meeting.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Williams distributed two possible articles for publication in the local newspapers. The one written by Williams had too many mistakes, and that written by Harris was too long. They will work out the difficulties in the coming week and submit a revised copy to Boland for review before sending it to the local papers.
EXPENSES:
Boland asked Harris and Williams to submit their expenditures up to this point. Both agreed to do so, and Williams agreed to bring a record of all expenses to the next meeting.
MAPS: The new maps were available, but when the motion was made by Esser, 2nd by Boland, to extend the meeting, the motion failed 1-6, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 PM.
ACTION ITEMS:
Boland: Agenda to Amelia by Friday, September 7th! (for meeting on the 17th)
Harris: Send questionnaire to Boland and Jones for final check. When checked, print and mail to the mail list of Town landowners and residents (voting roll and tax roll, with duplicates eliminated)
Harris & Williams: Revise Press Release, send to Jim Boland for approval. Send to local papers when approved.
Harris or Baylis (Baylis is out of town, so Harris) Finalize the Procedural outline document for distribution to the Commission in preparation for Monday’s Board meeting. (the “stages” doc). Email it to Amelia for distribution to the Commission.
All members: Be ready to discuss the Bowman one-page suggestions presented on August 20th at the Sept 10 Board meeting. If you don’t have this document, please let Amelia know.
Submitted via email to 6 Commission members, Sept 5, 2007, Jones via regular mail.
Amelia Williams
824-9319