Lakewood Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. Lakewood Town Hall
Call to Order: Commission Chair Al Eastman called the Lakewood Planning and Zoning Commission to order at 7:04
Present: Chuck Campbell, Ann Cutts, Al Eastman, Chris Roningen, John Knutson, Dan Dexter, Dan McCorison, Dick Bodine, Bob Wolfe and Administrator Brennan Mears.
Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America was recited by all present.
Review of Agenda: There was one change to the published agenda. Dan Dexter clarified that item 8 01 variance hearing report) on the agenda should come from Campbell instead of Dexter.
Review of Minutes:
Minutes of October 25, 2005 Commission Meeting
Minutes of November 22,2005 Conditional Use Hearing Minutes of November 29,2005 Joint Meeting with Supervisors and Board of Adjustment with St. Louis County Planning
All above-mentioned minutes were reviewed and approved.
Representative for February 1, 2006 Town Board Meeting will be Bob Wolfe.
Zoning Administrator Report: Brennan Mears
Issued the permit for Gary Hansen. Board of Adjustment accepted the request at the 1-24-06 meeting.
Lauren Johnson was also issued a permit.
Final inspections were completed on 3 properties from 2004 and 2003.
Unfinished Business:
Town Board Meeting Report (January 4, 2006):
Nothing officially to report.
Telecommunications Tower Sub-Committee Report:
Dick Bodine reported they are close to finishing it.
Zoning Language Clarification and development of recommendations:
Wolfe: Announces that he will be writing up and submitting the following suggestion of a zoning language clarification to the Board. If there is a use that is not listed on the current ordinance the applicant may ask for an interpretation from the Zoning Board prior to the issuance of a conditional use permit. The ordinance currently states that if you want a land use permit for something not currently listed in the ordinance you need an interpretation from the Zoning Board.
Wolfe cont.: We need to make sure anyone can ask for an interpretation. If it is not currently allowed in the ordinance then they applicant can petition to change the text. We should have had a text change in the Diamond Willow case instead of pushing an unwritten desire.
New Business:
January 24 Variance Hearing Report (Chuck Campbell):
Application for 16,000 sq. ft. barn was permitted with the following conditions. 1) The color of the building is neutral. 2) Down lighting and night lighting will be used around the building. 3) Soil Water Conservation District (SWCD) standards will be upheld. 4) If the use increases to something different, such as it becoming a commercial business, that Hansen discusses it with the Planning and Zoning commission before hand.
Appeal language to Zoning Ordinance:
Eastman: The appeal process was never intended so that anyone in the township could appeal whatever they wanted. It was set up to protect the Town Board from going to court.
Dexter: Those people that are within close proximity should get the chance to appeal.
Eastman: If we are going to do that lets put a fee on it. It will eliminate any frivolous appeals.
Motion made by Dick Bodine that a recommendation will be made to the Town Board that anyone who appeals a decision of the Planning and Zoning or Board of Adjustments to the Township Board would pay a fee. This fee would be the same dollar amount that an applicant would have to pay. Vote in favor: All Opposed: None opposed. Motion passed.
Zoning Text Change proposal for LID-10 zone:
Synopsis-of the Town Board hearing appeal from Diamond Willow by Bodine: Township attorney explained that the process should have stopped but since the language was not there it did not stop.
Wolfe: The Board told us we must be more careful about how we legislate our decisions. We never got to the issues of what the zone allows. We need to look at what it says and enforce what it says in the ordinance. We missed some obvious clues that could have helped us make a decision.
Knutson: Isn't our job to legislate?
Bodine: We can legislate but we still have rules.
Wolfe: We need to be really careful that we don't ignore what is in the ordinance. We need to change the rules if we decide that is what should be done.
Discussion of Assisted Living Facilities in Lakewood zones:
Eastman: The attorney for Diamond Willow, Mr. Butler, applied for a text change. He has petitioned for an Ordinance Text Amendment. He wants a conditional use for an assisted living facility in the LIU -10 district. There will be a public hearing and then it goes to the Town Board. The Town Board makes the ultimate decision.
Dexter: A trucking company wouldn't even need a permit for this area.
Campbell: We need to be concerned about using conditional use after conditional use. With sewer being there it will put a strain on what it was intended for which was for helping out those up the shore.
Eastman: Let's schedule the hearing and actually hear what the public says.
Wolfe: I am concerned with residential housing in a light industrial zone (LIU). Residential housing is not a stretch from mobile homes, motels or hotels.
Dexter: This petition for a text change in this area will affect all the LIU sections if accepted.
Eastman: The public hearing will be scheduled for Thursday the 23rd.
Review Retail Sales and usages in the LIU-10 zone:
Roningen: We need to change some of the uses for that zone and include the commercial activity that is already there. Light industrial is a dinosaur and our comprehensive use plan requires that we keep Lakewood rural. Industrial is not rural. We don't want to change it to a commercial zone but we need to expand it to currently allow what we have there now.
Dexter: We aren't doing the things we need to do as a Zoning Board. Instead we are stuck with this LIU, which is only 2% of the township, and we spend all of our time talking about those pieces.
Wolfe: LIU is wholesale commercial activity. There is retail and commercial sales. We need to clarify the retail wholesale issue. The LIU specifically says wholesale items in the description but it does not say retail. If we are going to maintain a LIU we need to respect the difference between wholesale and retail.
Eastman: We need to determine the uses.
Dexter: We may have to create a new zone district.
Campbell: What stops us from allowing other uses for other zones? With the sewer lines that are there now why don't we make it a residential area that would be a wiser choice than having it be an industrial use?
Eastman: Let's look at what the county ordinance says. The commission should adopt the LIU counties definition. You can't go wrong in adopting the county regulations. There is a whole staff of trained resources to help us so we do not have to figure this out by ourselves.
Wolfe: The County says the purpose of the LIU district is to accommodate those industrial and manufacturing uses that foster orderly economic growth without adversely affecting the residential and recreational character of the surrounding area by imposing performance standards, additional standards by conditional use review or by prohibiting a use.
Eastman: Uses permitted with performance standards, meaning they can just do these, in the manufacturing and light industrial zones, include warehousing and wholesaling, borrow pits, public works, and single site contaminated soils disposable facility. Uses authorized by conditional use permits include those mentioned above plus Planned Unit Development. You could without too much of a stretch include an assisted living facility under a Planned Unit Development.
Public Comment
Rob Irving was not present to discuss condominium use in LSO (Lake Superior Overlay) Zone.
Eastman: Notes that the ultimate decision will be made by the Town Board.
Other:
Expiring Terms of members in March, 2006 (Indication of interest in reappointment Yes/No):
Ann Cutts- Yes
Dan Dexter- Yes
Carolyn Ernest- not present.
Announcements: No other announcements
Next Meeting will be Tuesday, February 28, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall
Motion to adjourn was made by McCorison and second by Knutson. Motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 9:09 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Shannon Ostazeski
Planning and Zoning Recorder