Grundy Reporter

Town of Verona Plan Commission met September 21.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

Members Present: Doug Maxwell, Ron Melitsoff, Jim Schroeder, Deb Paul, Laura Dreger

Absent: none

Staff: Amanda Arnold

Also Present: see sign in sheet

1. Call to Order/Approval of Regular Meeting Agenda – Doug Maxwell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. He asked that a public comment section be added to the agenda. Motion by Dreger to approve the amended agenda. Second by Melitsoff. Motion carried.

2. Approval of minutes from Aug 31 and Sept 14. – Amanda explained that the September 14th minutes had not been completed. Motion by Schroeder to approve the August 31st minutes. Second by Dreger. Motion carried.

3. Public comments – none.

4. Reports

Chair: Doug Maxwell announced that there will be community prairie planting on Nov. 4th at the Town Hall. He also reported that Amanda Arnold and Mark Geller had met with City of Fitchburg representatives and they had expressed more openness to lot splits within their extra-territorial jurisdiction. Doug and Amanda met with two property owners in the Sugar River Road area that are interested in developing a conservation subdivision.

Committee Reports (Public Works, Finance, Natural and Recreational Areas) – Laura Dreger reported that the finance committee is working on the 2018 budget. No other committee representatives were present.

Commissioners – Deb Paul provided an update on the City of Verona’s Northwest Neighborhood Plan process.

Planner/Administrator – No report

5. Presentation and discussion re: Driftless Ridge proposed to be located at 3151 Shady Oak Lane. The proposal consists of 13 single family units on 26 acres in a condominium plat. – Jessica Vaughn of JSD Professional Services and Jim Coons, the property owner, presented the development concept. Each unit area would have a 4,000 to 5,500 building area and the covenants would require landscaping. The detention ponds, which are in common areas, would be wet ponds. A 30’ drainage easement is part of the plan and water from the right-of-way would be directed to one of the ponds. Deb Paul expressed concerns about the uniformity of the lot layout. Laura Dreger and Jim Schroeder expressed concern about the unit size. There was a request for more of a visual buffer along Shady Oak and questions were raised about the separation between driveways along the Shady Oak. Roadway connections to other existing and potential future developments were discussed. However, connecting Driftless Ridge to Woods at Watch Hill is not feasible. No action was taken by the Commission. The developer and consultants planned to bring back updated plans on October 19th.

6. Presentation and discussion re: Fox Hill proposed to be located at 11451 Mid Town Road. The proposal consists of 29 single family units on 62.9 acres in a condominium plat. – Laura Dreger took over as Chair for this item. Justin Temple gave a presentation for OAJ Development. He explained that no lots would be smaller than 1.8 acres and a public open space was planned. Laura Dreger asked if there could be an easement for a possible future connection to Timber Lane. Deb Paul expressed concerns about the “cookie cutter” layout, but Justin Temple responded that it wouldn’t appear that way in three dimensions. The developer and consultants planned to bring back updated plans on October 19th [it was later decide that they would come back for the November 16th meeting instead].

7. Recap and next steps for results of Sept 14th discussion – Doug Maxwell reviewed some points from a conversation he and Amanda had with the Town’s attorney. Those points were: that if a proposed development is adjacent to an existing, recently approved development than the same rules should apply unless there is a compelling reason to change, each development needs to be treated fairly and given a set of consistent guidelines to follow, but the Town can also have unique agreements with each developer. Lastly, the Town has 90 days after the preliminary plat is submitted to approve or deny them, unless the developer agrees to an extension.

8. Schedule and upcoming meetings – Doug explained that the next meeting would be October 5th and several certified survey maps would be on the agenda as well as the review of several comp plan chapters.

9. Adjourn – Motion by Melitsoff. Second by Paul. Motion carried at 8:11 p.m.

http://www.town.verona.wi.us/images-docs/2012/02/9-21-2017.pdf