Grundy Reporter

City of Verona Plan Commission met Oct. 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

1. Call to Order: Jon Hochkammer called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m.

2. Roll Call: Scott Manley, Pat Lytle, Steve Heinzen and Jon Hochkammer. Jeff Horsfall and Jon Turke were absent and excused. Also present: Adam Sayre, Director of Planning and Development; Jeff Mikorski, City Administrator; Jeff Montpas, City Engineer; Holly Licht, Deputy Clerk.

3. Minutes: Motion by Manley, seconded by Lytle, to approve the September 5, 2017 Plan Commission Minutes. Motion carried 4-0.

4. Public Hearing : Zoning Map amendment and conditional use permit to rezone property located 841/857 North Main Street from the current “Mixed Residential” zoning classification to the proposed “Neighborhood Office” and to allow an Institutional Residential land use that would allow for the construction of an 86-unit senior living facility.

Motion by Heinzen, seconded by Lyle, to open the public hearing at 6:36 p.m. Motion carried 4- 0.

There were no comments from the public.

Motion by Manley, seconded by Lytle, to close the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. Motion carried 4- 0.

a. Zoning Map amendment to rezone property located 841/857 North Main Street from the current “Mixed Residential” zoning classification to the proposed “Neighborhood Office” zoning district.

Mr. Sayre presented the staff report. The applicant is requesting a setback exemption for the north property line from the required 30 feet to 28 feet. Staff has no concerns with this exemption as the northern section of the property line fronts onto First Choice Dental parking lot and is being modified to provide shared parking with the site. Access to the property would be shared with First Choice Dental and there would be a southern access point with right-in/ right-out only. Underground parking on the property is sufficient. Staff is requesting that a path be constructed to connect North Edge Trail to the City’s outlot.

Mr. Lytle asked if the developer had met with the neighborhood. Mr. Sayre responded that the developer has met with the neighborhood twice this spring and summer.

Mr. Manley stated that he did not like the location of this project. He said that Main Street should be reserved for commercial and retail purposes.

Motion by Lytle, seconded by Heinzen, to recommend that the Common Council approve a Zoning Map amendment to rezone property located 841/857 North Main Street from the current “Mixed Residential” zoning classification to the proposed “Neighborhood Office” zoning district with the following condition:

1. The Zoning Map Amendment shall become effective upon Forward Development Group acquiring the property at 841/857 North Main Street.

Motion carried 3-1 with Mr. Manley voting ‘no’.

b. Conditional Use Permit to allow an Institutional Residential land use to be located at 841/857 North Main Street that would allow for the construction of an 86-unit senior living facility.

Mr. Manley asked how the deed restriction would be monitored and enforced. Mr. Sayre said it would be on a complaint basis.

Ron Henshue, Forward Development Group, said that they have no problem filing a deed restriction. He added that the building is designed to have assisted living, memory care and independent living. Because of the design, it would be a great cost to convert the building to something other than senior housing. The cost to live in a senior living facility is much higher than a regular apartment building, which dissuades people from living here if it isn’t needed.

Motion by Hochkammer, seconded by Heinzen to recommend that the Common Council approve a Conditional Use Permit to allow an Institutional Residential land use to be located at 841/857 North Main Street that would allow for the construction of an 86-unit senior living facility with the following conditions:

1. A deed restriction shall be recorded on the property restricting the use on the property to an Indoor Institutional Residential land use with age restricted housing for persons age 55 and older after Forward Development Group acquires the property and after the Applicant records the certified survey map for the development.

2. The Applicant and City shall enter into an agreement to allow the Applicant to install Planting on public lands and to require the Applicant to construct a north/south bike/pedestrian path connecting North Edge Trail on the City’s outlot.

3. Direct City Staff to work with legal counsel prior to Monday’s Common Council meeting to have language drafted to restrict the property to people ages 55 and older. Motion carried 4-0.

c. Site Plan Review that would allow for the construction of an 86-unit senior living facility at 841/857 North Main Street.

Motion by Lytle, seconded by Heinzen, to approve a site plan review that would allow for the construction of an 86-unit senior living facility at 841/857 North Main Street. Motion carried 4-0.

d. Certified Survey Map to create two (2) lots at 841/857 North Main Street.

Motion by Lytle, seconded by Heinzen, to recommend that the Common Council approve a certified survey map to create two lots at 841/857 North Main Street. Motion carried 4-0.

5. Public Hearing: General Development Plan (GDP) for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to be located at 118 South Main Street and 108 Park Lane that would allow for a mixed-use development that would contain 21,930 square feet of commercial space and 54-apartment units.

Motion by Manley, seconded by Heinzen, to open the public hearing at 7:07 p.m. Motion carried 4-0.

Mike Hankard, 100 Park Ave., is in favor of the project but concerned about the noise level with people living so close to Miller’s Supermarket. He asked why the City used TIF money to subsidize the costs of the project.

Nicole Osten, 112 Pinehurst Ct., was concerned about the appearance of the project. She stated that older, charming looking building would fit better for the downtown.

Sandy Schwab, 105 S. Marietta St., was against the proposed design of the building. She added that there should be increased stop signs in the area to control the increased traffic. The city needed to focus on creating projects that are pedestrian friendly.

Motion by Lytle, seconded by Manley, to close the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. Motion carried 4- 0.

a. General Development Plan (GDP) for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to be located at 118 South Main Street and 108 Park Lane that would allow for a mixed-use development that would contain 21,930 square feet of commercial space and 54-apartment units.

Mr. Sayre provided a brief history of the project. The proposed project will be broken into 2 different buildings. Access to the site will be the existing access on Main and Verona Ave. The applicant is proposing to remove one access point from Shuman and create a new access point from Park Lane. Staff requested additional right-of-way for potential future expansion of Verona Ave. Staff remains supportive of redeveloping this site, but does not support the design of the building. Mr. Sayre emphasized the importance of the design of the building and preserving the character of downtown. He would like to see more development similar to the development in Waunakee where they built new buildings to look like older, more charming buildings. Mr. Sayre advised the Plan Commission to postpone action on the development and direct the applicant to come back with a design that is more historic looking.

Mr. Manley, Mr. Hochkammer, and Mr. Lytle agreed with Mr. Sayre that the applicant needs to make substantial improvements to the design and needs to do more work to add more character to downtown.

Motion by Manley, seconded by Heinzen, to postpone action on agenda item 5a and refer the GDP to the Common Council for further discussion. Motion carried 4-0.

6. Initial review for a proposed 8,125 square foot building to be located at 529 Commerce Parkway.

Mr. Sayre stated that the building would be an indoor maintenance facility for vehicles that the applicant owns. Access would be provided from Commerce Parkway. Staff recommends that the applicant add more windows and stone or brick to the building.

7. Certified Survey Map to create one (1) lot and one (1) outlot at 529 Commerce Parkway.

Motion by Heinzen, seconded by Manley, to recommend that Common Council approve a certified survey map to create 1 lot and 1 outlot at 529 Commerce Parkway. Motion carried 4-0.

8. Initial review for a 100-room hotel and a 5,000 square foot restaurant to be located at 509 West Verona Avenue.

Mr. Sayre presented the staff report. The restaurant would be 1-story with a 4-story tall hotel directly south. Staff recommends that the restaurant be 2-stories or at least appear to be 2- stories. There would be 2 access points: one at Sugar Creek Commons and another west of the restaurant. Staff recommends that the western most access point be closed and have a shared access point with St. Vincent de Paul’s. The current design should be altered to be more consistent with the Sugar Creek Commons Project.

Mr. Lytle asked if the hotel would include a banquet center. Mr. Sayre said the applicant considered it at one point, but there is no banquet center in this plan. Mr. Lytle added that he would like to see the applicant make the appearance of the building look like 2-stories.

9. Discussion regarding the Northwest Neighborhood Plan.

Jason Valerius, MSA Professionals, highlighted the concerns of height, density, green space, the Ice Age National Scenic Tail corridor, and affordable housing in the proposed neighborhood. He suggested that the Plan Commission focus more on height of the buildings rather than the density. Mr. Valerius stated that there could be a 300 ft. buffer between the development and the Ice Age Trail. There would be more green space where the current farmlands exist. Mr. Valerius gave two options for affordable housing: tax credits and looking into private organizations such as Habitat for Humanity to provide owner-occupied housing.

Mr. Manley said that affordable housing policy does not fit in the neighborhood plan. He added that he believes Verona has affordable housing. Mr. Manley provided statistics of the median income and housing rates in the City and said that the median housing rate is less than 30% of the median income of Verona residents. Mr. Hochkammer agreed with Mr. Manley. He stated that affordable housing is not an issue and the consequences of providing low-income housing are too great.

Mr. Manley does not agree with a 300 foot buffer of the Ice Age Trail. He said it was not good policy for the City to place restrictions on someone’s property in order to buffer the trail. Mr. Hochkammer agreed that a 300 foot buffer was excessive.

Mr. Hochkammer said he would have an open mind about height and density as long as the development contains high quality materials. Mr. Manley suggested that height and density be left out of the plan and projects be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Heinzen agreed that height and density should be determined on a case-by-case basis. He does see potential for great development and high density given that Epic is already in the area.

Mr. Lytle said the plan should be more general and should not cater to one specific development. He added that the City should keep levels of development low for now, but allow for expansion of development in the future. He stated that his property abuts the Ice Age Trail and there is a 15 foot buffer between his lot and the trial, which seems to be sufficient for both parties.

10. Discussion regarding a Zoning text amendment relating to In-Vehicle Sales or Service land uses (drive through).

Mr. Sayre has heard concerns raised by citizens and elected officials about the number of drive- through establishments on Verona Ave. Staff wants to hear feedback regarding different options regulating drive-through uses. The options would be to keep the existing ordinance, prohibit drive- through uses in certain areas, limit on a density base, allow for only specific businesses, or prohibit drive-throughs.

The Plan Commission unanimously agreed to do nothing and keep the existing ordinance in place.

11. Reports and comments from the Planning Department

a. Update on development projects.

-Sugar Creek Commons project was approved by Council last month.

-Legacy at Noel Manor will be coming back to Plan Commission for final approval.

-Festival Foods will most likely come back to the Plan Commission in November.

-Hometown Grove subdivision is beginning construction.

-Tailwaggers is almost complete.

-The Velocity developer is requesting building permits.

-Kettle Creek North roads are beginning construction and houses will start construction before the end of the year.

- Planning Staff is working with a UW student to create a plan for the quarry pit on the east side of Northern Lights Road.

12. Reports and comments from the Plan Commissioners

13. Adjournment: Motion by Lytle, seconded by Heinzen to adjourn at 8:46 p.m. Motion carried 4-0.

http://www.ci.verona.wi.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10022017-1186