The City Plan Commission met 08/10/2022. It was a brief meeting taking only 12 minutes, but during that time they were able to conduct a public hearing and vote on three separate items.
The first item was a special use permit for Zips Car Wash at 1000 W. Northland Avenue.
City Planner Jessica Titel explained to the commission that the car wash would be located inside the former Shopko building at the Northland mall. The entire car wash, wash tunnels, and vacuum stations would be inside the building. The cars would enter and exit on the website side of the building and all queuing would take place inside the building. The car wash would occupy about half of the former Shopko space and the other half would be reserved for a different occupant at a future date.
She noted that they had received one email from a neighbor expressing some concerns. The car wash applicant had had a conversation with the resident, and she herself had also spoken with him on the phone about his questions and concerns.
(She didn’t go into detail about the email, but the neighbor was worried about an increase in traffic and garbage and hoped that a fence might be installed behind the car wash property.)
She finished up by saying that city staff had reviewed the special use permit against the city’s zoning code standards and was recommending approval.
Two people spoke during the public hearing.
The first was a woman who was the property manager for a nearby business. She wanted to know why she did not receive a letter about this meeting. City planner Titel explained to her that the letters the city sends out are sent to the property owner that they have on file so would not necessarily include property managers or tenants, just the owners.
The second person was Bill the applicant. His microphone was not turned on for much of his statement, but he spoke, obviously, in favor of the special use permit being granted.
The commissioners had no questions about the application and voted 4-1 to approve it with Commissioner Andrew Dane casting the one dissenting vote.
The second item was a request to eliminate a residential parcel by splitting it down the middle and attaching it to the two adjoining properties.
Principal Planner David Kress explained that the subject area consisted of three parcels located near John Street and Matthias Street near Lions Park on the southeast side of the Appleton. The two outer parcels were developed with single-family dwellings. The middle parcel was currently vacant, and the applicant wanted to split it evenly between the two adjacent parcels, adding approximately 5,100 square feet to each of neighboring parcels.
Normally, this sort of action would be reviewed and approved at the staff level, but it was before the Plan Commission because the properties in question were originally platted in two separate plats. The northern-most parcel had been included in the Lang Plat back in 1962, and the two southern parcels were included in the Apple Orchard Plat in 1075. State Statute required that when that situation arose that it needed to be approved in the same manner as the final plat, which, in this case, included action before the Plan Commission and Common Council. City staff performed their typical review of the subdivision and zoning ordinance requirements and was recommending approval.
Commissioner Sabrina Robinson noted that in prior meetings they had discussed land being available for affordable housing. She wondered if the land being divided was not big enough to be built on.
Principal Planner Kress answered that the vacant parcel was large enough to accommodate a single-family home. Based on conversations he had with the lot’s owner, there was currently no sewer or water service to the property and they would need to cut into the street in order to run laterals to it. The current owner believed it would be too costly to do that. The owners of the two adjoining properties were interested in increasing the size of their lots and had entered into arrangements to do so. He reiterated that city staff was recommending approval.
There was no further discussion and the commission voted 4-1 to approve the request with Commissioner Robins voting no.
The final item was a request to approve an update to the land use applications fee schedule for the Community and Economic Development Department.
Principal Planner Don Harp told the commission that it had been 10 years since the city had reviewed its current fees. They conducted their typical analysis in which they compared Appleton’s fees with those of neighboring communities. They did recommend some adjustments as laid out in the agenda packet.
The commission members had no questions or comments about that item and voted unanimously to approve it.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=984119&GUID=2420751C-C676-4B26-8866-E48C4459F872
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