The City Plan Commission met 05/24/2023. Outside of the overview they received about how Tax Increment Financing Districts work and the proposal to create TIF District 13 in Southpoint Commerce Park, the commission voted on four action items comprised of two special use permits, one rezoning request, and one approval of a final plat. All of these items were fairly routine and all of them were approved unanimously by the commission.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download.
The item that resulted in the most discussion was the request to…
REZONE THE FUTURE PROVIDENCE AVENUE AND BALDEAGLE DRIVE ANNEXATION FROM TEMPORARY AG AGRICULTURE DISTRICT TO P-I PUBLIC INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT – The city’s standard practice is to temporarily zone properties annexed into the city as Temporary AG Agricultural Districts until there is a reason to rezone them to something more in-line with their future use. In this case, that land is owned by the city and will be used for stormwater management and also as a public right of way to extend the future Lightning Drive and Providence Avenue.
Tom, a resident of the neighborhood, spoke at the public hearing associated with the action item. He was not opposed to the rezoning and had attended so he could learn more about the plans. He wanted to know how far Lighting Drive was intended to extend and was told that it would eventually go all the way to Broadway. The city was going to extend it in two phases. The first phase, expected to be completed in 2024, would take it from where it currently ended just north of County Road JJ up to 150 north of Providence Avenue. The second phase, which would take place at some undetermined point in the future, would bring Lightning Drive all the way up to Broadway Drive.
Tom wanted to know if more housing was going to come into the area in the future. Staff said that at this point there had not been any sort of formal submittal of plans to develop the area, but the in the Future Land Use Map, the city did identify that area as being for one- and two-family residential properties. The commission voted unanimously to approve the rezoning.
The other three items were discussed only minimally.
REQUEST TO APPROVE SPECIAL USE PERMIT #4-23 FOR AN INDOOR COMMERCIAL ENTERTAINMENT USE – The property in question was located in a multi-tenant building near the intersection of Oneida Street and Northland Avenue. The applicant wanted to repurpose one of the existing spaces in that building and use it for an indoor axe throwing business that would also sell alcohol to patrons. The existence of on-site alcohol sales and consumption required a special use permit. Staff was recommending approval, no members of the public spoke at the public hearing associated with it, and the commission voted unanimously to approve the special use permit.
REQUEST TO APPROVE SPECIAL USE PERMIT #5-23 FOR A BAR AND GRILL WITH ALCOHOL SALES AND CONSUMPTION USE LOCATED AT 2811 EAST NEWBERRY STREET – The building was currently a gas station and convenience store. The applicant wanted to convert the back half of the building into a bar and grill with alcohol sales and service which required a special use permit. Principal Planner Jessica Titel noted that, separate from the Special Use Permit, they would need to meet all code requirements for the conversion and also undergo a site plan review for a couple additional parking spaces they would need to add to meet zoning code standards.
City Plan Commissioner Adrienne Palm asked if there were any code or safety considerations related to the fact that the property was next to a railroad track. She expressed some concern about people leaving the bar drunk and being in close proximity to the train track. Ms. Titel responded that from a special use permit perspective, that was not an issue, and she also noted that the back half of the property was not going to be used for parking, so, hopefully, people would not be back there.
Mayor Woodford said that Appleton had a very active railroad line that ran through the city which happened to be in close proximity to a number of similar establishments. He appreciated the concern, but thought that the community had ample experience with that sort of situation.
REQUEST TO APPROVE THE VILLAS AT MEADE POND FINAL PLAT – This condo development wanted to separate each unit into its own independent lot. As proposed, there would be 28 independent lots, and each single-family detached dwelling would be on its own lot. Staff was recommending approval. Aspects of this change had come before the City Plan Commission in the past, and this seemed to be the final step. The commission had no questions and approved the final plat unanimously.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1101171&GUID=F52BD4E3-90DE-4B65-9E86-B2573B21B666
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