The Community Development Committee met 07/09/2025. Most of the meeting was taken up with a Community Development Block Grant-related item, but they did also take up a request from a business within the Northeast Business Park for a variance to the business park’s deeds and covenants. The covenants, which are more restrictive than the Municipal Code, require a 15 foot minimum setback to parking but this business wanted to install a parking lot that with only an 8 foot setback from the property line as allowed under the Municipal Code.
The committee voted 3-0 to recommend the variance be granted.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
In 2015, the parcel in question was purchased with the intention of using it as a medical building, and that use was approved in November of 2015. The parcels within the Northeast Business Park are governed by deeds and covenants that are more restrictive than the city’s Municipal Code. The 15-foot setback for parking lots in the business park’s covenants is problematic for this medical office because they will have a high user-rate for their parking. With the aim of providing more parking and having better traffic flow, the owners requested a variance to the deeds and covenants removing the 15-foot setback and allowing them to have an 8-foot setback as allowed in the Municipal Code.
Economic Development Specialist Lily Paul indicated that they wouldn’t allow anything less than the Municipal Code’s zoning requirements because there was no physical hardship on the property. To go less than the zoning code, they would need to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals and request a variance from them.
Alderperson Denise Fenton asked if there were potential issues providing a variance in this case to go to an 8-foot setback when the rest of the properties in the park were operating under a 15 foot setback. Specialist Paul said there were not because the use of the property as a medical office had already been approved and all the other businesses in the park had the ability to seek out variances for themselves if they wanted to.
The committee voted 3-0 to recommend the variance request be approved.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1309282&GUID=E0C01B1C-686C-41B5-B623-F88BEF4BDBF5
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