DATE: May 25, 2004
Committee Members Present: Ashford, Sprecher, Wiese, Lehman
Committee Member Absent: Gaalswyk
Others Present: Lance Gurney, Ted Brenson, Lowell Haugen, Mary White, Brian Simmert, and others.
Chairman Wiese called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and staff certified the meeting had been properly posted. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to adopt the agenda.
Motion carried.
Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to approve the minutes from the May 11, 2004 Planning, Zoning and Land Records Committee meeting.
Motion carried.
Mr. Lance Gurney presided over the election of Committee officers. He called for nominations for Committee Chair. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to nominate Wiese for Committee Chair. Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to close the nominations and unanimously elect Lester Wiese as Planning, Zoning and Land Records Committee Chair.
Motion carried.
Mr. Gurney called for nominations for Committee Vice-chair. Motion by Wiese to nominate Sprecher for Vice-chair. Mr. Sprecher declined the nomination because of other committee commitments. Motion by Wiese, seconded by Ashford to nominate Lehman for Vice-chair. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to close the nominations and unanimously elect Gerald Lehman for Vice-Chair.
Motion carried.
Nominations for the Secretary position were next. Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Wiese to nominate Ashford for this position. Motion by Lehman, seconded by Sprecher to close the nominations and unanimously elect Judy Ashford as Committee Secretary.
Motion carried.
Communications: None
Business items: None
The Committee then reviewed the voucher list as submitted by the Register of Deeds. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Lehman to approve payment of the vouchers in the amount of $249.12.
Motion carried.
Ted Brenson, County Cartographer, then presented the voucher list for his department. Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to approve the Mapping Department vouchers in the amount of $6,085.50.
Motion carried.
Mr. Gurney, Planning and Zoning Director, stated that he did not have a monthly report as he has been out of the office.
The Committee then reviewed a certified survey map submitted by Jewell and Associates for Mike Hardyns in the Town of Spring Green which contained an access of less than 40 feet as required. Motion by Lehman, seconded by Ashford to approve the 33 foot access easement.
Motion carried.
The next item for discussion was the Development Plan and Preliminary Plat for a development in the Town of Sumpter by Rick Richard (Petitions 03-2004 and 04-2004) This item had been tabled at the public hearing in April because the Town had not taken action and there were unresolved issues in the developer's agreement. Mr. William Greenhalgh and Mr. Rick Richards then appeared. Mr. Greenhalgh stated that the Town of Sumpter Board had approved the developer's agreement and the preliminary plat on May 17, 2004. The PASER ratings for safe and serviceable roads were discussed. The roads will be repaired when they have a rating of 5. The ownership of outlots was briefly explained. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to approve the Development Plan and Preliminary Plat of Bluffview Village.
Motion carried.
Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to approve the vouchers for the Planning and Zoning Office in the amount of $5,930.93.
Motion carried.
Chairman Wiese called the public hearing at 9:45 A.M.
The petition being heard today was Petition # 12-2004 to rezone certain lands in the Town of Dellona, Sauk County, Wisconsin, from an Agricultural zoning district to a Recreational Commercial Zoning District by Russell Hansen, 5332 Stark Road, Sun Prairie, WI 53590. The purpose of the request is to establish a 200 unit campground inclusive of a mini-golf course, campground store, swimming pool, horseshoes and hiking trails. The land affected by the proposed rezone is located in Section 22, T13N, R5E in the Town of Dellona.
Chairman Wiese explained the order of the hearing.
The notice was read and Mr. Brian Simmert, Planning and Zoning Planner, reviewed the history of the project and gave the staff recommendation of postponement.
Mr. Simmert distributed correspondence he had received from Julie and Michael Lew who were unable to attend the hearing. He clarified the fact that the Planning and Zoning Department had not approved the proposal. The Committee did not have any questions at this time.
Attorney Jim Natwick, representing Mr. Russell Hanson, appeared. He stated that the Town of Dellona is on the edge of Dells development and this campground is a low impact use that will be open about 6 months of the year. He explained that most of the traffic would be between the campground and Wisconsin Dells, not in the direction of Mirror Lake State Park.
Mr. Matt Smith registered to appear in support, but did not wish to speak.
Ms. Georgene Willemarck appeared in favor of campground. The property owners should be able to do whatever they want as long as they are in compliance with codes. She questioned whether a home was prettier than the trees it replaced. She stated that campers are not building permanent homes and the campground would be locally owned.
Ms. Carol Clement Stanton registered in favor.
Mr. Duane Brooks, Town of Dellona Chairman, appeared next. He stated that the Town of Dellona approved the campground on October 7, 2002. He did not feel that this use conflicted with the land use plan. The Town Board did not respond in writing by May 17, 2004 to a Planning and Zoning memo. The Town Board did not consider this use residential or multifamily. The campground's success would be determined by the amount of peace and quiet they could provide.. Mr. Brooks submitted a letter to the Sauk County Board of Adjustment and Planning and Zoning on the Town Board's decision.
Ms. Margaret Durhem, a resident of Beaver Creek subdivision, appeared in opposition. She stated that she built her home in the area because of the quiet and wants the property to remain as it is. She felt a 200 site campground would bring a great of amount of traffic to the area and Highway P is already busy. Camp fires would also be a nuisance, as well as roadside litter and unwanted wild animals that would be attracted. Alcohol consumption, break-ins and vandalism would also become problems. Weapons are available and the Dell Creek area would suffer. She said there were already 14 privately owned campgrounds in the area and they are only filled to 30 to 50% on weekdays.
Mr. James Durham registered in opposition.
Mr. Roger Cole registered in opposition and stated he was in agreement with Ms. Durhem.
Mr. Paul Bremer, a resident of Beaver Creek subdivision then appeared. He stated that this area was already busy. More traffic and larger vehicles will be bad for the highway. He stated that an expansion was already being planned. He felt there was the potential of 1000 people to be on the site and this would greatly cause noise problems, fire hazards, ground water pollution and property values would go down because people don't want to live next to a campground. Mr. Lehman questioned which emergency services district the property was in. Mr. Bremer responded that it was the Reedsburg district and that could be a problem getting emergency services to the property in a timely manner. Mr. Bremer presented a petition with approximately 60 signatures of area residents against the project.
Ms. Cheryl Giese appeared in opposition. Ms. Giese read sections of the Town of Dellona Land Use Plan. She considered this a commercial use and that was not allowed by the Town Plan. She was concerned about the number of blind driveways that exist on Highway P and the impact of more traffic and higher speed. She also stated that this was part of the Beaver Creek water shed and there were wetlands and forests on the property. She felt the land use plan opposes this type of use. She stated that the October 7, 2002 minutes of the town board do not actually say that the motion to approve was carried.
Ms. Mary Melton appeared in opposition. She was concerned about the noise and increased fire risk. A campground was not conducive to the wetlands in the area.
Mr. David Liefer, a resident of Coon Bluff Road, appeared in opposition. He was basically against the project because of the increase of traffic. He expressed similar objections as previously stated.
Mr. Forrest Bock, a resident of Highway P, appeared and stated the main reason for his objection was that the peace and tranquility of the area would be disturbed. He was also concerned about fire and increased traffic.
Mr. Roger Bock appeared in opposition. The time to discuss this project was when the widening of County Road P was proposed.
Ms. Darlene Grieves appeared in opposition. She stated that a campground would be good in a different area as Highway P is very dangerous.
Mr. Ross Cooper registered in opposition.
Mr. Pat Holton registered in opposition.
Ms. Virginia Metcalf appeared in opposition. She felt there were already enough campgrounds and RV parks in the area. She was concerned about the wood smoke, leaking sewer pipes and diesel gas. She also said there could be problems with the land fill and lift station. She questioned whether these RVs could become permanent.
Mr. Lance Gurney, Planning and Zoning Director, then appeared as interest may appear. He stated that there were a lot of unanswered questions regarding this project and there had not been a pubic hearing on the town level. There were no covenants or developers agreement. These written documents would describe the handling of garbage, length of stays, protection of Beaver Creek and wetlands, etc.
Attorney Natwick appeared and stated that the owners were never advised to provide covenants, but they would put an agreement together.
The public portion of the hearing was closed at 10:50 a.m.
Ms. Ashford stated that she would vote to deny the rezoning because it did not comply with the Dellona Land Use Plan and the minutes of the Town of Dellona Board did not state that the motion was carried. Traffic and current land uses were discussed. Motion by Lehman, seconded by Ashford to deny the request. Mr. Wiese stated that they could not deny the use because it was too close to residential uses. Ms. Ashford stated that there were a lot of nuisance type of violations that could occur with campgrounds and that possibly they should deal with the volume of traffic that is now occurring on Coon Bluff and Highway P before adding more.
The motion to deny was called with Lehman and Ashford in favor of denial and Wiese and Sprecher in opposition to denial.
Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Wiese to postpone action and to send it back to the town board so they could have a public hearing.
Motion carried 3-1, with Lehman in opposition.
Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to adjourn at 11:00 A.M.
Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted: Judy Ashford, Secretary