Village of Cobb, Iowa County, Wisconsin : Meeting Minutes

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May 18, 2009 Special Village Board Meeting

Village of Cobb- Special Meeting
May 18, 2009

President Robert Roelli called a special meeting of the Village of Cobb to order at 6:00 p.m., at the Village Hall, 501 Benson Street, in the Village of Cobb. Roll call. Quorum present. Board members present were Richard Campbell, Russ Zingg, Laurie Trevorrow, John Wienkes, and Donald Ritchie. Arnold Fritsch was absent. Also in attendance were Attorney Eileen Brownlee, John Reynolds, Jeremy Cordts, John and Jean Slapak, Cammi Nelson, Don and Linda Tucker, Dan Baker, and Leo Flynn. Motion by Wienkes, second by Trevorrow to approve posting and compliance with the open meeting law. Voice vote, all in favor, with Frtisch absent. Motion carried.

The Special Meeting was called to consider the request for an amendment to the zoning map, requested by John Reynolds for 111 Eastman Street, LLC, with the Village attorney present for legal clarification and answers to questions addressed at the Public Hearing.

John Slapak addressed the Board with concerns that his property value will deteriorate if the zoning is changed from residential to industrial. Cammi Nelson spoke on behalf of her parents, Richard and Charlotte Clemo, who own adjacent property and are living in Florida with the same concerns stated by Slapak.

Attorney Eileen Brownlee explained the issue at hand is that the zoning request has been filed to change the parcels from residential to industrial, the same zoning classification as other adjoining parcels and that spot zoning is not occurring. She clarified that according to Village Zoning Ordinance and State Law, if those in opposition from the public of the zoning amendment change wanted to make an impact on the issue, they would have to file a petition prior to the public hearing to create a super majority vote of the Village Board to approve the amendment.

Discussion regarding the legality of placing fill on the property. Attorney Brownlee stated this is dependent upon the size of the parcel. If the area is 1 acre or more, a permit is required for erosion control and the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Commerce would be involved. This particular law does not apply in this circumstance as the land is not 1 acre or more.

Attorney Brownlee explained that the proposed use of the request is for a parking lot and the ordinance states that a parking lot is a permitted use. She cautioned the Board that they needed to look at all permitted uses as the property could change ownership and any permitted use for industrial would be acceptable without any approval of the Board in the future. She also clarified that site plan approval should have been obtained from the Village Board with a permit being issued prior to work starting. The owner undertakes risks without having proper permits in place. The ordinance states that a person must stay 10� back from the right-of-way and Cunningham Street only has 1 ft on each side. Attorney Brownlee stated she found conflicting areas within the zoning ordinance regarding retaining walls; one area stated no more than 3� and another area stated 8�. She also reminded the Board that the initial issue to resolve is the decision if it is appropriate to change the zoning from residential to industrial.

John Reynolds responded by saying that he is now aware of the setbacks. He also stated that it would take 6� fill to match the current parking lot. The hardship of the feed mill is that there is no parking available and one needs to be able to drive forward rather than back up onto the street for the scales area. When the work is done, the area will look a lot nicer than it currently does. He reminded everyone that the hay sale they have every Saturday brings 20-50 people to town and draws people to the community that may normally not stop in Cobb. They may also do business with other local businesses.

Members of the public stated that the area currently looks terrible and Board members were in agreement. Fire safety concerns were also addressed with the hay bales in a residential area. Cammi Nelson questioned what happens if it remains residential, does it have to be put back to the original state? She also commented that there would be no stopping them if they started landscaping, since no permit or site plan is required for landscaping.

Attorney Brownlee reminded the Board that hay sales are not a permitted use in a residentially zoned area.

After lengthy discussion, a motion was made by Wienkes to approve the petition of re-zone from residential to industrial as filed by John Reynolds d/b/a 111 Eastman Street, LLC for Parcel #111-0049 and Parcel #111-0049.A. Second by Campbell.
Roll call vote: Campbell - no, Zingg - abstain, Trevorrow - no, Wienkes - no, Ritchie - no, and Roelli - no. Trevorrow was absent. Motion failed by unanimous vote.

Motion by Campbell, seconded by Ritchie to adjourn. Voice vote. Motion carried. The special meeting of the Village of Cobb adjourned at 6:40 p.m.

Respectively submitted,

Lisa A. Riley, Village Clerk

� Minutes will be approved at the June 8, 2009, regular monthly Village Board meeting.

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