DATE: December 8, 2009
Committee Members Present: Ashford, Gaalswyk, Lehman, Netzinger and Doug Blakeslee.
Others Present: Mark Steward, Mary White, and Kurt Muchow.
Chair Lehman opened the meeting and compliance with open meetings law was certified.
Motion by Ashford, seconded by Netzinger to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried, 5-0.
Motion by Gaalswyk, seconded by Ashford to approve the minutes of the November 24, 2009 Committee meeting. Motion carried, 5-0.
Lehman acknowledged the new member, Doug Blakeslee. Blakeslee stated he was honored to work with the Committee for the next 4 months.
Public Comment: Kurt Muchow stated he would like to address the Committee when they were discussing ordinance amendments.
Communications: Steward stated he had two new communications. He received a letter from the UW-Stevens Point regarding employment of interns. The department usually gets one intern from there. He also received a request from Andrea Lombard for maps for the Comprehensive Plan. Steward wasn't sure he completely understood what she was requesting. He indicated she could purchase the complete plan with maps for $25.00 or referred her to the web site.
Ashford said she received a copy of a letter to Marty Krueger from Andrea Lombard regarding planning in general.
Lehman stated he had been contacted by Thomas Wagner regarding a Town of Excelsior violation. Brief discussion followed.
Mark Steward gave the Planning and Zoning Department report. Working lands and exclusive ag. zoning was discussed, as well as PUDs. Towns looking to get out of county zoning was also discussed. New developments and the maintenance program were also discussed. The Committee reviewed graphs and charts reporting department activities.
The 2010 meeting schedule was reviewed and meeting dates were discussed. The November 9th meeting was changed to 8th because of a conflict with County Board. Motion by Netzinger, seconded by Gaalswyk to approve the meeting calendar with the November change. Motion carried, 5-0.
Motion by Gaalswyk, seconded by Netzinger to approve a resolution honoring Robert Cassity for his years of service. Motion carried, 5-0.
The fee schedule and conversion fees were discussed. The conversion fees were for rezoning out of the exclusive agricultural zoning district. A processing fee was reviewed. DATCP actually gets these fees minus any processing fee. Steward explained why this should be covered by an ordinance amendment instead of just a change to the fee schedule. The Committee indicated that they didn't want a filing or processing fee. The ordinance amendment would require a public hearing. The consensus of the Committee was that the department should continue with this ordinance change.
The Baraboo Range Protection Program was discussed next. Ashford gave a brief, final report. She stated that there was $15,000 left in the fund which will be transferred to Planning and Zoning for continued monitoring of the properties. The Baraboo Range Commission's mission is complete so the Commission will be dissolved. The Nature Conservancy proposed a report for a press release on the project. There had been 110 applicants with 50 easements, protecting 3,300 acres.
The last item for review was County Code amendments. Kurt Muchow, Chair of the Town of Excelsior Planning Commission appeared and addressed the Committee. The problem was junk in the township. He stated that the county ordinance needed to be reviewed. He was prepared to make a formal request to the County for changes. The Town was asking the Committee to take this problem on now rather than waiting until a complete comprehensive study was done. Netzinger requested a chance to study the code and to bring it back at the next meeting. Suggestions were made for revisions. This item will be brought back at the next meeting. The Town would like input.
It was noted that the next meeting will be on December 22, 2009, not January 12, 2010. Netzinger will not be attending that meeting.
Motion by Ashford, seconded by Netzinger to adjourn. Motion carried, 5-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Joel Gaalswyk, Secretary
Notes by mary white.