The meeting was called to order by Chairman Wilmet in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 4:00 p.m

Members present:   Wilmet, Behrens, Brown, Camplin, Rybicke, Vincent and Woods

Members absent:     None

Others present:        Brian Juarez, Edwin Bos and Bill Last

Item #1:     Review and Approve Site Plan for Building Addition at Spacesaver Corp., 1700 Janesville Avenue.

Jeff Woods said the request is for a 100-foot by 425-foot, 42,500 square foot addition located at the southeast corner of the existing building. The parcel is zoned M-2, Heavy Industrial, and metal fabrication is a permitted use. The lot is approximately 1.3 million square feet, with 298,000 square feet, or 21%, covered by building, and 630,000 square feet, or 46%, covered by building and asphalt. The Code allows 50% building and 80% building and asphalt. All of the building setbacks are met. The building material and style will match the existing, with no additional lighting or signage. Stormwater runoff will be managed by an infiltration trench and the existing detention pond. Sixteen blue spruce trees will be planted between Highway 26 and the service drive as screening. The waste will be pumped back to the existing pretreatment facility and they are working with the Wastewater Utility on that. The domestic water use and fire protection needs will be discussed with the Water Department.

Cwmn. Behrens said that she could see the trees on the plans, and asked if anything additional was being proposed. Edwin Bos, of Bos Design, said the trees have been planted and the remaining area would be grass. Cwmn. Behrens said it would look nicer if additional trees could be planted farther south along the service drive. Edwin Bos said that could be done.

Motion by Dean Brown, seconded by Cwmn. Behrens, to approve the site plan for the building addition for Spacesaver Corp., 1700 Janesville Avenue, contingent on the addition of eight to ten additional blue spruce trees being planted along the south end of the service road. The motion passed by a 7-0 voice vote.

Item #2:     Review and Approve Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan for Caretaker's Apartment at 1201 Whitewater Avenue.

Jeff Woods said this site plan was previously approved on April 25, 2006 for a storage building. The parcel is zoned C-3, General Commercial, which allows storage as a permitted use, but residential use would require a conditional use permit. In reviewing the site plan, two parking stalls would be required, with access off of Fox Hill Road. No additional lighting or signage is proposed. There would be additional landscaping and greenspace requirements because of the residential use. There are no utilities stubbed into the lot, but water and sanitary mains are in both Whitewater Avenue and Fox Hill Road.

Bill Last said that if two stalls are required, then he could provide two garage areas in the lower portion of the building. The utilities would come off of Whitewater Avenue when that would be reconstructed. Jeff Woods said that project has been rescheduled and is 15 to 20 years in the future. When Bill Last asked what the additional landscaping/greenspace requirements are, Brian Juarez said that this had been reviewed with Mr. Last before and that they were in the Zoning Code. Bill Last went on to say that the reason for the request is that he is planning to move out of Fort Atkinson and is looking for someone to live at this location and manage both the Fort Atkinson and Jefferson storage facilities. He owns a storage facility in Florida and it works very well. The person is on-site to collect payments, maintain the property and provide some security. This person would manage both the Fort Atkinson and Jefferson facilities. Bill Last said that it works better to have someone on-site, he would not want someone to manage the facilities out of their house or apartment. There would be increased car traffic and interruptions during the day and night.

Bill Camplin asked why this wasn't presented in April, 2006, so that it could have been reviewed at that time? Bill Last said at that time he was not planning on moving and that he was going to manage the facilities. With the decision to move, he does not want to sell the businesses, but will need someone locally to manage them.

Brian Juarez said the previous Code allowed for a caretaker's residence, but since it was not being used, it was removed from the Code in 2002. A conditional use would be specific, if the building was sold the conditional use would not automatically transfer. Cwmn. Behrens thought the conditional use should be recorded on the Deed so it could be tracked better and that a potential buyer would be made aware of it.

Bill Last said that he manages both facilities from his home. He is looking at finishing the work on the building this fall and winter, trying to find a person this winter, so that everything is set up when he moves next year.

John Wilmet said the original site plan was for a different use, and without this submittal, he would have expected it to be complete. This is on one of the entry ways to the City and needs to be completed. There have been problems through the Public Works Department and Building Inspection that are being resolved, but there still is an unpaid invoice. The following items need to be submitted or resolved to allow the approval process to continue:

1. Detailed landscape plan for the site, showing the greenspace and landscaping along Whitewater Avenue, with no gravel between the building and Whitewater Avenue.
2. Driveway access off of Fox Hill Road.
3. Schedule for completion of the building.
4. Resolution of the unpaid invoice for Department of Public Works for weed cutting.
5. Investigation of utilities to determine if water and sanitary service can be provided and where that would be.

Motion by Cwmn. Behrens, seconded by Dean Brown, to table this item to allow Mr. Last to address the issues brought up and to resubmit the site plan. The motion passed by a 7-0 voice vote.

Item #3:     Approval of Minutes and Adjournment

A motion to approve the Minutes of the July 24, 2007 meeting was made by Dennis Rybicke, seconded by Bob Vincent, and passed by a 7-0 voice vote. A motion to adjourn was made by Dennis Rybicke, seconded by Cwmn. Behrens, and passed by a 7-0 voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 4:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
 
 
Jeffrey L. Woods, P.E.    
Secretary