PRESENT: Chairman Mayor Wescott; Ann Shannon; Jeff Zabel; Dave Sowieja; Lois Feldman; Karen Aldinger; Fred Steffen

ALSO PRESENT: Comm. Dev. Dir. John Gardner; Ald. Sevenich, Rackow, Molski, Stroik, & Moore; Pete Ananiadis; Roger Trzebiatowski; Bill Bayba; Nick Lison; Gene Kemmeter, Po. Co. Gazette; Kelly McBride, Journal

Index of these Minutes:

1. Approval Of The December 6, 2004 Minutes
2. Conditional Use Request To Operate A Tavern At 200 Division St.
3. Site Plan Review 5301 Highway 10 East
4. Two Signs On One Building 5725 Windy Drive
5. Request For Freestanding Signs At Highway 10 And Badger And At Highway 10 And 5725 Windy Drive
6. Discussion North Side Tax Increment District

1. APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 6, 2004 MINUTES:

Dave Sowieja moved, seconded by Lois Feldman, to approve the minutes of the December 6, 2004 meeting. Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

2. CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST TO OPERATE A TAVERN AT 200 DIVISION ST.

Ch. Wescott reviewed the memo and noted the Police Dept. has no history of problems.
Staff recommends approval.

John Gardner noted if approved, the conditional use should expire June 1, 2007.

Fred Steffen moved, seconded by Jeff Zabel, to recommend approval of the conditional use request to operate an 820 square foot tavern at 200 Division Street with an expiration date of June 1, 2007. Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

3. SITE PLAN REVIEW 5301 HIGHWAY 10 EAST

John Gardner reviewed the site plan, noted the driveway will remain in the same location, there is room for additional parking to the south, and recommended approval.

Lois Feldman moved, seconded by Karen Aldinger, to recommend approval of the site plan as presented for the proposed addition at 5301 Highway 10 East as shown on the attached map. Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

4. TWO SIGNS ON ONE BUILDING 5725 WINDY DRIVE

John Gardner reviewed his memo and the photos and noted several years ago, the applicant received permission for two signs at their previous location and is now requesting to relocate the signs to their new location. There are two entrances with places for signs. Because this is a multiple tenant building, each storefront has a separate entranceway with room for the signs, and the signs will face separate streets, staff recommends approval.

Karen Aldinger felt the two signs will be helpful to patrons.

Fred Steffen moved, seconded by Dave Sowieja, to recommend approval of the two signs on one building at 5725 Windy Drive. Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

5. REQUEST FOR FREESTANDING SIGNS AT HIGHWAY 10 AND BADGER AND AT HIGHWAY 10 AND 5725 WINDY DRIVE

John Gardner stated the request is to erect an identity sign at the entrance to their development because several businesses in the complex do not front on Hwy. 10 E. The intent is to identify the Parkdale area and direct customers. This type of sign is not permitted by the ordinance. He reviewed the site plan and noted examples of similar signage such as the Fox River Mall in Appleton, East Town and West Town in Madison, Shopko/Elder Beerman in Plover, Osco/Koehl's in Racine, and also our downtown is an identified location.

The Plan Commission needs to decide if this type of sign should be allowed and, if so, what criteria should be used.

Ann Shannon noted we also need to decide if we want to include multiple land developers. This signage is proposed for just Parkdale which is one developer, compared to the Walczak Dental Office, Book Finders, Woodland Mall. The whole area should be looked at.

We discuss this in our long-term planning document in terms of all the different neighborhoods. Identity is very important with regard to marketing, group advertising, etc.

Jeff Zabel agreed but expressed concern with the name Parkdale Plaza/Holiday Inn. Why not drop Holiday Inn and use Parkdale Plaza/Slumberland, or just Parkdale Plaza.

Bill Bayba, developer, stated one of their major concerns is identifying the Holiday Inn Conference Center to out-of-town conventioneers. At times, there will be upwards of 1,000 people attending conventions from out of town. It is very important that we try to identify that area in some way.

Fred Steffen noted the sports complex in the next block could have thousands of people trying to find them also.

Bill Bayba noted he is trying to address some of those issues with the readerboard. That will enable businesses located on Windy Dr. to advertise whatever they have going on and enable the sports complex to advertise their special events also. We thought we would sell advertising to the businesses on Windy Dr. and donate time to the sports complex.

Fred Steffen suggested something similar to the arch on the east end of Main St. for downtown with a readerboard across the middle of that. That sign form could be the same form used for identity signs all over town.

Ald. Moore agreed and noted we have started a very nice sign program that directs people to different businesses within the community. To continue that on the east side would be more than appropriate.

Ald. Rackow noted we have a similar situation with the Staples sign that identifies the smaller businesses. Maybe some of that technique could be transferred here.

Jeff Zabel felt the city direction signs are probably too small for that area.

Lois Feldman felt the name Parkdale Plaza would be sufficient on the sign and then through advertising, indicate the Holiday Inn is in the Parkdale Plaza.

Ald. Molski liked the idea of the proposed sign. With the amount of business we are hoping that the Holiday Inn will generate for the city, we don't want people riding around trying to find it.

Ald. Moore questioned if the proposed new road would be signalized and large enough for four lanes.

John Gardner responded it will be one lane in and two lanes out. The south intersection will not necessarily be built until the property owners to the south need it. There should be room enough for an additional in-bound lane. We will look at the plans.

Jeff Zabel questioned what we would tell the other businesses north of Windy Dr. when they request identification on Highway 10.

Ch. Wescott responded that would become a part of the business marketing. They would advertise that they are located in Parkdale Plaza. The Plan Commission has worked long hours on the sign ordinance and would not be receptive to radical changes to it. The ordinance has to be a living, breathing document that moves forward in time with the community.

Jeff Zabel moved, seconded by Fred Steffen to direct staff to develop criteria for identity signage . Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

Jeff Zabel noted he wants to go on record that he supports the Holiday Inn somewhere on the sign because of the draw.

Ch. Wescott noted we don't want to overlook that it is going to be a convention center that the Community Development Authority of the city has put some money into also.

6. DISCUSSION NORTH SIDE TAX INCREMENT DISTRICT

Chairman Wescott stated that he believes that 2005 is going to be a very big year for economic development, investment, and re-investment in the city. We agreed to spend $8,000 to hire Ehlers & Assoc. to work on tax increment district planning. It is our goal to aggressively work on redevelopment of the north Division Street corridor. We have an excellent opportunity with the Country Springs Hotel & Convention Center for a major multi-million dollar economic anchor to the project. From there, we would logically move south. It is also an opportunity for the city to partner with the university. He is not looking for any formal action today, but the Plan Commission will be a very important component in the tax incremental district planning.

John Gardner stated we have had three tax increment districts. The first district was for the city industrial park which will close out this spring, the second was for Woodward Governor and, and the third was the downtown which will also close this spring. This is our opportunity to think about how we want to use city involvement to stimulate redevelopment of the north side commercial area. He is asking the commission to think about how you would like to see the area change.

Meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
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