PRESENT: Chairman Mayor Wescott; Karen Aldinger; Lois Feldman; Jerry Moore; Jeff Zabel; Fred Steffen ( Excused, Ann Shannon)

ALSO PRESENT: Comm. Dev. Dir. John Gardner; Ald. Sevenich, Molski, Stroik, Robinson, Trzebiatowski; Laura Carter; Tabatha Frerks; Jami Gebert; Reid Rocheleau; Rich Sommer; Tim Schertz; Patricia Diederich; Kirstie Shankland; Mark Swenson; Celly Chrisinger; Nathan Meyer; Carrie Fitzsimons; K. Schmidt; Bob Woehr; Larry, Joan & Lydia Davis; Edwin Klismith; Kevin Flatoff; Kathy Schwarz; Jeff Filtz; Adam Verbroggen; Thomas Henseler; Pat Cassidy; Gene Kemmeter, Gazette;Cathy Dugan;

NOTE: Agenda items re-arranged due to time constraints for some of those in attendance.

Index of these Minutes:

1. Approval of the Minutes of the September 12, 2005 Plan Commission Meeting
2. A. Annexation - 135 Green Avenue North
2 B. "R-2" Single Family Zoning
3. Conditional Use Requests for Telecommunication Towers

5110 Main Street
5601 Hwy. 10 E. - Wal-Mart
5217 Heffron Court

4. Create "R-TND" Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay District
5. Conditional Use Request, Habitat for Humanity's Request for Lesser Setback - Third St. at Franklin St.
6. Two Buildings on One Lot - Krembs Ave./Heffron Ct.
7. View Point Executive Building - Clark St. at Water St.
8. Tax Increment District #6 - Downtown

1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 PLAN COMMISSION MEETING

Karen Aldinger moved, seconded by Fred Steffen, to recommend approval of the minutes of the September 12, 2005 meeting. Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

2. A. ANNEXATION - 135 GREEN AVENUE NORTH
B. "R-2" SINGLE FAMILY ZONING

Chairman Wescott reviewed the attached memo and stated staff recommends approval of the annexation and single family zoning.

Jeff Zabel moved, seconded by Lois Feldman, to approve the annexation and single family zoning for 135 Green Avenue North. Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

3. VIEW POINT EXECUTIVE BUILDING - CLARK ST. AT WATER ST.

Chairman Wescott noted this is an informational item only and introduced Laura Carter.

Laura Carter, Vanderbuilt Real Estate LLC, presented a rendering of the proposed 8-story building to be located on the block bounded . Their vision is to construct a Class A building that maximizes the view of the river. They propose underground parking and a parking lot adjacent to the city parking lot. We chose to locate downtown so that we may attract upscale retail, fine dining restaurants, and executive firms with conference suites available. We are offering Stevens Point the first hi-rise luxury condos. At this time, we are not defining the interior layout to allow our customers design flexibility and we offer them the opportunity to either purchase or lease the space. With the success of this catalyst project for the redevelopment of downtown, we expect and have heard from many investors, that they too want to come to the area. She and her partners have invested in downtown Stevens Point and other parts of Stevens Point, and will continue to do so. We are very excited about this project and have been addressing sensitive concerns with the mural committee and possibilities of relocating the mural to keep it downtown. They have also had discussions with a lot of people around town who are interested in having offices downtown.

Karen Aldinger questioned how this size of building will blend into the downtown.

John Gardner responded both the Plan Commission and Design Review committees will be reviewing that. The site is at the west end of the downtown and there aren't a lot of face-to-face buildings to deal with.

Jerry Moore questioned if there will be any road changes on Water Street.

Chairman Wescott responded we are not anticipating any Water Street changes. This is very early in the process, but he felt it was important that the developer come before this commission. The rivermen mural will be a part of our downtown. Based on research and market analysis, this will be a good motivator for others to follow into the downtown.

Lois Feldman questioned if the underground parking is feasible.

Laura Carter responded they have had the soil tests done and the parking site is not located in the flood plain.

Fred Steffen questioned if all utilities are in place, are the hook and ladders tall enough?

John Gardner responded he has talked with the Fire Department and they feel comfortable as long as the interior has adequate fire protection. The main sewer lines come across the bridge and right in front of this site. Capacity should be adequate.
4. CONDITIONAL USE REQUESTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS

5110 Main Street
5601 Hwy. 10 E. - Wal-Mart
5217 Heffron Court

John Gardner showed a photo of the proposed tower at 5110 Main St. which is proposed to be 120' high and disguised as a flag pole. He presented a copy of Cingular's proposed system showing 6 towers from I-39/Bus. 51 to Hwy. 54 toward Wisconsin Rapids. He reviewed his memo and noted he recommends approval of the requests for 5110 Main St. and 5601 Hwy.. 10 E., but tabling 5217 Heffron Ct. pending a study to determine customer demand and cell tower locations being done for Portage County which should be completed in the next 45 days.

Jeff Zabel noted all three sites seem to fit into the study area and questioned if we approve two and postpone 5217 Heffron Court, what is the impact.

John Gardner responded you can certainly make the case that all three of these requests fit into the study area and perhaps we should wait for the study results for all three requests.

Nathan Meyer of PDH Inc., representing Cingular Wireless, distributed Statements of Compliance for all three sites which he said comply section-by-section with Stevens Point's Zoning Code as written, including the conditional use requirements. We have been working hard to coordinate these sites, as well as sites in the surrounding area, and we request approval of the following:

5110 Main Street - we obtained a structural analysis of the 5110 Main St. tower that was constructed in 1998 with only two antennas anticipated, there are now three antennas. The analysis stated the loads of the tower legs at ground exceed leg capacity by 20%, therefore this tower does not have adequate structural capacity to support additional loads. Because the existing tower is overloaded, we are proposing a new 120' tower placed in the grass area in front of the motel that will be disguised as a flag pole. All you will see is a flag pole.

5601 Hwy.. 10 E. - install an additional antenna on the existing 90' stealth flag pole and expand the compound 10' to include their equipment and shift the existing landscaping so it will look just like it does today. The current fenced-in area is 26' x 27' and the proposed fenced-in area would be 36' x 27'. You won't even know it is there.

5217 Heffron Ct. - install a 145' standard mono-pole tower. This is not a residential district and there are no other existing towers in the area that meet Cingular's engineering requirements. The placement of the tower in an area consisting of natural growth would minimize adverse visual impacts. The tower would be setback 145' from the closest property line, 300' from any city residential zone within the City of Stevens Point, 1,000 feet from the interstate, and is designed to collapse onto itself upon failure. They request that this particular site not be tabled.

Chm. Wescott questioned why not build another flag pole at the Heffron Ct. site.

Nathan Meyer responded they cost a lot and they only do flag poles in areas where it would fit into the environment. The monopole tower would fit better in this environment.

John Gardner provided a photo of the Heffron Ct. site and noted the proposed tower site is less than 1,000 feet from the interstate. Mr. Meyer stated their request complies verbatim with the city ordinance, and he would take issue with that. Telecommunication towers are conditional uses and as a conditional use, he had indicated in his memo the purpose of the ordinance, the reasons for a conditional use, and the reasons for his recommendation of tabling this conditional use request. He wanted to reiterate that so that the commissioners and the audience don't think that there is no reason to table this, no reason to deny it. There are good reasons for both. He indicated the nearby Boundary Adjustment area (currently the Town of Plover) is subject to city zoning, is zoned residential, and is about 150' from this proposed site instead of the 300' referred to. Given the purposes of the ordinance, tabling to complete the Evans' study is appropriate.

Ch. Wescott noted staff is recommending approval of 5110 Main Street and 5601 Hwy.. 10 E., and postpone 5217 Heffron Ct. until the county study is completed within the next 45 days. The results of the study may give us better guidance for the construction of these towers in the future. There is merit to waiting for the study.

John Gardner noted the study may also address the proposed Village of Plover site that they are trying to locate along the interstate as well.

Carrie Fitzsimons, also representing Cingular, wished to address why a flag is not being proposed on the Heffron Ct. site. When the antennas are inside of the poles, the sheath reduces some of the ability for those poles to propagate the signal and you have smaller coverage. With the Heffron Ct. site, we are not only trying to cover the industrial park, but the business park across the street, and the interstate. If this request is tabled, we would still go ahead with the other two towers.

Fred Steffen noted he has a real problem with the lack of maintenance of American flags. They don't care if they are ragged, torn, or faded and he finds it appalling.

Ch. Wescott responded the owner of the property or cell tower is responsible.

Jeff Zabel moved, seconded by Fred Steffen, to recommend approval for telecommunication towers at 1) 5110 Main Street - to be disguised as a flag pole with a height of 120' with special attention to maintenance and lighting of the flag; 2) 5601 Hwy.. 10 East - an additional antenna on the existing flag pole antenna structure; 3) postpone action on the telecommunication tower at 5217 Heffron Ct. until the study has been completed for Portage County within the next 45 days.
Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

5. CREATE "R-TND" TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY DISTRICT

John Gardner noted the reason we are applying this only to single family is because of the need to encourage single family units especially in the older parts of town and the problems of too many adults residing on small lots in multiple family occupancies. He noted two changes on the second page under 3. - Street front and side garage 25 ft. should read "Garage street front and side" and Corner Side Yard should be 12 ft. instead of 15 ft.

Ch. Wescott noted the language before you clearly reflects the work we have done at past meetings and is consistent with the consensus of past meetings.

Lois Feldman moved, seconded by Karen Aldinger, to recommend approval of creating the Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay District as proposed.
Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

6. CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST HABITAT FOR HUMANITIES REQUEST FOR LESSER SETBACK - THIRD ST. AT FRANKLIN ST.

John Gardner presented a slide showing the various setbacks in the surrounding neighborhood. They are proposing an open porch with lesser setbacks due to the size of the lot and the character of the neighborhood. The open porch will fit in very nicely and he feels this is one of the better Habitat homes they have built.

Bob Woehr noted the drawing shows slide-by windows but they will be single or double-hung windows instead. We will expand a little to the northeast, which will still be within the parameters you have approved, and change the roof lines.

Jerry Moore moved, seconded by Fred Steffen, to recommend approval of the conditional use request to construct a single family house at the corner of Third and Franklin Streets with reduced setbacks as shown on the site plan.
Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.

7. TWO BUILDINGS ON ONE LOT - KREMBS AVE./HEFFRON CT.

John Gardner noted the latest site plan shows the storage area pulled back in line with the building setback, wide second driveway because of turning radius, screening/berm along west side of building. There is an extra-ordinary right-of-way width on Krembs Ave. which originally was to accommodate the rail siding. The owner may be approaching the city to vacate a portion of that right-of-way, but it won't change the site plan.

Jeff Filtz noted he is in agreement with the restrictions.

Fred Steffen moved, seconded by Karen Aldinger, to recommend approval of the request for more than one building on a lot at the corner of Krembs Ave./Heffron Ct. To include the following: outdoor storage be set back in line with the building along Krembs Ave.; Heffron Ct. facade be covered with decorative masonry similar to other Heffron Ct. facades; the facade facing Krembs Ave. should have the corners covered in masonry and the balance of the facade screened with a combination of berm/landscaping. Ayes all; nays none; Motion carried.

8. TAX INCREMENT DISTRICT #6 - DOWNTOWN

John Gardner stated creation of a tax increment district is something that will help implement the View Point Executive Building project. A district boundary can be amended four times. It seems the best way would be to create a large district and then amend the plan to add projects as they appear. He would like commissioners to be thinking about how large the district should be and how the city can use TIF monies to stimulate other projects.

Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting minutes reproduced on this website are derived from the computer files used to produce the official minutes for the City of Stevens Point, but are unofficial. The minutes on this web site cannot be certified under s. 889.08, Wis. Stats., and cannot be considered prima facie evidence under s. 889.04, Wis. Stats. Certain tables, maps, and other documents that are a part of the official minutes are not included in the files reproduced on this website. Please consult the printed minutes, available in the City Clerk's Office, for the official text. The decisions made by City of Stevens Point boards, committees, and commissions (other than the Police & Fire Commission) are advisory only and are not binding on the city until affirmed at a meeting of the Common Council. Some of the minutes on this web site might not be approved by the Common Council as of today.