Regular Planning Commission Meeting Minutes

SYLVAN TOWNSHIP

REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES

August 8, 2013 7:00 PM

CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/ROLL CALL: Chair Dave Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said. Those present: Greg Bennett, Arlene Schmit, Brenda Silgjord, Dave Johnson, Board Liaison Yvette Adelman-Dullinger and Colleen Putnam, Deputy Clerk. Sign-In sheet attached.

Agenda: Arlene Schmit moved to approve the amended agenda, seconded by Greg Bennett and the motion carried.

Minutes: July 11, 2013 Regular PC Meeting Minutes amend/approve: Arlene Schmit moved to approve the minutes as corrected, seconded by Greg Bennett and the motion carried with Dave Johnson abstaining.

July 30, 2013 PC Working Meeting amend/approve: Brenda Silgjord moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Arlene Schmit and the motion carried.

Public Input: Christine Peterson – small business venture: Christine is present tonight along with interpreter Tanya Mrazek in regard to the possibility of opening a small metal work business in a 10x15 shed she is in the process of building at her home which is located at 2024 Scearyville Drive SW, Pillager MN. She does welded art using an argon tank welder. She is here to see what the process is. Christine stated she does not have the packet that was sent to her completed nor with her tonight. She would be doing outside sales such as going to expos, craft stores, etc. Right now she would like to just work on getting some inventory completed. There would not be any more traffic than what there is currently. Some issues the PC would like to see addressed are: if doing outside storage that it be screened; a site plan completed showing all the buildings, property lines so that the PC can see what distance the shop would be from surrounding area. After further discussion it was decided that once Christine has completed the shed and other issues she needs to get addressed concerning financing, she is to call the Town Hall to set up a time for two (2) Planning Commission members to do a pre app site meeting to go through the checklist. The PC would like for Christine to have the site plan completed ahead of time for the Planning Commission to look over. After discussion in regard to grant money the PC informed Christine they should check with the Work Force Center and the legacy funds.

July 11, 2013 Page 1 Correspondence Received: Land Use Workshop: Two upcoming workshops are: Basics of Planning and Zoning being held in Rochester on Sept. 18, 2013 from 8:00 am – 12:00 noon and A Practical Guide to Variances in Shorelands & Floodplains held in Little Falls on Oct. 16, 2013 from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. There was discussion concerning the fact the PC members couldn’t remember which workshops they had attended before and a suggestion was made to keep track of the workshops the Planning Commission and Board members attended for future reference. Yvette will go back to the Board asking for approval for the PC members who are interested in attending the workshops.

Correspondence Sent: None

Reports: Yvette Adelman-Dullinger –Town Board Liaison: Yvette informed the Planning Commission members of the following items discussed at their last meeting: 1. Clothing – the Board voted not to approve the clothing recommendation from the PC. After discussion Greg Bennett stated he would like to purchase the shirts for the PC members, Faith and Colleen. 2. Tarring – Anderson Brothers are in the process of tarring West Mile Lake Road and Classic Pines. 3. Working on blanket resolutions for speed on roads then they can add roads and put up signs as needed. 4. Approved the PC working meeting on August 22, 2013 at 7:00 PM. 5. Septic Inspections have started. 6. Advertising for a cleaning position for the Town Hall. 7. Working on the updated five year road plan. Yvette stated the Board has been discussing getting an agreement with the City of Pillager on the shared roads. The PC discussed the non-Township feeder roads. The Planning Commission members asked if the roads need to be brought up to Township standards; could there be a compromise but where do you draw the line. The Planning Commission would like to be brought up to date on any discussion the Town Board has on it. Previous Board Minutes: You are receiving in your packets, please read them over for your information. Dave Johnson – Hengel’s Landfill: Chair Johnson stated he had spoken with Heather from Hengel’s in regard to the issues concerning the landfill that was brought up at a previous Planning Commission meeting such as trash in the trees on the east side. Yvette Adelman-Dullinger stated at a Town Board meeting 2 years ago Heather had stated they were going to expand the landfill and may do some berming, fencing and putting up trees on the east side (Scearyville side). After further discussion it was decided Dave Johnson would go back and speak to Heather in regard to planting some trees on the east side of Hengel’s and suggest she attend a meeting if she has specific plans in the future. Dave Johnson – Dave Borgen concern: Dave Borgen who lives behind Swede’s Repair had called the Town Hall in regard to the accumulation of items at Lakes Moving and Swede’s Repair. Chair Johnson met with Dave Borgen who stated his concern is there is getting to be more accumulation of items on the property owned by Tony Berndt. Chair Johnson looked at the permits we have on record which included: Lakes Area Moving & Storage; Pop’s Sleep Shack and Raj’s Car Sales. The automotive maintenance shop has been a continuous

July 11, 2013 Page 2 business under four (4) different names/owners since Denny Rahm built it which would make the automotive shop grandfathered in. Chair Johnson stated he had spoken to Swede from Swede’s Repair in regard to putting up a fence for security purposes but the property is owned by Tony. There was discussion on what can be done with the cars for sale on the property considering there are other businesses in the Township with cars on their property for sale. Suggestion was to send letters to all concerning the car sales but after further discussion it was decided Chair Dave Johnson would speak to Tony Berndt in regard to the cars for sale on the property and also would suggest putting up a fence. Old Business: Comp Plan: At last month’s meeting it was decided the Planning Commission members would work on certain sections of the Comp Plan. Yvette Adelman-Dullinger has completed the Transportation section and presented it at this meeting. Yvette stated what she did was start typing and where she knew the items that needed to be changed she made those changes. Areas marked with X’s indicates information needs to be added. Yvette stated she would like two (2) maps in this section, one showing the tar, gravel, etc. roads and keep the one that is in the Comp Plan that is proposed showing the frontage roads. Yvette stated she added a section on Driveways. Chair Johnson asked everyone to look it over and email her your concerns and questions. Brenda Silgjord and Arlene Schmit are working on the Land Use section with Brenda going through each title section identifying where there should be modification. The Comp Plan is now in Word form so the PC members can make their changes and email those changes to the other PC members and will be discussed at the working meeting on August 22, 2013.

New Business: Recommendation to Cass County on Appeldoorn and Knutson Variance Application: Greg Bennett and Brenda Silgjord attended the Cass County site visits for Appeldoorn Properties and Robert and Beth Knutson. They presented their findings and conditions to the Planning Commission. There was discussion on Knutson’s who are adding to an existing deck and screening it in. Brenda and Greg felt everything looked good. It will be located 62 feet from the lake, which would be a finding of fact. The PC members went through the findings and conditions and decided some of the conditions would be findings. Greg’s concern is the runoff from the roof. After discussion in regard to the runoff of the roof the Planning Commission felt they need to have some type of control for runoff. There is no room for rain gardens or berms. After further discussion it was decided they should have gutters or some type of runoff control in place. Following is the findings and recommendations to Cass County on Knutson Variance:

Findings: 1. Application to expand a non-conforming residence because it is located 62 feet from the lake. 2. Construction/addition of a 27 feet x 9 feet deck. 3. Construction and enclosure of a 14 feet x 9 feet deck along with 13 feet x 9 feet new construction. 4. Ordinance requires structures to be at least 100 feet from a lake classified recreational development. 5. Ordinance requires a variance for an expansion of any non-conforming structure. 6. The property contains .61 acre riparian to Hardy Lake.

July 11, 2013 Page 3 7. There would not be an intrusion on neighbors as it would be on same structure sight.

The Site Committee recommendations to Cass County Planning Commission for the Knutson Variance are as follows:

1. Sylvan Township would be for approving this request with a water run-off plan in place for the new roof.

Appeldoorn Properties: They are requesting a Variance as they are building a 1,600 square foot garage and tearing down the old one and the Cass County Land Use Ordinance states maximum allowance is 1,200 square feet. There was discussion in regard to the size of the proposed garage, they cannot move back due to the location to the lake/lagoon. The new garage would be for extra storage and it would be located directly under the MN Power lines. The Planning Commission members went over the findings and conditions by Greg and Brenda and suggested some changes. After further discussion the Planning Commission felt there was no reason to approve this application due to the fact it is closer to the lagoon and it exceeds the Cass County Ordinance. Following are the findings and conditions:

Findings of fact:

1. Lot is .68 acre to riparian to Lake Placid. 2. Construction of a 40 feet x 40 feet, 1600 square feet garage. 3. Construction located 50 feet from Lake Placid. 4. Ordinance requires structures to be at least 75 feet from Lake. 5. Ordinance allows accessory structures to be 1200 square feet. 6. The new structure would be built on old structure sight as the old/existing structure would be taken down. 7. There would not be an intrusion on neighbors as it would be on same structure sight. 8. This would be a stick built building slab on grade. Appearance wise this would be acceptable. 9. Only one or two trees would need to be cut down to accommodate the bigger structure. 10. The structure would be a basic garage with room for extra storage. 11. They would not be able to move the structure back due to a lagoon behind the current location.

The Site Committee recommendations to Cass County Planning Commission for the Appeldoorn Variance are as follows:

1. Sylvan Township would be inclined to deny this variance due to the size of the structure possibly setting a precedent for other applications. 2. Sylvan Township would be inclined to deny the application based on the fact that they have no plan in place for increased volume of water runoff that could affect the water areas including the lagoon directly behind structure.

July 11, 2013 Page 4 New Park: There was discussion in regard to what the new park located by Sylvan Lake is called or should be called. The Planning Commission would like to have the name determined so when the PC starts working on ideas for the park there is a name for it. The Planning Commission members decided to entertain a motion to the Town Board having them make an official proclamation. Brenda Silgjord moved to recommend the Town Board make an official proclamation of the title for the Sylvan property/park so the Planning Commission can use that name going forward with the recommendation to name it Carlyon Park, seconded by Arlene Schmit. The question was called and the motion carried.

Annual Reviews: Shady Hollow Resort Review: Arlene Schmit and Lee Shade from the Town Board met with Rick Dodge in regard to their annual review. Arlene stated everything was well done with the rain gardens and shrubs doing well. The no mow zone is good. After discussion Lee and Arlene felt that maybe they could call next year and see how things are going and not do a physical visit but do one the following year, unless we receive a complaint in the meantime. Camp Jim: Dave Johnson and Greg Bennett will meet with the representatives from Camp Jim.

Deposits held: Ramstad Technologies: $500.00 escrow money. Greg Bennett will call Don Ramstad and set a date to meet with Greg and Dave Johnson. Don stated he would like 1-2 days’ notice. Greg and Dave will talk to Don in regard to the sign on the fence. They will check the Ordinance in regard to the issue of the sign.

Announcements: Read

Adjournment: Arlene Schmit moved to adjourn seconded by Brenda Silgjord, and the motion carried with the meeting being adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Minutes submitted by:

__Colleen Putnam______Colleen Putnam, Deputy Clerk

PC Member __Brenda Silgjord______moved to approve the minutes as amended, seconded by _Arlene Schmit_____ and the motion carried.

Amendments: Under Public Input: Christine Peterson 12th sentence down remove the comma after addressed.

Date: September 12, 2013

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