Arvon Township Planning Commission Work Session
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Call to Order: 6 p.m.
Roll Call: Nancy Strohschein, Chairperson; Linnea Barron, Secretary; Joe Bollech, Board of Review; Bob Janda, Township Board Representative; Robert Lindert, Vice Chairperson; Donna Preston, Trustee. Ken Anderson, Zoning Administrator. Absent: Jay Loman, unknown reason.
Pledge of Allegiance: Recited
Guests: Jason McCarthy and Bette Gabe
Approval of Agenda: Robert made a motion to accept the agenda, seconded by Donna. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes of May 18, 2023, Work session: Robert made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Donna. Motion Carried.
Approval of Minutes of May 3, 2023, Public Input Session: Three changes were made to the minutes: First paragraph, second sentence should read ‘The survey utilized paper surveys mailed to all homestead residents and to about 200 other property owners and on-line Survey Monkey….’ Also, in the first paragraph on item C, last sentence should read “The paper survey consisted of ten questions….” Second paragraph in item C under questions 6/7 remove ‘listed’ replaced by ‘include’ and remove cemetery. Robert made a motion to accept the minutes with the changes, seconded by Bob. Motion carried.
Agenda:
I. Recreation Plan.
A. The proposed 5-year Plan Projects were reviewed. There was concern that the projects suggested could never be achieved in five years. Jason explained that any of the projects can be completed during these five years and that some of the projects could be done at anytime as they were small items, such as refinish tables at the park. Also, projects not completed in this 5-year plan can be rolled over into the next recreation plan. Jason will pull out the items that would qualify for grant application. These projects need to be related back to our goals and objectives in our recreation plan.
We requested Jason to add to the goals and objectives, #4 and #6 of our plan, to include wording “to hold community events” or something similar. Jason will have the final draft to the recreation plan so we can begin the 30-day review period and set the public hearing date. This will be reviewed at our quarterly meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
B. We have not taken any further action on forming a recreation committee. This also will be discussed at a future meeting.
II. Ordinance Update.
Robert inquired if the Farm/Forest District could be ten (10) acres minimum, not one (1) acre. The Forest Resource District is ten (10) acres.
High Erosion areas/Floodplain: Section 1510 and Section 702 in our ordinance cover this. However, Ken informed us that there are new laws in effect with high erosion areas and this needs to be updated soon. He will provide us with more information at our next meeting.
Fences: Our ordinance needs updating on this. We do not state where you can put them.
Definitions: Jason will bring draft definitions for our next meeting.
Blight Ordinance: We currently do not have one. Jason talked about how this can be accomplished. Providing resources to solve this issue can be helpful, such as where to drop off items classified as blight. The process could include a letter of notification and violation in dollars, a clean-up period, and citation if not completed. Any support (resources) to assist in this process should be addressed.
Other topics mentioned that need updating include housing, gravel mining, short term rentals, shipping containers.
III. Next meeting- work session: Thursday, June 29, 2023 at the town hall at 6 p.m.
Reminder that the quarterly meeting will be Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the town hall at 6 p.m.
Adjourn: Bob made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Donna. Motion carried. Adjournment at 7:45 p.m.
Submitted by Linnea Barron, Secretary