HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] January 12th Minutes January 12, 2016
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Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the Joint Planning Board for the Township and City of St. Joseph
met in special session on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall.
Members Present: Chair Rick Schultz. Members Jeff Janssen, Jerome Salzer, Steve Olson, Bob Loso,
Chad Hausmann, Brenda Stanger, Mark Thompson. Secretary of the Board Judy Weyrens.
Others Present: Anne Meyer, Hal Undersander, Ann Reischl, Mark Thompson, Ross Huls, Steve Frank
Approve Minutes: Janssen made a motion to approve the minutes of December 14, 2015; seconded
by Loso and passed unanimously by those present.
Public Hearing —Huls Rezoning: Chair Schultz opened the public hearing and stated the purpose of the
hearing is to consider a request for rezoning approximately 1.33 acres from the Agricultural 40 zoning
district to the Commercial zoning district.
The request for rezoning is in accordance Section 4.10 of the Stearns County Land Use and Zoning
Ordinance#439 and according to the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of St. Joseph,
Township of St. Joseph and Stearns County.
The property under consideration is part of the NE1/4 of the NW1/4 lying southwesterly of County Road
75 in Section 9, St. Joseph Township (124/29). The property address is 30890 County Road 2, St.
Joseph MN. The request for rezoning has been submitted by Ross Huls, St. Joseph, MN 56374.
Steve Frank, 606 Birch Street W approached the Board stating that he does not object to the proposed
rezoning; rather was just clarifying the impact if any to the St. Joseph Comprehensive Plan. Frank stated
that at one time, the property located north of Clinton Village was proposed to be developed with
apartments with access through Clinton Village. He requested clarification that the proposed project will
not impact the roads within Clinton Village. Weyrens stated that the only access for the proposed project
is from CR 2 and CR 75.
Ross Huls, spoke on his own behalf. He stated that he and his brother have purchased the property and
they want to continue using the building as it had in the past, a truck repair facility. They purchased the
property from Stearns County and where unaware that the property was non-conforming and they needed
a conditional use permit. He stated that he and his brothers did meet with Stearns County Environmental
Services and they are aware that they will also need to make application for a conditional use for the
property to be a conforming use, and they will do so if the rezoning is approved. Huls stated their
business is just starting out and they want to be compliant with all the rules. He added that the St.
Joseph/St. Cloud area has a large trucking industry and they want to cater to those businesses.
Loso questioned the shape of the existing buildings. Huls sated the building could use some aesthetics,
but otherwise it is a fundamentally sound building. The access into the property is from County Road 2.
Salzer questioned if the property owners knew the zoning of the property at the time of purchase. Huls
stated that they knew the zoning, but did not realize they could not run a business. Huls added that the
property was a business previously and assumed they could do the same. Weyrens clarifed that the
previous owner's business was grandfathered prior to the zoning; therefore it retained the agricultural
zoning classification.
As no one else present wished to speak, Schultz closed the public hearing.
Loso made a motion recommending the Joint City Council and Township Board approve the
Findings of Fact rezoning the property located at 30890 County Road 2 from Agricultural to
Commercial based on the following Decision and Conclusions. The motion was seconded by
Salzer and passed unanimously.
January 12, 2016
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1. The property owner is proposing to use the property in the same manner, trucking
repair/service, as the previous property owner. Had the property continued to be occupied
the use would have been allowed to continue as a nonconforming use.
2. The subject parcel is located in Planning District 12 in the City of St. Joseph Comprehensive
Plan, which guides this property in the future for commercial, to include high aesthetic
requirements.
3. Rezoning the property alone does not bring the property into conformance with applicable
zoning regulations. The property owner is required to make application for a Conditional Use
within 30 days of this action.
Weyrens stated the Joint Planning Board will need to schedule a special meeting and proposed the date
of Thursday, January 28th at 6:00 PM. Consensus of the board accepted the date and time of the
meeting.
Admiourn: Salzer made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously.
Rick Schultz Judy Weyrens
Joint Board Chair Joint Board Secretary