Minutes of the Meeting of the Building Inspection Ad-Hoc Committee

HeldOn Thursday, June 16, 2016 Pursuant to Notice Duly Given

  1. Meeting called to order at 5:15 p.m. by Chairperson Schreiber
  1. Roll Call: Mayor Heier, Kathy Olson (arrived at 5:18 p.m.), Connie Bickel, Mike Pecor, Sheri Groll, Bernie Faith, John Wittkopf, John Reed, Joe Last, Pete O’Connor, Al Schreiber, Jean Feldt, Sara Perrizo (also as recording secretary)

Excused: Ken Hayes, Jeremy Wusterbarth

  1. Approval of Agenda

Moved by J. Reed, seconded by Faithto approve the agenda as presented.M/C

  1. Correspondence/Public Appearances

Perrizo informed the committee that the accessory building ordinance, as discussed at the last committee meeting, was passed by the City Council.

  1. Discussion/Possible Recommendation on:
  2. Handling of Accessory Buildings After Principal Structure Destroyed by Fire or Other Natural Disaster

J. Reed stated that there are garages located on different lots in the City where the principal structure has been destroyed. Some have been there for 7-10 years and the question is whether or not we have the right to make a new buyer build a home on the property. Wittkopf asked what happens if a principal structure is destroyed and the lot size is too small to be buildable. J. Reed explained that the property owner has up to one year to rebuild the structure using the same footprint. Pecor stated that the accessory building ordinance was put into place so that no one would build a garage without a house, but if a garage is already there, he sees it as being “grandfathered”. J. Reed recommended allowing the accessory buildings to remain in these situations as they will then remain on the City’s tax roll. Perrizo agreed. Mayor Heier also agreed, suggesting that if the principal structure is destroyed, the ordinance could state that the accessory building can remain as long as it is maintained properly.

Pecor noted that people want to have storage for their things, but are not being allowed to do so. This is keeping people out of our city and he doesn’t see a problem with allowing a lot to have just an accessory building located on it. Schreiber doesn’t think that we want to allow people to build just an accessory building on a lot, but if one is already there and the principal structure is destroyed, the accessory building could remain.

Moved by Perrizo, seconded by Feldt to have an ordinance drafted for the next meeting to allow an accessory building to remain on a property indefinitely after a principal structure has been destroyed by natural disaster.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.11 ayes

  1. Possible Requirements for Construction of Accessory Buildings

The consensus of the Committee was that this can be handled by the Building Inspection department.

  1. Lot Size in Residential Districts

J. Reed stated that it used to be that 50 feet wide was a buildable lot, but now 90 feet in width is required. It is happening that some homes on 50 foot lots are falling down and can’t be rebuilt because the lots don’t meet the requirements. Schreiber opined that we have to look at the plotted lot sizes in the City. Feldt asked if it is possible to honor those historical lot sizes. Olson doesn’t see a problem with a home being built on a smaller lot as long as the plan for the home fits the lot size and setbacks. Feldt commented that we used to be a resort town and we have a lot of property on the Bay Shore. If someone wanted to build cottages there, we would want to maximize the available space. O’Connor stated that if the setbacks can be met and the property owner understands that there may not be room for an accessory building on a smaller lot, then he doesn’t see a problem with eliminating the lot size requirement. Groll noted that there is a movement toward “tiny houses” now and there would be no reason for those homes to be on a huge lot.

Moved by Wittkopf to allow homes to be built on any existing lot.

J. Reed clarified that the properties in the North Bay Shore district are only required to be 66 feet in width. Perrizo expressed concern about using lot sizes as they exist today as a basis for the ordinance because it may get confusing in the future. J. Reed suggested that everyone think about this and discuss it further at the next meeting.

Motion withdrawn.

  1. Scheduling of Bus Tour of City for Committee Members

The Committee will schedule a bus tour to be held on July 14, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.

Further discussion ensued regarding the on-going City-wide clean up initiative. Resources may be available through Newcap, the Northwoods Housing Consortium and help may be available from the Chamber of Commerce and other civic groups.

  1. Adjourn

Moved byHeier, seconded byWittkopfto adjourn.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.11 ayes

Meeting adjourned at 6:25p.m.

Respectfully Submitted:

Sara J. Perrizo, CPA

Administrator