DC PR&D gives conditional approval of final plat for Meadows Edge in Town of Elk Mound
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee has approved the final plat for the Meadows Edge residential development in the Town of Elk Mound pending approval of the plat by the state of Wisconsin.
Tom Carlson, Dunn County surveyor, told the PR&D committee at the September 28 meeting he had thought that approval by the state of Wisconsin on the final plat would have come through by the time of the meeting but that he had not yet received anything.
Carlson said he followed up and called the state plat review office and was told the plat for Meadows Edge had been received and had been reviewed, but there were minor technical items that needed to be addressed.
Tony and Ellie Tanner, Tanner Properties, LLC, are planning to develop 10 multi-family residential lots on 24 acres in the Town of Elk Mound, and Tanner Properties will own the units and will rent them out, he said.
The property is located on 620th avenue about two and a quarter miles west of state Highway 40 and has the railroad tracks as the boundary on the north and Interstate-94 on the south side, Carlson said.
The property has a small amount of access to the town road, and a 60-foot wide private access easement off the town road will provide access to the property, he said.
The Town of Elk Mound is an unzoned township, so there is no minimum requirement for lot size. The property is mostly open and was previously used for agriculture, Carlson said.
Although the Town of Elk Mound is unzoned, a small portion of the property is impacted by Dunn County’s shoreland zoning ordinance because of a small, intermittent stream located off the property. The shoreland zoning ordinance, as it relates to the stream, encumbers Lots 1, 2 and 3, and there is a note on the plat. Permits will be needed to develop those lots, he said.
The county’s comprehensive land use plan designates that area as agricultural or residential, so the plans for the property fit in with the comprehensive plan, Carlson said.
The PR&D committee approved the preliminary plat in June, and Elk Mound Town Board, at a special meeting June 17, also approved the plat, he said.
Correspondence
Regarding final approval from the state, the plat review office must receive correspondence from he Town of Elk Mound that the private road as shown on the plat is allowed by the township’s local ordinances, Carlson said.
The state plat review office also requires correspondence from the Town of Elk Mound that the town has approved a substandard street width. The road going into the subdivision will be only 60 feet wide and not the traditional 66 feet wide, he said.
A narrower road is acceptable under state law, but the state plat review office must receive confirmation from the Town of Elk Mound that a substandard width is allowed, Carlson said.
Conditional approval
Carlson said that while he anticipated receiving the certificate of approval from the state soon, he was recommending conditional approval of the final plat, pending approval from the state, since the Meadows Edge plat meets the county requirements.
If the PR&D committee gives conditional approval, after the certificate of approval from the state is received, the property is “ready to go,” he said.
The PR&D committee can give full approval, can deny approval of the plat or can approve the plat with the condition that it has received certification from the state plat review office, but the committee must take one of those actions because the 60-day time period to approve or deny or approve with conditions is coming to an end and would expire before the next PR&D committee meeting on October 12, Carlson said.
Carlson recommended leaving the pending approval from the state “open ended” and not put a date on it since the state has 30 days to review the plat but the review period can be extended by a mutual agreement between the state and the developer.
Easements
Outlots 1 and 2 on the plat are a stormwater easement and a conservation easement, Carlson said.
Notes on the final plat explain that the conservation easements will be granted to the Town of Elk Mound, he said.
Lot 5 contains a sizable wetland area. Is there room to build? asked Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
Lot 5 was a concern during the preliminary review, Carlson said.
The township is unzoned, and the lot is not impacted by the shoreland zoning ordinance. Construction cannot take place in a wetland, and it may come down to sanitation, he said, noting that he is not a sanitation expert and is not certain what is allowed.
A house and a sanitation system would not leave much room on the lot, and the developer will have to realize Lot 5 has some limitations, Carlson said.
The surveyor who has been working on surveying the property said there was a possibility of filling in the wetland and that it would be completed according to regulations, he said, adding that a stormwater retention pond is planned to the east of Lot 1.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said because the area was less than 10,000 square feet, it could be filled in, said Ellie Tanner, adding that their engineer is working with the state Department of Natural Resources.
The area on Lot 5 is not really a wetland but is more of a low spot, she said.
Private road
What is the angle of the private road in relation to the railroad tracks? asked Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and a member of the PR&D committee.
When vehicles have to cross railroad tracks at an angle, it can be difficult to see whether a train is coming, he said.
The private road does come out on the town road close to the railroad tracks, Carlson said.
The Town of Elk Mound will have to issue a driveway permit. Dunn County has no jurisdiction over the private road, he said.
While the private road appears close to the railroad tracks on the map, when you are driving it, there is enough room to see down the tracks, Ellie Tanner said.
The road and the railroad tracks are a safety issue, but if the location of the private road is okay with the Town of Elk Mound, and the town issues a driveway permit, then that should be sufficient, Bjork said.
The private road is locked into being located in a certain area because the property only has 200 feet of frontage on the town road, Carlson said.
“I see your point,” he said, noting that the Dunn County land division ordinance currently does not have any private road standards.
“But your point is very well taken,” Carlson said.
The Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee unanimously approved accepting the final plat for the Meadows Edge Townhomes development subject to certification of the plat map by the state of Wisconsin.
