Zoning still up in the air for former dental office
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Following a public hearing on a request to rezone 619 Main Street in Colfax, the former location of the Dental Wellness Clinic, the Colfax Plan Commission recommended the request be set aside until the property has been surveyed.
The request from Dr. Larry Phillips to change the zoning for the property at 619 Main Street from Business-1 (Downtown Business District) to R-1 (Single Family Residential) was the subject of a public hearing before the Colfax Plan Commission August 14.
The plan commission meeting was at 6 p.m.
The Colfax Village Board met at 7 p.m. August 14 and followed the plan commission’s recommendation.
The property has been for sale, but “there have been no bites,” so if the property is rezoned to residential, then if an easement is needed, the buyer can work it out with Bill Berres, Phillips told the plan commission.
The Berres Family & Sports Chiropractic Clinic is next door to the Phillips’ property at 617 Main Street.
At issue is the exact property line and the location of the village’s alley behind the two properties and whether a 24-foot by 24-foot pole shed associated with the Phillips’ property is partially on village property.
Following a public hearing June 29 before the plan commission on a request to rezone 619 Main Street from B-1 to R-3 (Single Family Mixed Residential) (allows single family housing or two-family housing), the plan commission recommended that the village board not approve the rezone.
At the July 10 meeting, in addition to discussing the request for a zoning change from B-1 to R-3, the Colfax Village Board also discussed a proposal from Colfax Police Chief William Anderson for the village to purchase 619 Main Street as a location for the police station.
If the police station moved to 619 Main, then the clerk’s office could move to the police station, and the library could expand to use the clerk’s office, the police chief said.
Various space needs studies over the past 25 years have indicated that the library, the clerk’s office and the police station all require additional square footage.
The village board declined to consider purchasing 619 Main Street to use as a police station because, board members said, they did not want the building to come off the tax roll.
The village board also did not rezone the property.
The question of the exact location of the property line came up at the July 10 village board meeting as well.
Chiropractic clinic
At the August 14 plan commission public hearing, Dr. Berres said he had contacted Dunn County and that the word “unclear” was used “about 50 times” regarding the location of the lot line and the village’s alley.
The fact that there was not an exact lot line location when the property was owned by Dr. Gordon Neumann, and then later on after Dr. Phillips bought the property, was not a problem because everyone agreed to get along, Dr. Berres said.
But after the property is sold now, a verbal agreement between the property owners might not be enough or might not be possible, he said.
From aerial views of the property, it looks as though the pole shed might not be where it is supposed to be, Dr. Berres said.
If the shed is located in the middle of the alley, then those issues should be addressed before moving forward with a new owner and a new use for the building, he said.
Maybe the solution is to demolish the shed, Dr. Phillips said.
Dr. Berres said he believed the next owner might want the shed on the property for off-street parking.
“It is kind of complicated, and I don’t want to rain on somebody’s parade,” he said.
Changing the zoning to residential is not an issue, but the question is, where is the lot line? Dr. Berres said.
From the aerial view, the shed looks as if it could be five feet into the alley, he said.
“Maybe I would be better off if I get rid of everything. Then I could sell the lot. I might be better off if I raze the whole thing,” Dr. Phillips said.
The issue is the property lines, Dr. Berres said, adding, “You can do what you want with the property.”
A buyer would not be able to get financing if there is a question about the property lines, although a cash sale would be different, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer.
Dave Hovre, plan commission member, said he had heard from a source that a small business was interested in the property but that the Internet speed was not fast enough.
Phillips said that when he was operating the dental clinic, he had Internet service with Spectrum and that the service had been sufficient.
Spectrum, which serves the village of Colfax, does not have fiber optic Internet. The business that was considering the building would not be able to upload large files quickly enough, Niggemann said.
Easement
The property could be sold with an easement on the deed, so that the agreement is in writing and is agreed upon before the sale, said Gary Stene, village trustee.
Stene does not serve on the plan commission.
If the shed is wedged onto the property, then there is no room for maintenance, and if the property is rezoned to residential, then there could be small children playing and running up and down the stairs, and that could be a liability issue, Dr. Berres said.
“There are enough questions that there should be answers,” he said.
If the property is sold with an easement on the deed, then that’s part of the deed and part of the sale, Stene said.
But if you do not know the boundaries, then what are you putting on the easement? Niggemann asked.
Phillips acknowledged that perhaps he should have the property surveyed.
Businesses
There are hardly any businesses left downtown, Hovre said, noting that he has always been supportive of businesses in Colfax.
“Buy it and get a business in there then. The second coming might come first, though, before (you get a business in there),” Phillips said.
The businesses on Main Street are storefront and residential — that is, they have apartments upstairs. About 90 percent of the businesses have living quarters above or behind, said Jason Johnson, plan commission member.
The building across the street was a restaurant and then a fix-it shop and now it’s residential, he said.
Can a business ever come back? Johnson asked.
If 619 Main is a business and residential or multi-family residential, it would need four parking stalls, Niggemann said.
Phillips wondered how his property, a one-story building, could be business and residential if the ordinance only allows the residential upstairs.
The Zoning Board of Appeals could consider a variance to allow the residence to be in back or in the basement when the ordinance says the living quarters are above, Niggemann said,
Phillips wondered if he would still need to have the property surveyed.
Getting it surveyed would clarify where the lots lines are, said Jeff Prince, village president and chair of the plan commission.
After the property has been surveyed, it may still need an easement, Niggemann said.
What happens if the garage is on village land? Stene asked.
Two properties in the village that were for sale were surveyed, and the survey showed something was off with the property line, so land was transferred, otherwise the sale would not happen, Niggemann said,
A sale requires a clear title for the property, and if a title cannot be obtained because the property lines are not where they are supposed to be, there are problems, Stene said.
R1
Phillips asked for assurances that if he had the property surveyed, he would be able to sell it for residential use.
Mike Buchner, plan commission member, said he would prefer to see a business at 619 Main.
“Buy it. It’s yours. Put one in (the building),” Phillips replied.
Once the property is sold as residential, there is no going back, and the building is right on Main Street, Hainstock said.
“Buy it, Nancy, and you can speculate all you want,” Phillips said.
“I am torn,” Hainstock said, adding that she hoped a business would locate at 619 Main Street.
“A survey will answer some questions,” she said.
The plan commission makes recommendations, but the village board members can do whatever they want, Hovre said.
“I wish I could (afford to) buy it and put a profitable business in there,” Johnson said.
Kent (Sid) Hoke, who attended the plan commission meeting on another matter, said he serves on the Town of Colfax Plan Commission.
Hoke said from his perspective, the issue is the property line.
Whether the property was going to be used for residential or for a business, if Phillips came to the Town of Colfax Plan Commission, the recommendation would be to have it surveyed, he said.
Alley
The village could vacate the alley, and the village could have it surveyed, too, or split the cost of the survey with Phillips, Stene said.
On the map, the alley goes all the way through, so if the village vacated the alley, that would create landlocked land. The alley gives access to the two business buildings, Dr. Berres said.
Prince said he would recommend having the property surveyed and then to bring the results back to the plan commission and to the village board.
“I could tear down the building. Then it’s just a lot, and I don’t care,” Phillips said.
Berres asked what a lot was selling for in Colfax.
Lots go for between $15,000 and $20,000, Niggemann said.
The property at 619 Main Street is listed for sale at $129,900, with a property tax of $1,193 for 2021. The village’s share of the property tax on the building is about $500, with the remainder going to Dunn County, the Colfax school district and Chippewa Valley Technical College.
The village’s tax levy for 2023 is a little over $485,000.
“I want to see progress. A vacant building is not progress,” Johnson said.
What is of the best benefit to the village? Buchner asked.
Home business
If it was a business, it could have a residence, too, Niggemann said.
If it was zoned R1 single family, there would be no business, although someone could have a home business, she said.
The Village of Colfax’s zoning ordinance allows home occupations as a conditional use in residential zoning without a rezone to a commercial district, and according to the ordinance, the village may restrict the home occupation to a service-oriented business and prohibit the manufacturing of items or products or the sale of items or products on the premises.
The village’s zoning ordinance does not allow vehicle repair or vehicle body work as a home business.
According to the ordinance, the village board must hold a public hearing on the application for a conditional use permit and then must make a decision on whether to issue the conditional use permit.
Direction
Phillips is looking for some kind of direction, Stene said, adding that he believed the village should get a legal opinion on how best to move forward.
There are various properties around the village “that aren’t right,” Stene said.
It is a complicated problem, and “it should be cleaned up and done right,” he said.
Berres said he did not care if 619 Main Street was zoned for business or residential, but that the issue is the lot lines.
The Colfax Plan Commission unanimously approved a motion to set aside the issue of the zoning request from B1 to R1 until the property had been surveyed and the property lines are determined.
Niggemann told Phillips to bring the survey to the village but that she was not sure if another public hearing would be required.
Village board
The issue of rezoning 619 Main Street also was on the agenda for the Colfax Village Board meeting at 7 p.m. August 14.
The plan commission told the property owner to get the property surveyed so the exact location of the lot lines could be established, Prince said.
The plan commission put a hold on making a decision about modifying the zoning until a survey has been completed to clear up the property lines, Niggemann said.
“There was lots of discussion. It was heated at times,” Stene said.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Neumann built a shed, and it might be in the village’s alley, which is why Phillips was told to survey the property, he said.
Stene said he wanted to see the village’s attorney contacted about how to proceed.
If it turns out that the shed is five feet or eight feet on the village’s property, a clean title will not be able to be obtained for sale of the property until the issue is resolved, he said.
The village should get a legal opinion on what to do to make it correct, Stene said.
“This problem should be fixed correctly,” he said.
The survey must be completed first, Niggemann said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion stating that after the survey has been completed, the village will seek legal advice on how to proceed to bring the land and lot line in question to a clear resolution.