Panel OKs annexing 49 acres

By Adam Tobias of the Daily Times staff
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 12:59 PM CDT

The Watertown Plan Commission Monday recommended approval of an annexation request for approximately 49 acres on the south side of the city under the condition a small sliver of land to the south is included in the plans.

The property is owned by the Blonien family and is adjacent to the 172-acre parcel located east of Gateway Drive that was annexed into the city earlier this month.

City Engineer Joe Radocay recommended having the small piece of land to the south included in the annexation request because if it was not, a land locked parcel would be created.

“One problem I see is if we annex everything but that strip, we are going to create a land locked parcel by default, and we usually don't allow that,” Radocay said. “I think it would be better if it was included in that total parcel.”

City Building Inspector Joe Heimsch will draft an ordinance on the annexation request while the Blonien family works with a surveyor to get the small piece of land included in the entire property. If the land is not included by the time the final reading of the annexation ordinance is presented to the Watertown Common Council, the aldermen can delay taking action, Radocay said.

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In other action Monday, Plan Commission members took no action on a certified survey map splitting two one-acre parcels from the 102-acre property at N9401 Highway SC in the town of Ixonia.

City Planner Mike Slavney said although the request is within the city's three-mile extraterritorial zoning area, city officials have usually exercised plat review authority in detail only in the townships of Watertown and Emmet, and not in the townships of Ixonia, Shields and Milford.

“Historically for items in those three towns we have not used our authority and have taken no action,” Slavney said. “This proposed land division meets all of our requirements, but my recommendation would be to send it back to Jefferson County with no recommendation, and then this will be able to go forward.”

The land division has been approved by Jefferson County, Radocay said.

Members of the Plan Commission also decided to take no action on a request to split four acres off the 10-acre parcel at W2215 River Road in the township of Ixonia.

The commission used the same logic for this request as they did for the land division on Highway SC.

A land division splitting the property at 2002 Airport Road into two parcels was approved by the Plan Commission under the condition the survey shows that there will not be an access point to the land from Highway 26.

Because of a median on Gateway Drive, the Watertown Site Plan Review Committee will have to view the survey to determine the best access points to the property.

The Plan Commission referred a group development conditional use permit request from developer Art Lenius to the Site Plan Review Committee so the city can learn more about the proposal.

Lenius is requesting a conditional use permit to construct and maintain a warehouse under the group development code at N1009-N1013 Highway 26, but some city officials said they did not have all of the information on the layout.

Heimsch said he was a little unclear on how many warehouses are on the property already and Slavney added the city still needs a proper site plan, which would inform the proper officials on the details of the building.

“There is a lot of information that we require that we don't have and I believe the most appropriate way to view this information is for us to schedule this at site plan review so that we can work with the applicant to get the information together as quickly and as clearly as possible,” Slavney said.

Plan Commission members approved a change in the operator for the conditional use permit for TCB Auto Care, which is connected to Hayes Family Auto, 731 W. Main St.

Heimsch said Matthew Zickert will now be added to the permit as an operator. He added Zickert is taking over the vehicle repair section of the building and that TCB Auto Care is no longer operating from the West Main Street location.