Appleton Common Council Meeting - September 20, 2023
Appleton Common Council Meeting - September 20, 2023
The Appleton Common Council met Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers under Mayor Jake Woodford. Fifteen alderpersons and the Mayor were present, with Mayor Woodford abstaining on most roll-call votes. The council approved routine consent items, approved the Clearwater Creek rezoning and preliminary plat, approved the 2024 Business Improvement District operating plan, denied a state shared revenue allocation resolution, and rejected a bird-safe glass resolution. No public hearings or special resolutions were held.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Several Clearwater Creek residents (Michelle Mader, Alaine Morgan, Patrick Dedoyard, Ben Alberts, Kara Harbick, Kate Alberts, and Scott Harbick) opposed the rezoning and preliminary plat, citing single-vehicle access, blocked emergency access, lack of parks, wetland/flooding risks, and a pattern of unfulfilled promises about a second exit. Scott Harbick, an emergency physician, said seconds count and urged council not to approve the project.
- Abby Maslanka, representing Martenson & Eisele Engineering and Clearwater Creek LLC, supported the project, stating that an assured wetland delineation was completed, no wetlands would be filled or disturbed, a stormwater management plan was approved on August 29, and the property meets the future zoning map.
- Jennifer Sunstrom, representing the REALTORS Association of Northeast Wisconsin, supported more housing, saying the Fox Cities area needs 1,100 to 7,400 units in the next seven years and is currently producing about one quarter of that need.
- Jill Hendricks, representing Clearwater Creek Development, supported approval, clarifying that phase four contains 14 lots, phase five is not currently planned, and the developer has paid $45,600 in park fees year-to-date.
- Tom Rooney, president of Mark Winter Homes, supported the project, citing the need for housing and the industry's regulatory compliance.
- Jennifer Stephany, executive director of Appleton Downtown Inc., supported the 2024 BID Operating Plan, noting the rate remains $2.75 per $1,000 of assessed value.
- One resident attempted to speak about park drug use but was ruled off-topic because it did not relate to an agenda item.
Discussion Items
- Clearwater Creek rezoning and preliminary plat: Alder Hayden opposed, citing wetland protection, park inequity, and public safety; Alder Van Zeeland reminded council that the rezoning must be consistent with the adopted comprehensive plan; Alder Firkus said approval would not prevent a second entrance or future park; Alder Wolff supported because constituents need housing; Alder Del Toro opposed on environmental grounds; Alder Alfheim said the council's hands are bound by state law. The rezoning was approved 12-3 and the preliminary plat was approved 11-4.
- Downtown Appleton BID 2024 Operating Plan: Approved after Alder Fenton expressed appreciation for Appleton Downtown Inc.'s work.
- 2024 City Clerk's Office License Fee Changes: Alder Siebers voted no, arguing that license fees should be based on recouping administrative costs rather than comparisons with other communities.
- Municipal Code Chapter 6 Fire Department Revisions: Alder Hartzheim noted the amendment keeping the open/outdoor burning fee at $30 annually.
- Resolution #10-R-23 on State Shared Revenue Aid: Council debated the resolution, with Alder Hartzheim and Alder Croatt expressing concerns about using non-guaranteed state funds for ongoing expenses; Alder Van Zeeland and others said budget discussions are the proper venue; Alder Wolf called the resolution pointless. The council voted to uphold the Finance Committee's recommendation to deny.
- Bird Safe Glass Resolution #6-R-23: An amendment to remove final implementation language failed 5-10; a second amendment to strike the summary paragraph passed 10-5; the resolution as amended then failed 5-10. Discussion included an estimated $10,000 cost, legal concerns with municipal code changes, the value of education, and the timing of bird migration.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the September 6, 2023 Common Council minutes (14 aye, 0 no, 2 abstentions).
- Approved the Mayor's board reappointments (15 aye, 0 no, 1 abstention).
- Approved the Boldt Company permanent street occupancy permit for Fox Commons City Center Plaza construction fencing and staging on Oneida Street south of Washington Street through December 31, 2023 (15 aye, 0 no, 1 abstention).
- Approved Clearwater Creek Rezoning #5-23 from AG Agricultural to R-1B Single-Family (12 aye, 3 no, 1 abstention; nays: Del Toro, Hayden, Schultz).
- Approved the Fourth Addition to Clearwater Creek Preliminary Plat (11 aye, 4 no, 1 abstention; nays: Meltzer, Del Toro, Hayden, Schultz).
- Approved the Downtown Appleton BID 2024 Operating Plan (15 aye, 0 no, 1 abstention).
- Approved the 2024 City Clerk's Office License Fee Changes (12 aye, 3 no, 1 abstention; nays: Siebers, Del Toro, Schultz).
- Approved Appleton Municipal Code Chapter 6 Fire Department revisions (14 aye, 1 no, 1 abstention; nay: Siebers).
- Denied Resolution #10-R-23, Allocation of State Shared Revenue Aid, by approving the Finance Committee's recommendation to deny (11 aye, 4 no, 1 abstention; nays: Siebers, Hartzheim, Croatt, Doran).
- Rejected Resolution #6-R-23, Bird Safe Glass, after amendments (final vote 5 aye, 10 no, 1 abstention).
- Referred Resolution #9-R-23, Mental Health Awareness & Services, back to the Board of Health at the request of Alder Van Zeeland.
- Approved the balance of the agenda (15 aye, 0 no, 1 abstention), including: liquor licenses for Broken Tree Pizza, Board & Brush Creative Studio, and Maritime Bar; a Special Use Permit for a restaurant at 1619 W College Avenue; Change Order #3 for the Unit H-21 Redundant Raw Water Line ($200,000 increase, reducing contingency to $244,549.71); the Lightning Drive stormwater consulting contract amendment ($27,500 increase, total not to exceed $159,500); Fox Cities Transit office furniture purchase; Board of Health items (Policy AHD001, Chapter 11 manufactured homes ordinance update, Chapter 9 tattoo/body piercing ordinance update, and Madison Middle School construction noise variance); and Ordinances #86-23 and #89-23.
- Adjourned at 9:28 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, September twentieth, twenty twenty-three meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alder Crowe. Thank you, Mayor. We gather together to listen and share, learn and educate, and to be granted wisdom and grace as we move Appleton forward in the best interests of our community. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. And all are represented. Motion passes 15 to zero, and these reappointments have been approved. Thank you for approving these reappointments, and we thank these members of our community for their continued volunteer service. All right, we come now to a time of public participation. At each meeting, the common council reserves 30 minutes for members of the public to express their views on items which appear on our agenda. We have six people signed up to speak this evening. I want to call your name, please approach the microphone, state your name and address for the record, and we ask that you please keep your comments concise and to the point, and that you please take into consideration the comments that have been made by those who have spoken before you. The children of our neighborhood don't have a park or even access to safely get to a park, even though the city's comprehensive outdoor recreation plan has identified a need for a park in this neighborhood. Instead of securing land and dedicating it to a feature park, the city has been collecting a fee from developers in lieu of planning a park in the platform. With our subdivision being part of the fastest growing district in the city, one would think that that would be more of a priority. In fact, of the city's 29 parks, only one of them is in this district. Perhaps that park fee that has been collected for all the years would be enough to purchase the land and a safe place for the children to play. Tonight's vote isn't as simple as it may seem. It's not simply voting to rezone the land from agriculture to residential. It's the safety concerns we've been pleading for you to hear over the past few weeks. Rezoning the land means more homes. More homes means more people, more people, more congestion to an area that's already at its capacity with a single single access. By approving the rezoning tonight, you're only adding to these already significant important issues to be addressed. We cannot keep ignoring this issue just because it's always a good thing. Plans were made almost 20 years ago and they're not set in stone. In a city where every voice matters, I ask, do you hear ours? Next is uh Elaine Morgan. Welcome. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council members for providing another opportunity for us to hear our voices. My name is Elaine Morgan and I live at 5667 North Summerland Drive in Appleton, Wisconsin. I stand before you tonight, representing not only myself, but the Clearwater Creek community. We are a concerned community that believes investing in growth is good, but it has to make sense for all. As you see by the slides presented to you, in theory, this plan is showing an intended development as to what we now know consists of five phases. This area for these five phases is not defined and has loose specifications on this plan. Looking at the plan itself, you see it is based on certain critical assumptions. Number one, there would be a through a through road from East Spartan Drive to Mead. Number two, there would be an established permanent secondary access. And number three, there are no wetlands or native plant restoration areas. Hence, this plan on paper looks complete, but in reality, it is not. So how can one logically use this comprehensive plan of 2007 as a base argument for rezoning this area in phase four from our from agricultural to residential? When this comprehensive plan of today, September 20, 2023, doesn't reflect what actually the layout of the area looks like. As we have heard, and it has been reiterated, there is no plan for addressing specifically the critical access roads in the next five years. The emergency vehicle access is there, but it is changed off to prevent local traffic, even though it's owned by the city of Appleton. There is no plan for the park in our area, despite our subdivision being one of the fastest growing subdivisions. We have single we have a single access into and out of the subdivision for over 150 families, and they want to add an additional 15 homes without addressing the congestion of the safety issues if this entrance becomes impossible or impassable. Sorry. But as you know, this is being uh presented as a complete plan.
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