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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Plan Commission Approves Warming Shelter Permit and Reviews Zoning Code Rewrite – August 25, 2026

Common Council & Committees — Tuesday, August 25, 2026

BodyManitowoc, Wisconsin

SessionCommon Council & Committees

DateTuesday, August 25, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 39:51

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:47

There is a sign-in sheet, and Jen also has one if someone wants to speak.

0:51

I don't think your microphone's on.

0:55

You're all good?

0:56

Yeah.

0:57

Okay.

0:57

It is six o'clock.

0:59

We'll call the plan commission meeting to order at this time.

1:02

Welcome to those in attendance.

1:04

And to the commission, we have all members except Dietrich and Jay Gemin.

1:12

Leave.

1:14

Correct.

1:15

So we do have a quorum.

1:17

Approval of the minutes from July 7th.

1:20

Is there a motion to approve?

1:24

Second.

1:24

Motion and a second discussion.

1:27

Second by Horning, I believe, or Steinbrenner, I don't know which one.

1:31

All those in favor?

1:32

Aye.

1:33

Opposed.

1:33

Motion carried unanimously.

1:36

All right.

1:36

We have two public hearings this evening.

1:38

First one is the neighborhood of Mantua County, Inc.

1:41

doing business as Mantua Corm and Shelter, conditional use permit.

1:44

Request for a temporary warming shelter at 2601 South 10th Street.

1:48

Paul, if you want to go through this.

1:49

Okay.

1:50

There we go.

1:51

So the map on the screen, the area in cross-ash, crosshatch yellow is the subject property.

1:57

It's on South 10th Street, just north of Vaughn.

2:00

To the west is Calvary Cemetery.

2:03

To the north, east, and south is basically residential.

2:07

A little bit further south on V Bond is some commercial at Car Wash and a convenience store.

2:14

So the neighborhood of Manitow County has identified St.

2:16

Paul Lutheran Church on South 10th Street as a temporary warming shelter for up to 12 guests for 150-day operating period.

2:24

Last year the warming shelter was located in a Lakeshore Cap building, which was at 702 State Street.

2:49

Staff from building inspection and police and fire walk through the location on South 10th Street.

2:59

And they're fine with the location from like a building code, life safety issue.

3:03

There are a couple minor things that they're working through, but nothing major.

3:17

Transitional housing is defined as housing intended to provide the support needed for temporary occupants who lack a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residents to move into long-term housing, and which is usually offered as part of a transitional program that helps homeless individuals and families become independent through counseling, job training, child care, skills training, and health care assistance.

3:54

One, is it reasonably reasonably necessary for the convenience and welfare of the public?

4:01

Two, is it in harmony with the character of the surrounding area?

4:05

Will it have minimal effect or no effect on the surrounding property values?

4:09

And again, there's also the condition use permits are governed by state statute.

4:13

And we've talked about this multiple times.

4:15

Where we're we're basically commission use permit has to be issued with the conditions.

4:22

Conditions have to be accepted by the requester.

4:25

And in the future, if there's some conditions that are not being followed, then the council can go and pull the condition use permit.

4:32

Um we've never actually had to do that in any condition use permit that we've issued.

4:49

So that concludes my comments.

5:00

If not, this is a public hearing for this specific subject matter.

5:02

If there's anyone interested in speaking, please just raise your hand.

5:04

You will be allowed five minutes to speak.

5:06

Yes, please just state your name and address for the record.

5:18

My name is Ken Walters, 2703 South 23rd, Apartment 4.

5:25

Over the last four years, I've spent 600 nights, give or take a little bit at the warming shelter.

5:33

I'm not homeless.

5:35

I'm proud to tell you that I'm a volunteer.

5:38

I'm one of over 120 volunteers who help keep the warming shelter running.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Homelessness█████████████████████████████████████████████54%

Procedural███████████████18%

Engineering And Infrastructure███████████13%

Economic Development███████████13%

Public Safety██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Plan Commission Meeting – August 25, 2026

The Manitowoc Plan Commission met on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers and via Zoom. The commission approved two conditional use permits (a temporary warming shelter and a trucking transloading facility) and received an update on the ongoing zoning code rewrite. All votes were unanimous (6-0).

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the July 7, 2026 Plan Commission meeting were approved by a unanimous vote (motion by Schlei, second by Hornung).

Public Hearings & Testimony

PC 11-2026: Manitowoc Warming Shelter (2601 S 10th Street)

Ken Walters (2703 S 23rd Street) – Expressed gratitude for community support, shared a personal success story of a shelter guest who achieved sobriety and employment, and noted that about 20% of guests return the following year no longer needing services.
Pastor Matt Sauer (1819 S 25th Street) – Provided data: last season the shelter served 83 unique individuals, providing 1,650 nights of shelter plus 112 hotel nights. Of 64 survey respondents, 57 stated they lived in Manitowoc County and 44 within the city. He emphasized that guests are local residents and that the shelter offers a safe, organized alternative to sleeping outside. He requested approval.
Pastor Heather Keck (1519 20th Street, Two Rivers) – Representing St. Paul Lutheran Church, she reported that neighboring property owners expressed support for the shelter. She requested the commission pass the permit to the City Council.

PC 12-2026: T.J. Potter Trucking (2800 Viebahn Street)

No public comments were received. Staff reported that notices were mailed and no calls or communications were received.

Discussion Items

Warming Shelter Conditional Use Permit (PC 11-2026)

Staff (P. Braun) summarized the proposal for a temporary 150-day warming shelter at St. Paul Lutheran Church, with a maximum of 12 guests. Life-safety walkthroughs by building inspection, fire, and police found minor items but no major issues.
Motion (Hornung, second by Schlei): To approve the permit with amendments removing Conditions N (76-night limit per individual) and O (lottery system) and modifying Condition C to state that the shelter shall not exceed the legal occupancy limit as determined by building inspection for life safety, but no fewer than 12 individuals.
Discussion: Commissioner Hornung argued that the Plan Commission’s role is land use, not operations, and that trust should be extended to the shelter operators. Commissioner Steinbrenner expressed concern that the removed conditions were unnecessary. Commissioner Koski asked if Condition N had a legal basis; Chairman Nickels clarified it was originally for data collection, and the shelter has now provided that data, showing only two individuals were affected. Commissioner Nickels also questioned whether the 12-person cap could be increased given the building’s compliance with code; staff agreed to verify the maximum with building inspection before the Council meeting.
Vote: The motion carried unanimously (6-0). The permit will be forwarded to the Common Council for its September 21, 2026 meeting, which will include a public hearing.

T.J. Potter Trucking Conditional Use Permit (PC 12-2026)

Staff noted the 15.80-acre site at 2800 Viebahn Street, zoned I-2 Heavy Industrial, will be used for laydown, storage, and transloading of large machinery. Conditions are similar to a previously approved permit for a nearby location. Applicant plans to clean up, regrade, add gravel, and use dust palliatives. Operating hours: 7 AM–5 PM weekdays with limited Saturday morning work.
Motion (Schlei, second by Hornung) to approve the conditional use permit as presented. Unanimously approved (6-0). Also forwarded to the Council for September 21.

Old Business: Chapter 15 Zoning Code Rewrite (PC 3-2024)

P. Braun provided an update: the full draft code will be sent to commissioners by August 27 (via OneDrive). A memo summarizing major changes will be published September 2. The plan is to bring the code back to the Plan Commission on September 23, 2026, with additional time available if needed. The subdivision code (Chapter 21) will be rewritten and adopted simultaneously. The floodplain ordinance will become a standalone chapter.
Commissioner Hornung asked about notification for property owners who may become legally non-conforming under the new code. Braun noted he informally mentions the rewrite to property owners but suggested formal notification should be considered. Braun added that staff tried to keep existing zoning designations consistent, but some changes are inevitable.

Key Outcomes

Warming Shelter Conditional Use Permit: Approved with amendments (removal of Conditions N & O, modification of Condition C) and referred to Council (6-0).
T.J. Potter Trucking Conditional Use Permit: Approved as presented and referred to Council (6-0).
Zoning Code Rewrite: Draft to be distributed; next discussion at September 23 Plan Commission meeting. A memo of major changes will be provided by September 2.
Miscellaneous: Five certified survey maps and four site plans were noted but no action was taken. Manitowoc County activities: None.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 6:40 PM (motion by Hornung, second by Schlei, unanimous).

Meeting Transcript

There is a sign-in sheet, and Jen also has one if someone wants to speak. I don't think your microphone's on. You're all good? Yeah. Okay. It is six o'clock. We'll call the plan commission meeting to order at this time. Welcome to those in attendance. And to the commission, we have all members except Dietrich and Jay Gemin. Leave. Correct. So we do have a quorum. Approval of the minutes from July 7th. Is there a motion to approve? Second. Motion and a second discussion. Second by Horning, I believe, or Steinbrenner, I don't know which one. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed. Motion carried unanimously. All right. We have two public hearings this evening. First one is the neighborhood of Mantua County, Inc. doing business as Mantua Corm and Shelter, conditional use permit. Request for a temporary warming shelter at 2601 South 10th Street. Paul, if you want to go through this. Okay. There we go. So the map on the screen, the area in cross-ash, crosshatch yellow is the subject property. It's on South 10th Street, just north of Vaughn. To the west is Calvary Cemetery. To the north, east, and south is basically residential. A little bit further south on V Bond is some commercial at Car Wash and a convenience store. So the neighborhood of Manitow County has identified St. Paul Lutheran Church on South 10th Street as a temporary warming shelter for up to 12 guests for 150-day operating period. Last year the warming shelter was located in a Lakeshore Cap building, which was at 702 State Street. Staff from building inspection and police and fire walk through the location on South 10th Street. And they're fine with the location from like a building code, life safety issue. There are a couple minor things that they're working through, but nothing major. Transitional housing is defined as housing intended to provide the support needed for temporary occupants who lack a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residents to move into long-term housing, and which is usually offered as part of a transitional program that helps homeless individuals and families become independent through counseling, job training, child care, skills training, and health care assistance. One, is it reasonably reasonably necessary for the convenience and welfare of the public? Two, is it in harmony with the character of the surrounding area? Will it have minimal effect or no effect on the surrounding property values? And again, there's also the condition use permits are governed by state statute. And we've talked about this multiple times. Where we're we're basically commission use permit has to be issued with the conditions. Conditions have to be accepted by the requester. And in the future, if there's some conditions that are not being followed, then the council can go and pull the condition use permit. Um we've never actually had to do that in any condition use permit that we've issued.

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