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Record of Proceedings

City of Monroe Plan Commission Meeting - March 11, 2026

Common Council & Commissions — Wednesday, March 11, 2026
BodyMonroe, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, March 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

It is five o'clock, and we'll call the City of Monroe Plan Commission to order.

0:06

And at this time we'll have a roll call.

0:10

Mayor Douglas here.

0:12

Alder Schaefer.

0:14

Here?

0:15

Ron Spielman.

0:16

Lewis Cruz.

0:19

Bill Bentzke.

0:22

Ben Voss.

0:24

And Dave Whartonweiler.

0:25

Here.

0:28

So we have one.

0:30

We have a quorum.

0:31

All right.

0:35

Are there any corrections of the minutes of the February 11th, 2026 meeting that you received?

0:47

Hearing none, they will be approved as presented.

0:52

Moving on to business.

1:11

And that's requested by the zoning administration.

1:17

So this is administrator Rindy and Shannon's also on the line to further, but these are from follow-up kind of points from previous meetings.

1:27

The memo that Shannon did provide does touch on both of the agenda items, but we separated them out for separate action to be taken.

1:36

But just so you know to refer to both.

1:38

So the first one that we're talking about is the MR 15 and adding more principal uses for permitted by right for the number of units to allow townhouses for what we talked about of up to the eight units for townhouse multiplex and apartments.

1:55

So that would be we'd be looking for you guys to recommend that on to council.

1:59

It would first go to judici judiciary and ordinance, then to council for another public hearing that would be held prior to its full approval.

2:14

And Shannon, if you have anything to add, I guess.

2:18

No, I think you can write it.

2:24

So and I guess to further clarify, like these were allowed by conditional or yeah, conditional use.

2:30

This would be changing it that they're permitted by right for the up to eight units.

2:49

So moved.

2:52

Do I have a second?

2:53

Second.

2:54

Okay.

2:55

Is there any further discussion?

2:59

Hearing none.

3:00

All those in favor say aye.

3:02

Oppose no, and the clerk will call the roll.

3:05

Mayor Douglas.

3:06

Aye.

3:06

Alder Schaefer.

3:08

Aye.

3:09

Ron Spielman.

3:10

Aye.

3:10

And Dave Whartonweiler.

3:12

Aye.

3:12

Okay.

3:13

And that passes, and we'll move on to the uh discussion and possible recommendation to the common council regarding the City of Monroe zoning text amendments regarding parking requirements and NMU and MR 15 and MR 30 zoning districts.

3:32

And that's requested by the zoning administration.

3:36

So this is administrator Indy, and so this one goes a little.

3:41

We talked about this a little bit further.

3:43

Um the MR 15 kind of units was a little more recent.

3:47

Um but what you guys had kind of given direction on was sticking with the two spaces per dwelling unit within those zoning districts that the mayor referred to and eliminating the additional space for additional bedroom units.

4:03

And so just for those within those districts of NMU, MR 15 and 30, that it would just be two spaces per unit required.

4:16

And again, the same process would occur.

4:35

Is there anything ordinance-wise that speaks to that, or is that more to the people that own the unit?

4:44

Yeah, it and not within I think the zoning districts itself, but there are regulations that relate to mobile homes and like one that they have to be parked on, like gravel or or paid services, and they can't be in use for so many days.

5:01

I'd have to look.

5:02

Um, so I think it's more with like some of the parking and other regulations that we have, not necessarily within like these zoning districts, residential zoning districts.

5:17

I'm not sure I remember it correctly, but I thought in the Alice development project it was vehicle parking and the they restrict uh the ability to park trailers or campers and if if I have two units, the theory is I have I mean I have two places to park if I own a unit, but I'm not uh uh I'm I'm I'm trying to sort out whether it has to be the person that builds it who creates the rules or whether there are rules that are inherent that tie together with this on other restrictions that I'm looking for.

5:56

Those were rules by Alice Place.

5:58

They created the those rules.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████73%
Transportation Safety████████13%
Procedural████7%
Historic Preservation████7%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Monroe Plan Commission Meeting - March 11, 2026

The City of Monroe Plan Commission met on March 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting addressed three main items: a zoning text amendment to allow more multi-family units by right in the MR-15 district, parking requirement reductions in NMU, MR-15, and MR-30 districts, and a continued conceptual discussion on allowing drive-through services in the Central Mixed Use (CMU) district. All votes were unanimous, and the commission provided direction to staff on the drive-through item.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes from the February 11, 2026 meeting were approved as presented.

Discussion Items

  • C.1 – Zoning Text Amendment for MR-15 District: Administrator Rindy presented a proposed change to allow up to eight units per multi-family building by right (rather than by conditional use) in the MR-15 residential district. The commission unanimously voted to recommend approval to the Common Council.
  • C.2 – Parking Requirements in NMU, MR-15, and MR-30 Districts: The commission considered a text amendment to require two parking spaces per dwelling unit, eliminating the previous additional space for extra bedrooms. The motion to recommend approval passed unanimously.
  • C.3 – Drive-Through Services in CMU District: Shannon from Vandewalle presented a conceptual discussion, noting that drive-throughs are currently not permitted in the CMU district. She highlighted three existing legal nonconforming drive-throughs, the need for roughly half-acre lots, and existing design standards in the historic preservation overlay. Commissioners expressed concerns: Ron Spielman opposed new curb cuts on the square; Dave Wartenweiler asked about reusing existing bank drive-throughs for new businesses. The consensus was to allow drive-throughs only as a conditional use, with no new curb cuts or access directly onto the square. Additional conditions discussed included landscaping, lighting, hours of operation, and noise. The commission directed staff to draft code language incorporating these considerations.

Key Outcomes

  • C.1: Motion to recommend approval of the MR-15 zoning text amendment to the Common Council passed unanimously (4-0).
  • C.2: Motion to recommend approval of the parking requirement reduction passed unanimously (4-0).
  • C.3: No formal vote; staff was directed to prepare draft language for a conditional use provision allowing drive-throughs in the CMU district, with restrictions including no new curb cuts on the square, and standards for landscaping, lighting, hours, and noise.
  • The meeting adjourned at 5:51 PM.

Meeting Transcript

It is five o'clock, and we'll call the City of Monroe Plan Commission to order. And at this time we'll have a roll call. Mayor Douglas here. Alder Schaefer. Here? Ron Spielman. Lewis Cruz. Bill Bentzke. Ben Voss. And Dave Whartonweiler. Here. So we have one. We have a quorum. All right. Are there any corrections of the minutes of the February 11th, 2026 meeting that you received? Hearing none, they will be approved as presented. Moving on to business. And that's requested by the zoning administration. So this is administrator Rindy and Shannon's also on the line to further, but these are from follow-up kind of points from previous meetings. The memo that Shannon did provide does touch on both of the agenda items, but we separated them out for separate action to be taken. But just so you know to refer to both. So the first one that we're talking about is the MR 15 and adding more principal uses for permitted by right for the number of units to allow townhouses for what we talked about of up to the eight units for townhouse multiplex and apartments. So that would be we'd be looking for you guys to recommend that on to council. It would first go to judici judiciary and ordinance, then to council for another public hearing that would be held prior to its full approval. And Shannon, if you have anything to add, I guess. No, I think you can write it. So and I guess to further clarify, like these were allowed by conditional or yeah, conditional use. This would be changing it that they're permitted by right for the up to eight units. So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Okay. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor say aye. Oppose no, and the clerk will call the roll. Mayor Douglas. Aye. Alder Schaefer. Aye. Ron Spielman. Aye. And Dave Whartonweiler. Aye. Okay. And that passes, and we'll move on to the uh discussion and possible recommendation to the common council regarding the City of Monroe zoning text amendments regarding parking requirements and NMU and MR 15 and MR 30 zoning districts. And that's requested by the zoning administration. So this is administrator Indy, and so this one goes a little. We talked about this a little bit further. Um the MR 15 kind of units was a little more recent.

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