Conservation Commission -Minutes-20060801
Conservation Commission Unapproved
City of Muskego
Minutes of Meeting Held on Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Chairman Len Pilak called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM.
Present: Mr. Howard Schneider, Alderman Melcher, Ms. Sharon Roy and Conservation
Coordinator Tom Zagar.
Absent: Mr. Ted Decker (excused), Mr. Bill Miller (excused), and Ms. Karen Hartwell (excused)
The meeting was posted on July 26, 2006 in accordance with the open meeting law.
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES - A motion was made by Mr. Howard
Schneider to approve the Conservation Commission minutes of July 10, 2006.
Seconded by Sharon Roy and carried by all.
OLD BUSINESS
EROSION CONTROL PROJECT ON HOLZ ISLAND – LITTLE MUSKEGO LAKE – Nothing
new to report. This item is deferred.
CONSERVATION EASEMENT FOR THE RIDGES CONSERVATION LANDS LOCATED IN
THE SE ¼ OF SECTION 6. – Still waiting for a response from Muskego Lake Land
Conservancy. This item is deferred.
DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION OF MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING TREE MITIGATION –
Conservation Coordinator Zagar said this item would be included in the rewriting of the
Conservation Plan. This item is deferred.
DEVELOPMENT OF ENGEL CONSERVATION AREA – Conservation Coordinator Zagar said
the dedication and opening of the Engel Conservation Area was a success; about 100
participants attended. A girl scout is interested in adding park benches to the area to achieve
her “Gold Award.” The city is currently coordinating bids for the wetland restoration project and
the NRCS will fund the project.
DISCUSS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY OF MUSKEGO CONSERVATION PLAN
UPDATE – Conservation Coordinator Zagar asked Commissioners for their comments and
suggestions for the draft Conservation Plan. He will provide a copy of the draft plan for
Commissioners to review at the next meeting. The original plan was adopted in 2000, and as
time goes on, adjustments need to be made. He explained that one of the aspects of the plan
is to fund conservation purposes and with the new state budget, it is illegal for a municipality to
collect conservation and park dedication fees. Since that funding source is lost by the city, we
will have to look for other ways to fund conservation purposes. Municipalities can collect
impact fees but there is more structure of what can be done with the funds. Chairman Pilak
suggested scheduling another meeting to discuss this item.
Conservation Commission Meeting
August 1, 2006
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NEW BUSINESS
REVIEW FENWICK ESTATES PRELIMINARY PLAT – At this time, Conservation Coordinator
Zagar stated Commissioners would not be able to review this preliminary plat due to funds not
being collected. This item is deferred.
REVIEW STAGECOACH TRAIL PRELIMINARY PLAT – This property is located between
Hillendale Drive and Crowbar Drive and encompasses the northern portion of the old Waste
Management landfill north of Janesville Road. Conservation Coordinator Zagar displayed an
aerial map and gave a brief description of the property. He noted there are four woodland
areas on the site that would be impacted by the proposed development. He also noted that
the development would require rezoning. The property is currently split zoned with RS-1 on
the eastern end that would have to be rezoned to RS-2, and industrial on the western side of
the old landfill site would have to be rezoned to RS-1. He noted the only area preserved
intact is the steep sloped area of the larger woods on the east side of the development. A lot
of tree clearing would be needed and the developer would have to comply with our tree
mitigation ordinance. Neighboring resident Mr. Warren Miller submitted an article from the
rd
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dated November 3 for Commissioners to review regarding a
Brookfield development by the same developer. He also questioned if the Conservation
Commissioners ever looked into any ordinances for any type of environmental corridor around
a landfill hill. He is concerned with the hill being stable and the impact to the forested areas.
Conservation Coordinator Tom Zagar explained that Commissioners reviewed a concept plan
for this subdivision at their March 13, 2006 meeting in which the developer was proposing a
conservation subdivision with 52 residential lots. Commissioners expressed concerns at that
meeting if the proposal met the criteria for a conservation subdivision. The developer is now
proposing a 75-lot subdivision.
Neighboring resident Mr. Mike Adamczyk questioned if Commissioners have control over the
lot size in a subdivision. Chairman Pilak said the Commissioners make recommendation to the
Plan Commission and Common Council members. Conservation Coordinator Zagar stated that
the Commission primarily examines environmental impacts and conservation concerns but that
it does promote smaller lot sizes when used in a cluster development to preserve larger
contiguous areas of natural resources. Mr. Adamczyk feels if the land is going to be
developed, the zoning should be similar to the properties adjacent to the land. Neighboring
resident Mike Benson (Hillendale Road) has lived in Muskego for the past 22 years. He feels
that the rezoning with smaller lots is not what he bought into when he moved to Muskego.
Mr. Howard Schneider made a motioned to deny approval of the Stagecoach Trail
Preliminary Plat; seconded by Alderman Melcher and carried by all.
MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS – Ms. Sharon Roy asked to see the logo submittals for the
conservation emblem. Conservation Coordinator Zagar said he received a delivery from one
art teacher and that he would give them to the Commissioners to review.
MEETING DATE- At this time, Commissioners did not set a date for the next meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Being no further business to discuss, Ms. Sharon Roy moved to adjourn; seconded
by Alderman Melcher and carried by all. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM.
Conservation Commission Meeting
August 1, 2006
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Kim Chavie - Recording Secretary