How much is too much? That was the question considered at the Leighton Township Planning meeting Wednesday night
At issue was a request from residents Scott and Linda Oshinski to build a 5,000 square foot detached accessory building on their property. The square footage of the barn exceeded what was permitted by the zoning ordinance.
Chairman Ben Potts said he was troubled about the request when he noticed that the applicants already owned a barn on the property. The two barns would put the square footage well over what was deemed reasonable by the township.
Commissioner John Hooker pointed out that the barn that is owned by the Oshinskis is on a separate parcel. Potts responded that if they were to combine the parcels, it would be a problem.
“Why have a rule if we’re not going to follow it?” Potts asked the commission.
A representative for the Oshinskis told the Planning Commission that the Oshinskis planned to sell the separate parcel, and use the proceeds to build the new barn.
Commissioners were not eager to approve the application with a promise of a sale, nor were they comfortable dictating the sale. The commission agreed to approve the request on the conditions that the owner did not combine the parcels together, and did not use the barns for commercial purposes.
Short-term rental ordinance still under review
The short-term rental ordinance that the commission drafted last month was sent to the township’s attorney. The attorney is still reviewing the draft, but did comment that he did not think is was strict enough.
It was his recommendation that a cap on short-term rentals, and a special land use requirement be added to the the ordinance. Chairman Potts wanted to know the reasons why the attorney is recommending these restrictions.
The commission hopes to have a final draft and a public hearing on the ordinance by May or June of this year.
Cell tower request wins conditional approval
The Planning Commission also reviewed a request from Horvath Towers to construct a cell tower for Verizon Wireless, near the end of 138th Avenue and US 131. The tower will be a 140-foot single pole, within a 6-foot-tall wooden fence.
Though the tower is about a mile from Calkins Field, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not require lighting on a tower less that 200 feet high.
Neighbor Madison Flashaar asked how the tower would affect property values. The Horvath representative told the commission that Verizon did property values studies on the towers and found that the property values tend to go up. Verizon concludes that people want cell phone coverage, and they will pay more for a home that has good coverage.
The Planning Commission approved the request, with the condition that the wooden fence will be maintained in good condition.
Fitness center request tabled
Anchorline CrossFit fitness center had submitted a request to operate a new fitness center at 4225 Morren Street. However, no one from Anchorline was in attendance at the planning meeting.
Commissioners had concerns about the fitness center having enough parking. With no one to answer their questions, and no one making public comment, commissioners decided the table the request until their questions could be satisfied.
