Town of Bell Planning Commission minutes

January 10, 2022

Meeting was called to order at 4:08 p.m.

Planning Commissioners present: Dave Tillmans, Mark Ehlers, Gordon Anderson, Greg Weiss, Jackie Eid

Community members present: Nancy Moye, Phylis Peri, Roger Lindgren, Jayne Norton, Allen Hahn

Motion made to approve prior meeting minutes by Mark Ehlers, second by Gordon Anderson. Unanimous

No correspondence or updates

Hwy 13 crosswalk: Motion was made to use money budgeted for 2022 to be used towards the Hwy 13 crosswalk. Additional funds would need to be ok’d with the board. Motion Jackie, second Gordon Anderson Unanimous. Some of the discussion points were needing a safe place to cross, did the engineering bill get paid in December 2021, need to talk with Matt Hipsher about penciling this into the Town crews schedule, need to proceed with the permit work.

Year in Review: Will review 2021 meeting minutes and get ready for February meeting.

Commercial Use of Public Lands: Allen Hahn talked about what has been decided needs to be wrote into or amended in the Transient Vendor Ordinance but needs help in doing so. He will get the information to the Planning Commission for help in doing so.

Short Term Rentals: Copies of surrounding communities ordinances concerning short term rentals were handed out. Delta wrote an amendment to their Comprehensive Plan not allowing Short Term Rentals in R-1 zoning. So far it has not been challenged. A list of short term rentals in the Town of Bell has been obtained from Anne Coy at Bayfield County Health Dept.  Some of the rentals are in R-1 and some are not. The Planning Commission will be reviewing all the information.

Sidewalk Ordinance: Review of the ordinance was continued. Section 2 Authority, Section 3 Definitions, and Section 4 Standards were reviewed.

Some of the talking points:

Need a minimum of 36” for wheelchair access.

Seems unfair as to who needs a sidewalk or not.

We need uniform enforcement and it needs to be written into the ordinance somewhere.

At Ehler’s Store there is a problem with people parking on the sidewalk and also pushing the flower boxes back 5”-6” with the bumpers of their vehicles.

What are the potential costs for placing parking curbs in the spring and removing in the fall.

What are the price differences between polyurethane and concrete parking curbs.

Could 6”-8” timbers be used in place of parking curbs.

Do we or can we change the minimum width.

February meeting date: February 7, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.

There will be a special P.C. meeting on January 18, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Town of Bell Community Center. Keith Koenning from Town of Clover will be there to talk about short term rentals.

Motion to adjourn at 5: 12 p.m. by Greg Weiss, second by Dave Tillmans unanimous