Plan Commission approves planned-development overlay and variances for outdoor storage at 3200 North Main Street

The Oshkosh City Plan Commission on June 17 approved a rezone and site plans to allow an outdoor storage area at 3200 North Main Street, voting 8-0 to adopt the findings and recommendations in the staff report.

City planning staff told the commission the property at the northeast corner of North Main Street and East Fernald Avenue contains an existing 10,800-square-foot industrial building and is surrounded by industrial uses. The applicant seeks a rezone to Heavy Industrial with a planned-development overlay to permit an approximately 11,000-square-foot outdoor storage area on the south side of the building, and to accommodate related deviations from the zoning code.

The requested site modifications include an additional roughly 3,000 square feet of pavement extending into the front setback (to 15 feet from the Fernald Avenue property line), a reduced side yard setback of 4 feet where the code requires 20 feet, and an eight-foot chain-link fence with privacy slats in the front yard. Staff said outdoor storage is a conditional use in the HI district and that the requested fence and setback waivers require special approvals under the local code. To offset the requested waivers the applicant proposed a row of evergreen trees along Fernald Avenue and other landscaping; staff reported the required yard landscaping score for the outdoor storage area is 110 points and that 15 arborvitae along the front property line produce an increase of 381 landscaping points.

Steve Adkins, who identified himself at the hearing with the property address, spoke for the applicant and said, “I think the only challenge that I'm having ... is with stormwater management.” Planning staff responded that the action before the commission was land-use approval; stormwater utility and related engineering issues are typically addressed later in the permitting process and at the Common Council stage.

Staff recommended approval of the rezoning, general development plan and specific implementation plan, together with the requested building/site modifications (BSMs), subject to the conditions listed in the staff report. The commission moved to adopt staff findings and recommendations and carried the motion by voice and roll-call vote, recorded as 8-0 in favor.

Discussion at the hearing included confirmation that approved landscaping must be maintained in perpetuity and that the site's configuration — a corner lot with an existing stormwater pond on the north side — constrained options to meet strict setback requirements.

The commission's approval allows the applicant to proceed to the next municipal review steps required for implementation, including any necessary stormwater approvals and permits required by the city before construction or change of use begins.