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Council denies 212 W. Main stormwater appeal; city staff recused from deliberation
Summary
The council denied a resident’s appeal to waive stormwater mitigation and lot-combination requirements at 212 W. Main, finding staff and engineering followed SUDAS and site-plan rules; City Administrator Adam Kofoed recused himself for a family conflict of interest.
The West Branch City Council denied a residential stormwater appeal on April 15 from the owner of 212 W. Main, finding that city staff and the city engineer followed required stormwater rules and site-plan review procedures.
City Administrator Adam Kofoed excused himself from the discussion and vote because his family had previously owned the property. Property owner Bickford argued the requirement to provide additional stormwater mitigation would add unexpected development expenses, and said the city also recently required that five small lots be combined into one or two legal lots under Chapter 165, which he said he did not know about when he purchased the property. Bickford also asserted that adjacent properties push water onto his property and that similar mitigation was not being enforced on some other properties.
City Engineer Dave Schechinger and Bickford’s engineer (MMS Consultants) both agreed that stormwater mitigation is required under SUDAS and the city’s site-plan process; Schechinger said he approved the site plan in October 2023 with stormwater conditions. Following deliberation the Council voted to deny the appeal (Resolution 2024-37). The motion passed with Councilmembers Sexton, Goodweiler, Dean, Stoolman and Horihan voting to deny and no recorded nays.
The council’s action affirms that residential site-plan review and SUDAS-based stormwater mitigation requirements apply to new construction and redevelopment on R-2 zoned lots.
