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Plan Commission reviews conditional use permit for construction business at 525 Jefferson St.; action deferred
Summary
City staff and the applicant described plans to convert a vacant 34,000-square-foot building at 525 Jefferson St. to a construction-services hub; commissioners probed parking, sidewalks and truck traffic and deferred final action until site-plan details return in about two weeks.
The Fort Atkinson Plan Commission on Feb. 10 heard a staff report and public comment on a conditional use permit application for a construction-services business at 525 Jefferson Street, but took no formal action and will revisit the item when the applicant submits a site plan.
Jed Draeger, the city's planning director, told commissioners the existing building is roughly 34,000 square feet and the proposed uses could include indoor vehicle maintenance, offices, warehousing and retail-facing space. Draeger said staff had calculated parking needs using a typical one-space-per-employee metric and estimated that, with paving and striping of the gravel area to the west, the property could meet parking standards.
Mike Forster, who identified himself as the owner of A Plus Environmental and Home Backup Systems, said his business needs more space. "We're just gonna be trying to improve the site," Forster said, and described plans to warehouse generators, park vehicles indoors and add five or six offices. He told the commission the staff-recommended conditions were acceptable.
Commissioners pressed for details about truck traffic, sidewalk timing and screening. Commissioner Ciccarelli asked whether heavy semi traffic was expected; Draeger and the applicant said operations would be qualitatively lighter than warehouse districts, consisting mainly of service trucks and vans that load periodically rather than continuous semi traffic. The presence of mature evergreen screening at the property edge was discussed; staff said aerial mapping suggested the trees may sit on the Jefferson property but they had not yet verified that by survey.
Members also discussed when sidewalks should be installed given a planned future reconstruction of Jefferson Street. Draeger said staff had suggested some timing flexibility to avoid requiring a sidewalk that would be torn up during roadwork, and described enforcement tools if a delayed sidewalk was not built: reminder letters, reinspection fees, citations and, as a last resort, revocation of a conditional use permit. "We do have many mechanisms before that," Draeger said.
Staff and the applicant agreed that some paving and marking would be required to meet the parking condition; Draeger noted that a final site plan and implementation schedule will clarify the exact work and timing. Because conditional use items require a public hearing and a later action, the commission did not vote on the permit at this meeting and expects the item to return for action at the next meeting in approximately two weeks.
Next steps: the applicant will provide a site plan and staff will return to the commission with conditions and required improvements for formal consideration.
