Cadott Village Board; Portable storage units for temporary use only
By Julia Wolf
A final decision on what should, and should not, be allowed under village ordinances concerning portable storage units, was decided. The Cadott Village Board heard committee recommendations on the subject, as well as from members of the public, before approving the ordinance, during a regular meeting Dec. 6.
A Planning and Development Committee meeting was held prior to the regular meeting, to discuss the issue and form a recommendation for the full board.
When it comes to more permanency with the units, Randy Kuehni, committee member, suggested they allow portable storage container use on residential properties on a case-by-case basis, depending on lot size and if the container is made to look nice.
“If it’s a temporary storage, it’s a temporary storage,” said committee member Terry Licht, adding he does not think they should be permanent storage at all.
Kuehni says quonset buildings and tarp sheds are also supposed to be temporary, but they sometimes get left up permanently, too.
Anson Albarado, board president, who was on hand to listen to the committee meeting, says he thinks consistency is the most important, and they need to either allow the storage containers in the village, or not allow them at all.
Committee member Bart Chapek says he thinks the containers could look nice, if effort is put into them, but agreed a case-bycase basis could be difficult to manage. With that in mind, Chapek agreed that they should be temporary.
At the start of the public comment, clerk Sandy Buetow noted the containers would be allowed, under conditional use, in commercial and industrial areas, as part of the ordinance.
“My personal opinion is, I think we’re going to create more problems than what it is going to solve,” said Gary Rykal, Cadott resident, adding he does not think the containers look very nice sitting in yards.
Donna Rykal agreed that storage containers don’t seem like the best solution to too much stuff.
Lance Girard, Cadott resident, said he would like to see the storage containers allowed in on a case-by-case basis, as he would like to use two shipping containers to create a workshop. He says it is a more economical solution than building something, right now.
“I don’t want it to look like a shipping container,” said Girard.
He says he would like to match the color to the rest of the house and add a rooftop deck.
Licht reiterated that the storage containers are meant to be temporary.
Buetow suggested a few changes to the way the storage container ordinance was presented, after discussing the potential ordinance with members of the public works department. One change suggested for dis- cussion, was allowing up to two temporary PODs when moving.
“If somebody is going to move, they probably need more than one,” said Buetow.
Another change discussed, concerned the placement of the units. The ordinance, as presented, allowed placement on gravel, asphalt, concrete, or similar hard surface. Buetow says she and public works employees though placement on grass would maybe be OK, too, based on different situations.
Licht said he thinks the storage containers should only be allowed on hard surfaces, such as a driveway, because there is a better chance they will be moved in a timely matter.
“I think if you put gravel, asphalt, whatever down, you’re more likely to see that thing sit there forever, because they already got a base underneath of it,” said Kuehni.
Board member Eric Weiland says some lots have no where to put anything, other than in the grass, without the container blocking efforts to move other items in and out of the residence.
“I just don’t know how you can cover all the different scenarios,” said board member Russ Falkenberg.
Finally, under notification, Buetow says they thought the notice of the unit should be filed as a building permit, prior to placement, but without the fee. Members agreed that is a good way to monitor how long the container has been in place. The proposed ordinance also allows for time extensions, if needed.
Following the discussion, board members voted in favor of the ordinance for portable storage containers, with the recommended changes of filing for the building permit and allowing two PODs during temporary use. The placement changes were not acted on.
Buetow also explained that the ordinance establishing standards for sports courts had been discussed and approved previously by the board. Buetow says the ordinance is brought up again, because it involves zoning and needs a hearing. Board members suspended the second reading and approved the ordinance as presented.
The 2022 levy and mill rate were also approved. The levy was set at $2,030,187.31 and the net mill rate was set at $21.09 per thousand.
“So, it went down just a little bit from last year,” said Buetow.
Members also approved Cadott Lions Club deer carcass disposal to be allowed annually, pending no issues. Licht, who is also a Lion, says the club saw more use than expected with the service and would like to do a roll-off dumpster in future years, to make clean-up easier.
The board also tabled deciding on the Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC) inspector options with the county, as they stated they would like to look into other options before making a decision.
Members also tabled reassigning engineering consulting services from Krause Power Engineering to EPS Engineering & Design, until they get more information from others who have worked with EPS before. Buetow says the change is proposed, since Krause sold to EPS and the consulting engineer Cadott has used in the past, is switching to EPS.
Kuehni reported the Planning and Development Committee met to discuss the library plans. They discussed grants, as well as the need to work with an engineer for timelines.
Under correspondence, Albarado reported property sold at the northeast corner of state hwys. 29 and 27. Chapek says the property was purchased by Kwik Trip, and there are some negotiations to be done, but a Kwik Trip could be up in the next few years.
Albarado reminded everyone the process could take a while and also depends on what the company asks of the village.
In an update on if curb and gutter are needed on Brown Street, Buetow says she checked the ordinances and did not see anything that requires curb and gutter.
Buetow also gave an update on a 323 Maple Street residence, as the Code of Ordinances procedure is in place for the property, to ensure the property gets fixed and safe. Buetow says the property owner has been in contact with a contractor to do the needed work.
