Plan Commission Report

To Washburn Town Board

January 10, 2023

1. Phil & Catlin Kraus’s county Class A Special Use Permit for constructing a residence in an Agriculture‑1 zoning district: At its October 4, 2022 meeting, the commission recommended that the town board recommend approval of this permit so long as the county application is consistent with the plan submitted in October for the driveway permit. The county application is consistent with the plan submitted to the town in October. Therefore, the commission recommends that the town board recommend approval of the county permit.

2. Marking the perimeter of the clay cap over the landfill on South Maple Hill Road. At its November meeting, the town board asked Kim Bro to check with Tom Cogger about examining shallow cores around the perimeter of the clay cap in order to mark the perimeterin order to assure that the cap will not be disturbed. This is especially important along the south edge, where some trees are growing through fill material. The fill may be from the excavation of the landfill trenches. If so, it is not clear where the sandy fill ends and the clay cap begins.

   Tom said he would not charge for his time to examine soil samples around the perimeter, but he recommended hiring his son Tommy to use his small excavator with a small bucket to collect samples. Tom said that Tommy’s small machine, used for woodland trail construction, would more effectively compact any clay that is removed from the cap than a manual coring process would allow. Tom recommended doing the project in the spring, after the ground is thawed but before the ground cover grows significantly.

   Kim will follow up with Sonny Zenter, the Department of Natural Resources Regional Engineer for Waste Management, to encourage his visiting the landfill site in the spring to determine the extent of restoration required for areas of subsidence in the clay cap.

Respectfully submitted by,

Kenneth Bro, chair