The Caledonia City Council held hearings on both the subdivision and rezoning of a parcel of land at their regular May 22 meeting. The property, located at the southwest corner of the Caledonia Lumber parcel, was at the center of a request to subdivide a parcel. The buyers are planning on constructing a full service gym on the property.
Public works and zoning director, Casey Klug, informed the council that the parcel would meet the minimum requirements for lot size. The county says the driveway for the property will need to be located a bit down the hill from where it was initially planned.
Andy Allen spoke at the hearing about the subdivision, noting that he and his wife are in support of the project and hope the city can make it work for the buyers. Allen asked if the city or the county would be in control of the speed limit near the property. Allen was hopeful that the speed limit would remain 35 mph until past his place. Klug said the city would need to talk to the county about that.
Allen asked a few more questions about the proposed gym. He wondered if it was a 24-hour facility and was told it would be. He asked about the building size and height and learned it would be a one-story structure about 16 feet tall with a footprint of about 140 by 70 feet at most.
Allen also asked about utilities. The electricity will be single phase and should be no issue. The water and sewer will need more work. The area has been underserved, according to Klug. A feasibility report will need to be done before proceeding. Klug noted everything falls in line with the city planning.
After closing the hearing and reopening the regular meeting, the council approved the subdivision. Following that, the council once again closed the regular meeting to open the hearing on the rezoning of the property. With no public comments, the council closed the rezoning hearing and reopened the regular meeting once again. The council approved the rezoning of the property from agricultural to B-2 highway business.
They next addressed the land use permit for the parcel. Following Klug’s recommendation, the council approved the land use permit with the contingency of getting water and sewer to the project. City Clerk Jake Dickson pointed out that the city has studied the possibility of a water extension in the area twice in the past.
Construction on the building is not expected to begin until next April.
Public comments
Ancy Hellickson addressed the council with three comments. Hellickson felt the city has done an excellent job overall on Main Street and Grove Street, but she’s concerned about the upkeep of the building which currently houses Country Charm Crafts. In her opinion, if action isn’t taken soon on the brick, trim, and roof of the building, it will soon not be repairable. She felt that the citizens of the city need to be made aware of the condition of the building. Mayor Schroeder shared that the building had been discussed at a recent EDA meeting. Funding is available from the EDA if the property owner wants to take advantage of it.
Hellickson also wanted to know when the gas company was going to come and repair lawn damage from last year. Casey Klug informed her that the gas company has been doing some fixing lately, but they still have 180 more services to do in the area before completing their work of replacing lines.
The last comment by Hellickson was to sincerely thank the city for fixing the potholes on the street in front of her driveway.
Other business
In other business, the council:
•Heard from Jake Dickson that they need to do some updates to the ambulance ordinance; this needs to take place as Caledonia works toward taking ownership of the Spring Grove ambulance license;
•Learned the city will not need to update any ordinances to cover recreational marijuana;
•Chose not to waive the tort limits as they renewed the city liability insurance;
•Accepted all six applicants to the planning committee.
The next Caledonia City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m., Monday, June 12, in the city hall council chambers. The public is welcome to attend.
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