RIVER FALLS – On June 8, the River Falls City Council approved an ordinance repealing and replacing a section of the municipal code that changes the process for granting special use permits.

Changes in state law make the change a requirement. Instead of going before both the Plan Commission and the City Council for approval, now special use permit decisions will be made by the Plan Commission alone. Appeals will be made to the Board of Appeals.

Before the board unanimously approved the ordinance, Alderperson Sean Downing proposed adding an informational public meeting to the special use permit process, since he worries that the new process limits public engagement. The meeting would be conducted by city staff and explain the process for SUPs, what to expect next and give developers a chance to explain what the SUP is for, he proposed.

“We would not know what the community feels as a whole,” Downing said.

He added that other cities do this and it would foster public engagement and transparency.

“This is remarkably important because this would fulfill our work we have for later this year for community engagement in the city’s comprehensive plan, specifically regarding the process of how SUPs work and create consistency with the process …” Downing said. “Doing this would keep our public comments and committee engagement in good, healthy condition, while educating the community in the process itself, treating the community with the care and respect it deserves, giving it transparency of how the process works, instead of losing the ability to be heard and leaving he public in the dark and frustrated.”

City Administrator Scot Simpson said that any public informational meeting held could not be about collecting data. He also pointed out that the Plan Commission would hold a public hearing still, so public engagement would not be lost.

“If this seems like this is abrupt and little complicated, and taking away our local control, that’s because it is,” Simpson said. “That was the intent.”

Downing also requested the city put a moratorium on special use permits until more research is done or his request is sent back to the Plan Commission for consideration.

City Attorney Gerhart said the city can’t prohibit someone from applying for a SUP when state law says that use is allowed if certain conditions are met.

The Plan Commission has held several workshops the past couple of years to discuss the 2017 Act 67, which impacts the city’s zoning ordinance. Act 67 requires any conditions placed on certain special uses be measurable, related to the ordinance’s purpose and based on substantial evidence. If an applicant for a SUP agrees to meet all requirements and conditions specified in the ordinance, the city must grant the SUP. The new state law says that one of three bodies may be the approval authority: The Plan Commission, the governing body, or a zoning board. According to a city memo, many communities are assigning SUP review to a Plan Commission to maintain a local route of appeal.

”The Plan Commission is considered to be a logical review authority given their familiarity with planning and zoning issues,” the memo states.

The amendment also includes a revocation process if a special use that has been granted is not following the conditions of a permit.

Of note:

•The council approved a developer’s agreement with Lot 1 Wasson Properties LLC for a new 11-unit townhome project on South Wasson Lane, just south of the soccer park. Developers Susan Loomis and Ron Raedeke plan to break ground this fall.

•The council approved a resolution to rescind the emergency declaration as a result of the Coronavirus, which went into effect Marcy 24, 2020.

•Toland reappointed Patricia LaRue to the Park and Recreation Advisory Board through May 2024

•Toland reappointed Kellen Wells-Mangold to the Utility Advisory Board through May 2024.

•The city council approved a resolution awarding a contract for janitorial services for city facilities to FBG Service Corporation in the amount of $68,772 for one year. They have been contracted with the city for the past nine years. Ten companies expressed interest, three attended mandatory building walkthroughs, and two submitted bids. The other bid was for $173,808 for one year.