TOWN OF CONCORD PLAN COMMISSION MINUTES
January 24, 2024
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. with Plan Commission members Jim Gilbert, Sally Williams, Kim Miller, Lloyd Zastrow and Dave Wegner present.
The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Sally Williams stated that the meeting had been properly posted.
Jim Gilbert made a motion to approve the minutes from November 22, 2023 meeting, second by Dave Wegner. All approved. Motion passed.
The committee continued discussion of the speed limit changes listed in Town Ordinances Ch. 7 Traffic Code. Speed limits are fixed by State statute 346.57 at 55 mph on most town roads and 35 mph if driveways/ buildings are < 150 apart. Input from the Town’s Association attorney indicated that all speed limit changes from those fixed in state statue must be backed up by a traffic study and then passed by ordinance. While some of the speed limit changes in Concord were passed by ordinance and some are longstanding (30 years or more), none had traffic studies to back them up. Kim identified a number of speed limit changes in past Town Board minutes which were enacted solely by a vote of the town board with no ordinance passed. These include North Side Dr (decreased to 45 mph in Sept. 2005), Bakertown Rd. (decreased to 45 mph on July 2006), Inlynd Dr. (decreased to 35 mph in Sept. 2019). Jim Gilbert said that Pioneer Dr. has been posted as 45 mph for many years.
The town clerk is reaching out to the Town’s Association attorney again to determine whether or not some of the speed limit changes may be valid if they were done before the current state statues were enacted. The committee will wait for her answer and also reach out to the county highway commissioner and the state DOT to determine what speed limits in the town are set legally and which may need to be revisited.
The committee discussed parking regulations/ restrictions. According to information from the Town’s Association attorney, the Town can adopt parking regulations for town roads but they must be passed by ordinance. The town has established a small no parking area on Concord Center Dr, and also no parking on Inlynd Dr. (Nov. 2023). However, these were enacted by a vote of the Town Board only and not by ordinance. These may need to be revisited.
The remainder of Ch. 7 was reviewed including sections on Snowmobiling, prohibitions, Boating on Golden Lake, Penalties, and Enforcement. Few changes were made and statutory references were updated. The ordinance on ATV/ UTV use has not been updated in the chapter. This ordinance was originally passed in 2019 but was repealed and replaced in 2021. Sally has reached out to Brian Neuman for a copy of the updated ordinance.
With no further business, Jim Gilbert made a motion to adjourn, second by Kim Miller. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Sally Williams, secretary