By Michael S. Hoey
CORRESPONDENT
The Delavan Town Board approved a temporary conditional use permit Jan. 22 for B.R. Amon and Sons to relocate its mobile asphalt plant to a bay pit at 2916 Elkhorn Road along Highway 67.
The plant is for work connected to Highway 50 road improvements between Williams Bay and Lake Geneva this year.
The board approved the permit request with these conditions recommended by the Plan Commission:
The permit is good for the 2013 construction season only. The plant will operate no more than 45 days. Hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. No work will be done on weekends or holidays.
Air emission requirements shall meet all compliance requirements of the Department of Natural Resources. An odor control agent will be used to minimize nuisance odors. Adequate dust control measures must be utilized.
Supervisor Kim Jedlicka said if neighbors have any concerns with the plant once it is operating, they should contact Town Administrator John Olson.
Variance request
The board also approved a variance request to allow remodeling that Jennifer Litowitz did on a boathouse at her property at 3240 North Shore Drive, the former Boy Scout camp, in 2011. Town Chairman Ryan Simons said the work done to the structure was related to the roof. Litowitz added a room within the structure but did not change the footprint of the building. Litowitz must still get approval from Walworth County.
Simons also addressed several concerns expressed in an email to the town by Ann Poole, a seasonal resident of the township.
Poole asked why the remodeling was allowed without the proper permitting. Simons said the project had all the proper permits it needed from the township. Olson said the work was done before building permits were received from the county. Now that the town has approved the variance, the county may as well but Litowitz will have to pay double the usual cost for the building permit. She may also face an additional fine from the county.
Poole also asked why the state Department of Natural Resources and the county were not more strict in the zoning process. Simons said no special consideration was given. The renovations remained within the existing footprint of the property. Olson agreed and said no new construction occurred closer to the lake that would warrant further scrutiny.
Lastly, Poole said in her email that Litowitz had been asked by the county to locate the boathouse in the middle of the property and she wanted to know why it had been allowed without county approval. Simons said that was a separate issue related to the county, and Olson again said a penalty will be owed because the project was completed before receiving county approval.
“I don’t think there was any special privilege,” Supervisor Chris Marsicano said. “There was nothing unusual or special about it.”
Building permit fees
The board approved increasing building permit fees to make its fee schedule more in line with surrounding communities. The new building permit fee for residential structures will be 20 cents per square foot. The City of Delavan charges 31 cents, the City of Elkhorn charges 27 cents plus a fee of $150, and the towns of Sugar Creek, Geneva and Lafayette charge 18 cents per square foot.
