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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes December 18,2001 • Page 9 1 Chair Melsha stated that he did not like to table things, but feels that, under the 2 circumstances, it would be beneficial to table the issue at this time. 3 4 Vice Chair Stille indicated that he wanted to work with Essenco, as well as the 5 community. He stated that shutting down the operation would be hard on their business. 6 7 Commissioner Hanson noted that it would be necessary to have the operation running in 8 order for the experts to accurately assess the odor. 9 10 Commissioner Steeves agreed that it would be difficult for Essenco to remain in limbo. 11 12 Solie suggested a period of time for the company to operate and determine if there was a 13 problem, and then go in and solve the problem. 14 15 Doug Tanner stated that Essenco made a mistake,and should not be able to operate at 16 this point. He added that perhaps the Commission could make a decision that would 17 allow the operation to continue, and that smell was the only issue for him. 18 19 Levitus stated that Tanner made a good point that all that the residents do not want is the 20 smell. He added that there needed to be an index from which to determine the smell, 21 which St. Croix Sensory could provide. 22 23 Carol Patrick, 3633 Edward Street, stated that her concern was that an independent 24 contractor would make the decision for the community. 25 26 Chair Melsha suggested that they have a 120-day period for which to operate along with 27 attached conditions: 28 • Consultant approved by the City. 29 • Applicants take whatever necessary measures to diminish the smell. 30 • After 120 days hold a public hearing to determine if the use is injurious to health 31 and property values, if not, whether any additional conditions should be set at that 32 time. 33 34 Commissioner Steeves suggested that they have received nothing but confidence that 35 Solie and Levitus would take any necessary measure to solve the problem at their own 36 expense. He suggested that they grant the conditional use permit, find that the odor is 37 injurious to property owners, and state that the conditional use permit would always be 38 up for review, and a 120-day hearing upon every two residential complaints. 39 40 Chair Melsha clarified that the standard is that the Planning Commission make a 41 judgement based on a public hearing. Commissioner Steeves added that the standard is 42 that it is found tonight that the odor is injurious to residential property owners. 43 44 Vice Chair Stille asked for Smith's opinion. Smith stated that there might be some 45 difficulty in assessing if there is evidence at this time to support the conclusion that odor 46 is injurious to residential properties. 47