DC zoning working on updates to shoreland-wetland ordinance
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Planning and Land Use (Zoning) Division is working on updates to the shoreland-wetland zoning ordinance that will most likely go into effect by next summer.
The county’s shoreland-wetland zoning ordinance was last amended in October of 2017, and since then, the state of Wisconsin has made a number of changes to state laws regulating shorelands and wetlands, said Tammy Traxler, planner and zoning enforcement officer, at the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee’s December 6 meeting.
The state first enacted the Wisconsin Water Resources Act in 1965, and in 1969, Dunn County enacted the Dunn County Shoreland Protection ordinance, Traxler said.
In 2010, the state completed a major rewrite of the state law and established minimum shoreland standards, she said.
In 2011, Act 170 became law, and there were other state legislative changes from 2015 to 2018, she said.
Dunn County shoreland zoning was repealed and recreated on June 17, 2015, and was amended October 19, 2016, and amended again on October 18, 2017, Traxler said.
The state Department of Natural Resources completed a new model shoreland ordinance in October of 2019, and in 2021, the state enacted Act 200, she said.
The proposal is to review and update Dunn County’s shoreland-wetland ordinance in 2023 and 2024, Traxler said, noting that along the way, the state determined that local ordinances cannot be more restrictive than state law.
Since 2017, Dunn County’s ordinance has fallen behind and must be made current, she said.
Currently, the zoning office uses Dunn County Chapter 14, state statutes 59.692 and 281.31, NR115 and several different legislative acts to administer shoreland-wetland zoning, she said.
“It gets clunky fast. It is difficult to determine what is more restrictive (than state law) and what is not,” Traxler said.
In addition, Dunn County has different maps for lakes, rivers and streams and for wetlands, and there is no overlay map, she said.
Two districts
Dunn County also has two districts in the ordinance: a shoreland district within 1,000 feet of the ordinary high water mark of a lake, pond or flowage, and a shoreland-wetland district that is 300 feet from the ordinary high water mark of a river or a stream and the landward side of a floodplain, Traxler said.
The ordinance must clarify the two districts: shoreland and shoreland-wetland, she said.
Dunn County’s ordinance currently is referencing shoreland-wetland but not shoreland, Traxler said.
Structures
Dunn County’s ordinance references single family dwellings, but that is more restrictive than the state because it does not allow for new commercial lots to be created, Traxler said.
Right now, Dunn County zoning must regulate state statute and not what is in the ordinance, she said.
The current ordinance is implying that Dunn County can regulate advertising signs in a shoreland area, because a sign is called a “structure” in the county ordinance, Traxler said.
State statute calls driveways a structure, and it becomes an issue when Dunn County starts regulating setbacks for driveways, which was not the intent of the ordinance, she said.
A structure must be set back 75 feet from the ordinary high water mark, but now that means driveways must be 75 feet back. Highway setbacks also are a problem because it was not intended to set back driveways from a highway, but based on the definition, a driveway is a structure, Traxler said.
Time frame
The time frame is to bring a draft of the ordinance with the changes to the next PR&D meeting to move the process along, Traxler said.
Winter is a slower time for the zoning office, and staff can capitalize on the time to get work done on the shoreland ordinance, she said.
The PR&D committee could review the amended ordinance at the December 20 meeting, and then the ordinance could be sent to the corporation counsel for review in January. A notice could be sent to the townships and other stakeholders in January as well, Traxler said.
The PR&D committee could review the draft ordinance in January, and the public hearing could be scheduled in February, and the draft ordinance could be sent to the DNR for review, she said.
The public hearing could be held in March, and then the draft ordinance could come to the executive committee and the Dunn County Board in March and April, Traxler said.
Amending the ordinance will not involve big policy changes, but how will it fit in for the zoning office to budget time for updating the county’s comprehensive land use plan? asked Mike Kneer, PR&D member and a county board supervisor from Menomonie.
Amending the shoreland ordinance is “doable” and it must be a priority. For the corporation counsel to review, the PR&D committee to review, and for the staff time to update the ordinance, it is “very doable,” Traxler said.
Workload
The zoning office staff would not bring more work to the PR&D committee and “make more work for ourselves if we did not think it was necessary,” said Anne Wodarczyk, Dunn County zoning administrator.
Several of the items that need changing in the ordinance are almost “at the emergency level,” and the changes are needed to operate the zoning office efficiently, she said.
The next discussion will bring more details, but the changes are logical changes that are cleaning up the language and making the ordinance more enforceable for the Dunn County zoning office, Wodarczyk said.
The state seems to have been modifying state regulations every year, so should Dunn County also be making those changes every year when the state makes the changes? asked Gary Bjork, PR&D member and a county board supervisor from Colfax.
“Hopefully not,” Traxler replied.
Some counties are modifying their ordinances as the state makes modifications, and some counties are letting the changes “build up” before making changes, she said.
The DNR has provided guidance that what is in the state statute, Dunn County has the authority to administer. If the county has to reference a state statue for a violation, then what is the strength of the county ordinance? Traxler said.
Would the changes to the ordinance be big enough to trigger some townships to get in or out of county zoning? Bjork asked.
The shoreland ordinance is a stand-alone ordinance that is an overlay, and it applies to every township in the county. The townships do not have a say in whether they fall under the shoreland ordinance, Traxler said.
DNR
The timeline seems optimistic for DNR review and approval, said Diane Morehouse, a member of the PR&D committee and county board supervisor from Menomonie.
Dunn County wants comments and input from the DNR and to incorporate those comments if possible. But Dunn County does not need DNR certification of the ordinance, Traxler said.
If there was a big issue with the amended ordinance, the DNR could say that the DNR would adopt an ordinance for Dunn County. The county can keep the DNR informed of the amendments, and if the PR&D committee wants the DNR to sign off on Dunn County’s ordinance, then that could be built into the timeframe, she said.
Tom Quinn, chair of the PR&D committee and county board supervisor from Downing, asked if working on the shoreland ordinance would significantly impact the timelines for other work, such as incorporating Accessory Dwelling Units into Dunn County’s zoning ordinance.
There are two planners in the zoning office, Wodarczyk and Traxler, Wodarczyk said, adding that she is working on the ADU ordinance and Traxler is working on the shoreland ordinance.
“We have a team, and we’re working together,” she said.
Monica Berrier, a member of the PR&D committee and county board supervisor from Menomonie, asked for some clarification on single family dwellings in the shoreland ordinance.
The ordinance has lot regulations for single family dwellings, so the question is, can Dunn County regulate lot standards for another use, such as commercial, Traxler said.
Uses are not regulated by shoreland zoning, however; the county’s zoning ordinance regulates uses, she said.
No members of the PR&D committee objected to moving forward with the update for the shoreland ordinance.
The PR&D committee is expected to discuss the shoreland ordinance again at the December 20 meeting.
