By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Board has denied a request for a rezone from General Agriculture to General Commercial that would allow Classic Protective Coatings to store commercial equipment on what is now zoned as ag land.
Granting a rezone to commercial for business owner Ray Witke for 3.2 acres north of Menomonie on state Highway 25 in the Town of Sherman would not fit in with the development trend in the neighborhood, which is now residential and agricultural, said Ann Wodarczyk, Dunn County zoning administrator, at the county board’s February 16 meeting.
Commercial also is not part of the comprehensive land use plan for that part of the Town of Sherman, and granting a rezone would increase compatibility issues that were initially made worse by a previous spot zoning, she said.
The Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee held a public hearing on the rezone request on January 11 and recommended that the county board deny the rezone.
Witke started the business as a home-based business, and the issue is that the business has grown to the point where he is storing commercial equipment on land zoned agricultural, said Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the PR&D committee.
Contractor storage of equipment is not allowed on any of the agricultural zoning in Dunn County, he said.
A rezone is not a good idea because then the parcel is opened up to a whole variety of uses that may not be compatible with the community, Quinn said.
One solution would be to develop a county ordinance for contractor storage that would allow equipment to be stored on agricultural land, he said.
If the county board upholds the denial of the rezone, then the PR&D committee will begin working on a contractor storage ordinance, Quinn said.
Rezoning now would be a mistake because it would bring up problems in the future, he said.
James Anderson, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee said he had voted “no” on denying the rezone at the PR&D committee meeting because the Sherman Town Board was in support of the rezone.
Anderson said after hearing Quinn’s comments about the contractor storage ordinance, “I hope we can make it work.”
Ground contamination
Robert Bauer, county board supervisor from Mondovi, asked about the nature of the business and whether there would be any ground contamination from storing equipment.
Classic Protective Coatings is an industrial coating business that does off-site work on water towers and tanks in many locations in Wisconsin and beyond, Quinn said.
The business is not really a “home business” anymore. Mixing and preparation work takes place on site, but most of the activity is off-site, he said.
Public hearing
Mike Rogers, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said he was concerned that the applicant was not able to make a presentation to the county board and that the applicant should be able to speak during the public comments.
The county board has a responsibility to make informed decisions, he said.
Rogers said he would have liked to have heard from the applicant and from the neighbors and that he did not agree with limiting public comment because it takes too much time.
During the public hearing on January 11 during the PR&D meeting, there was no one present to make public comments or to speak for or against the rezone request.
Members of the public can send e-mail messages making public comment, can call into the meeting or can arrange to appear at the meeting through the Zoom platform.
The only public comment received at the January 11 meeting and read into the record pertained to well water testing in the Town of Colfax.
The Dunn County Board adopted an ordinance in October of 2019 prohibiting public comments during county board meetings or committee meetings on any topic for which a public hearing has already been held.
During public hearings, which are subject to public notice requirements under state law, people are sworn in before they give their testimony.
The public hearing participants are under oath when they testify and when they submit exhibits.
The committee holding the public hearing is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity.
When the committee closes the public hearing, no more comments can be made about the topic at hand.
If people speak during the public comments portion of the Dunn County Board meeting, or at a committee meeting, about something that was the topic of a public hearing, they are presenting additional testimony outside of the public hearing, and that could create legal problems for the county relating to the state’s Open Meetings Law.
Public hearing notices in Dunn County contain the following statement: “This is the only opportunity to address the county regarding this request, as such interested persons are invited to attend said hearing and be heard.”
The public hearing was held under proper notice, so all interested people have had a fair chance to speak, noted Donald Kuether, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
Spot zoning
Charles Maves, county board supervisor from Boyceville, said he drives past Classic Protective Coatings every day and asked for a better understanding of spot zoning.
Maves said he understood that granting commercial zoning would open up the parcel to many other opportunities for development beyond the storage of contractor equipment.
Spot zoning is a change in zoning that is for the benefit of the landowner but is a detriment to adjacent and nearby landowners and is not consistent with other parcels nearby, Wodarczyk said.
If the Town of Sherman finishes the township’s comprehensive land use plan, the area along state Highway 25 could be designated as commercial, said Ann Vogl, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
If the comprehensive plan designates that area as commercial, the applicant can petition for a rezone again and go through the process — how far along is the Town of Sherman in developing the comprehensive plan? she asked.
Wodarczyk said she had talked to the town chair, and although he had not indicated a timeline, the township is working on updating the land use plan.
Having a comprehensive plan from the Town of Sherman indicating that area along Highway 25 is intended for commercial development “would have helped,” she said.
Classic Protective Coatings “drives all over the country” to refresh water towers, said Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
Highway 25 is a good location for economic development because it is easy access along a state highway, he said.
Contractor storage
John Calabrese, county board supervisor from Menomonie, asked for more information about an ordinance for contractor storage areas.
The idea would be to allow contractor storage of equipment in general agriculture areas, and perhaps other in other zoning designations, Quinn said.
Any business would be able to apply for a special exception for outside storage, and the business could then move a storage area to another property without changing the zoning, he said.
If a township designates an area as commercial or light industrial, then that would make it easier to rezone, Quinn said.
A special exception for contractor storage would be a solution for the community and for the business, he said.
If the rezone is denied, will Witke’s business be penalized for the equipment currently stored on agricultural land? Calabrese asked.
The intention is for the county to work with the business owner and to use the current arrangement until a contractor storage ordinance is in place, Quinn said.
Rezone
The business owner asked for a rezone a few years ago, and the concern then was that the business was close to the lake, Kneer said.
There was no other way for him to expand and develop his business except through a rezone, but this is totally different, he said.
In this case, a rezone is not required to keep the business working, Kneer said.
The contractors storage ordinance allows the business to continue so that “he gets everything he needs, and nothing would change,” he said, adding that it is “an excellent solution” and that the intention is “not to hold anyone back.”
Farm equipment
Vaughn Hedlund, county board supervisor from Boyceville, asked how this business was different from all of the commercial farm implement providers who do custom work.
There are custom combines, wagons and turf rollers stored all over the county, he said.
Do all of those areas need to be rezoned? Hedlund asked.
General Agriculture and Intensive Agriculture zoning protects the ability of ag operations to continue working, Quinn said.
Any of the agricultural zoning provides provisions for ag functions to have specific consideration, and an agricultural contracting business is different than an industrial use, he said.
Back to committee
Maves wondered how the county board could proceed with sending the contractor’s storage ordinance to the PR&D committee to work on.
This is an issue that has been showing up, so it is appropriate to extend the zoning ordinance to include a contractor storage area, said Nick Lange, Dunn County corporation counsel.
Extending the ordinance for contractor storage will not open the door to commercial zoning. Once a parcel is zoned commercial, it is commercial, he said.
Lange said he had talked to the zoning administrator and that he is ready to “bring language” for the contractor storage ordinance to the PR&D committee for consideration.
If the county board does not uphold the denial of the rezone, then the issue is automatically remanded back to the PR&D committee to draft an ordinance to grant the rezone, Lange noted.
The motion to deny the rezone from General Agriculture to Commercial for Classic Protective Coatings was approved by the Dunn County Board on a voice vote.
Town of Tainter
In other business, the Dunn County Board granted a rezone in the Town of Tainter for Christine Oest from General Agriculture to Residential 1 to allow Oest to convey land to adjoining property owners.
The Tainter Town Board and the Tainter Plan Commission have both approved the rezone request.
The rezone is consistent with the land use plan and fits the development pattern in the area, Wodarczyk said.
The parcel is not affected by floodplains, wetlands or farmland preservation, she said.
