By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Are general commercial zoning districts in Dunn County a suitable place for non-owner occupied residential development?
Mike Kneer, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee, said at the May 24 PR&D committee meeting that he was on the Town of Menomonie Plan Commission when the town’s zoning map was updated in 2015, and residential development was not allowed in general commercial districts.
In 2017, the PR&D committee approved a change that would allow non-owner occupied residential development in commercial districts, he said.
The issue came to the forefront when Robert Rosendahl bought the property for the proposed Idella Ridge residential development in the Town of Menomonie, Kneer said.
Rosendahl recently applied for a rezone from General Commercial to Residential 2 for the Idella Ridge project because he did not want to own all of the houses built in the development.
The Dunn County Board approved the rezone at the May 18 meeting.
The developer was using criteria for residential where the Town of Menomonie did not plan to have residential development, said Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the PR&D committee.
Where?
If non-owner occupied residential is taken out of General Commercial zoning, then should it be put somewhere else in the zoning code? asked Ann Wodarczyk, Dunn County zoning administrator.
Non-owner occupied residential might not be compatible with other residential, she said.
Kneer said he assumed he could own a duplex in R2 zoning but not live in the duplex.
The definitions in the zoning code only show non-owner occupied residential in General Commercial zoning, Wodarczyk said.
Dunn County has a significant housing shortage, said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
The Housing Advisory Task Force will be meeting in two weeks. There should be some way to have zoning for multi-family residential, she said.
Kneer clarified that when he said the Town of Menomonie did not want non-owner occupied residential in General Commercial, that did not mean the township did not want duplexes or other multi-family residential.
Monica Berrier, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee, said she had identified two concerns: the aesthetics of multi-family housing and well contamination from septic systems.
Those two concerns were identified in the surveys of Town of Menomonie residents for the land use plan but there also was a concern that multi-family residential would decrease surrounding property values, Kneer said.
Residential in a General Commercial zoning district was never intended to be owner-occupied. The rental property would be considered a business, Wodarczyk said.
Could the non-owner occupied residential be taken out of General Commercial and put into Residential 3? asked Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and a member of the PR&D committee.
Lot sizes
Rosendahl said there was no minimum lot size in general commercial for duplexes, Kneer said.
The limitation is that there must be room for a septic system, Quinn said.
Dunn County’s new land division ordinance requires 30,000 square feet of buildable area, Wodarczyk said.
Rosendahl made his proposal under the old land division ordinance. If he brought the proposal now, it would more difficult to have non-owner occupied residential in General Commercial under the new land division ordinance, she said.
In zoned townships, under the new land division ordinance, a minimum of 30,000 square feet of contiguous buildable area is required, and in unzoned townships, lot sizes are a minimum of one acre, said Tom Carlson, county surveyor, noting that 30,000 square feet is about 7/10th of an acre.
In the Town of Menomonie, under the zoning ordinance, there is no minimum lot size, but each lot must have 30,000 contiguous square feet of buildable area, he said.
How would the minimum lot size apply to a 12-unit apartment building? Quinn asked.
If there are multiple multi-family residential units owned by one owner, the development is acceptable in General Commercial, and a minimum lot size is useful, he said.
A separate lot is needed for each structure intended for residential use with a minimum of 30,000 contiguous square feet of buildable area, Carlson said.
Under R2, an owner could have a duplex, live in one side and rent out the other side or could rent out both sides, Kneer said.
Non-owner occupied residential is restricted in General Commercial but is allowed in other districts. If non-owner occupied residential is taken out of General Commercial, then no residential development would be allowed in General Commercial, Wodarczyk said.
Berrier asked about the mechanisms available under county zoning to deal with water quality issues in residential development.
If all residential development was required to connect to sewer and water, that would be saying no rural housing is allowed in Dunn County, Morehouse said.
The standards for septic systems are set by the state of Wisconsin, Quinn said, noting that Neil Koch, a retired hydro-geologist, says septic systems should not be installed in highly permeable soil.
Wodarczyk said she would like to do some research on the topic so she could be better prepared to discuss the issue with the PR&D committee.
Quinn acknowledged that Wodarczyk has a heavy work load but asked that she conduct more research as time allows and then bring the issue of non-owner occupied residential development in General Commercial districts back to the PR&D committee for further discussion.
