DC working on contractor storage ordinance
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Dunn County may soon have a contractor storage ordinance that would allow the storage of construction or service equipment and other materials in residential or general agricultural zoning by special exception.
Contractor storage might not be especially compatible with residential zoning, and if the storage is allowed in residential areas, the concerns could be offset by requiring the storage to not be within 300 feet of a residence and to require a fence to obscure the view of the contractor storage, said Anne Wodarczyk, Dunn County zoning administrator, at the Dunn County Planning, Resource and Development Committee’s June 28 meeting.
Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and a member of the PR&D committee, asked about the commercial or industrial zoning for a business.
The contractor storage ordinance is designed not to have a business on the property but to have storage for the business. The business itself would be located in commercial zoning, Wodarczyk said.
Bjork noted that he was “thinking about the business on Highway 25.”
In February of this year, the Dunn County Board denied a request for a rezone from General Agriculture to General Commercial that would have allowed Classic Protective Coatings to store commercial equipment on adjacent land zoned as agricultural.
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 currently residential and agricultural, Wodarczyk said at the February county board meeting.
The idea for a contractor storage ordinance was related to Witke’s request for a rezone from agricultural to commercial to allow storage for his business.
Contractors
The proposed ordinance would allow contractors engaged in property management services to have storage space, including but not limited to lawn, pool and garden care; snow plowing and removal; and tree trimming and removal.
Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee, asked why there was a limitation on painting contractors.
The draft of the ordinance includes “but not limited to” so a painting contractor, like the business on Highway 25, could store equipment on site, Wodarczyk said.
The ordinance would not allow any manufacturing or other work on site, she said.
Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the PR&D committee said he believed allowing contractor storage in Residential-1 zoning “is a stretch” and that the storage would be more compatible with General Agriculture.
Screening
The proposed ordinance would require that the storage be screened by plantings or fences, Wodarczyk said.
If the storage is in R1, then screening done by fences or plantings seems like it would a good idea, but is screening needed in General Agriculture? asked Monica Berrier, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
If the storage is out in the open and is not in a building, it would be reasonable for neighbors to expect that the storage would be screened from nearby residences, Quinn said.
The ordinance would not apply to exclusive agricultural zoning, and houses are allowed in General Agricultural zoning, Wodarczyk said.
The contractor storage would be allowed by special exception, so the Dunn County Zoning Board of Adjustment could impose additional conditions, she said.
Contractor storage would be a commercial use in an agricultural area, with some restrictions, and that seems reasonable, Quinn said.
Wodarczyk said she was waiting for a legal opinion on the proposed ordinance from the corporation counsel and that she also wanted opinions on the proposed ordinance from the townships in Dunn County.
The development and review process for the proposed ordinance will continue moving forward, Quinn said.
