Non-owner occupied dwellings may soon be eliminated from commercial zoning districts in Dunn County
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Non-owner-occupied single family and multi-family dwellings may soon be eliminated from commercial zoning districts in Dunn County.
The Dunn County Board accepted for a first reading at the July 26 meeting an amendment to the county’s comprehensive zoning ordinance that would eliminate non-owner occupied dwellings in limited commercial districts and would allow a single-family residence as an accessory use to a business in a commercial district.
Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee, noted that non-owner occupied dwellings — or in other words, rental units — had been included in the revision of the comprehensive zoning code adopted in 2017.
The PR&D Committee has spent substantial time discussing the issue at multiple meetings over the past six months or so.
Michael Kneer, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D Committee, who once was a member of the plan commission in the Town of Menomonie, had noted early on that allowing non-owner occupied dwellings in commercial districts undermined the town’s ability to direct where single and multi-family residential units could be built.
The Town of Menomonie has many parcels that are identified in the town’s land use plan as appropriate for future commercial development that are not necessarily compatible with, or desirable for, residential development, he said.
If a developer wants to build single-family or multi-family rental units, the developer can always apply for a rezone to residential, which would put the Town of Menomonie in a better position to direct residential development, Kneer had said.
The proposed ordinance would repeal from Section 13.2.9.01(first paragraph) of the comprehensive zoning ordinance: “Non-owner occupied single family and/or multi-family dwellings shall be included in the 3,000 square foot restriction.”
Section 13.2.9.03(b) of the comprehensive zoning ordinance would be repealed, which reads “Non-owner occupied dwelling, including single and multi-family dwellings (01/18/2017).”
Section 13.2.9.04(a), the section on permitted accessory uses, would be repealed and recreated to read as follows: (a) A single-family residence, only as an accessory to a principal use.”
Section 13.2.9.05(b), which is the section on permitted accessory structures of the comprehensive zoning ordinance, would be repealed and recreated to read as follows: “A single-family residence, located on the same parcel as the principal use provided that the use of the residence is the accessory use rather than the primary use.”
The Dunn County Board will consider whether to approve the proposed comprehensive zoning ordinance changes at the September meeting.
