Dunn County Board unanimously approves ADU zoning ordinance amendment
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by LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Board has unanimously approved the zoning ordinance amendment on a second reading that allows Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
Nearly 20 people spoke in favor of ADUs during the public comments portion of the July 31 meeting of the county board.
The Dunn County Board has a rule prohibiting public comments during county board meetings on agenda items for which there has already been a public hearing.
Since there has already been a public hearing on ADUs before the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee, but because there is a sizable public interest about ADUs, the Dunn County Board suspended the public comments rule.
The county board adopted the rule because of the Open Meetings law to avoid extending a public hearing that already been advertised as required by law, held and then closed for public comment.
All of the people who spoke about ADUs were in favor of the zoning ordinance amendment, and many of those making public comments talked about how an ADU would be beneficial for their family.
Some of those making public comments said ADUs would help their elderly parents, who wanted to downsize or to move to the area to be closer to their adult children, while others spoke about the need for more housing and that their adult children could not find houses to buy or could not afford to purchase the houses on the market.
One woman, who was an only child, said her elderly parents wanted to move to the area, and that it would be critical for her mother, who was disabled in an industrial accident 40 years ago and has become more disabled over time, to live close to family who could help her.
Bob Cook, chair of the Town of Red Cedar, had been one of those advocating that the townships have parallel authority to approve ADUs as a special exception approved by the Dunn County Zoning Board of Adjustment.
During the public comments, Cook said he believed the county zoning office’s plan to communicate about proposed ADUs with the towns before zoning permits were issued, which would allow the towns to give some insight about a particular location for an ADU, would go a long way toward alleviating the concerns.
Another review
At the June county board meeting, a proposal had been made for ADUs to be allowed by special exception rather than by zoning permit and so that townships could have parallel approval authority for ADUs.
Following the comments last month, the Planning, Resources and Development Committee placed ADUs on the agenda for another review of the proposed ordinance, said Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and chair of the PR&D committee.
Bob Cook and Gene Ruenger, chair of the Town of Lucas, were at the PR&D committee meeting, he noted.
Ann Wodarczyk, Dunn County planner and zoning administrator, had compiled a summary of the important points about the ordinance that address the concerns that have been expressed by town governments about ADUs, Quinn said.
Wodarczyk told the county board members that she had put together a Frequently Asked Questions presentation based on the questions she has received over the process of developing the zoning ordinance amendment.
An ADU will be placed on the same property as a single family dwelling and will provide housing options for landowners, she said.
Many people have come to the zoning office to talk about housing solutions for elderly parents or adult children, but the current zoning ordinance does not allow families to help each other in the way they would prefer, Wodarczyk said.
“I don’t like to tell people no,” she said.
The 2023 housing study showed that people have a desire to build ADUs and that there is generally a desire for more housing in Dunn County, Wodarczyk said.
ADUs will support various family structures and needs, will provide a more efficient use of parcels that are already used for housing and will help preserve the rural character by limiting the sprawl of development, she said.
ADU rules
Wodarczyk outlined the rules that would apply to building ADUs:
• ADUs are not allowed in Residential-1 zoning.
• Only one ADU per parcel, and an ADU cannot be built on a parcel that already has a duplex.
• The same permit fees apply as for single family housing.
• The size of the ADU is measured on the outside of the structure and includes porches and sunrooms.
• An ADU can be no more than 1,200 square feet and must be smaller than the primary dwelling.
• The ADU must be located within 300 linear feet of the main dwelling.
• The ADU must be connected either to a septic system (a separate septic for the ADU or connected to a septic system large enough to handle the primary dwelling and the ADU) or it must be connected to a public wastewater system.
• ADUs proposed to be located on less than a one-acre parcel must demonstrate that the ADU will meet the setback requirements and the regulations for a Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (POWTS).
• An ADU must comply with the Uniform Dwelling Code.
• An ADU cannot be sold separately unless the property can be legally subdivided.
• The property owner must record a deed restriction that prohibits conversion to a condominium and also lets future property owners know that the ADU cannot be sold separately unless the parcel can be legally subdivided into two parcels. For example, an ADU and a primary dwelling on one acre could not be legally subdivided into two parcels because Dunn County’s land division ordinance requires a one-acre minimum.
Density
ADUs will count as one residential unit.
General Agriculture zoning in Dunn County sets residential density at 1:8, Wodarczyk said.
A residential density of 1:8 does not mean that a parcel must be eight acres, but instead limits residential to one house per eight acres.
For example, if a 40-acre parcel were divided into five parcels of eight acres each, there could be five dwellings, Wodarczyk said.
A 40-acre parcel could also be divided into four parcels of three acres each and one parcel of 28 acres, and there still could only be five residential units. The remaining 28 acres of the parent tract could not be further subdivided.
The number of residential units remains the same, no matter how many parcels a 40-acre parcel is divided into, Wodarczyk said.
For example, a 40-acre parcel could be divided into eight parcels of five acres each, but only five of those eight parcels could have residential dwellings.
ADUs would be counted as a separate dwelling unit, Wodarczyk said.
If a 40-acre parcel that has been divided into five parcels has five houses built on the parcels, there could be no ADUs built.
If, for example, three houses were built on the five parcels of eight acres each, and one house built an ADU, then only one house could be built on the remaining two parcels.
ADUs also will count toward density in Residential-2 and Residential-3 zoning districts, Wodarczyk said.
Single family dwellings are allowed in General Ag, R-2 and R-3, and where there is a single-family primary dwelling, an ADU would be allowed, she said.
Each individual independent dwelling unit is counted as one dwelling unit, Wodarczyk said.
For parcels in R-2 zoning that already have a duplex, there can be no ADU. If the property owner builds a duplex, then there are already two dwelling units on the property, she said.
In R-3, an apartment building must have three or more dwelling units, and where there are already three or more dwelling units, an ADU would not be allowed, Wodarczyk said.
Duplexes also are allowed in R-3 zoning, but the duplex still already counts as two dwelling units.
Zoning vs. conditional use
A zoning permit costs $200, and a conditional use application (special exception) costs $800, Wodarczyk said.
The conditional use permit application is more expensive because it requires more staff time and also requires publication of the public hearing notice in the newspaper, she said.
A zoning permit will generally be issued in one to two weeks but a conditional use permit can take more than 60 days, Wodarczyk said.
The extra time for the conditional use permit application is to allow time for the publication of the public hearing notice and for the next meeting of the Dunn County Zoning Board of Adjustment.
A revocation of a conditional use permit requires a hearing by the Board of Adjustment, but a zoning permit can be revoked by the zoning office, Wodarczyk said.
The Board of Adjustment can apply additional standards and conditions as long as the standards and conditions address public health, safety and welfare, she said.
With a conditional use, the towns are asked for recommendations and options, Wodarczyk noted.
Small step
Many of the people who spoke at the county board meeting have also been speaking at the PR&D committee meetings over the last six to eight months to share their stories about how an ADU would help their families, said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the PR&D committee.
“This is a small step toward solving what is a significant housing crisis,” she said.
Allowing ADUs would “help make a start on housing issues in Dunn County,” Morehouse said.
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from the Town of Spring Brook, asked if ADUs would be a separate taxable unit or if they would be part of the same structure.
Randy Prochnow, county board supervisor from Menomonie and who also is an assessor, said the ADU would be assessed with the parcel.
A single family housing unit is assessed at more per square foot than a duplex, he noted.
Would an ADU count toward net new construction? asked John Calabrese, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
Wodarczyk and Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the Dunn County Board, said they believed ADUs would count toward net new construction.
Under the revenue limits imposed on municipalities by the state of Wisconsin, municipalities can increase their property tax levies based on a formula that includes net new construction.
Municipalities in Wisconsin (towns, villages, cities and counties) always are short on revenue, and being able to increase the tax levy allows the municipalities to have more money to pay for services for their residents, such as road/street maintenance and other public services, such as police protection or fire protection.
The housing assessment states that Dunn County needs an additional 3,000 dwelling units by 2040, and that 12 to 15 percent of those units should be rentals, and that most people are looking for housing units less than 2,000 square feet, said Andrew Hagen, county board supervisor from Menomonie.
There is a need for ADUs and people want ADUs, he said.
The Dunn County Board voted unanimously (29 to 0) to approve the zoning ordinance amendment that allows Accessory Dwelling Units.
Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax, and Sheila Stori, county board supervisor from Menomonie, attended the meeting remotely and both provided verbal “yes” votes for the motion.
