SHORELAND AND RIPARIAN MANAGEMENT PLAN

Here we go again. Just to confuse the issue, Dane County, in it's infinite wisdom is now trying to expand their reach with regard to "shoreland" and "riparian" property owners.

The new plan being proposed is even more broad reaching than anything having to do with the current Ordinance Amendment 2 in that if it is passed, it will affect not only "shoreland" owners in the towns throughout Dane County but also all cities and villages.

Currently we estimate this to impact a MINIMUM of 44,000 properties within Dane County.

Here's the link to the proposed plan.

Those watching this have asked for an economic impact study to be completed on this. This first request was made earlier this year and as yet to be acting upon.

HOW DO THEY NOT SEE WHAT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT WOULD BE TO THIS?

Here's the point, all of those 44,000+ properties, if this passes, would be deemed "non-conforming use". This becomes an issue for resale, improvement to the property and truly limits each property owner's property rights.

As I receive more information on this, I'll be certain to post it here. We are focusing our resources to get the word out about this.

New Zoning Administrator Named

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced that she has filled the vacant seat of Zoning Administrator yesterday. See the related story in the Wisconsin State Journal here.

I don't know much about Roger Lane but hopefully the additional of someone on staff in this department will help move all issues forward regarding the Zoning Department for Dane County.

Time will tell.....

Let the Fight Begin

For those following the process I've gone through in getting "approval" to build 2 homes on lots purchased near the UW Arboretum in January 2006, you might know we've been granted the variance requests we were pursuing on February 22, 2007.

Time to celebrate right?

Wrong, this is just the beginning of a larger battle. 1 week prior to the variance hearing in front of the Dane County Board of Adjustment, my business partners and I filed suit in circuit court against the Dane County Board of Adjustment. Some might think now that our variance has been granted, we should drop this suit. This is not our intent. Let me explain why.

The basis of the suit is over a decision the BOA made in November 2006 which now requires any and all property owners who fall with in the Shoreland Zone (within 1000 feet of navigable lakes, rivers, streams) must now request a variance for any type of improvements being done on their land if their lot is considered "substandard" by current zoning code. For this purpose, a substandard lot is one that is less than 15,000 sq. ft. in size if the lot is serviced by a municipal sewer system or 20,000 sq. ft. if the lot is serviced by a private septic system. For some context on how large these sq. ft. requirements are for a sewered lot it would need to be 100x150 feet in size to meet the minimum requirements. The 20,000 foot requirement for a lot serviced by septic would be NEARLY 1/2 Acre in SIZE .

Needless to say, our expectation is this will affect well over 1000 property owners in Dane County and could even be greater than that.

So here's how it now works. You own property which is now considered a substandard lot. You decide you'd like to add on to the home to create more living space for you and your family. Your addition doesn't exceed any setback requirements, lot coverage maximums, etc... You make a trip to Dane County Zoning to apply for a zoning permit to start your project. You are now told you must file for a variance request with the BOA. This filing has a deadline of approximately 1 month prior to the next meeting to be placed on the agenda AND you must pay a filing fee of $350. Let's say you missed the deadline for the next meetings agenda, you must wait nearly 2 months to have your variance request heard!

Now you're starting to get mad because it seems the rules have changed and you had no idea that this had happened. Welcome to the world of Dane County land use politics!

This is the reason we're continuing with our lawsuit. I would invite anyone interested to let me know if you'd like to be included in the suit as we've already had other interested parties join in.

You can reach me at 608-662-9501 or e-mail darren@idcnet.com

What's Next?

Committees Decide to Not Make a Decision

October 18, 2006

With over 3 hours of public comment regarding Ordinance Amendment 10 to Chapter 11 of the Dane County Zoning Ordinance the joint committees of Zoning and Land Regulation and Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources chose not to take action on OA 10.

Per my records, the turnout of concerned Dane County residents was tremendous. Tremendous and one sided. 19 residents spoke against the Ordinance Amendment, 7 spoke in favor. There were 52 residents in attendance who registered opposition to the Ordinance Amendment and 9 who registered in favor. This places the attendance tally at 71 (82%) against Ordinance Amendment 10 and 16 (18%) in favor.

I believe our concerns were heard. I believe heard loud and clear.

In fact, much to the credit of some of the Dane County Supervisors who serve on these committees they are rethinking their positions regarding OA 10. Supervisor Patrick Miles, who represents residents with property on Lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa (District 34) spoke about the need for more time to have all questions posed by many of those who spoke, answered. He suggested ways of addressing the issue of water quality and environmental protection in the shoreland areas with ideas such as creating incentives for those property owners in shore land regions for improved storm water management as well as creating opportunities to address the concerns of impervious surfaces during design and construction in these regions vs. restricting any construction. He also stated that he felt "this wasn't the right time for this amendment" and that we should work with the State of Wisconsin as they work toward the passage of revisions to NR115 (NR 115).

Supervisor Rich Pertzborn, chair of the Zoning and Land Regulation committee, who represents District 36 (District Map) commented about the need to protect land rights vs. concerns about the environment and how we strike that balance.

What amazed me most was the lack of leadership, understanding and direction from Ordinance Amendment lead sponsor and Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources committee chair,Kyle Richmond. He represents District 27 (District Map) which is part of the town and city of Madison. Supervisor Richmond drafted this Ordinance Amendment without garnering input from the staff of Dane County Planning and Zoning. A department in county government, which in my opinion, is one of the best in the entire state of Wisconsin. Why a county board supervisor, whom I believe has very little if any formal education in land use and planning, (resume )felt QUALIFIED to draft such an amendment is beyond me. The fact that he chose not to utilize staff on this tells me he doesn't make good decisions when it comes to altering county ordinance. The fact that he hooked other County Supervisors into his game is disappointing. The fact that those others now realize what happened is encouraging.

Bottom line, this Ordinance Amendment ALMOST PASSED into county law at the Dane County Board of Supervisor's Meeting on September 21, 2006. If it wasn't for the efforts of many great people, this would have been the case.

WE CAN'T LET THIS ALMOST HAPPEN AGAIN!

We need to be vigilant on all workings of the Dane County Board of Supervisors. We need to continue to watch their agendas (County Board Home Page) and be certain what is being walked through the committees is good for Dane County, it's citizen and especially property owners.

A huge thank you needs to go out to the many who rallied around this issue. The Wisconsin REALTORS Association, Vicki McKenna and Brian Schimming of WIBA-AM, the following Dane County Board Supervisors who didn't let the county get taken for this ride:

Supervisor Duane Gau
Supervisor Vern Wendt
Supervisor Eileen Bruskewitz
Supervisor Dale Suslick
Supervisor Gerald Jensen

Also, the concerned members of the Yahara Lakes Association who, as stewards of our lakes and rivers truly have concern about the health of our waterways but understand that happens in many other ways than simply limited the rights of property owners on or near our lakes and waterways.

What's Next?

Zoning and Land Regulation Committee
Meeting Tuesday, October 24, 2006 7:30 p.m. Room 201 City County Building

Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
Meeting Tuesday, November 7, 2006 Time and Location: To Be Determined

What Can You Do?

1) Contact your Dane County Board Supervisor Supervisors List and let he or she know that you want this amendment stopped! You might be impressed how impactful a phone call, letter or e-mail from a constituent can go a long way in a Supervisor making good decisions.
2) Write a letter to the Editor of the regional papers Wisconsin State Journal or The Capital Times and your local weekly publications.
3) Speak with anyone you know about this whether or not they are shore land property owners. This isn't simply a shore land issue, it's really a property rights issue.