At its regularly scheduled meeting, the Oneida County Planning and Zoning Committee discussed forging new language in the county ordinance which would create an exception to mitigation of properties in the shoreland area.

According to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fact sheet, "Mitigation can be thought of as methods to offset potential development impacts to water quality and habitat. Counties have the flexibility to tailor mitigation methods to their area, such as rain gardens, restored vegetation buffers, removal of structures from setback, erosion control or use of inconspicuous building materials."

The DNR is charged with protecting the state's natural resources and because of this, local zoning laws must be consistent with the department's rules.

The issue was brought to the committee's attention by Jimmy Rein of Wilderness Surveying. Rein, somewhat of a fixture at meetings of the committee, is a representative of the interests of area developers, which prompted zoning director Karl Jennrich to joke with committee members, saying, "Committee member Rein wanted this on the agenda."

Rein said he was working on a project in Minocqua where the existing house is built within 40 feet of the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) and includes a large deck which sits at the water's edge. The house's proximity to the water triggers "requirements for mitigation" in section 9.96 of the county code.

"Under the ordinance," Rein said, "If they remodel the house, they can keep the decks, but if they tear down and rebuild, the decks can't stand."

Rein said that the ordinance didn't "make any sense," and wanted the committee to look for ways that the homeowner could retain at least 200 square feet of deck on the water, even if the property owner tore down the existing house and built a new one in the same "footprint."

This prompted discussion among committee members about ways in which mitigation could occur. Committee chairman Scott Holewinski wondered if moving the house back to 40 feet from the water might not be a solution. "Wouldn't that be good?" he asked.

"No, because the goal is 75 feet," said assistant director Pete Wegner. He said that in order to "mitigate and vegetate" in the spirit of DNR guidelines, the accessory structures (decks) would have to be removed, especially in light of the fact that the house itself is sitting within 40 feet of the water.

The goal of the county ordinance (which must be within state guidelines), according to Wegner, is to have no disturbance of the natural habitat within 75 feet of the water. "Right now, we've got it stretched as far as you can stretch it," he said, referring to special exceptions in the ordinance for remodeling and rebuilding existing structures within their current "footprint," even if they sit on the water's edge.

Holewinski persisted, saying that often it isn't practical for property owners to tear down and rebuild beyond the 75-foot line because of existing infrastructure, like septic tanks.

"I would disagree with that," said Wegner, adding that when the DNR looks at a property they don't take into account existing infrastructure. "They look at the piece of ground, not the costs associated with moving existing systems," he said.

Rein weighed in on the discussion, saying that his client had a landscape plan which proposed to transform the property, which had been "open and manicured" to be densely planted with native plants. Wegner agreed, saying, "it goes way beyond the requirements."

Finally, committee members held firm and instructed the planning and zoning staff to "come up with language" that would allow for exceptions to mitigation.

According to Jennrich, reached later by phone, the committee "gave us walking orders" to create an exception for "accessory structures," including fire pits, patios, decks and decorative retaining walls, allowing for up to 200 square feet.

Jennrich said that perhaps the department would look for ways to work this exception into the ordinance language which permits a 35-foot viewing corridor in the area between a house and the water's edge. DNR, he acknowledged would have to approve any changes before they could go into effect.