Shoreland proposal could mean big changes

By Tom Larson

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is proposing new changes to the state’s shoreland zoning regulations.

The regulations govern developments near Wisconsin’s waterways, and they apply to land located in either an unincorporated area or an area that was annexed into a city or village after 1982. The proposed changes are intended to better protect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and natural scenic beauty along lakes and streams.

However, these changes could have a significant impact on waterfront development by increasing land costs and placing further restrictions on where development can occur.

The proposed changes include new restrictions on house sizes. For all new construction within 300 feet of the water, no more than 10 percent of the lot can be covered in impervious surfaces (concrete, blacktop, footprint of structure, etc.).

This includes roofs, sidewalks, driveways, patios and any other surface that will not allow water to infiltrate the ground. The impervious surface limit is raised to 20 percent of the entire lot if the property owner meets mitigation standards established by the county.

In addition, the new regulations would limit to 35 feet the height of all residential structures within 300 feet of the high-water mark. This applies only to structures constructed after the effective date of the rule. As a result, the proposed regulations will require waterfront houses to be smaller than allowed under current law.

The new regulations also call for larger minimum lot size requirements. All new buildable lots must be a minimum of 20,000 square feet and at least 100 feet wide at the water’s edge and the building setback line, which is 75 feet from the water. Most existing lots will be grandfathered.

Current law allows sewered lots to be a minimum of 10,000 square feet with a minimum width of 65 feet at any point on the lot, while unsewered lots must be 20,000 square feet and 100 feet wide. This will result in more expensive sewered waterfront lots, which are often valued based on the amount of water frontage.

The proposed regulations also create looser restrictions for nonconforming structures. They let homes located between 35 feet and 75 feet of the water be repaired and maintained without limitations, expand vertically as long as the expansion does not exceed the 20 percent impervious surface limit and expand horizontally if additional requirements are met, including the absence on the property of another “compliant building location” at least 30 feet deep on the property.

This proposed change will be welcomed by many waterfront property owners who are currently subject to “the 50% rule,” which limits expansions and improvements to 50 percent of the property’s assessed value.

The DNR’s new plan also institutes vegetation and removal requirements that will create smaller views of the water for some lots. Within 35 feet of the water, vegetation can be removed only within the “view and access corridor,” which is defined as 40 feet or 30 percent of the lot width (whichever is less) at the water’s edge for lots with 200 feet of frontage or less. That number falls to 20 percent of the lot width at the water’s edge for lots with more than 200 feet of frontage.

As a result, lots with less than 150 feet of frontage will have a smaller access corridor through which the water can be viewed and accessed. For example, a 65-foot-wide lot would now have only a 19.5-foot view access corridor rather than 30 feet under current law.

As this process moves forward, public comments will be needed. Whether you are a developer, builder or waterfront home owner, these changes will impact you.

Some might like the proposed changes, and others will not. Either way, now is the time to ask questions or raise concerns.

Written comments on the proposed changes may be submitted to the DNR by Sept. 7 at the following address: Toni Herkert (Toni.Herkert@dnr.state.wi.us), Bureau of Watershed Management, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.