The Appleton City Plan Commission on Oct. 8 approved amended text and map changes to Municipal Code chapter 23 to create Article 11: shoreland wetland zoning district regulations and forwarded the item to the Common Council for review.

Staff told the commission the most recent changes clarified criteria for determining whether a waterway is navigable. Don (staff member) said, “staff is recommending approval of the text amendments as illustrated in the staff report,” and noted revisions on pages 8 and 9 of the report related to navigability determinations.

The public hearing on the proposal had been opened at a prior meeting and continued for additional staff revisions; no members of the public spoke during the continuation at the Oct. 8 meeting. Following the presentation, commissioners conducted the associated action under a new motion and voted in favor; the presiding officer announced the motion carried "with none opposed." The commission’s approval was to accept the draft amendments as amended and transmit the recommendation to the Common Council.

Why it matters: the changes add a dedicated shoreland/wetland zoning article to the municipal code and clarify how staff will evaluate whether a watercourse is navigable, a determination that affects where shoreland rules apply.

Next steps: the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Common Council for its review and any further amendments or final adoption. The staff report and the specific language changes (noted as pages 8–9 in the report) will accompany the transmittal.