Zoning committee sends citation ordinance amendments to towns, proposes higher deposit amounts and updated code references

The Sawyer County Zoning Committee voted to send a proposed amendment to the county’s zoning citation ordinance to town governments for review. The proposed draft updates outdated section references to match the current County Code of Ordinances and requests an increase in citation deposit amounts (staff recommended a $100 increase to many citation lines) to strengthen enforcement.

Why it matters: Staff said the goal is to give the county more enforcement "teeth" to encourage compliance with zoning and shoreland rules; the higher deposit amounts are intended to better reflect court costs and to make citations a stronger deterrent. Staff described how total costs can increase when court fees are added to deposit amounts and noted prior citation actions this year as context.

Committee action and process: The committee voted to send the draft to towns for comment and agreed to hold a public hearing next month before proceeding to the county board. The committee discussed that citation amounts alone will not be the only enforcement tool; deposit payments can be combined with required corrective actions (for example, revegetation orders following unlawful shoreline clearing).

Ending: Staff will circulate the draft to towns and return with a public‑hearing date and refined language based on town feedback and any committee edits.