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Homeowners seek variance to build addition where century‑old plat shows an unimproved roadway; township supports relief
Summary
Kyle and Kelly Salic requested a variance to treat a platted but unimproved roadway as a side-yard setback and to allow a modest addition that slightly intrudes into the 50‑foot vision triangle; the town of LaGrange recommended approval and two neighbors submitted letters of support.
Kyle and Kelly Salic told the Walworth County Board of Adjustment on March 12 that a platted roadway adjacent to their W5566 Wren Street property in LaGrange Township exists on paper but has never been improved or used as a roadway because steep topography makes the connection impracticable.
The applicants requested relief from a 25-foot street‑yard setback to allow a 15-foot street‑yard setback for a proposed addition and asked for an exception to allow a small corner of a proposed screen porch to fall within the 50‑foot vision triangle. Salic said the unimproved roadway was platted more than a century ago to connect to Meadowlark but cannot be built because the rear of the lots drops steeply; he said the town and the township attorney told the applicants the roadway could not be vacated because it might provide access to lower lots that remain legally connected to that right‑of‑way.
Salic said the proposed addition is intended to make the house suitable for year‑round occupancy after the family decided to make Wisconsin their permanent home. He told the board the proposed 10‑foot exterior extension is small and that the addition could be reduced further if the vision‑triangle restriction is a barrier: "If the vision triangle is a hang up, we can adjust that," he said. Staff placed two neighbor letters and a Town of LaGrange resolution recommending approval into the record; no opposition appeared in the hearing room.
Board members and staff discussed the legal status of the platted roadway and the town’s inability to vacate it because of potential access implications for downstream lots. Staff said that even though the right‑of‑way is unimproved it remains a road right‑of‑way for setback purposes. The Town of LaGrange provided a written recommendation to approve and said the unplatted street should not prevent the proposed development. The public hearing closed on March 12; no final county action is recorded in the transcript.
