Kewaunee County committee removes "private clubs" term from shoreland zoning chapter and forwards ordinance

The Kewaunee County Land and Water Committee on March 11 voted to remove the phrase "private clubs" from the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 16, and forwarded the revised chapter for the next procedural step.

The change followed public comment and staff review that committee members said showed the term caused confusion about what uses are allowed in shoreland areas. Julie Brown, a River Lane resident who addressed the committee during public comment, said: "My concern is that amendments to chapter 16 involving the definition of private club might still be ambiguous." She told the committee she had submitted written suggestions drawn from other counties.

Committee members and staff told the meeting they found no instances in their records where the term "private club" had been used in permitting or enforcement in the past decade. Committee members said the removal was intended to reduce ambiguity that could complicate future variance hearings and court review.

A motion to strike the phrase was made and, after a second, was approved by voice vote; the motion "carried," according to the meeting record. The committee then moved to send the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 16, forward for its next formal step. Committee members identified in the motion were "Ted" as mover and "Ned" as seconder for the referral; the committee recorded the referral as approved by voice vote.

The committee discussed alternatives including keeping the term and drafting a detailed definition to specify educational or nonprofit uses, and noted that other counties' ordinances were reviewed as examples. Staff said the term had not appeared in file reviews of past cases and that a pending shoreline variance hearing had been continued partly because the variance applicants and reviewers sought clarity about what constitutes a "club." The meeting record shows staff will finalize edits and distribute the revised text to committee members.

The committee's actions were procedural amendments to the ordinance text and do not themselves change zoning approvals for any existing property. The record indicates the revised Chapter 16 will proceed through the county's ordinance review process before any changes become effective.