Oconomowoc council adopts zoning text amendment to allow conditional‑use expansion of legal nonconforming hotels and inns

The Oconomowoc Common Council voted unanimously Feb. 18 to adopt a zoning text amendment creating a new Section 17.408 in the municipal code. The ordinance allows legally nonconforming hotels, motels and inns to obtain a conditional‑use permit to continue or expand lodging uses in districts where the use would otherwise be nonconforming.

Attorney Stan Bridal and city planner Jason Gallo described the amendment during a public hearing. Bridal told the council the amendment addresses properties that have “historically been utilized for legal nonconforming use” and would permit conversion of that status to a conditional use subject to standards intended to limit adverse effects to surrounding properties. Gallo said the plan commission directed staff to prepare the amendment and recommended approval.

The ordinance changes the table of allowed uses in Section 17.106 to add “legal nonconforming existing hotel, motel or lodge” as a conditional use in residential districts and establishes standards for determining whether an expansion is permissible. Among the provisions discussed: expansions would be limited to the number of existing lodging rooms with legal nonconforming status unless the council approves changes via conditional use; operations that discontinue for 12 months would lose nonconforming status; and conditions may be imposed to prevent adverse effects on public health, safety or the character of the neighborhood.

Council members said the text amendment provides a path to regulate specific expansions by requiring a conditional use rather than allowing an unrestricted rezoning to commercial, which could permit broader and unrelated uses. “This is more control by the city of the use,” Jason Gallo said, adding that commercial rezoning would permit many other uses the city might not want in residential neighborhoods.

The council voted to approve the ordinance and waived the second reading at the meeting. The change enables the subsequent conditional‑use hearing the council held the same night for Mont Bijou, a hotel at 351 East Lisbon Road that sought permission to operate a public cocktail lounge as an expansion of its lodging use.

The ordinance applies to hotels, motels and inns only and does not alter rules governing short‑term rentals such as Airbnbs. The plan commission’s direction and the council’s unanimous vote mean eligible properties may apply for conditional uses under the newly created Section 17.408; each application will be evaluated on its own facts and conditions.