Ad hoc committee: condo associations renting multiple units must seek resort conditional-use approval in RR-2

At a meeting of the Sawyer County Multi Dwelling Development Ad Hoc Committee, members voted to treat rental of more than one dwelling unit on a single parcel — including multiple condominium units on a single plat — as a resort use and to allow that use in the R R 2 (residential recreational 2) zone only with a conditional‑use permit.

The committee adopted the approach to give towns and county review authority via the conditional‑use process while limiting where new 'resort' operations may locate. Jay Buchholz, Sawyer County zoning administrator, told the committee that a conditional‑use process would allow towns and the county to impose conditions such as limits on duration of rentals and other mitigation measures.

The change follows months of discussion about how to treat condo plats and existing multi‑unit lots where owners may rent multiple units. Committee members said classifying those situations as resort uses lets the county require rezoning where necessary and place conditions through the conditional‑use review. Chair Dale Olsen moved the motion; Ben Kurzweil seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote.

Committee members and public commenters raised enforcement and transition questions. Zoning staff said the county would generally not pursue longstanding, continuously operated resort uses that predate zoning records, but new or recently expanded multi‑unit rental activity would be subject to the new approach and might require rezoning to RR‑2 and a conditional‑use permit before continuing.

Public commenters and committee members emphasized that condominium ownership can be used to evade review and that the conditional‑use route provides an opportunity for neighbors and towns to comment. Linda Zilmer, an Edgewater property owner who addressed the committee during public comment, said she wanted clearer drafting and better publication of the committee’s redlines so towns and the public would know what will be considered by legal counsel and the zoning committee.

The committee instructed staff to add draft language making condominiums that rent more than one unit subject to resort classification and to circulate the revised ordinance (a forthcoming version 5) for review and legal opinion before it is forwarded to the zoning committee and towns.

The committee did not set an effective date or require retroactive enforcement; staff said they expect legal review to advise whether any grandfathering or effective‑date language is required.