Kewaunee County panel removes "private clubs" wording from shoreland zoning and advances ordinance

Kewaunee County's Land and Water Conservation Committee voted March 11 to remove the phrase "private clubs" from Chapter 16 of the county's shoreland zoning ordinance and advanced the revised chapter to the next reading.

The change follows a public comment from Julie Brown, a River Lane resident, who told the committee she had submitted a letter expressing concern that the current language could allow businesses to call themselves "clubs" to evade shoreland zoning limits. "My concern is that amendments to chapter 16 involving the definition of private club might still be ambiguous," Brown said during public comment, and she provided draft language from other counties for the committee to consider.

Committee members and staff said they reviewed past files and found the term had not been used in recent decades. Committee member Sam (staff) and other staff members reported that no prior cases in their files referenced "private club," and that the ambiguity had prompted a hearing to be continued while the county sought clarification. Committee discussion centered on two options: remove the term entirely or insert a clearer definition that would limit how the exemption could be used.

Following discussion, a member moved to strike "private clubs" from the ordinance; a second was recorded and the motion carried (vote tally not specified in the transcript). Later the committee voted to move the revised Chapter 16 shoreland zoning ordinance forward for its first formal reading. Motion to advance the chapter was made by Ted (committee member) and seconded by Ned (committee member); the motion passed by voice vote.

Staff said they would make the final edits and redistribute the revised ordinance language to the committee and county staff. The committee noted that, under special exception procedures, the change should not require further action beyond the usual public-notice and review steps before adoption.

The meeting also included routine department updates: two manure-spreading complaints were investigated and found compliant with setbacks (both reported as greater than 20 feet); nutrient-management farmer education sessions in mid-February drew "over 46" attendees; four new conservation plans were started (named in staff remarks as Kean, Stotz, Florida Open and Swindellske); sanitary staff completed three soil inspections and processed three permit applications. Staff and committee members also described ongoing interest in seasonal manure-application technologies and university research on manure-to-commercial fertilizer processing.

No vote counts were recorded in the transcript for the removal motion, and several participants spoke using only first names during the meeting. Committee staff said they will circulate the final revised language and confirm whether further public hearings are required under county procedure.

The committee scheduled its next meetings for April 8 and May 13.