Kewaunee County committee narrows shoreland special exemptions, adds duplex definition and sends draft ordinance to county board

The Kewaunee County Conservation Committee voted to amend the draft shoreland zoning ordinance, narrowing several special exemptions and forwarding the revised Chapter 16 draft to the county board for reading.

The committee added a statutory-based definition for “private clubs,” inserted the word “residential” into the short-term rental section, replaced the multifamily special-exemption category with a definition-limited duplex exemption, and removed self-service storage facilities and business shops from the list of allowable special exemptions. The committee then voted to send the amended Chapter 16 draft (ordinance 12225) to the county board for its reading and further consideration.

Why this matters: the shoreline ordinance governs development and use within regulated shoreland zones across Kewaunee County. Changes to special exemptions affect what types of housing and commercial uses can be approved near lakes, rivers and the bay and will be considered by the full county board and at a public hearing before final adoption.

Committee discussion focused on how narrowly to define uses that are allowed near water. Dave, court counsel, read the statutory private-club language cited during the meeting: “private club means any facility . . . that limits its membership and is organized for recreation, fraternal, social, patriotic, political, benevolent, or athletic purpose,” and the committee agreed to incorporate a definition drawn from that statute into the ordinance language.

Members debated replacing a previously broader “multifamily housing” category with an explicit duplex exemption. Several members said they wanted to avoid inadvertently permitting larger apartment-style buildings on shoreland lots. One committee member noted that developers sometimes build four-unit buildings that resemble duplexes, and the committee asked counsel to supply a duplex definition anchored to commonly used statutory language. Counsel and staff said height and other existing dimensional standards would still apply to any duplex proposal.

The committee also considered requests related to storage facilities and business shops. After discussion, members agreed to remove self-service storage facilities and business shops from the list of special exemptions in the shoreland section. A petitioner who said they had hoped to site a shop for a small construction business acknowledged that, based on the committee’s direction, those uses would not be approved as shoreland special exemptions in this ordinance draft.

Divina, a DNR representative, told the committee that the DNR had provided preliminary signoff on the revised language and that the only outstanding technical issue was how to treat overlapping districts: “If land falls within multiple districts regulated by this ordinance, the regulations of the most restricted district shall apply,” she said. The committee retained that approach in the draft.

Formal actions: the committee adopted a motion to add the private-club definition, add the word “residential” to short-term residential rental units, and to change multifamily housing to duplexes (with counsel-provided definition). Separately, the committee approved a motion to add duplexes and to remove self-service storage facilities and business shops from special exemptions. Both motions carried and the committee moved the amended Chapter 16 draft to the county board for reading.

Next steps: the draft ordinance will be placed on the county board agenda for a first reading; the committee discussed holding a public hearing in connection with the county board process before second reading and final action.

Votes at a glance: motions to (1) add the private-club definition, add the word “residential” to short-term rental language, and add duplexes with counsel’s definition — motion carried; (2) add duplexes and strike self-service storage facilities and business shops from the special exemptions — motion carried; (3) move draft Chapter 16 (ordinance 12225) to the county board for reading — motion carried. The committee recorded each motion as carried in voice vote.