Washington County committee pledges to press DNR over Druid Lake "flood storage" mapping

WASHINGTON COUNTY — Members of the Washington County Land Use and Planning Committee said at a committee meeting that they will pursue a resolution urging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to reconsider a new flood-storage mapping overlay for Druid Lake after staff described rules that residents and supervisors said could make shoreline homes difficult to repair, modify or sell.

At the meeting, Brett Schur, the county’s land use manager, described the mapping process and its effects on homeowners. Schur said the DNR used lidar-derived contours in a floodplain study that produced preliminary FEMA flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) released in March 2024, followed by a public open house in May and a 90-day appeal window that closed in December. Schur said no appeals were filed from unincorporated townships handled by county staff and that, once finalized, the DNR will notify the county and the ordinance must incorporate the new maps within six months.

The issue drew repeated concern from committee members because the DNR’s overlay would add a "flood storage" layer on top of the flood fringe. Schur said that under the DNR overlay homeowners would still be in the flood fringe but an added storage designation would bar adding or removing fill on a lot without…