Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Shoreland Density topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Panel removes multifamily from RR1/RR2, agrees draft shoreland density rules and new-resort spacing
Summary
Committee removed multifamily dwellings as a conditional use in RR1 and RR2, and agreed to draft shoreland density rules requiring doubled lot area and frontage per additional dwelling unit; it also required new resorts to meet those density rules in the draft.
The Sawyer County Planning and Zoning Committee voted to remove multifamily dwellings from RR1 and RR2 conditional-use listings and to prepare shoreland density language that would require larger minimum lot area and frontage for each additional dwelling unit along shorelines.
Committee members discussed the reasons for limiting multifamily development in recreational residential districts and whether exemptions are needed for Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) or condominium plats. After deliberation, the committee agreed and passed a motion removing multifamily dwellings from RR1 and RR2 in the red-line draft.
Recognizing legal uncertainty about whether the county can categorically prohibit two-family dwellings in the shoreland overlay, members also approved a drafting approach: the county will add shoreline-specific dimensional requirements such that each additional dwelling unit would need a proportional increase in lot area and frontage. In discussion members used the example of a commonly cited shoreline lot configuration — 100 feet of frontage by 200 feet depth — and suggested doubling waterfront frontage to 200 feet (and doubling lot area) when more than a single dwelling unit would be on a property. The committee directed staff to draft text implementing the doubling approach so that, if the legal review finds the county cannot prohibit duplexes outright, the county would still ensure per-unit density and frontage standards in shoreland areas.
The committee also voted that new resorts (new operations offering multiple rental units) would be required to meet the same shoreline density rules — effectively increasing required frontage and lot area proportionally to the number of units offered — and asked staff to include that language in the next red-line for legal review.
Committee members noted concerns about existing condominium developments and nonconforming lots where multiple units already exist; staff and members said those situations will need separate handling and legal guidance.
The motions were carried by voice vote; individual tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.
