Committee narrows 'resort' definition to contiguous-lots language after debate over scattered rentals

The Sawyer County Planning and Zoning Committee voted to revise the draft ordinance's resort definition so that residential resorts cover dwelling units offered for rent "in one or more permanent buildings used primarily for recreational use on the same lot or on contiguous lots." The change replaces a prior draft phrase that referenced only units "on the same lot."

Committee members debated whether to require contiguous parcels, how property owners might use multiple LLCs or noncontiguous parcels to avoid resort classification, and whether the county should treat scattered, same-owner rentals as a resort. Some members said the contiguous-lots wording closes a clear loophole where a single owner might try to place rentals on nonadjacent parcels to avoid committee review; others worried owners could still reconfigure ownership through separate entities.

Members amended and approved the resort language by voice vote. The committee also discussed enforcement complexities for condominium-platted properties and the difficulty of retroactively classifying existing condo units as a resort if many are already operating as rentals.

The committee asked staff to place the revised wording in the updated red-line and to forward the change to legal as part of the draft the committee will review next.

No quantitative thresholds for the number of units that trigger a resort classification were added at this meeting; the committee directed staff to propose density standards for shoreline and non-shoreline areas in a later redline so the county can apply consistent dimensional requirements if a use is reclassified as a resort.