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Marathon County board approves repeal and rewrite of Chapter 17 zoning code with amendment restoring Board of Adjustment confirmations
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Summary
The board voted to repeal and recreate Chapter 17 (Ordinance 0-4-26) and adopted an amendment restoring county-board confirmation for Board of Adjustment appointments; members also debated moving zoning fees into a published fee schedule to allow easier updates.
Marathon County supervisors voted to repeal and recreate Chapter 17 of the county code — a comprehensive revision of the county zoning ordinance identified in Ordinance 0-4-26 — after amending the draft to restore county-board confirmation for Board of Adjustment appointments.
The ordinance was placed on the floor by Supervisor Ritter and seconded by Supervisor Conway. Supervisor Hart raised a concern that a redline change to §17.80103 removed county-board confirmation for Board of Adjustment appointments; corp counsel advised the board that state statute requires confirmation. The board voted to amend the ordinance so that the administrator makes appointments and forwards them to the county board for approval. The amendment was moved by Supervisor Covelli and seconded by Supervisor Ritter and carried with some dissent.
Board members also debated language moving certain fees out of the zoning code and into a separate published fee schedule. Supervisor Sandalski asked whether fee-schedule increases would require a full-board vote; staff member Shad explained that the zoning code previously delegated fee adjustments to the Environmental Resource Committee and that moving fees to a schedule allows the board to adopt them with the annual budget rather than reopening the zoning code. Supervisor Endres asked about adding a specific fee cap for constituents; staff said a technical cap exists unless otherwise specified and fees are based on administrative cost comparisons with surrounding counties.
After discussion the body voted on the ordinance as amended and the motion carried. The board will adopt the updated fee schedule as part of its budget process, allowing updates through the budget cycle rather than amending the zoning code itself.
The most recent action was the board’s approval of Ordinance 0-4-26 with the amendment restoring administrator appointment plus county-board confirmation for Board of Adjustment members.
