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Board allows ANR Pipeline Co. to extend fence in highway setback, with condition
Summary
On Sept. 11, 2023, the Waupaca County Board of Adjustment granted ANR Pipeline Co. a variance to permit a fence exceeding the highway setback height, approving the request 5-0 with a condition that any extension match the existing fence type; the record includes differing references to fence height in testimony and staff comments.
The Waupaca County Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance on Sept. 11 allowing ANR Pipeline Co. to extend a security fence that exceeds the highway-setback height at a pipeline facility along County Highway X in the Town of Royalton, attaching a condition that the extension be of the same type as the existing fence.
Applicant testimony explained the request as a security measure for a natural gas facility that contains infrastructure such as emergency shut-off valves for high-pressure transmission pipelines. Brad Trepl spoke for the applicant and told the board the facility must remain secure; in his presentation the transcript records that the facility "serves as an emergency shut off valves for multiple high pressure natural gas transmission pipelines that provides gas to much of Wisconsin and communities in the area." Staff recommended approval after an on-site inspection, citing the site's utility function and the presumption that a chain-link fence would still offer visual clearance to the highway.
The transcript records divergent figures regarding fence height: one statement in the record describes the existing fence as "six-foot with 12 inches of barb wire," while a staff section refers to the need to extend a "seven (7) foot tall fence." The record does not reconcile this difference; the board's approval conditions require the extension to match the existing fence type but do not specify a precise finished height in the motion.
Chair A. Richardson opened the public comment period; no written opposition or letters were read into the record for this petition, and one individual, Ted Radtke, appeared and was sworn (the transcript does not specify whether Radtke spoke in favor or opposition). The board applied the three-part variance test, found that strict compliance would unreasonably prevent the owner from using the property for its security function, concluded the property has unique limitations as a utility hub and found no harm to the public interest. The motion to approve with the condition that the extension match the existing fence type passed 5-0.
The board did not include additional specification on a required completion schedule; staff will follow up consistent with permitting requirements.
