Waupaca County Board of Adjustment denies Camp Cleghorn setback variance request

Waupaca County Board of Adjustment members denied a Petition for a Grant of Variance from Good Templar Training School, Inc. (d/b/a Camp Cleghorn) to add an attached garage and vertically expand a dwelling within the highway centerline setback in the Sewered Residential (SR) District.

At the Sept. 30, 2021 hearing, Chair P. Craig opened the public hearing on the petition, which was before the board on remand from Circuit Court Case No. 20-CV-264. Attorney Brian G. Formella, representing the applicants, presented a Decision Making Worksheet and argued the proposed addition was necessary to improve accessibility for the homeowner’s father and that the project would be consistent with neighboring cottages’ placement along Camp Road. Attorney Formella said the private road layout and historic lot divisions made strict application of the setback standards “unnecessarily burdensome.”

Adrienne Krueger and Allen Krueger, applicants who described the need for a garage to accommodate a family member with Parkinson’s disease, testified that more than half of nearby cottages sit closer to the road than the proposed structure and that allowing the variance would match neighborhood building patterns. K. Clarke Crandell testified about local fire equipment and said Waupaca Fire Department vehicles could navigate the roadway if the variance were granted. Contractor John Conradt confirmed onsite measurements used in the application after meeting with zoning staff.

Candace Bauer, Planning and Zoning Code Enforcement Specialist, presented the staff report and recommended denial. Bauer told the board that denying the variance would not prevent the property from being used for a permitted purpose, that similarly small lots exist in the area so the parcel is not unique, and that the highway centerline and right-of-way setbacks are intended to protect public safety.

Board members voted on the three standard variance criteria. On the unnecessary-hardship formulations, the roll calls were D. Johnson — yes; J. Fulcher — yes; P. Craig — no; G. Marx — yes (three in favor, one opposed). On the question of unique physical property limitations, all members voted that the parcel did not meet that criterion (D. Johnson — no; J. Fulcher — no; P. Craig — no; G. Marx — no). The public-interest vote split (D. Johnson — yes; J. Fulcher — no; P. Craig — yes; G. Marx — no), producing a tie that left that criterion unresolved. Because the application did not satisfy all required criteria, the board denied the variance.

The petition sought setbacks of 38 feet to the road centerline and 30.5 feet to the right-of-way for the proposed addition; the existing cottage sits about 72 feet from the centerline. The applicants' materials and testimony noted roughly 41 cottages on the property and an estimate that about eight cottages could require similar variances under strict enforcement of current standards. The Sanitary District informed the board by email that any sewer-lateral expenses would be paid by the property owner.

The board recessed for a short break during the hearing and reconvened; the meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The full file is recorded in the Waupaca County Board of Adjustment minutes for Sept. 30, 2021.