Winnebago County planning panel opens public hearing on reestablishing shoreland zoning in Black Wolf

Howard Miller, chairman of the Winnebago County Planning and Zoning Committee, called the meeting to order and opened a public hearing on a zoning map amendment to reestablish county shoreland zoning in the town of Black Wolf.

"The only item on the agenda tonight is Winnebago County Planning and Zoning, and it's Shoreland Zoning located in the town of Black Wolf," Miller said, and he urged anyone wishing to testify to come forward and be sworn. He said the committee will hold a deliberative meeting on Monday, March 9, at 7:30 a.m. in the County Administration Building (3rd Floor Conference Room) and via Microsoft Teams; Teams access will be posted on the county website under committees and boards.

Zoning staff summarized procedural requirements and local responses. A staff speaker identified two staff names in the record—"Daniel Lefebvre, assistant zoning administrator; Carrie Roll, Greenville County zoning administrator"—and explained that protests to a zoning map amendment must be filed at least 24 hours before the county board hearing and that final decisions on text or map amendments may be appealed to a court of competent jurisdiction within 30 days.

The application before the committee requests that county zoning be reestablished in shoreland areas of Black Wolf. Zoning staff said they had received a resolution from the town of Neenah recommending approval and an email from the town above Willow River stating that its board chose not to respond or vote on the request; staff said they had not heard back from some other towns.

Committee member Frank Versaub asked whether petitions from four towns discussed at the county board meeting on Feb. 24 (identified in the transcript as Vindelton, Utica, Black Wolf and an unspecified fourth town) had been processed and whether publication timing explained differences in handling. Zoning staff replied that publication obligations affected processing, that one town (recorded in the transcript as Vinland or Vindelton) requested to be withdrawn from consideration, and that other towns had not completed required steps in time.

The committee received no additional public comment. A motion to adjourn was made and seconded; Chairman Miller called for those in favor to say "aye." The transcript records at least one "Aye" (Frank Versaub), after which the chair declared the meeting adjourned.

Note on transcript inconsistencies: the meeting record contains inconsistent town names (the transcript alternately lists "Vindelton" and "Vinland," and one referenced town was not named), and it identifies a "Greenville County zoning administrator" in a Winnebago County proceeding; those items are reported here as stated in the record.