Sheboygan Committee of the Whole hears major objections as draft zoning code shifts approvals to staff

Sheboygan City’s Committee of the Whole on March 24 reviewed a comprehensive draft zoning code that would streamline administration, broaden housing allowed by right and move many site-level decisions from discretionary public hearings to objective staff review.

Consultant Sam Schultz of Von Briesen and Roper told alderpersons the draft aims to reduce subjective approvals, make decisions easier for staff to defend under Wisconsin law and simplify the code into four articles covering procedures, districts, uses and citywide design standards. Schultz cited Wisconsin Act 67 (2017) and Act 16 (2023) as reasons to adopt clearer, objective standards that reduce legal risk and speed reviews.

The nut of the debate was procedural: several residents and multiple alderpersons said the draft goes too far in shifting authority to the zoning administrator and in some places makes otherwise controversial developments—most notably large data centers—permissible without prior Plan Commission or Common Council review. Lisa Salgado told the Committee the rewrite "strips…