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Marquette County board approves Stapletons’ deck variance with erosion-control condition
Summary
The Marquette County Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing David and Donna Stapleton to build an approximately 276-square-foot deck with a 56-foot setback to Tuttle Lake (the ordinance requires 75 feet), subject to erosion-control and revegetation measures recommended by the Land and Water Conservation District; an adjacent neighbor had opposed the request.
Marquette County’s Board of Adjustment on [date not specified in transcript] approved a variance for David and Donna Stapleton to construct an approximately 276-square-foot deck on a Tuttle Lake lot, subject to erosion-control and revegetation conditions recommended by the Land and Water Conservation District.
The Stapletons were seeking relief from the county shoreland protection ordinance (Marquette County, chapter 63, section 7.2.2) and state provisions cited in the packet (Wis. Stat. 59.692 and NR 115.05), which generally require a 75-foot setback from the ordinary high-water mark. The application asked to reduce the setback to 56 feet, citing the fixed location of the septic system and the placement of the existing house as creating an unnecessary hardship that prevents reasonable residential use of the property.
Staff told the board the parcel is on an unrecorded lot on Tuttle Lake in section 22, T17N R10E, Town of Crystal Lake, Marquette County, and that stormwater infiltration measures had been installed when the home was built. The application packet included site drawings, a plat showing the home, shed, well and septic locations, and photos of stormwater mitigation.
An adjacent property owner, Joyce Matski, submitted a written objection saying the deck would interfere with her front yard and asking the board to refuse the request. The board discussed that neighboring cottages include examples closer to the lake and that the requested deck was modest and consistent with nearby properties.
One board member said after reviewing the packet and video that the small lot and the required septic location limited options for placing a compliant deck, and that a deck of this size was reasonable given those constraints. Board members discussed attaching a condition that required the Land and Water Conservation District to recommend appropriate erosion-control measures and revegetation for any disturbed areas during construction.
A motion to attach those conditions carried. The transcript records the vote as taken with members in favor and one voice saying opposed; names and a numeric tally were not recorded in the transcript. The board instructed the applicants to obtain a building permit and a zoning permit before beginning work.
The board set a next meeting for May 29 at 1:00 p.m., and noted it expected to consider a cell tower application and another lake property variance at that meeting.
The decision may be appealed under Wis. Stat. 59.69; appeals must be filed in circuit court within 30 days of the board’s decision being filed in the Marquette County zoning office, a staff member told the board.
