Minocqua Plan Commission approves sign, short‑term rental and office permits; recommends boat‑storage conditional use

The Minocqua Plan Commission unanimously approved three permits and recommended approval of a conditional use permit at its May 12 meeting in the Minocqua Center board room.

Oneida County planner Carla Blankenship told commissioners the proposed 18‑square‑foot, non‑lighted building sign at 203 W. Front St. meets zoning standards; the commission approved Sign Permit #12‑26 by voice vote. "All is in compliance," Blankenship said.

The commission approved Administrative Review Permit #20‑26 for 8584 Lambert Road, allowing owner Rebecca Moyle to rent only the lower level of her single‑family home as a tourist rooming house. Blankenship said the lower level has two bedrooms and the septic system is sized for three bedrooms, which she said allows up to four guests because the system is shared with the owner's upstairs living area. She noted the permit limits rentals to no more than one rental per seven‑day period, requires six parking spaces (six are provided) and requires a local resident agent when the owner is not present. The motion to approve carried 4–0.

The commission also approved Administrative Review Permit #21‑26 for a sales office at 401 Oneida St. for Northwoods Zip Line. Blankenship said roughly 100 square feet of retail/office space will be used by two employees; the parcel provides five parking spaces while four are required. Member Joe Hegge asked whether the existing drive‑thru would be used; the applicant, listed in the transcript as Josh Russart (the transcript later spells the name "Russert"), replied no. Blankenship said the permit is conditioned on no outside sales or displays; the motion carried 4–0.

On Conditional Use Permit #22‑26, Blankenship said the parcel at 9829 Rylee Lane is zoned Business B‑2 and would host an additional boat‑storage building. She described site features: the first storage building was built after a 2022 administrative permit, stormwater runoff will follow the existing drainage ditch and new drainage swales are shown on the north and south ends of the proposed building, and the proposal shows two existing ingress/egress points with a third planned along the east property line. Blankenship said parking calculations are based on three employees (four spaces required, five provided). Applicant Mike Kilinski said recent code changes reduced the planned building size to 9984 s.f. and that a firewall will divide the structure; the commission voted 4–0 to recommend the conditional use permit to the Town Board.

The meeting, called to order by Plan Commission Chairman Mark Hartzheim at 8:30 a.m., adjourned at 8:42 a.m.