Brown County planning commission reviews draft ordinance to comply with new state zoning and building laws

The Brown County Area Planning Commission met June 23 to review a draft ordinance and steps for complying with recent state legislation, including House Enrolled Act 1001 and House Bill 1210. The commission approved its May 26 minutes before taking up the presentation.

David, introduced during the meeting as the presenter on compliance matters, said he had prepared a draft ordinance to align the county code with the new statutes and walked commissioners through the most significant changes. "I have put together a draft ordinance to address most of these recent update requirements," he said, summarizing statutory additions and proposed local edits.

Several statutory changes highlighted by David would require counties to allow indoor shooting ranges in most commercial or business zoning districts and to permit sporting-goods stores in commercial districts. David noted exceptions for mixed-use residential districts where indoor shooting ranges do not have to be allowed. "You have to allow indoor ranges in your commercial districts in your non-residential districts," he said, describing the draft language the county could adopt.

David also described adjustments to housing-related rules. The statutes adopt a required definition for manufactured and mobile homes that is similar to Brown County's current definition and require counties to hold a hearing before the end of the year to examine how local ordinances affect housing affordability and availability. "You'll have to have a hearing by the end of the year to talk about how your ordinances affect housing affordability and availability," he told the commission.

On accessory dwelling units, David warned against embedding numerous qualifying characteristics within a single statutory definition. He recommended defining the basic use and imposing size or other limits as separate conditions so residents and staff can apply rules more clearly.

The presenter described multiple procedural amendments affecting building permitting. New rules require building departments to notify applicants in writing within specified timeframes whether an application is complete, use an email read-receipt process with a first-class mail fallback if the receipt fails, and provide clearer time limits for issuing permits or denials. David noted that applicants who secure private certified inspectors for plan review and inspections can effectively obtain permits that vest their development rights for a statutory period; the presentation repeatedly referenced a three-year vesting window tied to having an approved building permit. "If you apply for a building permit and have it approved, you're vested for three years," David said.

Commissioners were also told that fee adoption rules have changed: building-permit fees must be adopted on a schedule (effectively reviewed periodically), the fee formula can be tied to a consumer price index, and adopted fees cannot take effect until 180 days after publication. David said the statutes require building-fee revenue to be placed in a dedicated fund to be used for administering the building department rather than flowing to the general fund. He recommended the county plan a budget line accordingly.

Short-term rentals were also discussed. David said the statutes limit a county's authority to restrict short-term rentals unless the county adopted a short-term-rental ordinance before July 1, 2018. He observed that Brown County's existing ordinance likely preserves local authority but asked staff to verify compliance.

Commissioners asked for a checklist or a list-form summary of the statute-driven changes and for the draft ordinance to be circulated to the office and commissioners for review; David agreed to provide that material. The commission discussed schedule and reporting implications, noting that some statutory reports are due in January and that budget timing may require near-term adjustments.

A commissioner requested clear guidance on spot zoning. David reviewed the statutory considerations a county must weigh when rezoning — such as comprehensive-plan consistency, infrastructure and property-value effects — and said that when a governing body documents its consideration of required factors, courts are unlikely to overturn a rezoning as arbitrary spot zoning. "If you adopt a zoning ordinance to rezone a piece of property and the commissioners have given consideration to all of those things and made the determination, then it's not a spot zone," he said.

Votes at a glance: the commission voted to approve the May 26, 2026 minutes by roll call (Andy Boils, Carol Bowen, Jane Gore and Randy Jones voting yes). Motion and second were recorded but not assigned to specific speakers in the transcript.

Next steps and staff work: David said he would circulate the draft ordinance and the office would review it before wider distribution; commissioners asked staff to produce a concise checklist of required code changes and to flag budget and reporting items that must be addressed ahead of statutory deadlines.

The meeting record in the transcript ends after the spot-zoning exchange; no additional formal actions or an adjournment time appear in the provided transcript.