Committee reviews broad Chapter 15 zoning amendments, weighs self‑storage limits and data‑center moratorium

County planning staff presented a redline draft of Chapter 15 on July 9 that would reorganize several land‑use rules and add new performance standards aimed at clarifying administration and addressing community concerns.

The draft contains multiple related proposals: clarify lot‑density calculations across zoning districts; correct the use table to make some retail uses permitted rather than conditional; remove self‑storage as a conditional use in R‑1 and R‑2 (thereby requiring a rezoning to commercial for new selfs‑storage facilities in those districts); add design and performance standards for self‑storage (indoor storage only, no outdoor storage, 25‑foot building setbacks to allow screening, downward‑shielded lighting and no retail or manufacturing on the same parcel); and move conditional‑use hearings from the community development committee to the board of adjustment in some cases.

Staff said the rationale for removing self‑storage from R‑district conditional use lists is that conditional use permits are legally difficult to deny when supported by substantial evidence, so the county would instead require rezoning to commercial if a self‑storage business were proposed in R‑1/R‑2 areas. A committee member called that approach “really restrictive,” and multiple members pressed for more input from affected towns before finalizing policy. Staff said they will present the redline to the Wisconsin Towns Association on July 23 and bring town feedback back to the committee before an August public hearing.

The draft also introduces a new subsection (15.396) creating a 12‑month moratorium on medium and large data centers while exempting small, in‑house server rooms. Staff proposed thresholds (small: <500 kW; medium: 500 kW–10 MW; large: >10 MW) and said the definitions will be refined during the moratorium and through outreach. Committee members raised concerns about retrofitted buildings becoming data centers, how to measure power use, noise and cooling systems (including water use and recycling of glycol/antifreeze), and how the county would enforce any new standards.

Other proposals include operational standards for short‑term rentals (land use permit, main dwelling only, sewer sized for maximum occupants, display of permit number in listings, minimum rentable floor area and the option to limit stays or total rented days) and clarifications on travel trailers (only year‑round on parcels with a principal dwelling; otherwise limited to 14 nights in any 60‑day period). Staff told the committee that some performance standards were removed from the current draft because the moratorium would temporarily prohibit medium and large data centers; those standards might return when the moratorium is lifted or definitions are finalized.

Staff outlined the next steps: present the draft to towns on July 23, hold a public hearing in August, publish notice in a class 2 notice before the hearing, and, if post‑hearing changes are not substantial, forward to the full county board in September. Staff emphasized that substantial changes after the public hearing should trigger another hearing.

Committee members suggested several refinements — adding earth‑tone color guidance for storage facades, ensuring fire‑access and emergency routes are preserved with the proposed 25‑foot setbacks for storage buildings, and including performance limits for cooling systems on small data centers if external cooling is used. Staff committed to collecting town feedback and making clarifying edits for the August hearing.