Plan Commission denies Eagle Wings storage building over downtown parking loss

The Minocqua Plan Commission voted unanimously on June 30 to deny an administrative review permit for an accessory storage building at the Eagle Wings retail parcel in downtown Minocqua, citing the project’s effect on required parking.

County planner Carla Blankenship told the commission that a 2001 administrative review application documented 38 off-street parking spaces for the site while the Oneida County requirement is 36 spaces, and that the proposed storage building "will be used for storage for Eagle Wings and will take away 17 parking spaces." Member Mark Pertile pressed that stormwater cannot be routed to the street and "needs to be retained on site with a retention pond or rain garden and treated with catch basins before going into the storm sewers," and other members raised concerns that parking had been leased to a third party (Pertile referenced T&T Auto) rather than retained to serve the retail business.

Members adopted a motion from Billy Fried to deny the permit because the parcel must retain parking to support the existing business. Blankenship said that if the applicant wishes to pursue a different layout or to engage the Oneida County Planning & Development Committee, the matter can be forwarded for further review; she confirmed that denied applications proceed to the Oneida County Planning and Development Committee for consideration. The commission’s denial leaves the property with the off-street parking configuration documented in prior approvals unless and until the owner pursues a revised proposal through county review.