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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning & Zoning Committee - Minutes - 2/15/2024 Page 1 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 MINUTES BAYFIELD COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING FEBRUARY 15, 2024 1. Call to Order of Public Hearing: Chairman Rondeau called the public hearing to order at 4:00 pm. 2. Roll Call: Pocernich, Ray, Rondeau, Silbert, and Strand – All present. Others present: Director-Ruth Hulstrom, Franki Gross-Secretary, Alessandro Hall-AZA, Desi Niewinski-Short Term Rental/Environmental Health Specialist, John Carlson-Corp Counsel, Mark Abeles-Allison-Bayfield County Administrator. 3. Affidavit of Publication: Hulstrom showed the audience the affidavit of publication and the certified mailing receipts. Hulstrom stated the publishing dates were January 30th & February 6th, 2024 and all signature cards from the certified mailing were received except from the Towns of Bell, Hughes, and Mason. 4. Public Comment – Kathleen Russell, a resident of Washburn, spoke stating she would like to see Townships notified of STR applications and research whether there is shared interest amongst other counties in proposing to the Legislature an amendment to the existing statute to allow for regulation through density via Zoning as a tool to allow county or Townships to provide some protection to the neighborhoods. Also, Russell commented, she would like to see all mobile tower applications go through the CUP process. Pocernich clarified to the public that this portion of the meeting is for public comment and individuals are limited to 3 minutes. Those wishing to comment on the petition can do so later during the public hearing portion of the meeting. 5. Review of Meeting Format – Chairman Rondeau explained the procedure of the meeting. He asked everyone who wished to speak to fill out a form; and stated they will be asked to come forward and speak into the microphone. 6. Public Hearing: A. A petition by Ruth Hulstrom, Director of Planning and Zoning, on behalf of the Bayfield County Planning and Zoning Committee, requesting amendments to the Bayfield County Zoning Code of Ordinances, including the following: • Creation of Section 13-1-35 Code of Ordinances to set forth requirements for Short-Term Rentals in Bayfield County. • Amendment of Section 13-1-4 Code of Ordinances to remove the definition for Residence and replace it with a definition for Residential Dwelling, Page 2 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 remove the definition for Short-term Rental Accommodation and modify the definition of Short-term Rental. • Amendment of Section 13-1-62 Code of Ordinances to remove the classification of Short-term Rental Accommodation (2-4 Units) and to amend the classification of Short-term Rental Accommodation (1 Unit) to instead classify the use of Short-term Rental (1-4 Units) and make such use a permitted use in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, Commercial, Ag-1 and F-1 zones. Rondeau asked three times if anyone from the public would like to speak in support. Kenneth Bro, a resident of Washburn and Chair of the Town of Washburn’s Plan Commission, spoke and expressed concerns regarding the new STR ordinance. Bro suggested not a change to the ordinance, but to the procedure that would allow contact information to be provided either to the Town Chair or the Town Clerk, because often issues involve nighttime occurrences or weekend occurrences, and there isn't somebody at the Zoning office who can respond to any problems at that time. Jenna Galegher, a property owner in Bayfield, spoke expressing concerns regarding confusion in the language on if the permit is to be renewed annually or if it is a one-time application. Hulstrom stated that the application will need to be renewed annually. Galegher expressed concerns that the permit is not transferable if the property is sold and feels that interruption in the rental season because of a change in ownership is unreasonable. Galegher also commented that she didn’t see what fees are associated with the STR process. Hulstrom stated that the fees were going to be discussed and hopefully adopted later tonight in the meeting. Rondeau asked three times if anyone would like to speak in opposition. John Anderson, a full-time resident in the Town of Bell and Town elector, spoke in favor of the Ordinance. Anderson stated he has been paying attention to this issue for the last year and a half and is happy to see the Ordinance specifies maximum capacity as defined by sanitary capacity and that a solid jurisdictional foundation for the Department of Planning and Zoning to be involved in the County regulatory process of short-term rentals. Anderson suggested, regarding the harmonization of regulation between the County and Towns, that the County can simply add language in Title 13 like what exists in Title 14. Anderson gave the example, ”Should any provision of this chapter conflict with any other law, then the provisions of the most stringent requirement, regulation, restriction or limitation shall prevail.” Anderson noted that he will keep an eye out going forward in maintaining robust and productive lines of communication between the County Departments who are involved in STR regulation, which in this case will be Health, with the Tourist Rooming House license and Planning and Zoning with the STR permit and between the County and Towns. Discussion ended. Page 3 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 7. Adjournment of Public Hearing: Strand made a motion to adjourn the public hearing, Silbert seconded. Motion carried, 5-0. Adjourned at 4:20 pm. 8. Call to Order of Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting: Rondeau called the meeting to order at 4:21 pm. 9. Roll Call: Pocernich, Ray, Rondeau, Silbert, and Strand - All present. Others present: Director-Ruth Hulstrom, Franki Gross–Secretary, Alessandro Hall-AZA, Desi Niewinski-Short Term Rental/Environmental Health Specialist, John Carlson-Corp Counsel, Mark Abeles-Allison-Bayfield County Administrator. 10. New Business A. A petition by Ruth Hulstrom, Director of Planning and Zoning, on behalf of the Bayfield County Planning and Zoning Committee, requesting amendments to the Bayfield County Zoning Code of Ordinances, including the following: • Creation of Section 13-1-35 Code of Ordinances to set forth requirements for Short-Term Rentals in Bayfield County. • Amendment of Section 13-1-4 Code of Ordinances to remove the definition for Residence and replace it with a definition for Residential Dwelling, remove the definition for Short-term Rental Accommodation and modify the definition of Short-term rental. • Amendment of Section 13-1-62 Code of Ordinances to remove the classification of Short-term Rental Accommodation (2-4 Units) and to amend the classification of Short-term Rental Accommodation (1 Unit) to instead classify the use of Short-term Rental (1-4 Units) and make such use a permitted use in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, Commercial, Ag-1 and F-1 zones. File Report: Carlson informed the committee that there are a few definitions that need to be changed to clarify the meanings. The term dwelling unit will now be the same as residence, residential is now like the State definition, and the term sleeping place will be removed so there is no confusion with the term bunkhouse. The term resort is being removed entirely because it conflicts with the goals of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance. Carlson questioned the Committee on the direction they wanted to go for the Short-Term Rental fees, annual or not. Hulstrom noted that will be discussed later in the meeting. The Committee had questions and discussion on the definition of residence and Carlson noted the definition was taken from the States definition. Pocernich noted that he wanted the definition of Residence to be updated and to delete “all others” and replace with “the general public”. Ray stated that he would like to see the Towns continue to have input on the Short-Term Rental Permit process. Carlson stated that to streamline the process and align with Public Health on the 30- Page 4 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 day timeline to issue the permits, this proposed language structure would be appropriate given that the Department can’t always add or enforce some conditions the Towns place on the TBA. Silbert asked for clarification regarding 13-1-35, 4, a & b and what the difference is. Hulstrom and Carlson tried to clarify how a & b are different and noted that under the new ordinance an existing valid permit is good for 12 months and then they need to renew. Carlson stated that the existing permit holders will need to acquire an annual permit, which is not the standard currently as existing permits do not expire, which is not what the Committee indicated they wanted. Discussion was had on why the Department is limiting the number of occupants based on the septic system capacity. Pocernich stated that if a sewer is going to fail, it is going to fail and they are going to have to replace it, so why limit the number of renters. Silbert noted that having a cap will reduce the possibility of early system failure and protect the community. Carlson and Hulstrom noted that setting an occupancy maximum will restrict the advertisement of the short-term rental to only what the sanitary can handle, for example, advertising the rental can sleep 20 people but the sanitary system is only sized for 4 people. Discussion went back and forth switching from sanitary requirements for short-term rentals, difference between bed and breakfasts and tourist rooming houses, Public Health requirements for short-term rentals, and inspection requirements and fees for short-term rentals for both Zoning and Public Health. Silbert noted that in his discussions with Public Health they relayed the need for another sanitarian. Hulstrom noted that with the new Short-Term Rental Specialist position, the county should have the capacity to send the county zoning permit and State license to local jurisdictions. The Committee also had discussion on the requirements for insurance for short-term rentals and Carlson indicated that in prior Committee discussion was not favorable, so it wasn’t added to the ordinance language. Strand stated he wasn’t ready for a motion and would like some time to digest the information that was given and would like to see it come back to the Committee at the next meeting with the new proposed language and suggested changes. The other Committee members concurred. Ray indicated that he wanted to see language added that clarifies that existing valid permits need to provide the additional information to comply with the new ordinance within 12 months but that the fee amount applied to these existing valid permits would be the annual renewal fee amount. 11. Other Business B. Minutes of Previous Meeting (January 18, 2024): Strand moved to approve the Minutes of the January 18, 2024 meeting. Seconded by Silbert. Motion carried, 5-0 C. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding recommendations for updated Fee Schedule related to Short-term Rental fees and/or Accessory Structures. Hulstrom informed the committee that the proposed initial fee Page 5 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 application for a STR is $250 and the annual renewal would be $150 stating the fee amounts proposed here are meant to help cover the Zoning's cost share of the new STR position and was based on review of existing Zoning permits for Short-Term Rentals. Hulstrom stated the Department has approximately 382 STR in our system and consulted with the Public Health Department which has approximately 330 Tourist Rooming House licenses on file. The Department never knows how many will renew each year, so if everyone were to renew their permit based upon that 330 to 382 range, then the Department, with the $150 renewal rate, could bring in approximately $49,000 to $57,000 a year, which would fund the halftime portion that the Zoning Department is responsible for, stated Hulstrom. Hulstrom stated that there is uncertainty as to the number of new permits the Department would receive each year and the directive given from County Administration was that the Department needed to show they could cover their half of the STR position with fees so that is why the renewal fee amount is set at the proposed fee amount. Committee Member Strand left the meeting- 5:31pm Rondeau and Ray stated that they support the annual renewal for all STR but don’t support billing from Zoning and Public Health being separate. Abeles-Allison confirmed that the public will only receive one bill containing both Zoning and Public Health charges and that all existing STR will be charged only the annual renewal, but new STR will be charged the new initial fee. Rondeau reiterated the fact that existing valid permits would be treated as renewals at $150 and new applications would be charged the initial application fee of $250 and asked whether official action needed to be taken on the item. Hulstrom stated that she will discuss with Carlson how best to clarify that in the current ordinance language and the Department was only seeking direction from the Committee on the STR fees and official action would be taken at the same time action was taken on the proposed STR ordinance language. Hulstrom stated the Department also would like to adjust the non-habitable principal structures/accessory structures fees from $0.50 a sq ft to $0.20 sq ft. because the Department is finding that the fee structure is disproportionate for large non-habitable structures with fees that are significantly higher than the old fee schedule, a 6 to 7 times increase from the prior fee schedule. Hulstrom noted that the Department was looking for a recommendation from the Committee to the Board. Ray moved to approve this modification to the fee schedule and forward it to the Board. Seconded by Silbert. Motion carried, 3- 1(Pocernich). Discussion occurred regarding whether this was part of the other ordinance or separate. Rondeau and Hulstrom verified it was separate. D. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Uniformed Dwelling Code (UDC) inspector proposals. Abeles-Allison informed the committee that 2 Page 6 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 proposals were received, but 1 was incomplete and 1 was late so both have been rejected. Discussion continued regarding the proposed application/interview process related to the proposals received. Pocernich questions the authority of the Department, the Committee, and the County to contract a UDC Inspector citing 13-1-107 paragraph 1.5 Titled “Building Inspector”. Discussion occurred on whether the Ordinance needs to be updated and changed to bring the County into compliance with the Ordinance. Abeles-Allison stated that the UDC inspector position will be contracted, and the Committee will be updated at the next meeting on how the application/interview process goes with the potential UDC Inspectors. E. Discussion regarding updates to Mobile Towers ordinance amendments. Abeles-Allison informed the committee that there was discussion with Bayfield Wireless to clarify the distinction between what's Internet, what's not, what's cellular, and what's not. Fixed wireless equipment traditionally has not been considered cellular, although it can do the same things and there was concern about the consistency between the two stated Abeles- Allison. Hulstrom stated that one of the suggestions from Bayfield Wireless is that if the Department moves forward with an ordinance amendment, instead of requiring a Conditional Use Permit for all towers and collocates, only new towers 200 feet or more in height would require a Conditional Use Permit. Any new towers under 200 feet, and collocated on existing or new towers, would only require a land use permit per the Mobile Towers Ordinance. Silbert stated he supports a Conditional Use Permit for all new towers regardless of height, and to take away the CUP process is to take away the voice of the public. Discussion occurred but no Committee members spoke in disagreement with this Silbert’s direction. F. Committee members discussion regarding matters of the Planning and Zoning Department Silbert commented that because Ray is a Short-Term Rental property owner he should recuse himself from any discussion on that topic and should not vote. Ray stated he doesn’t have a problem with that. The Committee had discussion on whether it was necessary to have Ray involved in STR topic discussions and Abeles-Allison stated that maintaining a higher standard when a personal interest is being questioned is where the County is aligned and recommended that the Committee also uphold that standard. Ray asked if Hulstrom had any takeaways from the Wildfire Webinar she attended that would be appropriate for the Zoning Department. Hulstrom stated there wasn't any big items of note that would be appropriate to go into policy at this time, but as we move forward with looking to the future at the implementation matrix and the responsibilities of the Zoning Department, related to the Comprehensive Plan, it's anticipated the Department will look at wildfire and the resources provided at the training and any sort of policy change that might be appropriate at that time. Ray indicated that he could see creating a wildfire risk overlay. Ray stated that he found the Plan Commission training he attended very useful and Page 7 of 7 ZC Planning and Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting – February 15, 2024 recommends that any Zoning Committee member, existing or new, should also attend because of the useful information that pertains directly to the Planning & Zoning Department. Pocernich asked what the Ordinance is regarding junk in a person’s yard. Discussion occurred on what the difference is between a “junk yard” and “junk in a yard” due to a property owner in Barksdale having someone allegedly complain to the Department. Hulstrom noted she and the inspector for Barksdale will investigate the allegations. Hulstrom also noted to the Committee that AZA Alessandro Hall has received his POWTS certification and the Department would like to offer their congratulations. Hulstrom also introduced Desi Niewinski, the new Short-Term Rental/Environmental Health Specialist to the Committee. Hulstrom noted that the Department is in full swing implementing and training in the new permitting software and is anticipated going live to the public on or about March 1st. Hulstrom commented that the Department has updated all forms and applications, which are now available on the website, and soon those forms will also be available in a fillable PDF. 12. Monthly Report/ Budget Revenue Hulstrom stated the Monthly Report is in Dropbox. Ray moved to receive and place on file the January 2024 monthly report. Seconded by Silbert. Motion carried, 4-0 13. Adjournment Rondeau called adjournment at 6:10 pm. Prepared by FIG on 2/22/24; given to REH on 2/29/24 Reviewed by REH on 3/13/2024 Sent to PZC on 3/13/2024 Uploaded to Drop Box on 3/13/2024 Final Approval on 3/21/2024 cc: (after final approval)- (8) Supervisors, Cty Admin, Clerk, DNR, Web k/zc/minutes/2024/Feb