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There are new rules coming that will affect shorefront land owners!
All properties that fall within shoreland zoning jurisdiction will be subject to the new rules. The new NR115 is in effect now, however counties have until February of 2012 to have an ordinance in place. The new ordinance could be in place anywhere from November 2011 to that February 2012. There may possibly be an extension from the State to that deadline.
The following is my understanding of of the new rule after listening to a presentation given by Kay Miller of the Door County Zoning Department:
1. There will be no clear cutting on a shorefront parcel, nor is there currently. The rules will allow tree cutting/trimming of 30% of the lot or 200' whichever is less for viewing/access corridor. No additional cutting is allowed.
NOT ACCEPTABLE CLEARING ACCEPTABLE CLEARING
2. The height restriction will be 35’ above grade. The Door County Zoning Ordinance (DCZO) already has a 35' height restriction and a 28’ height restriction on lots less than 90' wide.
3. The biggest eye opener for me is the impervious restrictions which currently equals not more than 45% for most of the shoreland zoning districts under the DCZO. Impervious means anything that is not green, so the current rules say that you can use 45% of the property to build, put in driveways, patios, etc., the remainder must remain "green." The new rule says that you can only have 15% of the lot in impervious area. "Green" means anything that is green: vegetation, garden, trees, grass. One can go as high as 30% of impervious area with mitigation, and the new rules will never allow any more than 30%. This would apply to any proposed projects. If you are over the allowable "Impervious Surface Ratio" you may keep what you have until some proposed change triggers action. Mitigation will require an agreement to be recorded on the deed.
4. There will be new rules regarding set back averaging. The building set back requirement is 75' from the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM). Under current rules, this 75' set back can be lessened should there be an existing dwelling on either side of you, but within 100' of your building site, that is located less than 75' from the OHWM. This means you could have a home on one side and a vacant lot on the other side. The new averaging procedure requires that there be dwellings on both sides and within 100' of your building site, in order to use the averaging procedure.
If you are considering...
-purchasing waterfront land and building, you may want to ACT NOW as the new rules may limit what you have in mind!
-adding on to your existing waterfront home/cottage/structure, you may want to ACT NOW!
-making any type of changes whatsoever, you may want to ACT NOW!
As always, speak to the Zoning Department and a builder to see how these changes will affect you now or in the future.
To find out more about this, I encourage you to go to: view the Door County Zoning Ordinance or call the Door County Zoning Department at 920.746.2323 and ask for Kay Miller or the appropriate zoning administrator for the town you are requesting information.
If you have a family member or friend who is planning on building on a shorefront/lakefront lot or expanding their current home or cottage, send this to them...they'll be glad you did!
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