Contested short term rental permit passes committee

By TOM LAVENTURE

tlaventure@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — A contested conditional use permit to operate a tourist rooming house in Mercer passed the Iron County Comprehensive Planning, Land and Zoning Committee on Tuesday, with owners, neighbors and attorneys from both sides present at the meeting.

The 4-1 committee approval established a list of conditions based on concerns that will allow Anitra and Gary Willis to operate their lakeside home at 5364N Falcon Road as a tourist rooming house (TRH) in a residential-recreation zoned district. The committee members who approved the permit said the permit could not be denied on its face and that it is now up to the homeowners to comply with the conditions or risk revocation.

“Let them try,” said Pat Hanson, committee chair.

The permit is not permanent, he said. The applicant must comply with the conditions or the permit can be revoked.

“Come up with a compromise,” Hanson said to the committee prior to the vote.

After nearly an hour of public comment and discussion the committee added conditions to the permit that reduce the number of guests per booking, the number of vehicles and trailers, along with stipulations on trash, no snowmobile or all-terrain vehicles, no fireworks, restrictions on boats, noise, fish disposal and mandatory quiet hours.

Brandon Snyder, committee member, said the opposition to the permit is a “cart before the horse” situation. He said the county cannot deny a conditional use permit when the application offers no reason for denial. In this instance the committee must approve the permit under state law, he said.

“Those are the conditions that they have to meet and if they don’t meet them then they revoke the permit,” Snyder said.

John Sendra, committee member and Mercer town board chair, voted against the permit approval, saying the owners did not exercise due diligence for using the home as a TRH. There are verifiable, substantial conditions in the town ordinance that would assist an applicant in determining if a property is appropriate for that type of use, he said.

“They are ignoring facts,” Sendra said of the limited parking, turnaround space, and other criteria that he felt did not make the home complaint as a TRH and was grounds for denial.

“We’ve got to be on a fair playing field,” Sendra said in reference to state laws he felt provide too much power to the applicants and not enough for neighbors and towns.

The town of Mercer has its own TRH permitting ordinance and the town board of supervisors supported a “do not approve recommendation” on the Willis application for the county planning, land and zoning committee to consider. The issues raised include the road width and impact on the neighborhood.

James McKenzie, the attorney representing neighbors in opposition to the TRH, said the conditions for granting the permit are outlined in the ordinance itself and that is where the applicant is not in compliance. The committee is not denying a permit when the application itself does not satisfy the conditions under the ordinance.

“Once you’ve granted it you can put additional conditions on if you choose but there is a baseline that John (Sendra) is referring to,” McKenzie said.

The Willis application meets the conditions of state law and would be a strong case in court if it were denied, said Erik Krueger, the attorney for the Willis couple, who attended the meeting via Zoom from Brookfield, Wisconsin. He said the language of the county and town of Mercer TRH ordinances were inconsistent with state law, which has withstood challenges so far with the state court of appeals and supreme court.

If a client application satisfies the zoning ordinance and continues to meet the conditions of the conditional use permit the county “shall” grant the permit, according to state law, he said. For the committee to deny the permit the action must be based on “measurable evidence and not personal preferences of the community.”

In other business the committee approved:

—Amended language to the county land use ordinance regarding captive cervids. The language requires second-layer fencing to match the required height of the primary fencing.

—A conditional use permit for a TRH at 3413 Tutt Road in Mercer, with town approval.

—A conditional use permit for a TRH at 2794W Mercer Lake Circle in Mercer. After a public hearing the committee added the conditions of the number of guests per unit, a three-day minimum stay, no pets, and mandatory quiet hours.

—A conditional use permit for construction of a 1,920 square foot accessory building at 4562N John Dul Road in Mercer, provided there is no human habitation or commercial use.

—A conditional use permit for construction of a 1,200 square foot accessory building with living space at 15908N Highway 122 in Saxon.

—Zoning requirements for a three-lot certified survey map for a Muskie Road property in the town of Sherman.

—Delayed action on a conditional use permit for a TRH at 6510 Flambeau Dam Road Unit 9 in Mercer until the next meeting. Sendra voted against the delay in favor of denying the permit for lack of response at the town level.