Navigation

Dec. 23 – Jan. 8

• Foreclosures increased 71 percent in Door County between 2007 and 2009, from 87 to 149, the largest percentage increase in Northeast Wisconsin.

• In November, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources adopted revisions to Shoreland Development Rules to better protect lakes and rivers while allowing property owners more flexibility with their land.

The state Natural Resources Board adopted the rules Nov. 13, 2009. The final rules are expected to be published in early 2010. County governments will have two years from that time to update their shoreland development rules to be consistent with or exceed the state’s rules.

Owners of existing homes and buildings will not have to do anything different unless they propose a major change on their property, like remodeling their home, expanding it, or paving or covering more surfaces.

Setbacks for shorefront buildings remain 75 feet from the water and minimum lot sizes remain at 10,000 square feet with 65 feet of frontage for lots served by sanitary sewers, and 20,000 square feet and 100 feet of frontage for lots not served by sanitary sewers.

Property owners expanding the physical footprint of a non-conforming shoreland structure will be required to offset the environmental impact of the expansion by choosing from a number of options. Examples include reducing the amount of mowing next to the water, installing rain-gardens to absorb storm runoff, or re-planting native vegetation near the shoreline.

A new standard that applies to properties within 300 feet of lakes or rivers caps the total amount of hard or impervious surfaces on a property as well.

No limitations would exist for additions or new buildings where a lot’s impervious surfaces do not exceed 15 percent of the total lot size. Where the sum total of impervious surfaces is between 15 percent and 30 percent of the lot size, property owners would be required to take measures to offset the environmental impact of the proposed project.

For more information on the new rules visit the DNR Web site at http://dnr.wi.gov or contact Gregg Breese, Shoreland Team Leader, at 608.261.6430.