Egg Harbor Works to Redo Zoning Ordinance, Notices

Though road construction and detours took up the majority of their time in January, Egg Harbor village officials dealt with more than the state Highway 42 redevelopment project.

After some disagreements, the Egg Harbor Plan Commission recommended that the village board should start mailing notices to all bordering property owners and those adjacent across-the-street when a variance or conditional-use permit is requested.

Plan Commission Chair Cambria Mueller had taken a position that neighbors should talk to neighbors and that paid legal notices and posted notices should suffice. Commission members eventually agreed that Egg Harbor is small enough to provide this service.

The village board meets at 8 am Feb. 14.

Also, the Plan Commission on Jan. 23 spent more than an hour discussing the reworking of the village zoning ordinance. The commission plans to eliminate the current Recreational district and have R-1, residential; RR, rural residential; and commercial districts C1, 2 and 3. 

Before proceeding further on the ordinance, the commissioners need to decide which districts could allow which types of uses, upon review and with village approval, by conditional use permit.

The board also has not agreed upon setback requirements or maximum or minimum sizes for lots within the various districts. On Jan. 23, board members discussed how the ordinance should map out population densities in the various districts.

Commissioner Kathy Navis said the best way to create affordable housing would be to allow smaller lots and smaller houses. The commission also discussed whether to map certain locations for high-density development or apartments, or whether to allow more than one home per lot. Navis said if people want a larger house, perhaps they could buy more than one lot.

Commissioner Chris Roedl suggested that the members look through the village’s existing comprehensive plan and also do homework to get perspective and understanding of the size of a 7,000-square-foot lot, 10,000-square-foot lot and other sizes that they discussed.

Commissioner Jon Kolb noted that the lots in his Point Beach neighborhood are small, and some houses occupy two lots or more.

The commission meets again at 8 am Feb. 27, the fourth Tuesday of the month. After agreeing on lot sizes and other specifications, the village will put Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission to work on the ordinance. 

Funds Remain for Beach Lot, Breakwall

The public works committee noted that $407,000 remains from the lift-station construction project. Those funds can be used to repave portions of the beach parking lot and to repair a dilapidated breakwall.

The corner of the parking lot and pier are linked to the sewage project because they occupy land the village bought from Alpine Resort to accommodate the lift station.

Mike Kahr from Death’s Door Marine told the village he could restore some historic stone steps and remove large stones and riprap to allow the village to extend its beach toward Alpine. He also drew a plan to not only repair the breakwall but to add an extension. Village officials discussed not doing the extension and ensuring that funds remain to repair pavement and add a few parking spaces.