Zoning code rewrite emphasizes landscaping

A rewrite of Shawano’s zoning code would put a premium on landscaping for any new development proposed in the city.

“Landscaping requirements are the most different part of the new code,” said consultant Mike Slavney, of Vandewalle and Associates, at a meeting this week of the Zoning Code Rewrite Steering Committee.

The code was last updated in October 1983.

One of the first points of major discussion for the committee when work on the rewrite began about eight months ago was the lack of landscaping on many properties in the city.

“This is the approach to catch that,” Slavney said.

The new code would set a score for landscaping on site plan maps that proposed developments would have to meet. They would get points toward that score for various types of landscaping included in the site plan.

The requirement would only apply to new development and to those portions of existing properties that are significantly remodeled or expanded.

City Administrator Brian Knapp floated the possibility of a trigger to force new landscaping on the entire existing property when an owner remodels or expands more than 50 percent of that property.

However, after some discussion, the committee rejected the idea because it could inhibit remodeling or expansion plans.

Slavney said one of the goals of the new zoning code was to encourage redevelopment.

“Part of that strategy was not requiring a (landscaping) retro-fit,” he said.

The landscaping might be the biggest change from the existing zoning code, but there are other significant differences as proposed.

One would be the elimination of the “legal non-conforming” status.

Slavney said by accepting those properties as simply being legal, it would remove the cloud hanging over the title to the property.

“It will help stimulate significant investment,” he said.

The new code will also seek to fix a few flaws in the city’s current zoning.

Slavney said there are cases where existing property uses don’t match their zoning.

“There’s a lot of things that are zoned wrong,” he said.

In particular, Slavney noted two large areas near the downtown are zoned two-family residential but consist mostly of single-family homes.

Slavney said the new code should protect the existing uses.

Knapp said the city ended up over the years with quite a few diverse residential lots.

“I’m not sure how they got carved up in the weird way they were carved up, but many of them are really odd,” he said. “There were combinations and divisions and things. I don’t know if anybody was paying attention.”

The committee’s meeting on Tuesday was its last working session on the code.

The city budgeted $50,000 for the project.

“In my opinion, it’s ready to go to public hearing,” Slavney said. “It’s ready for adoption.”

However, the zoning code map that will show the physical boundaries of the zoning districts is still being tweaked.

Slavney said the committee needs to make several decisions, including exactly where the downtown district begins and ends.

Technically, the downtown district would be zoned for buildings that are adjacent to the sidewalk, with no setback.

Slavney said the committee should decide how far south on Main Street and how far east on Green Bay Street those rules should apply.

Though they wouldn’t affect existing structures, it will be important to any new development locating there, he said.

“You have to decide where you want the downtown to end,” Slavney said.

On Green Bay Street, Slavney recommends transitioning at some point from a downtown district to an urban mixed use district that would be open to almost any type of new development, as long as it included landscaping.

The new designation would also fit the wide variety of property uses already located along East Green Bay Street, he added.

“The zoning code should enable development,” Slavney said. “Get the rules out of the way.”