Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The Shawano Common Council and several Plan Commission members Tuesday got their first detailed look at a proposed zoning code for the city that would replace the one that has been in effect for 31 years.
The public will also have a chance to weigh in on it at an open house next week.
The new code would put a premium on landscaping for any new development proposed in the city and would toss the “legal nonconforming” designation for properties that don’t fit in with the zoning in their neighborhoods.
Mike Slavney, of consulting firm Vandewalle and Associates, called the elimination of the legal non-conforming status “one of the most important things we’re doing.”
One of the flaws in the city’s existing code, according to city officials, are a number of areas where existing property uses don’t match their zoning. In particular, two large areas near the downtown are zoned two-family residential but consist mostly of single-family homes.
Those areas would be mostly rezoned single-family under the new code.
Multi-family already in that zoning would remain and would be considered legally conforming, but no new multi-family properties would be allowed.
Slavney said he and his firm counted close to 300 lots in the city that don’t comply with the existing zoning code.
“There are hundreds of buildings that don’t meet the requirements,” he said.
That has put a cloud on the title of those properties, making it difficult for owners to sell or make improvements to the properties or obtain loans, he said.
The change would apply only to physical characteristics, not unauthorized uses, such as a business being run out of a home, which would still require a permit and be subject to limitations.
“The idea of a home occupation is, it’s hard to notice that it’s there,” Slavney said.
When it grows into something that becomes a noticeable in the neighborhood, drawing increased traffic and becoming a nuisance, it becomes a violation of the code.
Slavney said it would be a violation even under the existing code, but hasn’t always been enforced.
The new code would reserve its most rigid requirements for downtown Shawano, which under the proposed new zoning map would run from the 100 block of North Main Street to Presbyterian Street on the south and would promote two-story storefront buildings with no setback from the sidewalk.
Any proposed renovations, designs or projects in that area would be closely scrutinized by the city, down to which storefront colors would be appropriate.
Slavney said it was intended to preserve the architectural integrity of the downtown.
The new code would also 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.
The existing code was last adopted in October 1983. Though it has been frequently amended, this is the first complete overhaul in 31 years.
The city hired Vandewalle and Associates for the project, which was budgeted at $50,000. The firm worked with the city’s Zoning Code Rewrite Steering Committee to draft the final proposal.
The proposed code will be presented to the public at an open house at from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 9 at City Hall, followed by another joint meeting of the Plan Commission and Common Council.
There will be a public hearing before the Common Council and possible adoption of the code on Nov. 12, with another public hearing Dec. 10 on the new zoning map that will accompany the code.