Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The committee working on the city of Shawano’s first zoning code overhaul in 31 years got an earful Thursday from one property owner objecting to the operation of the VFW Post 2723 clubhouse at 202 W. Lieg Ave.
The clubhouse operates as a tavern on property zoned single-family residential and surrounded by residential zoning.
Taverns are not allowed in single-family residential districts, but the clubhouse was grandfathered in more than three decades ago.
The new code will not change the tavern’s designated zoning nor force it to close.
Ron Dahm was one of two property owners who complained about the clubhouse during an open house that preceded the Zoning Code Rewrite Steering Committee meeting.
Dahm said the tavern was affecting the quality of life and property values in the area.
“You have the same problems on that property as you’d have with a tavern sitting down on Main Street or Green Bay Street,” he said. “Why should we be sitting here on a Saturday afternoon with 20 to 30 cars on our streets?”
Dahm accused the city of not properly monitoring what was happening at the tavern over the years and allowing expansions such as a storage facility and fencing.
Mike Slavney, of consulting firm Vandewalle and Associates, told the committee there was little that could be done in the zoning code rewrite to address those concerns.
The new zoning code could make it easier to regulate property uses that don’t belong in the zoning districts where they’re located, he said, but it would do nothing to shut down existing operations if they don’t shut down on their own.
“Over time, the operation of the VFW changed to more of an intensive business operation,” Slavney said. “I don’t think there’s anything this rezoning process can do to help that situation.”
However, he said, any further expansion or improvements will be more difficult, as the clubhouse would have to come before the Plan Commission for a conditional use permit.
The non-conforming uses have generally not been a problem for the city unless they grow to the point of becoming a public nuisance, but the new code is still aimed at discouraging them.
“The policy in the new code is that we would like those non-conforming uses to go away,” Slavney said.
However, the code does not have any mechanism for accomplishing that, unless the non-conforming use takes a hiatus of at least a year.
“If discontinued for a year, (the use) cannot be re-established,” Slavney said. “That’s actually state law.”
Lyle Hagen, commander of VFW Post 2723, said the clubhouse has been operating for more than 30 years.
There was a petition against the operation in the late 1970s, he said, but since then there were no complaints, “until last year when we had a new neighbor.”
Hagen said the clubhouse has complied with city ordinances and has taken steps to improve the appearance of the property. He said there have been no complaints from the Police Department.
“We understand our dilemma here,” he said, adding that the veterans organization would be happy to move the clubhouse to a more appropriate zoning if it could afford it.
“The economy is working against us,” he said. “All we’re doing is surviving.”