The Owen Planning Committee met on Tuesday, July 30 to take up the issue of building permits, Countryside Estates covenants, and the zoning map.

Committee chair Ray Kilty said a better procedure was needed for building permits for commercial and new construction. These should go through a review process. He suggested looking at the permit procedure in the city of Thorp which requires contractors to have a UDC (Uniform Dwelling Code) license. Electricians and plumbers are also required to be licensed by the state. Kilty suggested things like siding, roofing, and windows wouldn’t need to go through the review process as they are not changing the structure. There was some discussion of how large a remodel/addition project needs to be before it gets reviewed. Kilty said the city needs to get back on track and that reviews normally take two to six weeks. Kilty said that everyone getting the proper permits would help the assessor. It was felt that it should be a certain amount in a calendar year so people didn’t piecemeal things together. He said they are not trying to make the process harder but safer. In the end Planning decided to send the following to the council for approval. With the exception of siding, windows, roofs, and decks, any project over 250 square feet or $10,000 in cost will need to go through review. It was suggested that the reviews be done by a committee of the Director of Public Works or Zoning Administrator, Planning Committee chair, and Fire Chief. Kilty said they will get the procedure in place first, then they will look at whether to raise fees.

The Countryside Estates covenants were also discussed. Kilty said he had talked to Bob Christensen, the residential building inspector for the city, and the duplexes being built do not meet the 1,400 square foot of living space requirement. They have a garage listed as a craft room, but if it has a garage door, it can’t be considered as part of the living space. This is something that wasn’t caught because of a lack of review by the city and no city building permit having been obtained, although the UDC permits were in place. It was felt that nothing could be done about the duplexes that are completed, but maybe something can be done with those that aren’t. It would be possible for the owner of the duplexes to request a variance. It was also noted that just because one section of Countryside Estates is zoned to allow for duplexes, that doesn’t mean that single family housing can’t be built in that area. Going forward, it was felt that Christensen should not issue his permit unless the city gives a permit first.

Updating the zoning map was also discussed. It is due to be updated in 2025 and Kilty said there are a few errors in the current map to be addressed. The school is in a two family residential district, which is allowed, but could be zoned differently. He has been in contact with West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning and they were going to look at their notes to see why the city doesn’t have an S-1 district. The fire department is also in a residential district which could be zoned differently. Kilty also said there were buildings on Johnson Street that he felt don’t meet the setbacks. DPW Chad Smith had measured the setbacks and felt most of them do meet the requirements, but one doesn’t. The committee also felt that Martin’s pretzel plant should be changed to industrial from commercial. The freeze dried candy shop on Central was also brought up as to whether it should be zoned commercial or industrial. The lots on 1st Street that are zoned for trailers should probably be rezoned multi family residential as the plan was to put apartment buildings there, or at least zoned for duplexes.