BOA Agenda 08-19-2026

County of Buffalo- Alma, Wisconsin Notice of Public Hearing Agenda 1. Call to order 2. Roll Call of Members 3. Reading of the Public Notice 4. Action to reopen the hearing for Eric Parks, Jeff Pank & Dawn Pank, VAR 2026-1, due to correspondence received after the hearing and to determine whether additional action should be taken 5. Variance Request: Consider an application to treat the associated parcel as a lot of record and allow construction of a dwelling using the existing legal access easement, without the 100 feet of required road frontage under Chapter 8, Section 1 of the Buffalo County Zoning Ordinance. Applicant: Eric Parks, Jeff Pank & Dawn Pank — VAR 2026-1 Property Location: W1805 County Road S, SE ¼ of the SE ¼, Section 25, Town of Alma. Hearing Process a. Application presentation and testimony b. Public comments c. Questions from Board of Adjustment members and Zoning staff d. Review of correspondence 6. At its discretion, the Board of Adjustment may conduct a site investigation for Board review and discussion. Following any site investigation, the Board will reconvene at the courthouse to review the application and take appropriate action. 7. Minutes: Review, discussion, and possible action on the December 18, 2025, Board of Adjustment Public Hearing minutes. 8. Minutes: Review, discussion, and possible action on the July 10, 2026, Board of Adjustment Public Hearing minutes. 9. Adjournment DATE: AUGUST 19, 2026 Dale Klopp, Board of Adjustment, Chairperson Abigail Soderberg, Buffalo County Zoning Department Any person wishing to attend the meeting who requires special accommodation because of a disability should contact the County Clerk’s Office at 608-685-6209 at least 24 hours before the meeting begins so appropriate accommodations can be made. Any Board member who is unable to attend must call the Zoning Office at 608-685-6218 to report their absence. Members of another governmental body who are not members of this board may attend this meeting. Their attendance could result in a quorum of another governmental body being present. Such a quorum is unintended, and those members are not meeting to exercise the authority, duties, or responsibilities of any other governmental body. Committee: Buffalo County Zoning Board of Adjustment Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: 3rd Floor, County Board Room, Buffalo County Courthouse ABIGAIL SODERBERG ZONING TECHNICIAN 407 South Second Street PO Box 492 Alma, WI 54610 Email: zoning@buffalocountywi.gov Phone 608.685.6218 DEPARTMENT OF LAND MANAGEMENT Enclosed you will find a public notice for a hearing before the Buffalo County Board of Adjustment. The same legal notice will appear in the Buffalo County News, for two consecutive weeks, July 30th & August 6th, 2026, prior to the hearing scheduled for August 19th, 2026. This is an attempt to notify adjoining property owners and/or interested parties of the hearing date, place, and time; however, it is possible that some interested parties may have been inadvertently omitted from our notification list. Property owners or interested parties not within 300 feet of the property were or may not have been included on the notification list. Attendance at this hearing is optional but is encouraged if you wish to provide testimony regarding this matter. If you cannot attend, you may submit exhibits or written testimony via mail or email that will be entered in the record. We ask that any written testimony be submitted to the Department of Land Management at P.O. Box 492, Alma, WI 54610 or zoning@buffalocountywi.gov no later than Wednesday, August 12, 2026, so they can be mailed to and reviewed by the Board of Adjustment members prior to the hearing. Any comments received after that date and time and prior to the hearing, will become part of the record, however, will not be reviewed by the Board members until they arrive at the hearing. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact the Buffalo County Department of Land Management at the phone numbers or e-mail addresses listed on this letterhead. Thank you, Buffalo County Department of Land Management Department of Land Management Report to the Board of Adjustments Variance Application Applicant: Eric Parks, Jeff Pank, Dawn Pank Address: N11638 CTH-M, Waupun, WI 53963 Hearing Date: August 19, 2026 Eric Parks, Jeff Pank, and Dawn Pank to hereafter be referred to after in this document as (The Party) applied for a variance from Chapter 8, Section 4 (A) and Chapter 21 (Lot of Record) of the Buffalo County Zoning Ordinance to allow a dwelling to be built on a parcel of which does not abut a public road, not considered a lot of record, and non-buildable due to lack of required road frontage. The applicants’ approximately 17.18 acres located in the SE ¼ of the SE ¼, Section 25, Town of Alma. The closest road to the parcel is County Road S, with access to the parcel via easement. The party proposes their lot be considered as a lot of record due to the town of Alma not being re-monumented and as so did not require a Certified Survey Map be turned into the Buffalo County Zoning Department for review. Doing so would give the same regulation as to a parcel created prior to the adoption of the 2018 Buffalo County Zoning Ordinance. Property History: There have been no permits historically granted to the parcel in question 002-00761-0030. Previous owner of the parcel Cheryll Bullington. Alma Town Board Position: On 6/18/2026 The town chair of Alma signed no comment on the proposal Public Comments: As of the drafting of this report the Department has received several written public comments. The Board of Adjustments is required by State Statute to evaluate a variance petition on the following three criteria: 1. UNNECESSARY HARDSHIP Unnecessary hardship exists when strict compliance with the Ordinance would result in hardship and would be “unnecessarily burdensome.” An applicant may not claim hardship when the conditions are self-imposed. The parcel- as-a-whole must be considered when applying the unnecessary hardship test. Also, financial hardship does not warrant a variance as maximizing the economic value of a property is not an objective of variances or justification for granting a variance. 2. UNIQUE PROPERTY LIMITATIONS Unnecessary hardship must be due to the unique physical limitations or constraints of the property which prevent compliance with the Ordinance. The circumstances of the applicant are not a factor when deciding on variances. Also, prior variances granted or a lack of objections from neighbors does not constitute a basis for granting a variance. 3. NO HARM TO PUBLIC INTEREST A variance may not be granted which results in harm to public interests. Boards should consider the short-term, long-term and the cumulative impacts of similar projects on the interests of the neighbors, the community, and even the State. Interests include but are not limited to the general health, safety, and welfare of the public. Department Summary: The Zoning Department recognizes that the parcel split created 4 parcels. Due to the township pending re-monumentation the parcel was split legally without review by the County. This split created 3 lots with proper road frontage, and one landlocked parcel. Due to the stipulations in the zoning ordinance to limit building on landlocked parcels, the lot in question is not considered buildable due to being split after the adoption of the 2018 Zoning Ordinance. The Zoning Department recognizes that the perpetual easement would allow for access to the parcel and run with the lands if ever to be transferred. The Zoning Department recognizes the hardship of which a parcel being created was not reviewed by the county. Should the Board of Adjustments choose to approve the Variance Application of The Party, the Buffalo County Department of Land Management recommends that the following conditions be placed on the variance: 1. The parcel 002-00761-0030 shall not be further divided. An additional parcel shall not be created without road frontage. In the scenario this parcel achieves the required road frontage, this stipulation to be removed. 2. The new parcel shall remain in the ANR-40 zoning district abiding by density standards set-forth in the ordinance, unless a Rezone Application is approved. _____________________ Zoning Staff