Planning & Zoning – 2026-05-26 – Minutes

MARQUETTE COUNTY PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE May 7, 2026, 9:00am – Virtual and In-Person PUBLIC SAFETY ROOM – MARQUETTE COUNTY COURTHOUSE Members present: John Bennett, Dennis Fenner at 9:04am, John Larkin, Eli Schmudlach, Gary Sorensen Members absent: none Staff absent: none Others present: Jean Potter, Zach Hughes, Megan Stalker, Ron Barger, Kiley Lloyd, Nicole Ziebell, Roger & Jennifer Brandner (remote), Gary Burckhardt Kiley Lloyd called the meeting to order at 9:01am and asked for approval of the agenda. Motion by Bennett, 2nd by Larkin; motion carried 4-0. Lloyd open item 3: Election of Chairperson for Planning & Zoning Committee. Lloyd opened the floor for nominations for Planning & Zoning Chairperson. John Larkin nominated Gary Sorensen. Lloyd asked if there were any other nominations. No other nominations were made. Lloyd closed the floor for nominations . Unanimous vote for Gary Sorensen. Gary Sorensen was declared elected Chairperso n of the Planning & Zoning Committee. Chair Sorensen asked for approval of minutes from April 2, 2026, meeting. Motion by Bennett, 2nd by Schmudlach; motion carried 5-0. Citizens’ comments or concerns: Gary Burckhardt spoke about having chickens allowed in the Town of Packwaukee in residential zoning districts. As the o rdinance stands it is not allowed. Chair Sorensen advised Burckhardt to continue discussing his request to the Town and the Town can request the committee to act with a recommendati on to the county board to change ordinance language. Chair Sorensen also advised Burckhardt to contact his state assemblyman and senator to request they take up a stalled bill at the state legislative level. Chair opened item 6: A public hearing for Roger & Jennifer Brandner and Charles & Tammy Brandner , 948 Saddle Ridge, Portage, WI 53901, requesting a rezoning fro m General Agriculture (AG-2) District to Agricultural Residential (AG- 3(5)) District for the following lands, all in Section 33, T14N R10E, Town of Buffalo, Mar quette County, WI. A request to rezone 10 acres to AG-3(5) and the remaining 37.04 acr es to remain in AG-2, described as Lot 1 of CSM 3908. Potter summarized the petition materials noting the heari ng was properly noticed in the newspaper and applicants attended their town plan commission and town board meeting where the petition was discussed. Town offered the fo llowing amended approval: Rezone 10 acres to AG-3(5) and the remaining 37.04 acres to Agriculture and Open Space (AO), described as Lot 1 of CSM 3908, all in Section 33, T14N R10E, Town of Buffalo, Marquette County, WI. Applicants spoke in agreement of the amended rezone petition. Motion to approve the amended rezone petition and move onto County Board by Benne tt; 2nd by Fenner ; discussion; motion carried 5-0. Chair opened item 7: Department Reports a. Register of Deeds: Ziebell spoke about what is done in her office and how things are reported. b. Land Information Director: Stalker spoke about all her job duties that go along with her titles of Land Information Officer (LIO), Real Property Lister (RPL), Land Information Director and GIS Specialist. She gave a broad overview of the office and job duties. This time of year, she is working on Board of Re views and open books are happening with the assessors. c. Zoning Administrator: Potter spoke about how the zoning office operates and gave a basic review of ordinance and statute language connecte d to planning and zoning. Explained the county comprehensive plan update and the phases throughout the rest of 2026. In April, Potter attended the Towns Association Unit Meeting hosted by the Town of Springfield and answered a variety of questions. Complex forfeiture violations are being worked on with Corp Counsel. A final list of about 100 systems that did not complete septic maintenance in 2025 will be turned over to Corp Counsel for a citation to be sent to obtain compliance. d. Zoning Technician: Hughes gave an overview of the month of April with 6 septic installs and 2 onsite visits. 18 new sanitary permits were reviewe d. Hughes explained that Kari coordinated the annual septic maintenance ma iler. 2,206 septic notices for the 3-year required maintenance cycle h ave been processed. The office hosted the students participating in Youth Governme nt Day and gave a brief presentation of department duties. Hughes explained that he and Potter assisted LWCD processing orders for the annual tree sale, noti ng it is the 2 nd largest county sale in the state. Hughes gave the office statistics statin g there were 143 walk-ins, 572 phone calls with 230 of those handled by K ari and him being the winner of over 16 hours talked on the phone in April. Chair opened item 8: Review of Department Vouchers – comprehensive planning consultant was confirmed as Place Foundry. Chair opened item 9: Any Other Business: Introductions by the committee members. Fenner asked for clarification on assessments of decks & sheds at Campgrounds. Stalker explained how assessments of pe rsonal property are now classified. The committee discussed changing the meeting time. Decision was made to have the meeting moved to 1:00pm on the first Thursday of each month. Motion by Bennett; 2nd by Schmudlach; motion carried 5-0. Chair adjourned meeting at 10:21am Respectfully Submitted by Nicole Ziebell