More than doubling the size of boathouses and allowing them 35 feet from lakes greater than 500 acres will be recommended by the Vilas County Zoning Committee after a public hearing Thursday that saw opposition from a number of municipalities and was different than recommendations from county zoning staff.
Builder Glenn Schiffman petitioned to allow boathouses 720 square feet in size up from 300 square feet with a maximum width of 24 feet up from 15 feet on a lot with at least 150 feet of frontage.
Opposition came from a number of towns including Washington, Plum Lake, Presque Isle, Land O' Lakes with Manitowish Waters ok with lakes 500 acres or more.
The Vilas County Lakes & Rivers Association provided a letter in opposition. Vilas County zoning adminstrator Dawn Schmidt indicated her staff suggested changes for committee consideration including a minimum lake size of 800 acres, maximum square footage of 600 square feet, maximum width of 20 feet on lots with at least 200 feet of frontage; all of which the committee rejected. Other committee approvals were for flat roofs, none on slopes greater than 20%, could not be attached to any other structure, and cannot be built if no primary home exists on the lot. The committee is expected to complete a resolution for county board action in January.
