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Questions Raised On Minocqua Hotel Proposal

Town of Minocqua.org

MINOCQUA – A proposal to build a 9-unit hotel along U.S. Highway 51 just north of downtown Minocqua faced a barrage of questions at Tuesday’s Minocqua planning commission meeting.

Commissioners were skeptical of the parking layout as described in the conditional use permit application submitted by proposed owner and builder Glenn Schiffmann of Eagle River. They were concerned about the space allotted for vehicle and trailer parking.

Schiffmann wants to build on the former Bay View Motel property currently owned by Trygve (“Trig”) Solberg. The property (Bayview, Inc.) is zoned B-1 Business. The CUP application proposes combining two parcels, including that of a former Laundromat. The proposed hotel would have a lower level walkout, with two floors above. Main access is proposed off U.S. Highway 51. The upper level parking lot would include nine parking stalls and one handicap-parking stall. There would also be access to the hotel off Lakeview Drive with four more parking stalls.

As one commissioner noted, if the upper level parking layout was approved, it would result in a driver opening the car door onto the sidewalk. Nor did commissioners as a whole believe nine parking stalls were adequate, noting than an on-site employee would require two additional parking stalls. Nor does the layout favor trailer parking, they said. As currently proposed, the facility would have one 1-bedroom unit, two 2-bedroom units, and six 3-bedroom units.

In a memo outlining their concerns, the county zoning office said having the 23 bedrooms would require 24 parking spaces, not including those for on-site employees. The office noted the applicant referenced a similar development, Kee Mi Con Lodge in Eagle River. There, the facility’s brochure claims their three-bedroom unit sleeps 10 people. “Staff finds it difficult to comprehend that all individuals staying, in one of the units, would be coming in one vehicle,” notes the zoning office’s written response.

After 90 minutes of review, the commission directed that the agent for the developer, Jim Rein, return with better information about their concerns, including retaining walls placement and pier configuration. More questions peppered Rein, when he said there would place a sign directing “right turn only” on the upper parking level. That brought a response from audience member Mike Meyers, who lives next door to the property. Meyers said it’s a stretch of imagination to think that hotel guests would not attempt a left-hand turn to reach destinations north of the Island, versus having to drive downtown and using the one-way streets to return north. He also questioned the wisdom of allowing vehicles trailering boats on the upper level, saying drivers would attempt to back their boats into the busy traffic lanes. “It is a disaster waiting to happen,” he said of the current parking layout. Nor were commissioners done with their concerns.

Mark Pertile, public works director, urged the body to have the town attorney review the right-of-way limitations, noting that some of the stormwater system would end up on town property if allowed. He also questioned whether the proposed swale layout would result in rainwater running across the town road during times the ground is still frozen. “The town does not want any water directed from a development over any roadway as an overflow or storm discharge at any time of the year,” he had written earlier in a memo to the county zoning office.

Town chairman Mark Hartzheim said the town in the past has been accommodating to business development, but concerns must be addressed before the planning commission would recommended that the CUP be approved. The CUP application lists the cost of the entire development at $2 million. It doesn’t break down the value between land purchase and construction.

It’s noted in the CUP application that the units could be used for nightly stays and extended stays. There was brief discussion on whether the owner in the future would sell individual units under a condominium ownership.

The commissioners also discussed with zoning staff how many piers and berths would be allowed on Lake Minocqua. Pertile also recommended that if the project is approved, that the entire stretch of Lakeview Drive be posted “no parking.” Hartzheim pointed out that snowmobilers and fishermen access the lake from the north side of Lakeview Drive and would oppose “no parking” on that end. Pertile added that the site layout would make it difficult for the town crew to remove snow from the sidewalk, as the parking lot would be adjacent.

He suggested making the property owner responsible for removing the snow.

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