2016 Fall District Reports
Dean Johnson, West Central District -- West Central District canceled the September meeting due to me (Dean) being hospitalized for 10 days for Lymes carditis. What is Lymes carditis? Lyme carditis occurs when Lyme disease bacteria enter the tissues of the heart. This can interfere with the normal movement of electrical signals from the heart's upper to lower chambers, a process that coordinates the beating of the heart. The result is something physicians call "heart block," which can be mild, moderate, or severe. Heart block from Lyme carditis can progress rapidly.
Patients may experience light-headedness, fainting, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, or chest pain. Patients with Lyme carditis usually have other symptoms such as fever and body aches, and they may have more specific symptoms of Lyme disease, such as a rash.
With us all being in the outdoors this is just a good reminder to take precautions.
Andrew Baker, Southeast District -- The Southeast District met on September 9 in Waukesha with a majority of the Counties represented. We discussed current topics which generally focused on the implementation of some of the changes we are all dealing with in the Shoreland Zoning District, including regulation of boathouses and tracking, inspection and long term maintenance of mitigation practices. District members were giving an overview of the WCA Shoreland Zoning Task Force. The Task Force is a group of individuals with varying interests/backgrounds (included WCCA members) all with the common goal to provide counties guidance on the recent new laws and also identify potential provisions in law which could be clarified or modified to limit ambiguities in enforcement and other unintended consequences of the legislation. This group is actively meeting on a periodic basis and feedback from the WCCA membership in the form of case examples will be an important tool to guide any WCA lobbying efforts on this matter in future legislative sessions.
Also on the agenda was how we work with a group of people that will have new types of projects presented to them as a result of update laws, the Board of Adjustment. It will be important for we as staff members to keep the Board educated as to the new/revised code in light of the three standards that have to be met in order to approve a variance. For example, that should constitute the “minimum relief necessary” to justify a variance from the impervious surface limits when all other ordinance standards can be met? Overall, it was the consensus of the district that the newer standards (e.g. impervious surface limits) should be treated with the same approach in terms of an administrative process that has occurred for decades for more traditional zoning standards (e.g. setbacks). It is reasonable to have some level of flexibility with the newer standards just as you would the old keeping in mind there is always a limit to how accurate measurements can be (even from a surveyor). In all cases, we as staff are expected to have some level of professional judgement in terms of sorting out what cases are best suited for a variance request versus simply a change in the plans to meet the standards. Which, ultimately, is a reason for well written staff report.
Finally, we traded stories about the various ways citizens are “repurposing” old barns and the code enforcement that goes along with it and other odds and ends not fit for print.
See you at the Fall Conference.
CeCe Tesky, Northwest District -- The Northwest District plans to meet on September 21. We plan to discuss shoreland ordinance changes and network about what is and isn't working in neighboring counties. We will also be discussing the DSPS Listening session that was held in Hayward and ways we might be able to help DSPS understand our needs.
Jeremy Johnson, Northeast District -- See Member and County Spotlight Information in the DeCoder.
Adam Wiegel, Southwest District --No report
Jeff Brewbaker, Central District -- No report
Brian Giebel, East Central District -- The East Central district has not met formally as a district since winter, but there was some counties within the district that attended this summer’s DNR Floodplain workshops that were hosted by Michelle Staff. In our district, there was meeting in Fond du Lac and one in Green Bay.