Leader | Nov 11 | 2015

Page 5

129(0%(5 ,17(5 &2817< /($'(5 1(:6 6(&7,21 $ 3$*(

Burnett County Land Use Committee struggles with state dictate. E. Royal Emerson | Staff writer SIREN - There are 500 lakes in Burnett County, most of them small ponds or JODFLDO Ă€OOV EXW DUH FODVVLĂ€HG DV VLJQLĂ€FDQW GHHS HQRXJK WR KROG Ă€VK RYHU winter. It doesn’t matter much to the state Legislature if the water is a pond or what WKH FRXQW\ GHHPV D &ODVV Ă€VKLQJ ODNH for back in July, the Legislature passed a law establishing uniform standards over how Wisconsin’s lakes are to be developed or preserved. The action of the Legislature removed from counties all local control to enact or enforce any provisions of shoreland zoning, such as building setbacks from the water or water-quality vegetative buffers, that are stronger than those minimum standards set by the state. Proponents of the law, known as Act 55, argue that establishing a uniform standard over lakeshore development is necessary to protect property owners from the overreach of local government by eliminating a hodge podge of rules that vary from county to county and, at times, from lake to lake. Opponents decry the loss of local control and argue the system in place prior to establishment of Act 55 preserved both lakeshore and water quality. The Burnett County Land Use and Information Committee met on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to discuss how they are to comply with the dictate that, when it comes to managing the 500 lakes in the county, they are to cede their authority to the state. “When it comes to lake regulation it is now a state rule. The state now rules,â€? said Maury Miller, chair of the committee. 6WUXJJOLQJ ZLWK LPSOHPHQWDWLRQ The state mandate over lakes in the counties is sweeping. In addition to over-

Who shall manage our lakes?

pending on lake size or type.

3URSRQHQWV RI $FW DUJXH WKDW HVWDEOLVKLQJ D XQLIRUP VWDQGDUG RYHU ODNHVKRUH GHYHORSPHQW LV QHFHVVDU\ WR SURWHFW SURSHUW\ RZQHUV IURP WKH RYHUUHDFK RI ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW E\ HOLPLQDWLQJ D KRGJHSRGJH RI UXOHV WKDW YDU\ IURP FRXQW\ WR FRXQW\ DQG DW WLPHV IURP ODNH WR ODNH 3KRWR E\ .HUU\ /DQQHUW riding local control of shoreland zoning, setbacks and vegetation, Act 55 also overrules local jurisdiction on issues such as lot width and water frontage, regulation of nonconforming structures such as old sheds and privys, the calculation method of impervious surfaces and even yard lights. Many of the local rules now being trumped have been in place for decades and were established in consultation with local lake associations and much public hearing. Before the change, local government could enact lake management ordinances so long as they met the minimum standards by the DNR, in a regulation known as Natural Resources 115. Under Act 55 any county standard that exceeds NR115 must now be repealed or otherwise not enforced. The committee is struggling to ascertain

how existing standards must be adjusted in order to comply. “It’s all just lawyering at the edges,â€? said Miller, as the committee discussed intricacies of the law and various interpretations. “We don’t know exactly for sure yet how everything is going to play out,â€? said Jason Towne, Burnett County zoning administrator, explaining that zoning districts in zoned towns may still apply. There is also an effort to repeal or amend Act 55, he explained. At the current time, a landowner may build on a lakeshore lot under provisions of Act 55 that may be in FRQĂ LFW ZLWK FRXQW\ ODNHVKRUH RUGLQDQFHV still in place. Burnett County is one of 30 counties that have stricter than the minimum ordinances in place and one of nearly 20 that XVH D V\VWHP RI ODNH FODVVLĂ€FDWLRQ WKDW allows different management levels de-

/DNH DVVRFLDWLRQV DQG RWKHUV UHVSRQG “The Wisconsin Counties Association is telling its members that instead of managing minimum lot sizes though shoreland zoning ordinance, they can do so through their subdivision authority. And what’s more, they believe counties can adopt a moratorium on land divisions to take time to evaluate and adopt or modify such a subdivision ordinance. Lake organizations in some counties that utilize larger than the state minimum lot sizes are already urging their counties to consider such a moratorium,â€? said Michael Engelson, executive director of Wisconsin Lakes, an umbrella group representing lake and river associations, in a guidance posted on their website. wisconsinlakes. org. Wisconsin Lakes delivered a letter to PHPEHUV RI WKH VWDWH¡V MRLQW Ă€QDQFH FRPmittee, signed by 59 lake associations, urging repeal of the law. They argue that the system in place before Act 55, whereby counties could “adopt standards stricter than those minimums if they deem it necessary,â€? has protected Wisconsin’s lakes for decades. The higher water quality that comes from requiring sensible shoreland development practices preserves recreational and tourism value, quality of life and long-term property values. Most importantly,â€? the letter reads, “it gives counties the chance to manage their lakes in a way tailored to their particular waters.â€? The committee took no action, but it seems clear the issue is far from being dead in thewater. Debate over the rule is now building, and it seems certain that collective action by counties and lake associations is inevitable. For now, the question of who shall manage our lakes remains in limbo.

A day in the life of the Siren Police Department E. Royal Emerson | Staff writer SIREN - All Siren Police Chief Chris Sybers wanted to do on the evening of Thursday. Oct. 29, was to arrive home after a long day’s work, when he received a radio transmission at 7 p.m. that a suspect wanted for questioning in two recent sexual assaults was in the Fourwinds grocery store. The suspect, described by Sybers as “not a very nice person,â€? had previous felony warrants and was known to carry weapons. His last confrontation with police required a SWAT unit be called. About to turn into his driveway, Sybers turned instead to the grocery store. Upon arrival he noticed a store clerk standing outside and, while questioning the clerk, the male suspect exited the store with another individual. Upon seeing the police chief the suspect took off running, Sybers, weighed down by his 20-pound gear belt, gave chase, yelling repeated warnings for the suspect to stop. The suspect ran across an adjacent parking lot and into a deepwooded parcel, a distance of 300 yards. Weaving his way through the woods ZLWK KLV Ă DVKOLJKW 6\EHUV FDOOHG IRU RI-

Ă€FHU DVVLVWDQFH 7KHUH LV D GHHS GLWFK LQ the woods about 15 feet wide and 6 feet full of water. Sybers ascertained the suspect, who had been “trampling through the woods in the dark like a deer,â€? did not make it to the ditch but instead must be taking cover somewhere among the large logs and other woodland debris. Circling back in his sweep, he headed toward what he thought was a large log that was instead the suspect lying down. The suspect assured Sybers that he was surrendering, stating that he was too spent to keep running. Sybers handcuffed the suspect as other RIĂ€FHUV DUULYHG 6\EHUV ZKR VXIIHUV IURP asthma and did not have his inhaler, had to be treated with oxygen on-site by local ambulance. Thankfully, local ambulance attendants were nearby, as they were pulling into a local restaurant for dinner when the call for assistance was received. The suspect, whom police were looking for in connection with two sexual assaults the previous week at the trailer court, was taken into custody. Formal charges are pending.

)LJKW RXWVLGH WDYHUQ That same night police were called to D ÀJKW RXWVLGH D ORFDO WDYHUQ 8SRQ DUrival they noticed a man lying in the road with a female standing over him. The man, semiconscious, was bleeding from the mouth and a broken beer bottle was nearby. The woman standing over him was his girlfriend. She explained to police that her brother had beaten him up because he did not like the way the victim was treating her. The woman also raised concerns that the victim, whom she described as a member of a motorcycle gang in South Dakota, may seek revenge against her brother and bring to town other motorcycle gang members. Upon closer inspection, the victim was found to have abrasions on his face and forehead and his nose was swollen. The victim later required numerous stitches and lost a tooth. The assailant suffered a fractured hand. Alcohol was deemed a likely contributing factor to the melee.

woman caught shoplifting a box of Little Debbie snack cakes and a box of breakfast bars. The woman explained that she had stolen the items because she was hungry and did not have any money. While she worked part time, she did not get paid until the following week. She has no children but is pregnant. The father of the child does not work. She has applied for food stamps but has not yet received them. She does have WIC assistance, but Dollar General does not accept them. She lives in the Siren Trailer Park. The store did not press charges but insisted she no longer go into the business. Siren police referred her to the Salvation Army, local churches and food pantries. The above were pulled from Siren Police Department incident reports and provide a snapshot of the typical calls and incidents that take place in our rural police departments. In the month of October the Siren Police Department received 269 calls for service resulting in 15 citations, 28 verbal warnings and four arrests.

6KRSOLIWLQJ /LWWOH 'HEELH VQDFN FDNHV Earlier, police were called to the Dollar General Store on report of a 23-year-old

SCF man arrested for OWI, seventh offense POLK COUNTY - Mike A. Johnson, 73, St. Croix Falls, was arrested Monday, Nov. 9, by the Wisconsin State Patrol, Spooner Post, for operating a motor veKLFOH XQGHU WKH LQĂ XHQFH VHYHQWK RIIHQVH According to a state patrol news release, a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper observed

and stopped a 2003 Buick Century traveling in excess of the speed limit and weaving on Hwy. 35 near Seventh Avenue in the city of Osceola, at approximately 4:46 p.m. A subsequent roadside investigaWLRQ LQFOXGLQJ VWDQGDUGL]HG ÀHOG WHVWLQJ revealed that Johnson may have been

XQGHU WKH LQĂ XHQFH RI DQ LQWR[LFDQW Johnson was transported to a local hospital where he submitted to an evidentiary blood test. He was lodged in the Polk County Jail pending a bail hearing. The state patrol news release also noted,

“Pursuant to the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicly, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.� - with information from WSP

Find local breaking news at leadernewsroom.com

Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.