By Kevin Boneske
Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Bay Plan Commission approved a conditional-use permit (CUP) for the construction of 15 part residential/part storage condominium units at the current site of a vacant, triangular-shaped parcel at the southeast corner of Utah Street and 18th Avenue.
The 2.78-acre site was rezoned earlier this year from single-family residential (R-1) to two-family residential (R-3), where multi-family dwellings require a CUP and are limited to not more than four units per building.
Ryan Polzin and Erik Vandervest of E&R-SB want to construct what they call “Boat House Motor Condos” as a multi-residential development on the site with five separate buildings having from two to four units per building.
The owner-occupied condominiums would have a living area and space to store boats and other vehicles, with the buyers to determine the internal layout of each unit.
“We’re selling them as they’re going to be privately owned by whoever,” Polzin said.
To prevent the development from being used for short-term rentals, Mayor David Ward suggested that it be prohibited as part of the condominium association documents.
Representatives of the Door County Astronomical Society expressed concerns during the public hearing about the light emanating from the development and having a negative impact on nighttime viewing at the Leif Everson Observatory, which is less than a half mile to the east of the project site.
“I’m not sure what I’m asking you do to other than to have another checkpoint that at some point in the future that once the lighting design is actually done, let’s make sure that we have the right color light, and let’s make sure that we don’t have too much intensity,” said Astronomical Society board member Jim Gallt.
Gallt said an example of light-pollution prevention was the Door County Ace Hardware in Sturgeon Bay on Egg Harbor Road. “It’s kind of a warm-colored light, all the fixtures point down, they seem to turn it off when the store is closed and it’s not too bright – it’s perfect,” he said.
Polzin said the only outside lighting planned for the Boat House Motor Condos would be above the doors.
The project would also include a private sewer and water system on the property, and Sturgeon Bay Utilities water-wastewater manager Jeff Hoffman said a master meter would be required for the water distribution system, in addition to the individual meters planned for each unit.
“Because it’s a private system, and a private water distribution system, over the years there could be leaks or maintenance issues, and Sturgeon Bay Utilities has many examples around town where we have required a master meter to account for any lost water or water that is lost underground in a private system,” he said.
The commission backed the permit request with the following five conditions:
- All exterior lighting shall be night-sky friendly and shielded to prevent lighting from being cast skyward or onto adjoining properties by utilizing lights with a color temperature of 3,000 Kelvin or less.
- Plant five trees of the ornamental or dwarf species, as specified in the street tree policy, along the property’s Utah Street frontage, where wires currently exist.
- Plant 12 trees along South 18th Avenue 12 feet from the shoulder of the road, where it is unlikely for the curb and gutter to be extended to the south.
- Sturgeon Bay Utilities must approve the final utility plan, which calls for private sewer and water mains on the site.
- Short-term rentals are prohibited in the condominium agreements.
The project will also be subject to review by the city’s Aesthetic Design and Site Plan Review Board, which – in addition to having a say in the design of the buildings – is also able to place conditions on the project before approving it.
“With a conditional use, it’s somewhat redundant to have two bodies looking at it, but that’s what it is,” said community development director Marty Olejniczak. “The question is, what happens if they have a requirement that’s like the opposite [of what the Plan Commission approved]. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen.”
Kevin Boneske is a contributor to the Peninsula Pulse.
