County wants input on rules Peninsula ignored as shoreland regs were developed By Deb Fitzgerald For The News-Chronicle Door County officials voted that if shoreland standards are going to be changed, the state should at least get input from the county with the most shoreland in the state - 250 miles of it. That was part of the message the Door County Board of Supervisors will send to the governor's office after voting Monday to oppose revisions recommended for the state Department of Natural Resources code pertaining to shoreland management. "We do have the most shoreland, and yet didn't have any representation," said Charlie Most, county board chairman, during the Jan. 26 discussion of the issue. "No hearing was held even close to Door County." The state's standards pertaining to shoreland management were created to protect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and scenic beauty along navigable lakes and rivers by controlling development along waters and creating buffers around them. But spurred on by new research, a continuing building boom, and growing complaints from property owners and local governments, the DNR created a 28-member advisory committee last year in an effort to evaluate and revise the 34-year-old standards in NR 115. NR 115 tries to balance property owners' rights with public rights through statewide minimums such as minimum lot sizes, how far structures must be set back from the water's edge, and limits on removing trees and other vegetation. The standards apply only in unincorporated areas and are enforced by counties. The advisory committee completed its evaluation and update of NR 115 late last year, then took its recommendations to the public through a series of listening sessions held throughout the state. With only one exception, none of the eight listening sessions held between November and December of last year took place in Great Lakes counties, but in Spooner, Tomahawk, Eau Claire, Onalaska, Grand Chute, Crivitz, Madison and Waukesha County. "This is not quite closed government, but it is in Door County because it's a real hardship for us to get there," said Supervisor Charlie Jarman of Sevastopol. "I question if it's a method of hiding what's going on." Carmen Wagner, shoreland management specialist for the DNR, said during a telephone interview the state looked at geography, interests, and riparian ownership when choosing people for its advisory committee. But somehow, Great Lakes representation was limited and Door County wasn't involved. "It wasn't an intentional oversight," Wagner said. "We just did the best we could. We had to draw the line somewhere." As for the listening sessions, Wagner said the locations chosen were driven by budget constraints. "We had to find locations that were free with rooms of a certain size," Wagner said. The absence of Great Lakes involvement led some officials to speculate that inland lake interests led the primary push behind the changes. Wagner said that nonconforming situations on shoreline property were the same on either body of water. "There were some concerns that came up about Great Lakes, but it's important to remember that these are minimum standards," Wagner said. Lack of representation or involvement aside, the supervisors will also tell Madison that existing NR 115 requirements work well in Door County and aren't substantially improved by the advisory committee's recommendations. "What's being offered are some options on certain rules," said Robert Florence, Door County's planning director, during a telephone interview. "Depending on which option is selected, there could be some significant changes to the program. "The expectation by us is that the more radical options will not be chosen and what we'll end up with is basically what we already have." More than 850 people attended the listening sessions. The advisory committee is compiling all the comments. Based on those, the committee will prepare a first rule draft that its hoping to bring to the state Natural Resources Board this spring, with hearings scheduled for May or June, Wagner said. "We won't be going to all the same places we went to for the listening sessions," Wagner said. "We tried to work with our regional staff on the locations, but we'd welcome suggestions."