Ordinance Amendment # 26 2013-2014

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TO: DANE COUNTY PLAN IiiINCP-:DEVEL0PMENT Room 116, City -County Building, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Fax (608) 267-1540 Planning (608)266-4251, Rm.116 Dane County Board of Supervisors Town Clerks, Supervisors & Planning Commissioners Records & support County Executive Joe Parisi (608)266-4251, Rm.116 All Other Interested Parties Zoning FROM: Majid Allan, Senior Planner (608)266-4266, Rm.116 DATE: January 16, 2014 RE: Staff review of Ordinance Amendment 26, 2013-14 Regarding Abandoned Nonconforming Mineral Extraction Sites This memo describes Ordinance Amendment 26, 2013-14, regarding abandoned nonconforming mineral extraction sites. To assist town and county officials in decision making, the Planning Division prepares written descriptions of each proposed amendment to land use and development related ordinances. The Zoning & Land Regulation (ZLR) Committee will hold a public hearing on OA 26 at 7pm on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 in room 201 of the city -county building. As an amendment to chapter 10, towns have 30 days to review and take -action on the amendment. Town action on OA 26 is due by Thursday, February 27, 2014. Please direct any questions to me at 267-2536, or allan _countyofdane.com. I. SUMMARY Section 10.21 of the county's zoning ordinance deals with nonconforming land uses, detailing limitations and conditions that apply to the continuation of existing uses that do not conform to current ordinance standards. Nonconforming uses lose their grandfathered status when they are discontinued for a year (or more). However, registered nonconforming mineral extraction sites currently enjoy an exemption from this principal limitation that applies to all other nonconforming uses. Ordinance Amendment 26 proposes to remove that exemption by deleting section 10.21(1)(d) from the county zoning ordinance. (d) Mineral extraction sites that were registered as nonconforming sites as provided by this .ordinance shall not be considered abandoned or discontinued if the site is inactive for more than .one year. Since extraction activities are essentially unregulated at such sites, there is no enforcement mechanism to ensure that operations are done in a manner that respects the rights and interests of neighboring property owners and towns. As a result, significant disputes and neighborhood unrest can emerge and fester for years at great cost to a community when the potential impacts of mineral extraction operations are not addressed and preempted on the front end of an operation. For example, virtually unregulated blasting, unlimited hours of operation, unmitigated fugitive dust emissions, and costly road damage from heavy truck traffic can occur at non -conforming mineral extraction sites. There are good reasons that mineral extraction is a conditional, rather than permitted, use in several of the county's zoning districts. From a public policy standpoint, it is preferable that ,mineral extraction proposals undergo a thorough public review and approval procedure that can impose reasonable conditions designed to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. The sensible change proposed by OA 26 would ensure that long inactive mineral extraction sites would have to obtain a conditional use permit and comply with current ordinance requirements in order to conduct any future extraction activities. The County Zoning & Land Regulation ,Committee will'hold a public hearing,on OA 26 at 7pm on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. Town action on the amendment is due by Thursday, February 27, 2014.