Wilderness Lakes Class

Thought I should give you and update if you have not been following the Wilderness Lakes Class meetings in Sawyer County. There was a very large crowd that turned out for a Sawyer County Zoning public hearing last month, probably as a result of a Northland Area Builders Association (NABA) mailing to about 2500 land owners. NABA felt that Sawyer County did not properly notify the public of this newly proposed lake class since the newspaper notices did not include the list of lakes affected by the proposal. The NABA went on to say they were concerned because any change could greatly affect property owner rights as well as the value of the property.

The list of lakes affected was unveiled the morning of the hearing; at the time of the hearing only named lakes were scored. One Hundred Forty -Two (142) privately owned named lakes would become Wilderness Lakes. 141 of these lakes are currently Class 3 lakes requiring just less than 2 acres to build. One of the lakes, Island Lake, is currently a Class 1 lake. The Wilderness Class would require 5 acres to build, 300 feet of frontage (600 feet for multiple family dwellings), 700 feet of depth and side setback minimums of 60 feet for a total of 120 feet. The reclassification would roughly affect 78% of the lakes in Sawyer County.

There is certainly agreement to preserve the wilderness quality of the land surrounding the lake. The NABA disagrees with the proposal in its current form; they say that managing pollution through dilution does nothing to improve current levels of pollutants from failed septic systems, fertilizers and unmitigated shorelines. The also feel the proposal lacks the basis of protecting public health, safety or welfare and the burden of protecting the water is not distributed fairly amongst all property owners.

The NABA calls for the enforcement of current Zoning laws that are intended to protect the waters and shoreline and the use of Storm water Management Plans for new construction when impervious surface standards exceed 15% on properties within the watershed of a lake. Stay tuned!

Looks like we are at or near the peak for fall colors; Life if Good, Enjoy!