Plan Commission Minutes
Town of Washburn
Town Hall
Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Commission members present: Kim Bro (chair), Caroline Twombly, Seth Vasser (town board
representative).

Commission members absent: Cyndi Belanger (secretary) out of town, Tim Schwenzfeier (vice chair)
meeting conflict.

Others present (at site visit): Mike Harvey (town road superintendent).

1. Chairman Bro called the meeting of the Commission to order at 7:15 P.M. and verified its legal
notification (posted at Town Hall and Tetzner Dairy) on July 31, 2025 and on Town website on
August 3, 2025).

2. The minutes of the April 7, 2025 meeting were approved (Caroline moves, Seth seconds).

3. Prior to the meeting at 6:00 P.M., the commission conducted a site visit at James and Kari Carlson’s
property (30605 Wannebo Rd). Sand fill had been extended beyond the former glacial beach edge to
provide a granular base for a proposed shop building, the corners of which were marked with flags. A
71-foot turnaround tee was marked with flagging, but with no fill, north of the proposed building. The
proposed main driveway extends south 225 feet south from Wannebo Road. There is a 24-inch, 24-foot
long metal culvert in the Wannebo Road ditch A seep area (now dry) was visible downhill (east) of the
added fill for the proposed shop. The proposed shop is on a slope of a former glacial beach over a silty
clay confining layer (a steep transitional soil area).

4. Prior to the meeting at 6:30 P.M., the commission conducted a site visit at Seth and Angie Vasser’s
property (~200 feet west of 76175 Paulson Rd). They propose constructing a driveway 48 feet south of an
existing shared, private driveway where they propose adding a second residence. The existing sand soil
provides an adequate base that with a six-inch gravel topping will provide adequate load bearing
capacity. The proposed driveway, in conjunction with the existing private driveway, would provide an
adequate turnaround tee. Drainage on this wooded, level site is good. The issue with this driveway is the
steep, sharp turn in transitional soils where the existing driveway turns to the west. The driveway leading
north to this turn is approximately a 16% grade, exceeding the 10% maximum grade required by the
Town Driveway Ordinance. Winter access of emergency vehicles to the Vasser’s proposed long-term
rental is likely to be problematic unless the curve is widened and the turn is excavated to a more gradual
slope.

5. The commission reviewed the driveway permit application and preliminary development plan for Seth
and Angie Vasser to construct a driveway and a second residence on their 34-acre parcel in a Forestry-1
zoning district (part of SW¼SE¼ Section 32 T.49N R.5W; Tax ID #31134). The marked layout of the
driveway provides an adequate tee-turnaround for emergency vehicles but the steep sharp turn in the
existing, shared driveway could be an impediment to emergency vehicle access to the site. The
commission recommends (Caroline moves, Kim seconds, Seth abstains) that the town board approve the
driveway permit. The setback of the entire site retains the forested character of the area (Objective 8.3).
The commission recommends that the Town Board, as part of its recommendation for a County Class A
Special Use Permit for constructing a second residence, recommend providing a wider turn with a more
gradual slope in the existing, shared driveway so that buildings on the hill at the top of the driveway can
be reached by emergency vehicles in winter.

6. The commission reviewed the driveway permit application and preliminary development plan for James
and Kari Carlson to construct a driveway and a shop on their 5-acre parcel in an Agriculture-1 zoning
district (Lot 6 of Block 1, Textor’s Addition in W½ NE¼ NW¼NE¼ Section 12 T.48N R.5W;
Tax ID #31280). The Commission recommends (Caroline moves, Seth seconds) that the Town Board
approve a driveway permit with the following conditions:

● The proposed turnaround tee adjacent to a proposed shop building needs to be raised to a more level
grade.
● The fill areas extending east beyond the edge of a former glacial beach need to have either heavy soil
or geotextile and heavy rock placed to prevent slumping of the fill from spring seeps in the steep
transitional soils (Objective 8.3). ).
● The existing road ditch culvert should be replaced with a 40-foot x 24-inch diameter culvert. Because
Wannebo Road is steep where the driveway enters, a longer culvert is needed to accommodate turning
vehicles without posing a hazard to road traffic.
The marked layout of the driveway provides an adequate tee-turnaround for emergency vehicles, and the
proposed addition gravel will accommodate the roadbed requirements of the Town Driveway Ordinance.

7. Kim explained the site visit report he wrote regarding the additional maintenance required for the closed
Section 29 landfill. The three municipalities responsible for maintaining the landfill are hoping that the
East Bayfield Street road construction project in the City of Washburn will provide in 2027 clay of
sufficient quality to fill areas if subsidence and sanding water on the clay cap. The fill brought in from
the West Bayfield Street road construction filled only part of one swale on the east side to the clay cap.
Most of the fill was placed in a low area on the east side of the landfill.

8. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 7 PM with site visits beforehand.

9. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 P.M. (Caroline moves, Seth seconds).

Draft submitted by: Kenneth Bro, Chair, Town of Washburn Plan Commission (August 12, 2025).

Plan Commission Report
The commission recommends that the Town Board approve the driveway permit for a second residence for
Seth and Angie Vasser. The Commission recommends that the Town Board recommend creating a wider and
more gradually sloped turn in the existing, shared driveway as part of its review of a County Class A Special
Use Permit for constructing a second residence so that emergency vehicles can readily access residences at
the far end of the .

The commission recommends that the Town Board approve the driveway permit for James and Kari Carlson
with the conditions that 1) the turnaround tee be brought to a more level slope and have reinforcement at the
base of the fill, and 2) a 24-inch by 40-foot culvert be placed in the Wannebo Road ditch.