Plan Commission Minutes
Town of Washburn
Town Hall
Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Commission members present: Kim Bro (chair), Tim Schwenzfeier (vice chair), Caroline Twombly, Seth Vasser (town board representative).
Commission members absent: Cyndi Belanger (secretary).
Others present: Mike Harvey, Town Road Supervisor, attended the site visit. At the meeting were Lynne Kreuger and Dennis Weibel

1. Chairman Bro called the meeting of the Commission to order at 7:10 P.M. and verified its legal notification (posted at Town Hall, Tetzner Dairy and Town website) on August 28, 2026.
2. The minutes of the August 4, 2026 meeting were approved (Caroline moves, Tim seconds).
3. Prior to the meeting, the Commission conducted a site visit for Thomas Costa to extend a driveway on his 15-acre property to a proposed garage. The existing driveway across the road ditch is 600 feet north of 75705 Ondossagon Road. The applicant had marked the outline of the proposed driveway much narrower than what was shown on his permit application. The Commission called him and notified him that the area he flagged did not provide a sufficient width and turning radius for an emergency vehicle as required by the Town Driveway Ordinance. He asked the Commission to place the wire flags where they would meet the width and turning radius requirements. To have a tee east of the proposed garage, three small pine trees will have to be removed to provide six feet of open space on either side of a gravel surface. The proposed driveway is on an existing level field of clayey soil. An intermittent stream flowing to the Sioux River is several hundred feet south and west of the proposed driveway and is surrounded by forestland. There is an area of natural, woodland vegetation between the proposed garage and Ondossagon Road. The applicant proposes placing a 2-minus gravel base under road gravel.
4. The commission reviewed the driveway permit application for Thomas Costa to extend a driveway on his 15-acre property to a proposed garage (in S½ NE¼NE¼ Section 3 T.48N R.5W; Tax ID #35217) in an Agriculture 1 zoning district. The Commission recommends (Tim moves, Seth seconds) that the Town Board approve the driveway permit. The proposed driveway, as marked on an updated sketch, meets the roadbed, drainage, visibility, and turnaround requirements of the driveway ordinance, and is located in an area that accommodates the erodibility of the clay soils (Objective 8.2 & p. 7-5). The development retains the natural vegetative screening and retains the agricultural character of the area (Objective 8.4).
5. Lynne Kreuger and Dennis Weibel of the ad hoc Dark Skies Committee described the Committee’s work toward certifying the Town as a Dark Sky Community by Dark Sky International. They are working with the Washburn Cultural Center and the Washburn Chamber of Commerce to increase public awareness of the scenic and tourism values of our area’s night sky. Lynne, on behalf of the Town of Washburn is helping to organize an art show featuring night skies as part of a Dark Skies Fest in January 2027. The Committee would like the Town to initiate a lengthy certification process by submitting an application for listing the Town as a Dark Sky Community. The Committee also recommends that the Town begin the process of making outside lights on the Town Hall and Garage compliant with Dark Sky standards. The Commission recommends (Tim moves, Caroline seconds) that the Town use the Plan Commission budget to submit an application and $250 application to initiate an application to Dark Skies International. In addition, the Commission recommends that lighting for the planned EV charging station be Dark Sky compliant. Outreach education for the microgrid project can include information about the impacts of light pollution and the value of Dark Sky lighting. The ad hoc Committee also will prepare a proposal for the 2027 Town budget to bring the Town’s other outside lights into compliance with Dark Sky standards.

6. The Commission reviewed the County Draft Land Division Ordinance. The draft ordinance includes several new provisions requiring applicants to identify such features as shorelands, wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, soil types, and public utilities on a subdivision. It also requires that all new lots have access to a public road and that all lots have a suitable buildable area of at least 0.5 acre. The conservation subdivision provisions of the current Zoning Ordinance were moved to the Land Division Ordinance. The role of the Town in reviewing proposed road and driveway construction was not clear. The ordinance says: “All driveway access points and driveways constructed shall comply with required standards and be approved by appropriate units of government” (Section 14-1-31 (C)(2)), but there is not a specific reference to the Town Board’s authority or to the process for bringing a noncompliant initial plat into compliance with Town requirements. Because the current Land Division Ordinance does not require any public notice or notification of towns, this ordinance is an improvement. Commission members expressed concern that a subdivision could be created without providing notification to neighbors. Kim will prepare a draft public comment letter for the Town Board.
7. The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 7 PM. This will involve a lengthy review of the General Zoning Ordinance if it is released on September 4.
8. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 P.M. (Tim moves, Caroline seconds).

Kenneth Bro, Chair, Town of Washburn Plan Commission (September 8, 2026 draft approved October 6, 2026).

Plan Commission Report

The Commission recommends that the Town Board approve the updated driveway permit for Thomas Costa. The Commission recommends initiating a Town application to Dark Sky International for $250. The Commission recommends bringing the outdoor EV charging station light into compliance with Dark Sky international standards. The Commission recommends that the Town Board approve a draft letter to the Bayfield County Planning and Zoning Committee to note specifically the Town’s authority over roads and driveways and encouraging changes to the Conservation Subdivision standards to promote retaining larger blocks of agricultural and forest lands while permitting creation of appropriate clusters of residential lots as proposed in the Town Comprehensive Plan. The Commission encourages procedures to make neighboring property owners aware of proposed subdivisions.