The Sawyer County Multi Dwelling Development Ad Hoc Committee adopted a rule requiring condominium associations to obtain a conditional use permit if more than one dwelling unit in a condominium parcel is to be rented.

The committee framed the change as a remedy to an observed circumvention: older resorts converted into condominium ownership are being rented by multiple owners in a single condo plat, which the committee said can replicate resort activity without undergoing zoning review. “If you’re renting out more than one unit on one property, it’s the use of a resort,” zoning staff member Jay Kozlowski said during discussion of enforcement options.

After extensive debate about ownership structures, limited common elements and the role of condominium declarations, committee member Ben Kurzweil moved that a condo property with more than one unit proposed for rental must seek a CUP. Committee members amended the motion to specify that the condominium association — rather than an individual unit owner — should apply for the CUP. The motion carried by voice vote.

Committee members and staff said the CUP process would allow conditions tailored to each site, such as limits on the number of rental nights, vegetation buffering, wastewater capacity requirements and other measures to protect neighboring properties. “Conditional uses… allow you to set fencing requirements, duration days of rentals,” Kozlowski said, describing how zoning could address noise and visual impacts.

The committee also discussed enforcement and transition issues for existing condos where multiple units are already being rented. Members asked staff to draft specific language for how and when the CUP requirement would apply to existing condominium properties and to return with proposed thresholds (for example, the percentage of owners required to petition for a CUP) and an implementation timeline.