Council approves West Wind Drive rezoning, continues UTV debate

The Rhinelander Common Council voted last week to rezone a parcel at the end of West Wind Drive from light industrial to residential, clearing the way for a proposed housing development. While approval of the rezoning was unanimous, alderpersons and neighbors made it clear they intend to stay involved as the project moves forward.
Alderman Tom Barnett warned that he plans to keep a “very extremely close watch on how this develops” while alderman Steven Jopek stressed that expressing concerns about the project does not mean a person is against development in the city. The rezoning, which changes the parcel’s designation from light industrial to R-3 residential, passed on a second reading.
Tony Pharo, executive director of Oneida County Economic Development, argued the decision was simple.
“Tonight is a message that the council will send, whether we’re really looking for development or not,” Pharo said. “This isn’t the time to talk about zoning, or talk about DNR, talk about sewer — this is a simple situation. You change it from an R-1 to an R-3 residential. After that gets done, then the burden goes on to the developer.”
The two West Wind Drive residents who spoke during public comment expressed frustration with what they referred to as a “mischaracterization” of the neighborhood’s reaction to the proposed project. Both speakers stressed that the adjacent property owners understand the city’s need for housing and support development in principle. They want to see that it is accomplished in a thoughtful manner that takes into account concerns about traffic, wetlands, and the potential conversion of West Wind Drive into a through street, they clarified.

Converting a dead-end street to a through street can lower nearby property values by as much as 20 percent, noted neighbor Cristi Corey-Luse.
Council members noted that many of these issues — including traffic flow, utility connections, and site design — will be addressed in later stages of the approval process. City administration outlined that the developer must still meet with department heads covering public safety, utilities, and city forestry before any proposal goes to the planning commission, which must then bring infrastructure connections back to the full council for approval.
“This is the beginning of a quite a long process,” Mayor Kris Hanus said, adding that realistically it could be a year or two before construction begins.
According to project documents, the proposed development would include 34 residential lots and two commercial lots. The residential component would consist of 22 single-family homes, five duplexes, three townhomes, and four multi-family apartment buildings, along with two outlots — one designated as a community park and another for stormwater management facilities.
UTV ordinance advances; Lincoln Street vote may come June 22
In other business, the council also passed a first reading of the city’s reworked UTV ordinance. The ordinance as drafted would designate all city streets as UTV routes by default, with the city retaining authority to restrict specific roads by resolution. For several weeks, the council has been discussing allowing UTVs, and potentially ATVs, to travel on Lincoln Street, but have yet to take a vote. During the June 8 meeting, a request was made to put the Lincoln Street question on the agenda for the group’s June 22 meeting. While the request does not guarantee a vote will take place on June 22, as alderpersons can move to table a particular topic to a later date, it appears the panel is moving toward a consensus on this aspect of the ordinance.
Alderman Bob Lueder, who owns a UTV, pushed back on the notion that allowing specialized vehicles on Lincoln would result in regular parades of said vehicles traveling up and down the street. He also noted the ordinance includes an annual review, giving the council the ability to make adjustments after seeing how the first year plays out.
Alderman Steven Jopek noted that he has seen UTVs traveling in “convoys” when visiting other communities. He also said he wanted to clarify that he is not against the vehicles in principle.