Which Vilas County department should take the lead in outdoor recreational planning was debated Monday by the county zoning committee.
Zoning committee chairman Jay Verhulst favored planning be incorporated into the overall land use plan “where zoning has land use authority” but zoning administrator Dawn Schmidt disagreed indications outdoor recreation planning is administered by the forestry department and “we just review it after it's done.”
Verhulst countered the forestry department has authority over county lands only while zoning covers all of the county. But forestry committee chairman Steve Doyen, also a zoning committee member, disagreed, saying they should not tie up zoning with recreation planning; it belongs with forestry.
Standing rules indicate the forestry department has responsibilities for all recreation trail matters and does not restrict that only to county lands while the zoning department has responsibility for land use planning.
Committee member Jerry Burkett felt recreation oversight belonged with forestry and zoning was to make sure districts are not in conflict. Current zoning districts allow public outdoor recreation facilities either by right or by conditional use permit. The committee will seek a legal view on oversight responsibilities from corporation counsel.
