Wisconsin counties have one week left to submit revised ordinances after state lawmakers approved a uniform standard for shoreland zoning under the last budget.

Counties have been updating local standards after several changes to how close properties can be built to shorelines and surrounding structures. Many northern counties had more restrictions in place to protect water quality and prevent over-development. Wisconsin County Code Administrators President Terry Ochs said counties are trying to meet the state's Saturday, Oct. 1 deadline.

"Logistically, difficult to do ... But, with that being said, what the counties are trying to get approved through the (Wisconsin) Department of Natural Resources and through the county, there are already laws whether that ordinance gets approved or not," Ochs said.

Douglas County Zoning Administrator Steve Rannenberg said they've already submitted a revised ordinance. For those who haven't, he said the DNR is encouraging counties to adopt the agency's model ordinance, "and then amend from there if you feel you need to," he said.

The law requires all waterfront properties to be built following the state's minimum standard of 75 feet from the shoreline, stripping more restrictive local ordinances or lake classifications in many northern counties aimed at preventing decreased water quality or overdevelopment, according to previous WPR reports.

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Overlapping regulations have made it difficult for some counties and property owners, Rannenberg said. For example, there are cases where properties must be built beyond the state shoreland zoning standards.

"We still have to take into account the fact that some of these structures lie within the floodplain and those requirements exceed the minimum standards reflected in the shoreland district," Rannenberg said.

Fifty-nine of 71 counties have submitted revisions, and 50 have been reviewed by staff, DNR spokeswoman Jennifer Sereno said. Quite a few counties will adopt revised ordinances after the deadline, Sereno said.

"This is understandable due to review time, public hearing and notice requirements and county board meetings that are scheduled only once a month," she wrote in an email. "Counties have put in substantial time to bring their ordinance into compliance so that it can be certified, which is ultimately the goal."