Zoning FAQ

You may contact the zoning office after the deliberation session during normal working hours and staff will be able to give you the decision of the Planning and Zoning Committee and the Board of Adjustment. The date of the deliberation session is included in all public hearing packets. You will also be notified in writing of the decision. Final approval of zoning changes is made by the County Board and you will be notified in writing within 20-30 days of the County Board’s decision.

These public hearing items take approximately ten weeks from application deadline to final decision. Public hearing items that are delayed due to lack of information or absence of applicant at the public hearing will add at least an additional four weeks to the process.

Generally, an individual can fill his land to some degree.

A determination must first be made whether the pond location is in a shoreland or wetland area. If you wish to construct a pond in a wetland or shoreland area permits will generally be required from the DNR, County zoning and possibly Corps of Engineers.

This activity generally pertains to rip rap (not riff raff) which is done primarily to protect the land from soil erosion. Rip rap activities are regulated by the DNR. Please call the Oshkosh DNR office at (920) 424-3050.

The shoreland area is the portion of land within 1,000 feet of a lake, pond or flowage or 300 feet of a navigable river or stream. The shoreland area can be extended to the landward side of the floodplain where applicable. To see if your property is located in the shoreland refer to the Winnebago County GIS website.

Winnebago County has officially adopted wetland maps for the entire county. These maps can be viewed on the GIS website. Wetlands smaller than two acres are not mapped. The property owner may have to hire a private wetland delineator to map these wetlands on the property if there is a proposed activity or lot split which may encroach toward a wetland boundary. Wetlands cannot be filled regardless of size.

This question is often asked for insurance or mortgage purposes in addition to making building plans. If you’ve been removed from the flood-plain for insurance purposes, it does not remove the lot or structure from the floodplain for construction purposes.

Building in a floodplain is allowed with restrictions. Building in a floodway is generally not allowed.

First of all, setbacks are never measured from the water. They are measured from the Ordinary High Water Mark as determined by Zoning Office staff or the DNR.

The measurements are taken from the closest point of the structure to the closest point of the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM)—even if that point is on a neighbor’s property. The OHWM is also measured from boatslips (even water inside a boathouse) or from indentations along the shoreline.

You cannot draw a straight line from the houses on either side of your lot and use that to establish the reduced setback.

Setback averaging allows reduced setbacks from the Ordinary High Water Mark (shore yard) or from the road right-of-way by measuring the like structures on the two immediate adjacent lots.