Minocqua town board considers Bangstad ARP

The Minocqua town board considered and discussed for nearly 60 minutes Tuesday an administrative review permit (ARP) application from Kirk Bangstad to develop the former gas station and bike shop he owns into a location for the Minocqua Brewery Company. 

Bangstad was represented at Tuesday’s meeting by his attorney, Collin Schaefer of the Cedarburg law firm Ogden, Glazer and Schaefer, who attended via conference call, and architect Christopher Naumann, who attended in person. 

The ARP was approved by the Minocqua plan commission during a Sept. 14 meeting although there was no recommendation from the plan commission to waive a parking requirement of seven spaces set by Oneida County zoning ordinances.

Essentially, the first phase of what Bangstad intends to do is have the property be a retail location; his customers would go in, buy product and leave, similar to what was referred to Tuesday night as what people would do at a liquor store. 

Eventually, the plan is to have a “phase two” that would included seating for patrons, some of that outdoors, which Oneida County zoning administrator Karl Jennrich said at Tuesday’s meeting would require a conditional use permit. 

What has become the crux of the issue is the property has, from not far in front of the building to northbound U.S. Highway 51, a triangle-shaped piece of land referred to as a “pork chop” right-of-way that, to this point, no one has been able to determine ownership of. 

Naumann, told the town board his plans as presented included the “pork chop” for parking. 

Regardless of who owns the “pork chop,” town chairman Mark Hartzheim said the town has been looking after it by way of mowing grass and clearing sidewalks in winter “for the past 31 years.”

Bangstad, who didn’t attend Tuesday’s town board meeting or the Sept. 14 plan commission meeting where his ARP was approved and forwarded to the town board, has, through his Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook page, contended it’s he or people working for him who have been looking after the grass on that tiny sliver of land. 

Other than needing a CUP should Bangstad pursue activities such as outdoor seating, Jennrich indicated the county had no issues with what Bangstad intends to do with the property. 

Hartzheim said he voted against the ARP at the Sept. 14 plan commission meeting because he felt both phases of what Bangstad intends to do with the building and property should be considered as opposed to one phase at a time. 

At one point at Tuesday’s meeting, he polled the other town board members with a question from Schaefer, that being whether or not they felt inclined to convey the “pork chop” right of way to Bangstad, something no one on the town board indicated they were in favor of doing. 

Town supervisor John Thompson, while not expressing opposition to plans for the building, wondered if there should have been more consideration on Bangstad’s part as he was considering purchasing that particular piece of property to re-establish his business. 

“I think this is a due diligence problem, quite frankly,” he said. “He shoulda looked at this before it was bought and determined all these things. That wasn’t done and now it becomes what it is.”

By the end of the discussion, it was decided Naumann would return with revised parking plans reflecting non-use of the “pork chop.”

Asked by town clerk Roben Haggart if the matter would go back to the plan commission.

“I guess I would suggest that future iterations continue to come to the (town) board,” Hartzheim said. “It’s at the board level. I don’t see it reverting to the plan commission unless that is the will of the board to send it back to the plan commission. They spent a lot of time on it to this point and ultimately, it’s gonna be the board’s decision.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].