Fairgrounds currently fall under parks zoning
By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The City of Elkhorn Common Council unanimously approved recommending the creation of a new Fairgrounds zoning district at its March 2 meeting.
The topic stems back to a discussion at the committee level last November about the fairgrounds obtaining a liquor license rather than being required to come before the council and apply for a beer license for each event held at the fairgrounds.
At that time, Larry Gaffey, manager of the Walworth County Fairgrounds, said the Walworth County Agricultural Society Board has no intention of selling alcohol during the annual Walworth County Fair, however.
According to a memo from City Administrator James Heilman, the City had suggested to the Walworth County Agricultural Society Board that the creation of a zoning district specifically for the fairgrounds would be a better fit than the parks zoning the fairgrounds currently falls under.
The new Fairgrounds zoning district would allow the City to better address how a fairgrounds should be designed and a variety of other issues. Those items could include addressing the ability to apply for a liquor license for fairground events, as well as other allowed uses, conditional uses and accessory uses that are unique to the Walworth County Fairgrounds, according to Heilman’s memo.
At the Feb. 24 Committee of the Whole meeting, Heilman also noted that other municipalities create zoning just for fairgrounds.
While approved unanimously at both the committee and council levels, Alderman Karel Young voiced concerns about alcohol being served during the fair and Aldermen Scott McClory and Tim Shiroda both said they do not support giving the fairgrounds a liquor license.
With approval by the Council, the recommendation will now go to the City of Elkhorn Planning Commission, which will discuss the topic at hand and potentially draft an ordinance that would create the new zoning district.
The Plan Commission would then hold a public hearing before voting on whether or not to present the ordinance creating the zoning district to the full common council for approval at a later meeting.
The City of Elkhorn Plan Commission typically meets the first and third Thursdays of the month, as needed, but an agenda for the next meeting has not yet been posted.
