Town Hall-2354 County Rd N Stoughton, WI 53589-2873 Telephone: (608) 873-3063 Email: cttops@tds.net

Town Meeting Agendas and Posting Places:

A detailed agenda for each meeting is posted a minimum of 24 hours before the meeting date.

Posting Places are:

• Town Hall, 2354 County Hwy N
• Pleasant Springs Sanitary District Building, 2083 Williams Dr.
• East side of the Red Oak Court cul-de-sac

A variance is an approved exception or departure from the requirements of the town Land Use Plan and/or Dane County zoning ordinances. Variances are generally limited to granting relief from yard setback or other dimensional requirements where unique or unusual conditions prevent strict compliance with the requirements of the zoning ordinance. The standards for granting a variance are very strict. To obtain a variance, the property owner  will need to show each of the following:

(1) Unnecessary hardship must be found as distinguished from a mere inconvenience. The finding of a hardship shall take into consideration the particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions of the specific property involved;

(2) The conditions upon which the application for a variance is based would not be applicable generally to other property similarly situated;

(3) The purpose of the variance is not based exclusively upon a desire for economic or other material gain by the applicant or owner;

(4) The alleged hardship or difficulty is caused by this ordinance and has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property;

(5) The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare, or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located; and

(6) The proposed variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair the property values within the neighborhood.

When an existing or proposed structure does not comply with the requirements of the applicable zoning ordinances, due to hardship beyond the owner's control, the property owner may apply for a variance.

File an application at both the Town of Pleasant Springs and Dane County. The town forms can be obtained at the Town Hall (See bottom of the page for address, phone number and hours). For Dane County, you may apply for a variance at the Dane County Department of Planning and Development - Zoning Division in Room 116 of the City-County Building located at 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Madison, Wisconsin. Obtain a county application form by calling Zoning Division staff at 608-266-4266, visiting the Dane County website, or going to the City-County Building office. 

To file for a variance, the following information is required:

• Property owner' s name, address, and phone number.
• Name, address, and phone number of the owner' s representative or agent, if any.
• Legal description and tax parcel number(s).
• Site plan accurately depicting the location of lot lines and buildings.
• Written statement describing the reason a variance from the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance is needed.
• Written confirmation that the Town of Pleasant Springs is aware of the County zoning application. The town clerk will provide this letter. 

You may also be asked to provide a survey prepared by a registered land surveyor to document the precise location of property lines, buildings and other features that justify granting a variance.

The first step requires obtaining approval from the town. This requires appearances before both the Pleasant Springs Plan Commission and Town Board. Following this process, the owner will need to apply at the County level. In some cases, you can apply at both the town and county at the same time. When your county application for a variance is complete, the Zoning Division staff will schedule an appearance before the Dane County Board of Adjustment. A notice will appear in the newspaper one and two weeks prior to the hearing date. When appearing before the town Plan Commission and Board, as well as before the County Board, the owner will be expected to explain and justify the need for the variance.

If Pleasant Springs and the County Board have approved your variance, you may apply for a zoning permit. You must apply for the zoning permit within one year, or the variance will expire. Depending on the location and type of project, other permits or approvals may also be needed.

To view more information on the Dane County Ordinances for Variances click this link http://dc-web.co.dane.wi.us/
ads-cgi/viewer.pl/pdfdocs/ordinances/ord010.pdf .

For summaries of Dane County Variance review process please click on this link http://www.co.dane.wi.us/plandev/zoning/zonerev.htm.