Concerns raised about proposed Lake Tomahawk ‘lodge’

The Lake Tomahawk town board, at its March 13 meeting, expressed concerns about a conditional use permit (CUP) application for construction of a large home on Lark Road.

The town planning commission has recommended denial of the CUP and neighbors have expressed concerns about the designs for the structure, referred to as a “lodge” by Lake Tomahawk resident Bruce Forsberg.

Forsberg and his wife, Sheila, live adjacent to the property on which the structure would be built and he gave a presentation to the town board with information he’d previously shared with the planning commission on March 4. 

The property is owned by Michael and Nicole Gerdin, who also have a home nearby. 

The CUP application was submitted by Jim Rein of Wilderness Surveying and Lee Construction on behalf of the Gerdins.

The first of four points Forsberg raised in a March 12 letter to the town board concerned the proposed height of the building.

“The height of the proposed lodge from the walkout level to the peak is 49’6” tall,” he wrote. “That is significantly higher than the Oneida County Shoreland Protection Ordinance maximum of 35 feet.”

Forsberg said the “negative aesthetic impact of a building of this size on the natural landscape” was discussed at the planning commission meeting. 

Another item cited by Forsberg in the letter to the town board concerned the “overall impervious surface” of what they said is a “20,000 to 30,000 square foot lodge” that will have an impervious surface which, they contend, “is more than double the ordinance amount.”

“We discussed the potential for stormwater runoff onto adjacent property and into Tomahawk Lake,” Forsberg wrote.

The size of building’s septic field is another concern as is the estimated time of construction by Rein and Lee Construction. 

Rein was unable to attend the March 13 town board meeting but was represented by one of his project managers, Alex Van Natta, who answered questions the best he could, indicating at times he wasn’t too familiar with this particular project. 

The discussion on the Gerdin project last for a little more than 30 minutes, with town chairman George DeMet stating before the vote he felt the town board “will hold off on any approval until the county replies to our concerns.”

Oneida County planning and zoning director Karl Jennrich told The Lakeland Times “this one’s gonna be interesting because it’s multi-faceted.”

“There are neighbors who are concerned about the size of this thing and use so yes, we are going to be scheduling a public hearing for the planning development committee,” he said. “We’ll see what they do.”

Jennrich said the public hearing will more than likely take place later in April if not in early May.

“Again, there’s some interesting arguments,” he said. “I originally sent it over there (to the town) just for the height question but now, there’s arguments whether it’s really a family home. Is it really more like a lodge or for multi-family use? That I haven’t really looked at.”

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