Lawsuit filed to nullify Oconto's approval of wedding/event venue
OCONTO – A lawsuit seeks to reverse the City of Oconto’s decision to grant a couple permission to operate a wedding/event venue for three years.
Dale and Heather Thomson of Oconto are asking for a court declaration that the three-year trial is illegal, along with an injunction barring the use of the property for outdoor events.
Named as defendants are the city, former Mayor Lloyd Heier, current mayor John Panetti, along with Riley Sowle and Anita Jensen, the couple who operate the venue at 1240 McDonald St., named Oconto Riviera.
They have 20 days to answer the lawsuit, filed May 9 in Oconto County Circuit Court.
The Thomsons claim they and neighbors have been harmed by a “loss of use and enjoyment and a diminution in the value of their homes.”
The Thomsons have lived at 106 Robin Lane, which borders part of the eastern edge of the Sowle-Jensen property, for 26 years, says the lawsuit, which notes that all the homeowners on the west side of Robin Lane oppose the project.
At several council meetings earlier this year, Dale Thomson and a handful of other neighbors spoke against establishment of the venue, saying a business shouldn’t be allowed in a residential area.
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The lawsuit alleges that because the council determined at a Jan. 18 meeting that an outdoor venue wasn’t allowed under city zoning code, they knew that the action they took in February to approve the trial was in direct violation of the city’s ordinances.
In addition, the city’s comprehensive plan indicates that the property and surrounding parcels are to be residential, and that allowing the venue violates state law because it was not consistent with the city’s plan.
“The city and Mayor Heier knowingly, intentionally, willfully and maliciously chose not to observe and enforce (the) City’s procedural requirements, ordinances and comprehensive plan, and instead took direct affirmative action to violate all of the above,” the lawsuit states.
Approval of the venue constituted illegal spot zoning and illegal special legislation designed for specific parcels owned by a specific landowner, it adds.
The Thomsons contend the trial period was improperly approved without the legally required “agendas, notices, publications, and hearings” as the Feb. 8 council meeting agenda only listed “Possible creation of new Outdoor Event Ordinance and Conditional Use Permit.”
Also, that the city, Heier and Panetti “violated several ministerial duties” by failing to ensure that city ordinances are observed and enforced.
The suit contends that Panetti “is encouraging the continued violation of City ordinances by, among other things, instructing Sowle and Jensen, on social media, to 'stay the course we will prevail.'”
Along with voiding the trial period, the suit also asks for monetary relief from the city, Heier and Panetti, including reasonable attorney fees, and at least $50,000 in damages.
Oconto Riviera is scheduled to host its first event under the three-year trial – a wedding – on May 21. A wedding was held there last summer as a trial run to determine what problems might be encountered.
The Thomsons are represented by attorney Frank W. Kowalkowski of von Briesen & Roper in Green Bay.
Panetti could not be reached for comment.
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Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 431-8226 or ktempus@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Lawsuit filed to nullify Oconto's approval of wedding/event venue
