If you're looking at a lot along Lake Superior in Herbster this fall, the zoning district printed on the parcel record may not be the one that applies once the county's new code takes effect. Herbster is part of the Town of Clover. Every mile of the town's shoreline currently sits in a single Bayfield County district, R-RB, Residential-Recreational Business. On October 6, 2026, the town's Plan Commission recommended that the Town Board ask the county to remove that district from its new zoning code.
That recommendation sits inside a much larger project. Bayfield County is replacing its General Zoning ordinance, Title 13, Chapter 1. A September 2026 public review draft is now out for comment, and its effective date is still left blank. Until the county finishes, a buyer is pricing a lot under one set of rules and will likely own it under another. Nobody can yet say which district a given Herbster parcel will end up in.
Twelve Miles Under One Label
Under the current county ordinance, R-RB "is intended to provide for permanent or seasonal residential development and associated recreational use." The current dimensional table lists a 30,000-square-foot minimum area and a 150-foot minimum average width for the district.
The words "recreational business" carry real weight. According to the Clover Plan Commission's minutes, uses allowed in R-RB include hotels and motels, animal kennels, bars and restaurants, and self-storage facilities. The same minutes say R-RB "now includes our 12 miles of shoreline."
So in practice, a quiet cabin lot on Herbster's shoreline and a lot that could host a commercial recreation use share the same zoning label today. That's the arrangement the Plan Commission wants the county to undo.
What Clover's Planners Recommended, in Their Own Words
The commission reviewed the county draft for one narrow purpose. It checked whether the draft is consistent with the town's 2023–2043 Comprehensive Plan. It concluded that the draft mostly is, with two exceptions. The first is about land use. The October 6 minutes carry the recommendation this way:
"The Town of Clover Board of Supervisors recommends that the R-RB Residential-Recreational Business district be removed from the draft ordinance. R-RB allowable uses, such as Hotels-Motels, Animal Kennels, Bars and Restaurants, and Self Storage Facilities, are incompatible with residential development. The four residential and the two commercial zoning districts in the draft ordinance provide sufficient replacements for the R-RB district."
The second exception is about procedure. The commission recommended that the county give the town 21 days' notice of Class B and conditional use permit applications instead of 7. Its reasoning was that seven days doesn't leave the Plan Commission enough time to review an application and advise the Town Board.
Both recommendations are still at the commission stage. The minutes say the comments go online only if the Town Board adopts them. The board meets October 14 and the comment deadline is October 16, which leaves little time. As of today, October 12, the board hasn't voted.
The commission's chair also says he had expected the new code to create new districts based on the land use categories in the town's Future Land Use Map. Instead, he writes, the draft "has the same zoning districts as the current zoning code, with a few additional zoning districts." The county's own summary of the additions lists a C-2 Commercial Center/Hamlet district, Light and Heavy Industrial districts, Airport and Airport Buffer districts, and Red Cliff, Wetland and Floodplain overlays.
The Map Comes Last
A zoning code is text, and the map decides which part of that text applies to your lot. According to the town, the county has said it won't begin revising Clover's zoning district map until the comment period closes and the districts themselves are settled.
Here's how the sequence lines up, based on the town minutes, a neighboring town's notice, and the county's FAQ:
- May 15 through August 14, 2026. The county released its draft ordinances in stages. Two came out May 15, the Shoreland-Wetland and Mining drafts on June 5, and Land Divisions on August 14.
- September 2026. The General Zoning public review draft was posted.
- October 16, 2026. Public comment on General Zoning closes, according to a Town of Bell notice and the Clover minutes.
- After comment closes. The county revises the districts, then starts on each town's map.
- Before adoption. Public hearings, then a County Board vote. The county FAQ gives no dates for either, and the sources don't say whether hearings come before or after the map work.
When Clover finally gets its new map, the commission plans to compare it against the town's Future Land Use Map. That comparison is when a Herbster shoreline owner will learn where their parcel landed.
What the Draft Says About a Lot Without a House
Many land buyers on the south shore want a vacant lot first. They plan to camp on it, park a camper, and build later, maybe adding a guest cabin down the road. The draft speaks directly to each of those steps. These are the provisions in the September 2026 Article C, Use Specific Standards:
| Topic | What the draft says |
|---|---|
| RV as a residence | No RV or camper may be used as a permanent residence, which the draft defines as no more than 6 months per calendar year, or as a storage structure |
| Placement length | RVs and campers can't stay longer than 30 days on any lot unless permitted under the section |
| RVs allowed by district | 1 in R-2 and R-3; up to 3 in R-RB, Forestry-1 and Agricultural-1; none in Forestry-2, Agricultural-2, Conservancy and several other districts |
| Renting an RV out | Not allowed without a campground permit |
| Accessory dwelling units | One per lot, under 1,500 square feet, with a recorded deed restriction barring separate sale |
| Detached ADU in Ag/Forestry | Must be within 150 feet of the principal one-family dwelling |
The ADU rule matters most for someone picturing a guest cabin before the main house. At a March 30, 2026 working session, county staff explained that the draft treats an ADU as an accessory use. That means there must first be a principal dwelling before a second unit can count as an ADU, the same way the current code handles bunkhouses. The draft also bars ADUs on substandard lots of record. It won't let an existing accessory building be converted if that building can't meet every setback.
The draft would loosen one rule. It cuts the principal building setback in A-1, F-1 and R-2 to 30 feet, which matches the accessory building setback.
The RV Clock and the One-Year Clause
The RV section goes further than the table shows. In districts where RVs are allowed at all, the draft sets extra rules for an RV or camper that sits outside a licensed campground on what it calls an "undeveloped lot." For those units, it requires a land use permit for stays over 30 days and a sanitary permit for the same period. It caps placement at 6 months per calendar year, and anything longer needs a conditional use permit. It limits permits to 3 years, with one possible extension of up to 3 more. The unit also needs a county-issued address and must meet the shoreland and floodplain ordinances.
Next comes the clause that matters for anyone buying a lot with a camper already set up on it. "Within one year after the adoption of this amendment, all nonconforming RVs or campers shall comply with the terms of this Section." As drafted, an existing setup doesn't keep its status forever.
One drafting detail is still unclear. The section defines an undeveloped lot as "a lot with legally placed dwelling," which looks like the reverse of its plain meaning. The March committee minutes help with intent. There, members leaned toward defining "developed" as a lot where a dwelling or residence exists, rather than one with just a garage or shed. They also showed general support for an annual RV placement permit, with fees to be decided later. The committee explained the reason plainly. Staff had seen more people placing RVs on parcels as portable residences.
Small rental campgrounds get their own standards. A campground needs a conditional use permit, a 3-acre minimum and 40-foot setbacks from property lines. Subleasing campsites or RVs isn't allowed.
Questions Worth Putting to the County
None of this is final, and the right answer for any parcel depends on its specific record. These questions come straight out of the draft and the town's comments, and the Bayfield County Planning and Zoning Department is the office that can answer them:
- What district is this parcel in today, and has the department said anything about how R-RB parcels in Clover will be mapped?
- Is there an existing RV placement or sanitary permit on file, and how would the one-year compliance clause apply?
- Is the lot a substandard lot of record, which would rule out an ADU under the draft?
- Does an existing outbuilding meet current setbacks, if converting it is part of the plan?
- Has the parcel been assigned a county address?
A Few Quick Answers
Does the rewrite change short-term rental rules? The county FAQ says its 2024 short-term rental ordinance is expected to stay largely the same, apart from correcting a statutory citation.
Can the Town of Clover write its own zoning instead? According to the county FAQ, towns may adopt the county's general zoning ordinance or draft, approve and enforce their own. State and federal regulatory programs stay with the county either way.
Is there a road frontage minimum coming? At the March 30 working session, committee members supported a 66-foot minimum road frontage standard and emergency-vehicle turnarounds on dead-end private roads. These were positions from a working session, and final code language has not been confirmed.
If you're weighing a shoreline or acreage parcel in Herbster while the county rewrite plays out, Peggy Kman can help you sort out what's settled on that parcel and what isn't yet. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll go through the specific lot and the questions to take to Bayfield County before you make an offer.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
