Pay-to-hunt land public hearing set for Jan. 7

A public hearing for a proposal to allow hunting for a fee on a 65-acre parcel in the Town of Belgium will be held before the board’s monthly meeting on Monday, Jan. 7.

After the hearing, which begins at 7 p.m., the Town Board will vote on the conditional use permit request.

The Plan Commission in November recommended to deny the request for Dan Large to operate a pay-to-hunt operation on the southeast corner of Lake Church and Silver Beach roads.

Large and his wife Annie own Pheasants @ Large, a pay-to-hunt operation near highways KW and A in the town, and were looking to expand to his recently purchased property.

Hunts, Dan Large said, would usually involve groups of four to seven people and 25 to 30 birds. He expected about 20 groups per year would use the property.

The commission’s vote was 7-1. Included in those voting against were Town Chairman Tom Winker and Supr. Tom Bichler, which make up a majority of the three-member Town Board that will have the final say.

The issue drew about 50 people to the meeting, many of whom expressed concerns with the idea. Many cited a safety risk with hunters roaming the area and others said the sound of gunfire is unsettling.

One of the issues is the location of the property. Using a one-mile radius from the center of the parcel, 23% of the land is zoned residential. All of the land near Pheasants @ Large is zoned agricultural.

Town Zoning Administrator and Plan Commission member Charlie Parks advised that conditional use permits connect to the property and not the person. That means if Large ever sells the property, the pay-to-hunt conditional use would remain.