TOWN OF FARMINGTON, Wis. — A Washington County judge dismissed the lawsuit filed against Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary on July 10, allowing the zoo to continue operations.
“We Love Farmington U.A.” filed an amended complaint against the zoo in May 2025 looking to invalidate the conditional use permit (CUP) that allowed the wildlife sanctuary to operate under the town’s current zoning codes. They originally filed a lawsuit in February 2025.
The Town of Farmington in October 2025 amended the zoning code to “eliminate any ambiguity” for Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary to continue operation of “zoological activities”.
According to documents obtained by 620 WTMJ, those items would include “operations for the care, exhibition, preservation, and breeding of animals, with associated educational programs on parcel(s) of land containing in the aggregate not less than 100 acres of land. This includes internal development and redevelopment of new exhibits, visitor centers, trails, parking lots, accessory retail and footprint expansion upon the acquisition of adjacent agricultural zoned parcels or subdivision of existing parcels. Zoological activities, may include but are not limited to visitor centers, parking lots, trails, educational facilities, food/beverage sales, special events, weddings, or similar uses, and accessory retail sales such as gift shops”.
The town board held a public hearing in November 2025, and signed the unanimously amended ordinance December 2025.
In January 2026, the owners of Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary filed a brief in support of its motion requesting a summary judgment, saying that since their organization no longer needs a “conditional use permit” after the zoning code change, that the claims against the zoo are now moot.
They also requested the counterclaims by the neighbors that specifically targeted Shalom should continue, claiming that the people who filed the lawsuit “acted together to maliciously harm Shalom, and in fact have financially done so”.
Oral arguments were heard on April 22, with the judge deciding that discovery into the counterclaims was allowed to continue and not requiring mediation. Then on June 11, there was a motion hearing to complete discovery and set dates for depositions of the parties involved.
On July 10, Washington County Judge Ryan Hetzel ruled that since the Town of Farmington adopted the zoning code amendment, “Shalom’s business activities now fall squarely within the Agricultural District’s permitted uses. The restrictions of a conditional use permit are no longer necessary”, and that makes the original lawsuit’s claims moot.
The judge granted the motion to dismiss for a “lack of standing”.
According to court records, the parties will return to court on August 6 for a scheduling conference.
