The Cady Plan Commission (P.C.) held their meeting last night to discuss the new draft of their zoning ordinance, Title 13.
There were 10 Cady residents in attendance (besides those on the Plan
Commission and the Town Clerk), all of which are included as recipients
of this email. So please, if any of the following information is
inaccurate, let me know right away and I will be glad to make the
necessary corrections. However, some of what I have to say are purely
based on my perceptions and are simply my opinions.
The
meeting began on time, but immediately, the P.C. Chairman, Ken Greiber,
took what I would call an adversarial posture by stating that this is
the time for public comments, and once the public comments portion of
the meeting was over, there would be no more public comment allowed
because "you are here to listen and we are here to discuss" (this is a
quote to the best of my memory). It was clear to me that the P.C. was
willing to tolerate our presence because they had to, not because they
were interested in what we might have to say.
The
first resident to speak brought up a rather long list of concerns
regarding the proposed ordinance. Her primary concern was in regards to
the apparent divergence from the town's Comprehensive Plan
which emphasizes the promotion of agricultural activities in Cady. She
pointed out that the proposed zoning ordinance list of "permitted uses"
is much shorter than the list of "conditional uses", especially as they
relate to agricultural uses.
There were questions and concerns from several other town residents as well regarding
- Accessory Dwellings
- Burden of obtaining "conditional use" permits, including long timeframes
- Additional town bureaucracy in the addition of a Zoning Administrator (1) and Appeals Board (5)
- Limits on garage sales (2 per year) - is this really a problem in Cady?
- "Animal Units" not defined in the codes
- All non-commercial lots are planned to be zoned "R-1 Rural Residential" without input from property owners
- Burden of Proof on property owners to prove non-compliances pre-existed the ordinance
- How non-compliances are going to be investigated, policed, and enforced
It
was suggested to the P.C. board that perhaps the land owners might have
the opportunity to choose for themselves which zoning district their
property would be subjected to, rather than just automatically zoning
everyone to R-1 Residential and then requiring them to go through the
burden and expense of having their property re-zoned later. They are
considering their options for how to communicate to the land owners that
they can submit a request to have their property subjected to a
particular zoning district before the ordinance and map are adopted by
the town. We'll have to see what they ultimately decide to do.
Following
public comment, which lasted for approximately 35 minutes, the P.C.
members discussed the ordinance among themselves. The topics of their
discussion were primarily limited to the following:
- Talk to Eric Anderson of West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (WCWRPC) regarding incorporating some of the concerns of the town residents
- They believed that they could still vote to adopt the ordinance even though it may not be in it's final form yet
- If residents wanted to choose their zoning district, the deadline would have to be at the Public Hearing
- They believe that they have to work towards a timeline of having the Public Hearing announcement posted in time to have the hearing by June 21.
- They believe that they are ready to recommend to the Town Board that the ordinance be formally adopted.
A
motion was made by Bob Klanderman to approve the ordinance, subject to
the discussed planned changes (which there is no way of knowing what the
P.C. notes say regarding these changes), and seconded by Brian Wang.
Motion passed.
A motion was made by Bob
Klanderman to recommend to the Town Board that the
ordinance, subject to the discussed planned changes, be adopted after
the public hearing. Motion passed and the meeting was adjourned.
After
the meeting was adjourned, one of the Cady residents respectfully
expressed a great deal of concern that the P.C. thought that it was
acceptable to approve the ordinance and recommend that the board adopt
it before the July Town Board meeting, even though it is not yet
completed and the Cady property owners have not even had a chance to
read it and comment on it. It was pointed out that they were continuing
with their past behaviors of trying to force this through the system
without taking the necessary time and actions to ensure that it was done
right, with the appropriate involvement of the people of Cady. Ken
Greiber was noticeably frustrated and said "What is the right way?" as
if this was the only way to do it.
If
things proceed according to the P.C.'s wishes, there will be a Public
Hearing around June 21, 2018 with a board meeting following in which the
proposed zoning code will be adopted. After this, it will have to go to
the County for review and approval.
I urge all Cady residents to review this new draft zoning ordinance and the corresponding map.
Consider the restrictions that the Plan Commission is expecting you to
live under and the amount of land-use control that you would be
surrendering to the town government. If you have questions or concerns,
do not hesitate to contact your public officials who are responsible for
this ordinance. Their names and phone numbers are listed below for your
convenience.
CADY PLAN COMMISSION:
Chairman: Ken Greiber 715-772-4570
Mike Fitzjarrell 715-772-3259
Bob Klanderman 715-698-2384
Mike Fitzjarrell 715-772-3259
Bob Klanderman 715-698-2384
Mike Ellefson 715-772-4586
Brain Wang 715-772-3186
CADY TOWN BOARD:
Chairman: Mike Tully 715-772 4578
Supervisor: Bob Klanderman 715-698-2384
Supervisor: Jim Mikla – 715-556-8816
Supervisor: Bob Klanderman 715-698-2384
Supervisor: Jim Mikla – 715-556-8816
If you are interested in helping to resist this ordinance, whether you want to change it or abolish it, please email me or leave a comment below. If you stand with us, we will stand with you.
