May 2018 Cady Plan Commission Meeting

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 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

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.

"Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." - John Adams