Why I voted "yes" on rezoning the property at the corner of Pinewood and Highway SS

There was a lot going on at last week's council meeting – two public hearings, an update on the Waste Water Treatment project, and a number of potentially controversial subjects requiring, in one instance, the mayor to cast his vote. I'll start with that item first.

Why I voted “yes” on rezoning the property at the corner of
Pinewood and Highway SS

At the November 4 Plan Commission meeting a public hearing was held regarding rezoning 1848 Hwy Blvd N (at the corner of Pinewood and Hwy SS) from R-1 to C-1 for the construction of a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree store. At that hearing, several individuals from Elizabeth Estates were on hand to present their opposition to the rezoning given its proximity to their neighborhood, the increase of noise and traffic that will occur once the store is open and the potential of property values to decrease. At the same time they presented to me a petition with the names of 21 of the 28 residents of Elizabeth Estates. Nevertheless, at the conclusion of the meeting that night the Plan Commission unanimously passed a motion recommending to the council to rezone the property from R-1 to C-1.

Last Tuesday night at the regular meeting of the City Council rezoning this parcel was on the agenda and discussed by the council. On hand were both the developer, Nick Feira, and members of Elizabeth Estates who had resubmitted their petition urging the council to not re-zone. When the vote was finally taken, two council members were in favor – Scott Bachowski (First Ward) and Earl Grover (Second Ward) – one voted against – Mark Edwards (Fourth Ward) – and one simply voted “Present” - Terry Hight (Third Ward) (which is a technical way of abstaining from voting). In this case, the mayor was required to vote and I voted “yes”, meaning the motion passed and the parcel was rezoned to C-1.

The motion to rezone passed 3-2 with the
mayor casting the deciding vote

Here's why I voted “yes”: First of all, the matter had been reviewed by the Plan Commission and no objections were raised there. While they are not elected officials (except myself and Alderman Bachowski), they had done their homework and while sympathetic to the neighbors' concerns about noise and traffic, they did not (nor do I) see any significant reason to deny the request. Secondly, the matter of rezoning this parcel to C-1 has been in our Comprehensive Plan for many years now. Every municipality in Wisconsin has to file a Comprehensive Plan with the State every ten years. This “comp plan” itemizes community goals and tries to anticipate growth and development within the city's limits. All along Hwy SS the properties (including Just Imagine Floral, Heritage Credit Union, the numerous storage shed units and the parcel to the immediate south of 1848 Hwy Blvd N) have already been zoned commercial. It makes sense to me to complete the row as C-1. And finally, the lay-out of the store – it's back wall will face the cul de sac at the end of Elizabeth Lane and the fact that there will be no access from the rear suggests to me that the developer is sensitive to the concerns raised by the neighbors.

What happens now?

According to City Inspector Joe Atwood, the day after the council approved the rezoning Family Dollar closed on the property. They will now develop a firm site plan which requires Joe's approval. Expect that to be presented at December council's meeting. Joe assured the residents of Elizabeth Estates that he is mindful of their concerns and will keep them before him as he reviews their plan. We can debate whether or not that location is the best one for a general store (the city actually pitched to Family Dollar a different location which they passed on) but I feel Chetek needs a store like this and that's why I voted “yes” for rezoning.

1301 Knapp Street (aka, "Area 51") is in yellow

Why I'm in favor of the council's decision to rezone 1301 Knapp
Street from A-1 to R-3.

On the same night that the council approved the rezoning of 1848 Hwy Blvd N from R-1 to C-1, they also took up another recommendation from the Planning Commission to rezone 1301 Knapp Street (aka “Area 51”) from A-1 to R-3. In 2018, the city purchased 39 acres from Jennie-Os on the west end of Knapp Street for the purpose of a future housing development there. Three years later we have entered into negotiations with S.C. Swiderski to develop the site into a variety of single family, twin homes and apartment residences. “Suddenly” this very quiet rural patch on the west end will significantly change and in time get a whole lot busier.

At the October 26 Planning Commission meeting a public hearing was held and a few of the neighbors were on hand to express their opposition to the rezoning based on noise and traffic concerns. Ultimately the commission unanimously recommended to the council that the parcel be rezoned to R-3. At Tuesday night's City Council meeting the council unanimously approved the Planning Commission recommendation. While I didn't have to vote there's a few reasons why I'm in favor of the rezoning. In 2019, the City of Chetek commissioned a county-wide housing survey to ascertain our city's needs regarding housing. That report definitively confirmed what Barron County Economic Development Coordinator Dave Armstrong had been saying for years: “You want people to move to Chetek but they have no where to move to.” That plot of land was purchased specifically to meet our housing needs. To say “no” to rezoning this parcel would call into question why we purchased it in the first place. Where else are people to move to? We may not be as hard-up as Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, but there's relatively few rooms in the inn around here. This rezoning and development sets up our city for positive growth which is why I totally support the council's decision.

The largest USDA-Rural Development Grant in the State of

Wisconsin ever

On the same night the council was voting on rezoning both 1848 Hwy Blvd N and 1301 Knapp Street Tia McCarthy of CBS₂ was on hand to give us an update on the Waste Water Treatment plant. Tia is the Project Manager for this $22 million dollar project. She revisited the timeline which amounts to what on a map might be “YOU ARE HERE” sign. But the most important reason she was present was to deliver the good news – really, the great news - that USDA-Rural Development has awarded the City of Chetek a $10,344,000 grant toward the treatment plant. This is the largest grant of of its kind in Wisconsin's history which promises to cut our projected expenses for the new plant nearly in half. Obviously, twelve million dollars is still a lot of zeroes but not as many as 22 million. We should be so very grateful for Tia's work and USDA's generous consideration.

Presently we are in the design portion of the project. While surveying the property, they found a number of archaeological sites on the plot of ground where the new WWTP will be built but thankfully no bones (i.e., it is not a Native American burial site). The site has been farmed for many years and therefore lots of arrowheads, pottery shards and the like have been found and will be removed in a respectful manner according to the archaeologist's instructions. We're a long way from turning dirt out there but it's load off everyone's mind that our construction costs have nearly been cut in half.

Somewhere near the end of this driveway
is the future home of the WWTP