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| Stockbridge zoning plan irks residents |
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| Written by Faye Burg |
| Wednesday, 14 July 2010 11:34 |
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A recently proposed zoning ordinance in the Town of Stockbridge has some residents wondering what could happen to their lives and their livelihoods.
Twenty years ago Jeff and Lynn Yelton purchased 115 acres in the Town of Stockbridge. Before purchasing the property, they spoke with county officials, along with Jim Mayer, chairman of the Town of Stockbridge, about their plans to build a horse farm. The Yeltons wanted to make sure they would be in sync with any ordinances.
The Yeltons built their dream farm and now are left wondering what the future holds. “We have a large financial and emotional investment in our land,” Jeff Yelton said.
“According to the draft zoning ordinance, half of our 115 acres would fall under the Lakeshore District, which does not allow horses. We would be grandfathered in, but if the stable was hit by a tornado, or if our lovingly restored old stone and board hay barn burned to the ground, they would be considered non-conforming uses and we would be unable to rebuild them. Additionally, since we have lakefront property, both the town and county zoning bodies will now put restrictions and permit fees on it,” Yelton said.
Yelton started to look into Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning about four years ago. “Smart growth plans are being litigated across the country,” Yelton said. “The lawsuits are coming because of ‘regulatory takings,’ which means no due process or just compensation, just regulating away people’s rights to their own land.
“People are also upset about the increase in fees and taxes, because when you restrict use and limit land supply, you increase value and property taxes. Smart Growth plans all follow a similar format with a local tweak. To get to adoption, they use ‘consensus building’ and ‘visioning’ and discourage any type of debate. This was evident at recent meetings where we were allowed to make brief statements but not interact,” Yelton said.
“At the annual town meeting in 2007, we voted overwhelmingly — 90-9 — to not adopt Smart Growth,” Yelton said. “Most people thought Smart Growth was dead.”
Lynn wonders why the Town of Stockbridge needs this zoning ordinance.
“When we moved here 20 years ago, there was no zoning. It was a beautiful town then and it still is today. If there are a few problem properties, like there are in any town, they are grandfathered in. This draft plan doesn’t stop mega farms or wind farms or quarries.”
“This all started three years ago when a quarry was going to go in,” said Town Board Chairman Jim Mayer. “People asked the town board to do something, but we had no mining ordinance in place. A zoning ordinance is needed because we cannot have what is called ‘spot zoning.’ We cannot have a mining ordinance and a mega farm ordinance, etc.”
Mayer says the zoning committee consists of three town board members and four community members chosen by the board chair.
“For two years the zoning committee has been meeting to work on the zoning ordinance,” he said.
The ordinance would divide the Town of Stockbridge into four districts: Rural Character Agricultural, Rural Character Residential, Rural Character Lakeshore, and Rural Hamlet. Each district would have uses as described in the zoning ordinance draft, which would specify what is and what isn’t allowed in each district.
“The Town of Stockbridge is 200,000 plus acres and 3.6% of that land is residential. It is forecasted to grow at 1 to 3 houses per year for the next 30 years,” Yelton said. “Think about that when you read the draft ordinance and then notice how many times you see any reference to protecting private property rights.”
Tina Vaness owns a horse breeding and training farm in the Town of Stockbridge. “I think the zoning ordinance is plain stupid and a waste of time by the zoning committee,” she said.
Vaness’s property is included in the agriculture part of the proposed ordinance, but she is concerned about how the zoning would affect her horses.
“The zoning states conditional or accessory use for horses, and they want to place how many acres are needed per horse, which is a suggestion by the UW-Extension but is not a solid fact,” she said. “Wisconsin statute for livestock does not have a limit on land.”
After hearing about the zoning ordinance, Vaness contacted the town board members. “The town board said they would pass the letter on to the zoning committee,” she said. “I have not heard anything since.”
“It is the planning committee, not the town board, that people need to contact regarding the zoning ordinance,” Mayer said.
Vaness would like to see no zoning in the Town of Stockbridge. “Most of the stuff they are putting in the zoning is already covered by either the county or the DNR,” she said. “We don’t have the growth. The lack of communication before starting this zoning plan and the rudeness from both the town board and some of the zoning committee has been frustrating. They need to listen to the residents and make the appropriate changes.”
Brandi Lefeber first learned of the proposed zoning ordinance on June 1 when a concerned neighbor stopped in. “The proposed zoning ordinance is to me, once again, the government overstepping its role,” Lefeber said. “The role of government is to protect freedom, liberty and property. Zoning ordinances don’t do that.”
Lefeber operates a horse training, breeding, and boarding facility on a farm owned by her mother-in-law.
“Zoning doesn’t protect from pollution or noise, it won’t cause your neighbor to clean up his property, and it won’t increase the property’s value but it does increase property taxes,” Lefeber said. “I have been researching this subject diligently for the last three weeks, and I have found cases where property taxes have increased.”
Lefeber spoke with two planning commission members and found them to be understanding of her point of view. She also wrote a letter to the planning commission, but did not get a personal response. “Why are we the people letting an unelected bureaucratic body dictate what should be done in the Town of Stockbridge?” Lefeber said. “Once you’ve lost your freedom of choice it’s too late to change your mind.” Amanda Fritsch owns a certified natural grown farm in the Town of Stockbridge. “The property maintenance requirements are ridiculous,” Fritsch said. “This is a working farm and my husband has a busy shop. Stuff is always being built up, torn down, moved around, obtained or sold. Farmers are the most overworked people in the world and don’t have the time, patience, or money to worry about whether or not he needs to put a pile of fence posts in a building.” “This is an agriculture area,” Fritsch said. “When the planning committee said that since farming is in a decline, the area should be zoned residential so that farming would fade away, I was shocked to silence. Zoning for safety is one thing. I can understand property maintenance zoning in a village, but to zone farms, country homes, and land is absurd.” “The gentlemen on the town board were voted in to represent the best interests of the people,” Fritsch said. “What they are actually doing is representing the best interests of their own desires to control their neighbors.”
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