UW Arboretum Neighbors...Do as we Say, Not as we Do

I just got home from a meeting of the Dane County Zoning and Land Regulation Committee. The hot topic tonight was the proposed Ordinance Amendment 2 dealing with lots in the Shoreland Zoning District. Specifically changes to Dane County Zoning Ordinances Chapter 11.

What I found amazing is that the group that seems to be leading the charge on becoming more restrictive on what can be done with lots within the shoreland zone are those folks who live near the UW Arboretum in a small pocket of homes called the Forest Park Plat in the town of Madison.

This small enclave is approximately 60 homes built from the late 1930's until the mid 1980's and falls between Vilas Zoo and the beltline in a small pocket abutting the UW Arboretum.

It's a beautiful and tranquil piece of Madison most don't know about. Heavily wooded, very little traffic except for bike riders and runners and overlooking the southern shore of Lake Wingra.

In addition, these 60 some homes are all served by private septic systems to handle each home's waste removal. Septic systems in the center of the city of Madison, on the shores of Lake Wingra. How can this be in this day and age? It's simple, this group of homeowner's have refused to participate in the cost of bringing municipal sewer into their neighborhood.

I find it ironic that they are the same group that seems to turn out in force when it comes to dealing with the property rights of other Shoreland District property owners. They lead the charge of not allowing these other owner's do improve their lots arguing the environmental impact of such development.

What about the environmental impact of failing septic systems with 1000' of shoreland in and around Lake Wingra? Almost every other landowner near shoreland has been required to bring municipal sewer to their homesites. Around Lake Kegonsa and Lake Waubesa this has happened. Many times in a much more rural setting than the Forest Park plat.

It's time we focus on this hypocrisy of these "elitists" for what they really are trying to do.

Let the Fight Begin

For those following the process I've gone through in getting "approval" to build 2 homes on lots purchased near the UW Arboretum in January 2006, you might know we've been granted the variance requests we were pursuing on February 22, 2007.

Time to celebrate right?

Wrong, this is just the beginning of a larger battle. 1 week prior to the variance hearing in front of the Dane County Board of Adjustment, my business partners and I filed suit in circuit court against the Dane County Board of Adjustment. Some might think now that our variance has been granted, we should drop this suit. This is not our intent. Let me explain why.

The basis of the suit is over a decision the BOA made in November 2006 which now requires any and all property owners who fall with in the Shoreland Zone (within 1000 feet of navigable lakes, rivers, streams) must now request a variance for any type of improvements being done on their land if their lot is considered "substandard" by current zoning code. For this purpose, a substandard lot is one that is less than 15,000 sq. ft. in size if the lot is serviced by a municipal sewer system or 20,000 sq. ft. if the lot is serviced by a private septic system. For some context on how large these sq. ft. requirements are for a sewered lot it would need to be 100x150 feet in size to meet the minimum requirements. The 20,000 foot requirement for a lot serviced by septic would be NEARLY 1/2 Acre in SIZE .

Needless to say, our expectation is this will affect well over 1000 property owners in Dane County and could even be greater than that.

So here's how it now works. You own property which is now considered a substandard lot. You decide you'd like to add on to the home to create more living space for you and your family. Your addition doesn't exceed any setback requirements, lot coverage maximums, etc... You make a trip to Dane County Zoning to apply for a zoning permit to start your project. You are now told you must file for a variance request with the BOA. This filing has a deadline of approximately 1 month prior to the next meeting to be placed on the agenda AND you must pay a filing fee of $350. Let's say you missed the deadline for the next meetings agenda, you must wait nearly 2 months to have your variance request heard!

Now you're starting to get mad because it seems the rules have changed and you had no idea that this had happened. Welcome to the world of Dane County land use politics!

This is the reason we're continuing with our lawsuit. I would invite anyone interested to let me know if you'd like to be included in the suit as we've already had other interested parties join in.

You can reach me at 608-662-9501 or e-mail darren@idcnet.com