Changes in the Village of Cross Plains’ Hillside Overlay Ordinance
Public hearings were held in the Village of Cross Plains in June 2026 to discuss a proposed change to the Village’s Hillside Overlay Ordinance that requires 150 foot setback buffers within which hillslopes cannot be developed. This Ordinance was created in 1988 and subsequently revised to comply with erosion and infiltration control requirements enacted seven years later by Dane County and the State of Wisconsin. During these hearings, both BECWA and Trout Unlimited provided comments in opposition to this proposed change.
The original Hillside Overlay Ordinance was enacted after a contentious debate over a proposal to develop 15 lots atop a bluff that overlooks the northern edge of the Village of Cross Plains. The development proposal was ultimately rejected by the Village trustees because of concerns about a steep road needed to access the hilltop, and the excessive costs of getting utilities up the hill (including a lift station to pump water up to the new homes, which the Village proposed should be paid by homeowners). Soon after the hilltop development proposal was rejected, the village board approved the Hillside Overlay Ordinance to protect sensitive bluffs from development, the village from erosion and runoff issues caused by road and home construction, and the viewshed of the citizenry living below the scenic bluffs.
The current change in the Hillside Overlay Ordinance was requested by Verona-based developers Jeff and Kyle Haen, who are proposing Phase 2 of the Marchstone residential development. Phase 1 has been approved by the village and includes homes that will not be sited on hillslopes; grading, street and utility work are underway.
Phase 2, if approved, would be constructed on property east of Phase 1 that has been owned for decades by the Plastic Ingenuity employee pension program. It would include more homes and a golf course, some of which are sited on hillslopes. See map on this article.
According to the Agenda Memorandum prepared by Village Administrator Carly Persson in June the Marchstone developers asked the village “to reduce the Hilltop Edge buffer from 150 feet to 50 feet, while maintaining other hillside and hilltop protections, including restrictions for building on slopes exceeding 20 percent and elevations above 924 feet.” As a compromise, the Village Plan Commission recommended reducing the ordinance’s Hilltop Edge Buffer from 150 feet to 100 feet. After considerable discussion, the village trustees voted to leave the original 150 foot buffer intact, but exempted 17 lots planned on the edge of the proposed golf course near the tops of bluffs. (Note – the location of exempted lots is unknown at this time.) The new ordinance allows the following activities within the hillside and viewshed protection area: installing stormwater management and erosion-control measures, approved fencing, habitat maintenance, fairways, driving ranges, greens, tee boxes, and cart paths. It also contains specific requirements and limitations concerning the removal of trees and other vegetation.
It is important to note that should Phase 2 be approved, the exceptions to the Ordinance are specific to the Marchstone development and would not affect other current or future developments. Consequently, the current Village, Dane County, and State stormwater-management, erosion-control, and infiltration requirements will remain in effect, regardless of allowed exceptions to the Hillside Protection Ordinance.
