Public Hearing to be held on Proposed Changes to Cross Plains Hillside Ordinance
- John Donaldson
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 24 minutes ago
A public hearing will be held Monday, June 1 (6:30 p.m.) to discuss proposed changes to the village’s Hillside Overlay Ordinance. More on how to participate in the hearing (including zoom options) can be found on the village’s website. Also on the site is the Plan Commission’s Information Packet, which includes how the the ordinance would be changed and why the changes are being proposed.
The changes are being requested by the Verona-based developers, Haen Real Estate, who is currently proposing a second phase of the Marchstone residential development. Phase 1, which lies within the village and its existing Urban Service Area (USA), has been approved by the village and is in the early stages of construction. The second phase would be on property east of the current USA on property commonly known as the PI property, land that has been owned for decades by the Plastic Ingenuity employee pension program. It would include more homes and if things work out as planned, a golf course and other facilities. An expansion of the USA would be required for Phase 2 to proceed, and that would have to be approved by both the village board, Dane County’s Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC), and ultimately the WDNR.
According to Carly Persson, Village Administrator, in memorandum, Marchstone is asking the village “to reduce the Hilltop Edge buffer from 150 feet to 50 feet, while maintaining other hillside and hilltop protections, including restrictions on slopes exceeding 20 percent and elevations above 924 feet. Additional amendments include updates to definitions, clarification of allowable disturbance activities, and expanded exceptions related to utilities, stormwater management, access improvements, and recreational amenities.”
Background and History of the Hillside Protection Ordinance
The Village enacted erosion control requirements in 1988, prior to county and state erosion control regulations now in place to protect water quality that were put in place a decade later.
The ordinance in question was created in 1988 after a contentious debate over a proposal to develop 15 lots atop a bluff that overlooks the Village of Cross Plains from its northern edge. The development proposal was ultimately rejected by the village board, for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the road up the steep slope to access the hilltop and the extraordinary costs associated with getting utilities up the hill. A lift station would have had to be constructed to get water up to the new homes, and after the developers rejected a proposal to make the new homeowners pay for the station, village officials rejected the idea that existing ratepayers would essentially be subsidizing the additional utility costs.
Not long after the proposal was rejected, the village board approved the Hillside Overlay Ordinance in an effort to protect bluffs from development. The village board said it was approved in order to protect the village from erosion and runoff issues with respect to road and home construction, as well as to preserve the viewshed for many village residents who value the scenic bluffs.
The Black Earth Creek Watershed Association (BECWA) has requested a study of the potential impacts the Marchstone development could have on groundwater in the region, and whether it could impact the supply of fresh water to the creek, as well as the quality of that water. As the crow flies, the property in question is relatively close to the Festge Springs, a large complex of bubbling springs that provide much of cold water that the highly valued wild trout population requires to thrive. Recently officials from CARPC, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other interested parties met to discuss what they could do to update previous such studies done in the Black Earth Creek watershed to address BECWA’s questions and concerns.