In Support of 300 ft Wetland Buffer

Photo of the southwest portion of Lake Waubesa and wetlands to the west by Nadia Olker.






Fitchburg has written into the Comprehensive Plan the use of 300 ft. buffers for wetlands outside of the current urban service area. This is a major step forward by the Fitchburg Planning Department, because the County only mandates 75 ft.

Below is an appeal by Peter Ellestad to protect our wetlands.

Please submit your comments to the Planning Deportment on this or other aspects of the Comprehensive Plan by the Dec. 28th deadline, or better yet, give them a bit more lead time and turn them in by Dec. 23rd. Click here for the city's comment form.

-- Terry
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Members of the Fitchburg Planning Dept and the Common Council:

I am sending you this message to go on record as supporting the maintenance of a 300 foot buffer for wetlands outside the urban services area. I believe that the reduction of that barrier to 75 feet would provide almost no protection at all, and would put the precious west Waubesa wetlands, and the lake itself, at unacceptable risk. If in spite of compelling arguments against it, a large subdivision is created in the northeast neighborhood, the city should mandate requirements that allow as little damage as possible to environmentally sensitive areas.

In my opinion, a 75 ft buffer would lead to the creation of a sterile greenspace speckled with inert ponds and patches of invasive grasses, one that would be more like the numbing sprawl of suburban Chicago, with its depressing and inadequate imitation of a natural landscape, than the flourishing natural communities that exist in the watershed now. Please don't allow that to happen.

Sincerely,

Peter Ellestad
Fitchburg

Drumlin Community Garden

Here's a beautiful and timely letter from Rich Eggleston followed by several others on the same important topic. For more information about Drumlin Community Garden, check out their website here. -- Terry

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Date: November 3, 2008
To: Elected officials and planning staff
From: Rich Eggleston, Fitchburg

Much of Fitchburg's celebration of 25 years as a city has focused on our strong rural roots, and as we contemplate our next quarter century, it behooves us to consider how to combine the best of our urban future with the lessons of our rural past.

One way to do that is to bring agriculture, even on a small scale, to families that otherwise might not enjoy the rewards and frustrations that come with tilling the soil. And I can't think of any program that is better at that than Drumlin Community Garden.

The northeast corner of Fitchburg has been an issue since before we were a city, and maybe that's a good thing, because we know more about what we've gained -- and lost -- through development than we did in the 1980s.

Maybe we're learning that every spot that brings us closer to our rural past is special.

Drumlin Community Garden is one such place.

It comprises more than 40 families working together to provide roughly 1.5 acres divided into family-size garden plots rented out on a sliding-scale basis, and two acres of larger plots managed cooperatively where crops are grown for the South Madison Farmers Market and local restaurants, all of it managed in an environmentally responsible fashion that's about as organic as can be.

Besides hands-on experience in sustainable, small-scale urban agriculture, the garden partners with neighborhood organizations to educate families and youngsters in sustainable food production, and offers workshops in some of our rural traditions like composting, canning and making meals from scratch.

Drumlin Community Garden isn't just a "commercial zone" on a land-use map. It's a doorway to our rural past. It's a very special place.

Preserve Existing Gardens

Submitted by: John Fournelle and Judith Munaker, Fitchburg
November 3, 2008

Dear Planning Commission

We would urge you NOT to change the Southdale/Rimrock Neighborhood's zoning to "commercial" status.

In this time of growing difficult economic conditions, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we should not necessarily rely upon food coming from long distances -- which assumes low transportation costs. The day may not be far away when food grown locally will be considered absolutely essential, rather than an idiosyncrasy of a minority of citizens. Thus, zoning away a local community garden and replacing it with asphalt and luxury hotel rooms, is nuts.

Rather, if anything, you should instead insert language to "preserve existing gardens" with specific mention of Drumlin Community Garden located at 2849 Oregon Road. The decision to eliminate one of Wisconsin's first organic urban garden projects, now supplying healthy food to forty families, should not be made without exploring all the options available. We owe it to ourselves and our children to save all the urban farmland that we can.

Fantastic Opportunity

Here's an excerpt from another letter regarding Drumlin Garden. -- Terry

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Submitted by: Shannon Day, Fitchburg
November 3, 2008

Dear Fitchburg Officials,

... I feel that City Planners are missing a fantastic opportunity here in Fitchburg. We can preserve Drumlin Community Garden and work within the confines of current neighborhoods to make Fitchburg great. We should PROMOTE the gardens and the community it represents and be smarter about using surrounding land to promote the long-term health of greater Fitchburg!

My Confession of Terrorist Ties

by Rich Eggleston
October 6, 2008

Fellow Fitchburgers:

Well, given the conduct of the McCain-Palin campaign, I guess it's time to confess my ties to domestic terrorism before they run an ad about me, or worse yet, hustle me off to Guantanamo Bay and throw away the key.

My ties to former Weatherman radical Bill Ayers are almost as strong as presidential candidate Barack Obama's.

It turns out my father, Bill Eggleston, worked for many years for Ayers' father, Thomas G. Ayers, who was CEO of Commonwealth Edison, the power company in Chicago. They didn't work closely together, but undoubtedly greeted each other in the elevators in the Edison Building at 72 W. Adams St. in Chicago's Loop. They may even have talked about their children, who were nearly the same age.

At the time, of course, no one could have known that Bill Ayers would grow up to marry Bernardine Dorn and join the radical movement, and later become Barack Obama's neighbor and an advocate for public education, a dangerous radical concept. Worse yet, Bill Ayers is now a professor at the University of Chicago, a dangerous radical institution.

During the 1960s, I admit that I had dangerous radical thoughts. I thought the war in Vietnam was wrong and the guy in the White House was a dangerous criminal. To this day, I'm a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union. I was never convicted of anything, though.

Neither was Bill Ayers, though he was charged. I don't know what evidence the feds had against him, but I know it was obtained through illegal wiretapping, because that's why the charges were thrown out. This was long before Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, and illegal wiretapping became legal.

Like Bill Ayers, I've been rehabilitated by the passage of time. As the Phil Ochs song proclaimed, "I believe in God and Senator Dodd and keepin' ol' Castro down." Bill Ayers may feel the same.

But by the standards of attack politics, he is still fair game. A campaign that has seen attacks on Barack Obama because of statements by his former minister can surely stoop low enough as to attack a man based on who lives in his neighborhood.

I wonder who lives in John McCain's neighborhood. Or, rather, his seven neighborhoods.

Rich

Is Fitchburg Serious About Sustainability?

By Phyllis Hasbrouck

Once in a while we see flashes of brilliance among the alders of Fitchburg, and they must be acknowledged. Though I no longer haunt each and every Fitchburg Common Council and Plan Commission meeting, being too busy organizing and fundraising for Fitchburg Fields, I do catch up on what happened by reading that excellent publication, the Fitchburg Star. And I was delighted to read that on Aug. 5, Alder Jay Allen took a principled stand and voted against the Lacy Rd. interchange with Hwy. 14!

Why did Alder Allen do it? Because the interchange is integral to the current plan for Green Tech Village, and he wanted to get people's attention as to how far the city has strayed from its original conception of that development. He said that the city "lacked the political will to enforce the standards it had once deemed essential. He referred to the protracted discussions involving the development of Orchard Pointe, the failure of the [Green Tech] Sustainability Task Force to endorse standards, and continued pressure by developers to create just 'another run-of-the-mill development.'"

I admire someone who can admit that something that they have supported is turning out differently than they had hoped. Conditions change, commitments are not always kept, and a person with flexibility and intelligence can change their vote if they realize that a project is no longer in keeping with their values. I want to know what happened to the rest of the alders? Why didn't they vote with Alder Allen?

As we parents know, if there are no consequences for bad behavior, children will stop taking our pronouncements seriously. Likewise, if developers' initial statements about how "green" a development will be are discovered to be just window dressing, but no one says, "Meet our standards or go somewhere else" then developers will just learn to give lip service and then do what's best for their own bottom line.

Stopping that interchange would have gotten the attention of all those who aren't taking sustainability seriously. I hope that we'll continue to see such leadership from Alder Allen, and that the rest of the alders will follow suit.

Fitchburg is planning for the past

By RICH EGGLESTON

It's only coincidence that communities across Wisconsin are required to have their much vaunted comprehensive plans completed not long after the last SUV rolls off the General Motors assembly line in Janesville.

But it's no coincidence at all that our best efforts to map our future via comprehensive planning could end up just as ungainly a dinosaur tomorrow as the Chevy Suburbans that made big money for GM in the era of $1.15 a gallon gasoline.

That's because we're drafting plans for a future that threatens us with $4, $5 or $6 a gallon gasoline under parameters established by the state when gas was $1.15 a gallon.

By the time most communities even thought about comprehensive plans, gas was heading toward $2 a gallon and urban density was still the poor stepchild of development. It never got invited to the ball.

At $6 a gallon, density might be the life of the party. But government is a dinosaur all its own, and a lot of time and effort has been invested in planning for a future of $2 a gallon gas. We have to shift gears, and fast.

Written only 10 years ago, the comprehensive planning law uses terminology that today is outdated as a roadmap to the future. It tells us to plan for transportation and utilities but doesn't say a word about climate change, energy conservation or sustainability.

As a result, we're driving full speed ahead into the past, and our brakes are bad. Fitchburg approved marvelous developments that were well suited to $2 a gallon gasoline. But as the words "subprime mortgage" entered the vernacular, miniature mansions for the masses still rose on Fitchburg's skyline.

The surest way to ease the pinch of high energy prices is to reduce energy consumption. Make the kids walk or bike to soccer practice. Pick up the phone instead of the car keys. Take a train or bus. Let's design our community to make those things easy to do instead of almost impossible.

Around the country, transit saves 3.4 billion gallons of fuel each year, saves us 541 million hours that otherwise would be spent in traffic jams and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 26 million tons.

According to USA Today, Americans drove 22 billion fewer miles from November through April than during the same period in 2006-07. We are doing it.

And it's happening in a society that until yesterday was transit unfriendly. At $4 a gallon, it might be possible to get people out of their cars without prying their cold, dead hands off the steering wheels. At $6 a gallon, it's a sure thing.

As Fitchburg finalizes our comprehensive plan, we must plan to do more with less energy. If we don't, we'll have a community that is just as well suited to the future as a bunch of ungainly dinosaurs are suited to the 21st century.

And we're going to have to settle for a lot less in terms of quality of life and economic growth as a result.

Suburbs feeling the pinch as fuel prices soar

Open letter to District 2 alders
Submitted by Rosanne Lindsay

This is about the third article (click here) I've seen in as many days, on the need to rethink the status quo planning of suburbs. It offers some ideas to consider. Do we really need to plan and build extra homes when so many are standing empty and those who commute are struggling to fill their gas tank? I'm writing to you to consider how our times are changing and to reflect on these changes when considering the Fitchburg Comprehensive Plan and the approval of development in the NE Neighborhood Urban Service Area. Is there really a true need to add another 1000-plus homes to our Northeast corner when the dollar is heading south, gas prices are heading north, foreclosures and unsold homes are on the rise, and apartment rentals are gaining while home ownership is failing?

When many builders are going bankrupt, and others are trying to unload their unsold lots (see article), then something needs to give. Planners and local governments must find new paradigms. Does Fitchburg really want to add and pay for services to reach the far NE corner when the "core" is really just identifying itself as the area around City Hall and there is plenty of room to promote infill development first? If a new library does go in at the City Hall site, how will new residents on the NE side access it at an affordable price? Will we add transit services? At the moment, we don't even have enough money to expand our current transit service beyond the few runs down PD and Fish Hatchery. Has the Plan Commission considered these pressures on our budget and the pressures on the average homeowner?

Thanks for your consideration.

NE Neighborhood Land Use Committee

Notes from the Committee Meeting on 5-20-08

By Phyllis Hasbrouck

Present at the table: Alder Steve Arnold (Chair), Alder Andy Potts, Alder Jay Allen, Alder Bill Horns, Samuel Cooke (RCC Chair), Tom Hovel (Senior Planner), Randy Christianson (with Sveum Enterprises). Present around the edge of the room: about 18 consultants, neighbors, and observers.

I won't report everything, just some highlights and lowlights.

Frog and Toad Need More Space!

At the last meeting, developer Phil Sveum said that a 75 ft. buffer would be enough for the restored wetland, not the 300 ft. buffer that the city had proposed. He was answered today by Professor Joy Zedler (UW Madison) who spoke about the need for very wide buffer zones around streams and wetlands to protect amphibians and reptiles. She cited the work of Dr. Ray Semlitsch, who found (using transmitters) that amphibians travel 125.3 meters (370 ft.), from wetlands to terrestrial habitat.

Dr. Semlitsch suggested an aquatic buffer zone of up to 30 - 60 meters, then the core habitat at a width of 142 - 289 meters, and then a terrestrial buffer of 50 meters, for a total of somewhere between 222 meters and 399 meters (728 feet and 1309 feet).

Dr. Zedler also spoke of how buffers help protect wetlands from the negative effects of stormwater runoff, which are: excess water, excess nutrients, and excess sediment. At the Arboretum, Dr. Zedler's team has shown how tubs planted with 14 native species are filled with nothing but Reed Canary Grass (a highly invasive, non-native species) in just one season when exposed to these effects.

She displayed a map that showed how huge portions of the E-way and other Dane County wetlands were completely overrun with Reed Canary Grass and cattails, another invasive species.

Which Will Prevail: Parks or Subdivisions?

Then there was the whole curious matter of the clash between the Sveum plan and the Parks and Open Space Plan. Randy Christianson said that Sveum Enterprises had adjusted their plan to accommodate environmental corridors, and Anne Marie Kirsch (of Montgomery Associates, hired by Sveum Enterprises to do their water studies) showed a composite slide which I found confusing because, although I believe it was intended to reconcile the parks plan with the street plan, it didn't seem to show all of the proposed Parks Dept. areas on it. Jim Schreiber, a consultant for Sveum Enterprises, also showed a slide of the changes they had made to accommodate wildlife: I found them underwhelming.

Ed Bartell, City Forester, from the Fitchburg Parks & Forestry Department, showed a revised map of what they would like to have as parks and open space in the NE Neighborhood (NEN), and frankly, it doesn't leave a lot of room for houses! Bartell wants to have an assessment done on the tree line (~100 ft. wide) that goes north from Goodland Park Rd to the forest at the top of the hill. He said it may be a corridor for wildlife and may contain remnants of oak savanna.

They also want to preserve a diagonal band of recharge area in the northwestern part of Sveum's land, and to investigate if there is an Indian trail west of the tree line, as historical documents indicate.

Parks revised their map because at the last NEN Land Use Committee meeting on April 29, Jeff Kraemer of Natural Resources Consulting (hired by either Sveum Enterprises or Montgomery Associates) said that the soil tests that he had conducted showed that much of what the USDA maps listed as hydric soils (wetland soils) were not hydric at all. So Parks gave up trying to save them.

But a funny thing came to light at this meeting: Resource Conservation Committee Chair, Samuel Cooke, had shown the data to a soil scientist, and the scientist maintained that Kraemer was not accurately portraying the data. For example, Kraemer cited pit #14, located in "Lake Larsen" (the degraded wetland that held about 15 acres of open water this spring) as a site which had hydric soil. About a quarter mile west was pit #17, which he said was not hydric.

Cooke asked how Kraemer could be sure where the boundary was between hydric and non-hydric soils, using only two reference points. Kraemer replied that he had not mapped the hydric soils, but then expressed his opinion that they only existed in one area and not another, something that was not proven by his data.

I've noticed that it is very hard to pin consultants down. They are very smooth talkers and rarely (if ever) say, "I don't know," or "I see your point," or "I guess you're right about that." Instead, I hear things like "We are addressing those issues," or "It's very early to have that level of detail, we'll address that later," or "We are seeking to achieve a balance." So, Samuel Cooke deserves a lot of credit for following up and restating that the data did not reflect what Kraemer was saying.

Can Amphibians Read?

Jeff Kraemer also explained that the largest wetland buffer demanded by law in Wisconsin is 300 ft., for the Butler Gartersnake. But he said that it doesn't really have to be 300 ft. all around: it can be less in some places, as long as the total acreage in the buffer is equal to what it would have been had it been evenly laid out.

So, by extension, he felt it was all right if the western buffer of the "Lake Larsen" restored wetland were only 75 ft., because there would be ample open space to the north and the south. I wonder if they put up little signs in frog and toad language, reading "Go North or South and you'll find all the habitat you want. Don't try to cross this bike path 'cause you'll get crushed." And I wonder how well those signs work.

Eau Claire Shale and Infiltration

The question came up of whether or not the Eau Claire Shale Formation (an aquitard layer separating the upper and lower aquifers) exists under the Northeast Neighborhood. This was the subject of Dr. Cal DeWitt's presentation to the Common Council on Jan. 15, 2008. No one expressed any criticisms of Dr. DeWitt's logic or data, yet Rob Montgomery expressed his own belief that the shale does in fact exist here, and no one countered him.

Anne Marie Kirsch's explanation of the infiltration system, for the proposed Sveum development, didn't convince me of its short or long term effectiveness. She explained that the outlot raingardens (not necessarily on each block, as I thought I had heard before, but totaling five acres) would be maintained by the Neighborhood Association, and might have to be rehabbed in 10 years. If the raingardens stop working, and the Neighborhood Association stops functioning, will anyone care enough to rehab them? And how will that affect the wetlands, the groundwater, and Lake Waubesa?

She also said that the whole infiltration system wouldn't fully work until the upstream is stabilized, i.e. "some of the houses are built." (Why not all of the houses?) She explained that sediment running off a construction site could clog the system. This shocked me, because I know that the county has a stormwater ordinance that controls sediment runoff from construction sites very strictly. It's not supposed to happen.

Anyway, Kirsch conceded that the downhill retention ponds "may be a bit taxed at first." If the system doesn't work until the whole project is done, how much damage will have been done by the time the work is finished? Will there have been enough sediment, water and nutrients for Reed Canary Grass to completely take over the newly restored wetland.

If you care about how development decisions are made, you need to get involved. Please contact all of the Alders on the NEN Committee (Arnold, Allen, Potts and Horns) and tell them that you want decisions made for the good of the environment and the taxpayers. Developers perform a necessary function, but their monetary interests should not come before those of the city, the taxpayers, or the environment. If citizens don't call the alders, the only voices they hear are developers and their consultants!

Contact info for Alders can be found at http://www.city.fitchburg.wi.us/common_council/index.php

Suburbia - The Next Slum?

Here's an important and timely email (with emphasis added) from Rich Eggleston to the members of the Plan Commission, Common Council, Citizens Advisory Committee on the Comprehensive Plan, and Mayor Tom Clauder.

Monday, 25 Feb 2008

One of the hallmarks of a comprehensive plan that works is flexibility. What we know about the proposed Northeast Neighborhood now, for example, is more than we knew about it two weeks ago, much less two years ago or 20 years ago.

That's why I was miffed by a member of the Plan Commission who suggested recently that I should have brought up concerns about the proposed Northeast Neighborhood in 1985, or, presumably, forever hold my peace.

The need for flexibility in planning is highlighted further by developments in the national economy over which Fitchburg has no control, and immutable demographic reality. You folks are getting older.

A business column in Saturday's New York Times cited research by Arthur C. Nelson, director of Virginia Tech's Metropolitcan Institute, who has predicted that, by 2025, there will be a surplus of 22 million "large-lot homes" (those built on at least one-sixth of an acre) in America.

The column quotes Leinberger as ascribing that surplus to “'the pendulum swinging back toward urban living,' thanks to a set of economic, social, and demographic trends." The result, he says, could be that low-density suburbs “may become what inner cities became in the 1960’s and 1970’s — slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay.” (article here)

The column built on an article in the latest Atlantic Monthly (here) that said, in part:

"In most metropolitan areas, only 5 to 10 percent of the housing stock is located in walkable urban places...

"Yet recent consumer research by Jonathan Levine of the University of Michigan and Lawrence Frank of the University of British Columbia suggests that roughly one in three homeowners would prefer to live in these types of places. In one study, for instance, Levine and his colleagues asked more than 1,600 mostly suburban residents of the Atlanta and Boston metro areas to hypothetically trade off typical suburban amenities (such as large living spaces) against typical urban ones (like living within walking distance of retail districts).

"All in all, they found that only about a third of the people surveyed solidly preferred traditional suburban lifestyles, featuring large houses and lots of driving. Another third, roughly, had mixed feelings. The final third wanted to live in mixed-use, walkable urban areas—but most had no way to do so at an affordable price. Over time, as urban and faux-urban building continues, that will change.

"Demographic changes in the United States also are working against conventional suburban growth, and are likely to further weaken preferences for car-based suburban living.

"When the Baby Boomers were young, families with children made up more than half of all households; by 2000, they were only a third of households; and by 2025, they will be closer to a quarter. Young people are starting families later than earlier generations did, and having fewer children. The Boomers themselves are becoming empty-nesters, and many have voiced a preference for urban living. By 2025, the U.S. will contain about as many single-person households as families with children."

Topics for comprehensive plans to consider.

Rich Eggleston
Fitchburg

Greener Homes & Gardens Feb. 27th

Greener Homes & Gardens Expo
Simple steps you can take now, for a cleaner & greener tomorrow

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 27th
Time: Come anytime between 6:30 and 9:00pm
Place: Ancora Coffee -2690 Research Park Dr., just across Lacy Rd. from Fitchburg City Hall

Visit booths, and talk with experts one-on-one, to learn more about:

*How to enhance the beauty of your yard while protecting our lakes, streams, and ground water with rain gardens, rain barrels, & natural yard care

*Simple, practical steps you can take now to reduce water use inside and outside your home

*How to maintain a greener home & cut your energy bill: lighting, conservation, and energy solutions you can use now

*Your solar energy options

*What a CSA farm is, and how you can enjoy healthy, affordable organic foods all year long

* How to sign up for free hands-on nature education opportunities for your child’s classroom or scout troop

*Homeowner grants for native prairie plants at half price

Register to win great green door prizes:
*Sustain Dane rain barrel, installation included
*Water conserving showerheads
*Energy efficient light bulbs
*Nature books for kids and adults
*Nature curriculum materials from National Audubon Society & Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Please call or email Nancy Hylbert for more information:
271-0956, Nancy.Hylbert@Fitchburg.WI.US

Dr. DeWitt's Presentation Posted

As a follow-up to a previous blog, the city has posted Dr. Cal DeWitt's presentation on their website here.

The slide below is my favorite showing the various layers of bedrock deposits in Dane County (top left is north). The two darkest layers are the thickest areas of the Eau Claire formation which comprise the best aquitard separating our upper and lower aquifers. As you can see, much of the county does not benefit from this layer of shale.

Wake Up Dane County!

Last Tuesday night the room was packed for Dr. Cal DeWitt's remarkable presentation which was entertaining, important, and memorable! If you missed it, you might catch the replay on FACTv.

I'm sorry Channel 15 news was unable to record the unveiling of Dr. DeWitt's latest research during his second presentation to the Plan Commission, which unfortunately was delayed for an hour in order to accommodate people there for other agenda items.

Eau Claire Aquitard and Buried Bedrock Valleys

During his presentation, Dr. DeWitt shared his remarkable and eye-opening discoveries, involving over 700 hours of research since his September 2007 presentation to the Plan Commission. He unearthed to the public, the secrets of the hidden bedrock valleys which lay beneath the surface of Fitchburg. The bedrock was created in layers by various sea deposits over millions of years including a series of deposits from the ancient "Eau Claire Sea."

These deposits of mud, silt, and sand form the Eau Claire Formation and it is the shale in this formation that forms a barrier (aquitard) that separates the upper and lower aquifers. Valleys, cutting through this bedrock, make it look much like the rugged, exposed topography of the driftless area to our west. And the Nine Springs bedrock valley cuts completely through the Eau Claire Formation. After these incisions, however, the valleys around here were filled in by the glacier (which also created a fantastic chain of lakes) and they now lie silently below us.

Through research of previous core samples taken from wells, Dr. DeWitt demonstrated that the aquitard is slowly reduced in thickness from Southwest to Northeast Fitchburg, where it thins as it approaches Lake Waubesa and then disappears completely. This results in a joining of upper and lower aquitards, making them one.

In Northeast Fitchburg, east to west along the 9 Springs E-way, and in much of Madison and Sun Prairie, there is a joining of upper and lower aquifers, and this may more fully explain the reason for Madison's many water quality/contamination problems.

Caution is Urged

Dr. DeWitt strongly urged against drilling any new wells in or near areas where the aquitard is lacking and suggested that Fitchburg steward the land by "sleuthing" the science (hydrology, geology, hydrogeology, limnology) of the area carefully in future planning.

He warned against relying on current groundwater models, when considering new development (such as the Northeast Neighborhood). While these models are helpful for many areas where bedrock is fairly uniform, they do not account for the cutting through of the Eau Claire aquitard by the Nine Springs Bedrock Valley or the thinning of the Eau Claire Shale to zero in the northeast.

Other models being used for runoff similarly must be used wisely; and their current use does not adequately address phosphorus loading inputs. He suggested that unless care is taken to prevent the eutrophication of Lake Waubesa, by reducing the phosphorus runoff below levels found in present and future developed neighborhoods, Fitchburg would eventually pay in increased taxes for future remediation to restore the watershed.

Rosanne Lindsay
Fitchburg

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To the 100 or more people that came to listen to Professor DeWitt's talk (some are pictured above before all the seats were filled!), I’m sorry that the Mayor decided to rearrange the agenda at the last minute. I’m glad that you were able to stay that extra hour and I’m sure you agree that this presentation was worth the wait!

Terry Carpenter
Fitchburg

Surprise Guest Remains a Mystery

This is a longer version of the Letter to the Editor, Capital Times
To be published 1/15/2008

Who could the “Special Guest” be at the top of the agenda? What forwarding-thinking person is Mayor Clauder going to present? I’ve never seen the Mayor so excited about anything. But, then, I’ve mostly seen him at Council or Plan Commission meetings. But wait. This IS a Common Council meeting and he’s still excited about something.

During the Mayor’s melodramatic and “suspenseful” introduction, I can’t help but watch the clock because time is valuable and I came here to observe the Fitchburg Common Council meeting. It’s been 3 minutes and he’s still playing his mystery game. So far, we know it’s connected to the Packers because he unfurled a giant poster containing the familiar helmet. We can also see a green and gold bobble-head doll perched near the Mayor’s seat (which remained in the camera’s view the entire night).

After 5 minutes of introduction, the moment arrived. There was no curtain so special guest John O’Neill appeared out of the wings of FACTv’s offices (affectionately referred to as “tent city” because of the tarps protecting their equipment from a leaky roof). Covered from head to toe in an elaborate green and yellow costume, “Saint Vince” strode across the Council Chambers carrying a staff topped with a cheesehead wedge and took the microphone from our beaming Mayor. O’Neill explained his unusual Packer Fan history including his costume (a tribute to “Saint" Vince Lombardi) and inclusion in the NFL Fan Hall of Fame.

Yes, this really happened and I had the misfortune to witness it for a mind-boggling 20 minutes at the beginning of the Common Council meeting on Jan. 8th.

I don’t think I was the only person to be dazed and confused by this display of Football Fever. I noticed a few other somber or perhaps puzzled faces in the audience. They probably came to express their concerns to about official agenda items. They were made to wait through 20 minutes of sports trivia before the Council could get on with business. I doubt that these concerned citizens appreciated the extra time spent waiting their turn.

I can’t help but wonder why Mayor Clauder believed that this was an appropriate venue for such a guest. Clauder mentioned that Green Bay and Ashwaubegon councils both invited the famous fan. He mentioned that he’s personally known O’Neill for a long time because he lived in Fitchburg for many years. But I still don’t see why Fitchburg needs to follow the lead taken by Green Bay. The two cities are quite different. We don’t even have a stadium much less one filled with Packer fans year after year. I haven’t a clue as to why Ashwaubenon is now setting a precedent for Fitchburg to follow.

Now, before any of you send me hate e-mail for being anti-Packers, I should tell you that “Saint Vince” seems to be having a great time as he raises money for charity by charging people to have their picture taken with him. This is all well and good… in the right time and place. I believe that a Fitchburg City Council meeting is not the right place. And if it were the right place, the priorities around allocation of time are still wrong.

And there’s also the issue of fairness and equity. Many people, including me, find it quite difficult to get more than 3 minutes of face time with the Council or the Plan Commission without being interrupted by “Are you almost done?” But I’m not in the NFL Fan Hall of Fame like O’Neill who had no such problem.

I have to question the priorities because I know that Dr. Cal DeWitt, a UW Professor who has devoted his life to studying and teaching complex ecosystems, was given just 30 minutes to present important research at the Plan Commission meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15th when he could have spent much more time if permitted. Dr. DeWitt has built an international reputation through his involvement with projects and conferences relating to global climate change and other ecological issues. His interdisciplinary experience has allowed him to connect some important dots in Dane County and we need to hear what he has found.

Do you see anything wrong with the judgment over at City Hall when the Mayor can allocate 20 minutes for stories about the Packers while Dr. DeWitt is only allowed 30 minutes for a presentation about the importance of buried bedrock valleys, missing aquitard and how these affect our groundwater system?

I do. Fitchburg’s Council, Committees and Commissions have important work to do. Their decisions impact the daily lives of current and future residents. Although I enjoy the occasional bit of humor at city meetings, wasting 20 minutes on sports trivia is a disservice to our community.

Terry Carpenter
(Disgusted in) Fitchburg

How Will Measures Be Enforced?

Expanded version of Jan. 10, 2008 Letter to Editor, Fitchburg Star
Submitted by Phyllis Hasbrouck
Chair of the West Waubesa Preservation Coaliton

“Just Trust Us”

The main message that I heard from developer Phil Sveum and his team on Dec. 18 was “Just trust us.” They painted a picture of a “green development” in the Northeast Neighborhood, but with no real substance. They are “looking at” encouraging homebuyers to use efficient plumbing fixtures, limit lawn watering, create and maintain raingardens, and use rain barrels. They assure us that when they complete their CDP (comprehensive development plan) it will have measures adequate to protect Lake Waubesa, Swan Creek, the springs and the groundwater.

Should the Plan Commission just take their word for it? How many times have cities been left holding the bag when a stormwater plan went bad? Developers sure are good at sweet talking, but once they finish the project, they are done, and all problems are left to the city.

Can Neighborhood Associations be Depended on?

All of the neighborhood-wide water-saving and stormwater control features of the Sveum plan depend on a Neighborhood Association to carry them out, and that’s a real weakness. It’s hard to find people willing to put in the volunteer hours for the good of the whole neighborhood. Harlan Hills (which was built by Sveum to be an “environmental development”) has a neighborhood association, but it hasn’t stopped people from using the pesticides that Sveum said would be banned. People have mowed down prairie and incorporated pieces into their yards, and concerned residents were told that suing their neighbors is the only way they can get the covenants enforced.

It’s very easy to say, “the outlot raingardens, the repair and plowing of the alleys, and the greenways will all be managed by a dues-collecting neighborhood association,” but the reality may be quite different. A recent Capital Times article talked about the many area residents who buy homes without realizing that their street is private, and that they’ll have to pay for its upkeep. What if new residents of the NEN can’t or won’t keep up the raingardens, alleys and greenways? Will Phil Sveum step in and pay? Will the city? Or will the environment have to pay? I understand that Fitchburg has never allowed private streets. I hope that they stick to their principles when it comes to private allies, greenways, and infiltration features.

What makes anyone believe that the people who move into such a development will be interested in conserving tap water or maintaining raingardens? Congratulations to Commissioner McNally, who brought a sense of reality back to the discussion when he asked whether we could really count on all of these ambitious plans happening!

A Memorandum is not a Promise

The Ruekert-Mielke stormwater report was a list of goals, with no concrete suggestions to describe how the goals would be met. The Montgomery Associates Memorandum on water is a slight improvement. It describes the general sort of techniques that they plan to use, e.g. “providing multiple points of treatment and infiltration of runoff as close to the impervious surfaces as possible.” But we are told to wait until they have a comprehensive development plan to see exactly what kind, how many, and where such measures will be. Can it be that this is the accepted way of approving developments – to just take the say-so of people who have every reason to skimp once they have the approval?

Rob Montgomery, Sveum’s water expert, said “Those [municipal] wells draw water from the lower aquifer relatively isolated from the upper aquifer, and also draw from a wider region of Fitchburg and areas to the west.” People who attend or watch the next Plan Commission meeting at 7 p.m. in City Hall on Jan. 15 will learn that this is not so, when they hear Dr. Cal DeWitt speak on buried bedrock valleys.

The memorandum says that “Water draining off the Par Fore site will be managed to exceed state and local ordinance criteria for water quality, peak discharge rates, and runoff volumes.” Once again, we are told to just trust them. Everything will be done according to the law. But does that mean that it won’t harm the environment? The environment has been gravely harmed by development, and presumably most of that development was done within the law. We need some leadership by people willing to defend the resources that will sustain our grandchildren!

Groundwater, Lakes and Phosphorus

Rob Montgomery’s conclusion was that “placing consideration of the Northeast Neighborhood ‘on hold’ because of regional groundwater management concerns is not warranted. We suggest that an appropriate approach for the Planning Commission is to approve the neighborhood plan including an objective of maintaining groundwater recharge, and recommending appropriate municipal water supply conservation practices.” Translation: “Just write down that it would be good for people to save water and let rainwater infiltrate, and let us go about our business.”

It was encouraging to hear Commissioner Kinney ask Rob Montgomery how he could ensure that the water going in to Swan Creek would be both cleaner and of the same volume post-development. I hope that all the commissioners will be asking skeptical and probing questions, as they are responsible for the welfare of the entire community.

Some commissioners may think that the question of phosphorus has been laid to rest with City Engineer Paul Woodard’s calculations that post-development the NEN will contribute less phosphorus to surface waters than it presently does. While this may be true, (a schedule of corn, corn, and soy results in a lot of phosphorus runoff) it is not the relevant question to ask. Because Lake Waubesa is already partly eutrophic, a large reduction in phosphorus loading is needed, not a small one. Small scale, organic farming could be the best option of all for protecting and restoring Lake Waubesa, and it should be studied.

Workforce Housing and the Future of Fitchburg

Kudos to Alder Allen and Mayor Clauder for bringing up the issue of workforce housing. This is a huge need, but it won’t be met unless the city insists on it. Our proposal for the Northeast Neighborhood, which we will present to the Plan Commission in Feb., contains 30 units of workforce housing, for the farmers, teachers and entrepreneurs who will run the school of organic farming, the farmers market, and the Bike and Breakfast that we envision. The people who will be attracted to inhabit the NEN if our vision is realized will definitely be interested in and dedicated to saving water, infiltrating rainwater, stopping soil loss, rejecting pesticides, and creating a vibrant, closely knit community.

I hope that the Plan Commission and Common Council will remember that the choice before them is not between Mr. Sveum’s proposal and the worst possible development. The choice is between Mr. Sveum’s proposal, just leaving the land in agriculture, or endorsing our plan to preserve our lakes and groundwater while producing healthy food for the community.

Development Threatens Water Quality, Rural Character

Slightly revised version of Jan. 10, 2008 Letter to the Editor, Fitchburg Star
Submitted by Ed Korn, Fitchburg

Concerning the proposed development in the rural area of Fitchburg east of County MM and north of Lacy Road known as the Northeast Neighborhood. This parcel of undeveloped land abuts the Town of Dunn, a community that has worked hard to retain its rural characteristics.

As one example of the effort by the Town of Dunn to control the impact of development there was years ago an informal agreement between the Town chair and Fitchburg mayor that an undeveloped buffer would be left between Fitchburg and Dunn. The proposed Northeast Neighborhood completely ignores that agreement to the detriment of the kind of community Dunn is trying to maintain.

The shallow southern two thirds of Lake Waubesa is flushed and kept clean by three creeks which draw a significant quantity of their water from the Northeast Neighborhood. Changing the land use from agricultural to suburban will likely have a detrimental impact in those creeks and the already marginal water quality of Lake Waubesa.

Leap frog development which this is, is not appropriate land use. It's expensive to provide the municipal services of police, water, sewage, public transportation, and fire safety. Swan Creek is only fractionally built out let alone Green Tech Village. There is also a significant quantity of appropriate land closer to Fitchburg's central core that at this time is far better suited for urbanization. I think the quality of life of both the Fitchburg and Dunn residents would be better served if the Northeast Neighborhood retains its rural character.

Northeast Neighborhood Poorly Planned

Jan. 10, 2008 Letter to the Editor, Fitchburg Star
Submitted by Holly Adams, Fitchburg


I am a resident of the Northeast Neighborhood, and I was hoping that Sveum’s plan for the forests and fields that surround my home would impress me with planning, innovation and forethought. Unfortunately, the plan failed on all three counts.

The neighborhood is not well planned out. The neighborhood is not really a neighborhood, just a large cluster of homes clumped together. There is nothing to build a sense of community, no center, no focal point, no main streets, just winding roads jam-packed with single family homes, condos and duplexes.

I was hoping for more innovation in the design. I was hoping for something that would make Fitchburg unique or identifiable. Instead, I saw a bedroom suburb, the same as I see around Sun Prairie, DeForest, and Cottage Grove. Putting garages in the backs of lots and houses close together will only encourage people to walk if there are places to walk to. However, everything for these families will be a car trip away. A carton of milk, a teacher’s conference, returning a book to the library and a swim lesson will require cars to dart out of this neighborhood in four different directions.

With all the work that has been done to study I thought there would be more forethought in the plan. The last thing I expected to see was a repeat of the Swan Creek neighborhood, except with more homes jammed in. The Northeast Neighborhood was picked as an area to study for future development because of its proximity to the GreenTech development and to the rail corridor that runs parallel to it. No one knows for sure what is going into that rail corridor, but everyone seems sure we want to develop along it. Of course, if it is high speed rail, the chances that there will be a stop between Oregon and Madison are slim, but that matters not to the people who want to tear up the fields and forests to build acres upon acres of vinyl-sided homes in every shade of taupe known to man.

The city of Fitchburg and the School District of Oregon will bear the costs of this development. The city will have to pay for fire and police protection in this remote corner of Fitchburg, the cost of maintaining the roads and alleys that will crisscross the cornfields, and the cost of leapfrogging urban services over vacant land while land in the existing urban services area goes undeveloped. The school district will bear the cost of bussing kids seven miles each way to school; and the cost of building new schools and spaces for children who live on the far outer edge of the district.

But more costly still is the cost all of us will bear as we continue to chew up field and forest for pockets of development. The cost to our lakes, springs, streams and well water. While Fitchburg and Oregon can tax all of us more to help defray the costs to them for services, there is no amount of money anyone can extract that will recompense us when we have drained our wells dry, or killed our lakes.

I grew up in the Northeast neighborhood. I followed the trails through the woods that led through the meadows and out into the fields that are soon to be torn up. I climbed up the trees, and helped friends build tree forts in the oaks that bent out over the corn fields below. When we had the chance to move back to this wonderful corner of Fitchburg, we jumped at it. We watch the turkeys and the deer during the day, and wait for the flying squirrels to soar in at night. I love the parts of Fitchburg that are forward thinking, progressive and unique. I just wish my own neighborhood was going to stay in that part of Fitchburg, and not become part of the poorly-planned, mundane, environmentally-lethal suburbia that one developer envisions.

'Green Plan' is Actually SPRAWL

Jan. 10, 2008 Letter to the Editor, Fitchburg Star
Submitted by Rosanne Lindsay, Fitchburg

Call it what you will, but the proposed Sveum development, on the outer edges of Northeast Fitchburg, is SPRAWL by any name, and raises more questions than it offers answers.

This plan may boast many things, including parks, rain gardens, native plantings, and filling a need to “provide houses in an area that reduces commuting distance” (for whom I might ask)? What it does not do is tell Fitchburg residents who care about increased taxes, what they will pay to provide services (water, sewer, fire, etc) to the NE area. Nor does it convey to those who care about protecting our natural resources, how these measures will be enforced.

The need for “greening” this plan was prompted by concerned citizens who believe that runoff pollution from this development will irreversibly degrade the native fauna and flora, creeks, springs, the Northern Pike Fishery, Lake Waubesa, and one of the highest quality and diverse wetlands in southern Wisconsin, only one mile from the site.

While Mr. Sveum’s effort to respond to citizen concerns was noted by some on the Plan Commission, discussion of specific measures by Sveum to address risks to the basic water chemistry and aquatic habitat conditions on pre-existing water bodies (Swan Creek, Lake Waubesa, Deep Spring), was lacking. These risks have been noted to be high and growing, according to Environmental Toxicologist, Dave Zaber (See 11/16/06 Star article).

Mr. Sveum’s consultant predicted that Swan Creek will not be adversely affected by development and that surface runoff will be cleaner than current conditions. However, he did not talk about accountability. In fact, Sveum et al. admitted that compliance with infiltration on individual lots cannot be enforced so how are we assured that groundwater recharge will be maintained or that runoff and the water bodies will remain clean?

There are accountability mechanisms which should be insisted upon: Sveum’s proposed Northeast Neighborhood, like his Harlan Hills, and Swan Creek developments contrast with the very rigorous accountability mechanisms that Bill Linton imposed in the Fitchburg Center. There, independent associations oversee the management and monitoring of compliance with covenants, much like the Natural Heritage Land trust does for PDR easements in the area.

In Harlan Hills, no additional funds will be provided to restore promised prairie land which is overwhelmed by clover. Mr. Sveum seeded and maintained the prairie for 2 years. Unfortunately, prairie restoration needs 3-5 years of maintenance to ensure proper generation of prairie plants, according to local experts. Promises of “no lawn pesticide application” (to protect the Arboretum) became “certain pesticides acceptable.” And even banned pesticides are sometimes applied because there is little, if any, ability to enforce.

As a result of the heavy rains last August, the Village of Oregon is faced with purchasing several flood-damaged homes, at least partly at taxpayer expense. The homes are downhill from Oregon's new Bergamont and Alpine Valley developments. Some have accused the developers of "design error" from poor stormwater management plans. Others say the developers are not to blame because they complied with the stormwater ordinance and other village requirements. Either way, there is little doubt that the developments exacerbated Oregon's pre-existing flood problems, as some residents had predicted.

These local histories prove that good intentions and inadequate city policies are simply not enough. Maintaining our precious environmental resources--the forests, prairies, wetlands, fisheries, and lakes that make living here so desirable--requires nothing less than full commitment to do whatever it takes to accomplish the goal, be it prairie restoration or preserving Swan Creek and the Lake Waubesa watershed.

Developers can talk all they want about "sustainability" and "green" development but they often fail to follow through. So it must be the city’s job to probe for specifics and examine concerns raised previously about the developer's Northeast Neighborhood Plan, including the suitability of the model being used for hydrological impacts, the absence of cumulative effects analysis, the preservation of rare hydric soils and infiltration, and the threats to our aquifer (groundwater) from a burgeoning population, as described by UW Ecologist Cal DeWitt.

Mr. Sveum also gave the rosy economic prediction that his thousand-home development will not cost the city money. But will Mr. Sveum give the city an enforceable guarantee as the country heads toward a recession? Or will Fitchburg taxpayers be the ones who bear the cost when his prediction proves incorrect? Virtually all Cost of Urban Service studies show that residential development leads to a net drain on local government budgets. What justifies Mr. Sveum’s belief that his Northeast Neighborhood development will be any different? What about reality of the nation’s economy; the shortage of credit to homebuyers resulting from the mortgage meltdown, the perceived need for more housing when many homes stand empty waiting for a buyer, or the fall of the dollar? City officials should require a full Cost of Urban Services Study for all new development proposals as a matter of fiscal responsibility.

The public policy question is one of deciding whether or not “market forces” should allow this sort of development at this location when it makes such a dramatic influence on the area’s natural and recreational resources, as well as contributes to commuter traffic and sprawl. The fact that there is the rail line and the Green Tech Village plan, both of which do far more for the City, is an important alternative that must be given more thought.

Proposed developments, in conjunction with past and present developments, are adversely affecting groundwater and surface water resources throughout Dane county and this problem is particularly acute in this part of Dane County. Let's hope that at future meetings of both the Plan Commission and the Common Council, the city will ask many probing, skeptical questions that will truly serve the interests of the many Fitchburg residents waiting for answers.

And while Mr. Sveum may, indeed, share many of our concerns, he may be the only one to see “green” if the Northeast Neighborhood turns into more Fitchburg SPRAWL.

Proposed Development is 'Green Washing'

Jan. 10, 2008 Letter to the Editor, Fitchburg Star
Submitted by Amy Schulz, Fitchburg

"Green" plans for N.E. Neighborhood really mean "green $" for developer

I just finished reading the article regarding the "new and improved" proposal for the N.E. Neighborhood. I'm glad that Sveum has tried to be responsive to the concerns of the citizens of Fitchburg but I'm afraid that his proposed solutions to our concerns are "green washing", in other words, they sound like they are good for the environment, but there are truly a lot of holes in the proposals.

For example, Sveum and Montgomery have plans to control runoff and methods to encourage infiltration, but if these are voluntary, it's likely that they won't be implemented. Sometimes developments promise to be kept free of pesticides (an example of voluntary proposals) but without any governmental teeth to enforce these types of promises, pesticides have been utilized.

Montgomery assured members of the commision that Swan Creek wouldn't be adversely affected by development but what about the issue of Lake Waubesa's water table being affected? Professor Cal DeWitt has done extensive research on the impact of development on Lake Waubesa and this wasn't even addressed.

I find the push for another development in rural Fitchburg to be short-sighted given the economic challenges of the recession that is in progress. There are plenty of homes on the market these days with depressed prices reflecting this recession. The new development in Oregon has plenty of vacant homes and the Swan Creek Neighborhood still has plenty of room as well. The small businesses close to downtown Fitchburg seem to be struggling, are more businesses what we truly need?

I hope that the planning commission will consider these points and NOT approve this development in light of these concerns.

Proposed Development a 'Homebuilding Debacle'

Jan. 10, 2008 Letter to the Editor, Fitchburg Star
By Gary Leverington / Resident of Fitchburg

(Emphasis added)

I'm writing again to express concern about the proposed NE neighborhood plan. It is my hope that sensible leadership will prevail at the City Council to once and for all put a stake in the plans to turn the NE neighborhood area into a massive homebuilding debacle.

I ask all members of our community to consider where we are in the real estate cycle and vigorously oppose the NE neighborhood being turned into additional houses (and lots for sale) that we do not need and most citizens do not want.

More importantly, there are a plethora of valid environmental reasons to put a stop to turning the NE neighborhood area into paved roads and houses that just add to the oversupply of homes and lots for sale in Fitchburg. Creating a huge new supply of houses here will also place additional downward pressure on existing home values in Fitchburg.

To take land that could be used for organic farming, teaching and organic retail - with the ability to provide good quality food for those that live here now, and those that will come after us - and turn it into another grouping of paved roads, over fertilized lawns (with pesticides), and more houses is beyond irresponsible.

As for developers of new houses - once they've already acquired the land, asking them if we need more new houses is like asking the owner of a shoe store if it's a good time to buy shoes.

Let's request that our community leaders maintain control over what's in the best interest of the community. Adopting a people over profits theme.

As an alternative, perhaps the developer can come up with a plan for an organic farming village that can be a shining legacy for future generations - not just here, but for the entire area! Just imagine how popular this would be for the growing number of people seeking healthy, locally grown, organic food products! What a wonderful and beneficial legacy to leave to our children!

Consider the following: Mortgage performance has suffered: An alarming 5.6% of the nation's homeowners have fallen behind on their mortgage payments — up from roughly 4.7% a year earlier and the most since 1986. The percentage of homes in any stage of foreclosure has jumped to 1.7%, the highest since the Mortgage Bankers Association began tracking it in 1972.

According to some estimates, as many as 2.2 million homeowners could lose their houses over the next 24 months!

We've already seen the price of an American home lose 6.1% from a year ago, according to the well-respected research group S&P/Case-Shiller. The Census Bureau shows the price of new homes down even more — 13% in October, the sharpest drop in 37 years. Lending standards have also tightened so fewer would-be buyers can qualify for loans - this also adds to downward pressure on home prices. More supply with fewer buyers is supply and demand 101!

I fully expect more declines in 2008. Home values will likely fall by the mid-single digits nationwide, and more in select markets. For those that think Fitchburg is immune from a downturn - just ask the people in Florida that bought condos at the top of the market and now owe way more than their homes are worth. They too felt they were immune from a downturn. Let's not allow Fitchburg to become overbuilt and place our home values at risk!

For our community leaders, I know it's difficult to resist the temptation to accommodate developers, but in the example of the NE neighborhood plan in particular, denying approval is quite obviously the right thing to do for our wonderful community.