Tom-My question would be whether or not there really is a conflict. If you compare the County level designation map with the Village level neighborhood plan for C/C2-including the Village Center and subareas A-F (specifically subarea C), they are in alignment. The specific lots in question were designated part of the Transit (Figure 7-13, C1/C2). That figure shows points A-C connecting to the downtown, surrounded by lower and higher density residential. This is exactly what is shown on the county level 2035 planning map. That map shows the area of commercial, mixed-use, governmental, office park, along hwy 32. By definition, mixed use, transit-oriented development includes high quality, dense residential development, retail, business and office. Just because Greendale's Village Center has commercial within it, would if be appropriate to put a 182,000 sq ft Wal-Mart there? Is the real problem that the lot Wal-Mart wants is neither zoned or intended for their proposed use? Are they attempting to in essence change the entire vision of our Village Center? If we even consider an amendment, as recommended at least every 10 yrs, do we not need to follow the Implementation Guidelines (Chapter XV), which are the same steps of public participation, plan review and adoption procedures required for a full comprehensive plan? (Section 66.1001(4) Statutes. The procedure recommends a Public Participation Plan (PPP)-Chapter XV-4 and specific considerations for amending the plan.

And may I ask what are the 7-8 conflicts, when were they discovered and are there meeting notes of who/when they were discussed?

Tom,
How can you say that the Caledonia plan would allow the "Big Box" store when the Caledonia plan designates most of the property as medium density residential? Yes; a lot of work went into the Caledonia land use plan which intended this land to be a village center which in no way would include a store of 180,000 square feet.

"Do you say the same about....Kmart on Douglas.[sic]"

She does not need to, Tansandy. Between Jan 2009 and March 2011, Caledonia police were called to the Douglas Kmart about 250 times. During this same time frame, Mount Pleasant Police were called to the highway 11 Walmart about 1000 times.

"Build it, I will come [not because it is factually reasonable to do so, but simply because I have an axe to grind after my unpleasant, albeit short tenure, with the Caledonia Village Planning Commission!]"

Wow Kat- Your ignorance amazes me. I was against the loacation of the Walmart, but thanks to people like you, I hope they build it and build it soon to chase riff-raff and racists like you out of our village.

Kat, I will need 2 thimbles, I'm just that smart. Just so you know, when I built in Caledonia I was surrounded by corn fields. But know I am surrounded by subdivisions and housing tracks similar to the one you live in. You should be thankful thankful that people like myself didn't have the NIMBY syndrome. (for Kat that's not in my back yard) For if we tried to stymie development 40 years ago, you would probably still be living in Racine! I Don't need to spout racist remarks or belittle people to make my point. But hey, you have a nice day and remember, you intruded on people like us when you moved here.

First off, as stated yesterday.....CAN WE GET BACK TO THE "REAL ISSUE" ?
Again, I personally never gave the phrase "riff-raff' any 'color, race or creed...that was provided by Brian. (Go back and re-read the string) then read the definition of the phrase provided....
Secondly, just to clarify, I am not from Racine, nor have I ever lived there....not that this is any business of yours.
Lastly, true ingnorance is believing that things should never 'change' because they are 'not broken'.
I think one thing that we may ALL agree on is that Caledonia DOES need business development !!!
Sure would be nice (if we are dead set on growth in the form of retail) if a REI or Camping World were interested. (again)
Or perhaps Deluth Trading Co, Tractor Supply, Trader Joe's, Meijer......??
But not a BB store that we already have not 1 but 2 of within a 17 mile radius.
Did any of us choose Caledonia because the stores were close and convienent ?
I've suggested this in the past, I'll mention again....
So many seem to be knocking K-Mart....well why not stop griping about it on here and take the issues up with the local management/staff ?

Riff-raff a rabble; a mob; persons of the lowest class in the community. So what is your definition of the lowest class in the community?

KOKO- I hope that you saw the sarcasm directed at Kat. The use of the term "riff-raff" does sound elitest and racist to the outside world. The reality is that services cost money. The costs of those services are rising. That is a fact we cannot ignore, and the existing land-use plan does not adequately address commercial development.

The true intent of that specific area centered on the development of the KRM, which is now dead. There will be no commuter station as intended, nor the small local shops that were hoped for adjoining the station. We are now approaching 11 years since the land-use plan was put in place. Many things have changed over that period.

Also, we need to address the Douglas Ave. corridor as being at the center of commercial development as there is little to no room for growth there. And the proposed Walmart location doesn't leave room expanding the corridor to include that property. Please keep in mind though, that the original idea ofthe village center is defunct because of KRM being killed, and that is unlikely to change anytime in the near future.

Brian-I am well aware of the obsolete aspects of our LUP. So is our Board, as they developed a Land use Planning Committee in 2011 and commissioned the Ehlers Study to address these issues. But as the plan stands now, the proposal is inconsistent with the plan. Now WM and 2 private land owners want to dictate changes and amendments. Taken from the front page of our LUP:
Neighborhood Plans
The plan is highly detailed, and includes a series of individual plans tailored to the specific needs of eight separate neighborhoods. The overall plan is designed to preserve the area's natural amenities and rural character, while responding to development along the I-94 corridor.
The water agreement approved last night will help this come to fruition. Spot zoning 2 parcels surrounded by residential will not create a commercial corridor or new room for growth. Our Douglas corridor provides limited potential due the constraints of the tracks and available space. But any business must work within that and within our LUP. If we as a community should or need to re-evaluate OUR plan relative to OUR village center, this proposal needs to be tabled until WE can do that.

CM- Walmart, Pick n Save, and Kmart have been coexisting for quite some time on Hwy 11 and Hwy 31.

Then why don't you explain who the "riff-raff" are? Who do you deem unworthy to come visit and shop in our village? Hmm... What if you were deemed "riff-raff'?

patchreader123- Walmart is not wanting to come into the village to commit a crime. That is what I mean and put it the proper context, that is a discrimanatory statement.

Brian:

"Walmart is not wanting to come into the village to commit a crime." No one said they were. What business in their right mind would have such an intention?

Nonetheless, the fact remains that the Mount Pleasant Walmart has had a high amount of crime occur on its property, with only a fraction of that (about only 1/4) occurring at the Douglas Avenue Kmart during the same time frame.

patchreader123: The proximity to high crime areas and Walmart may have something to do with it. I bet by percentage of customer volume, Kmart may actually have a higher crime rate.

Interesting. What areas proximal to the Mount Pleasant Walmart are "high crime areas?"

So you are attributing Kmart's lower crime occurrences to its lower volume of patronage? It thus follows that perhaps Walmart's higher crime occurrences may be attributed to its higher volume of patronage?

Do you anticiipate that proposed 24 HOUR Caledonia Walmart will have a low volume of patronage, or a high volume of patronage?

Walmart seeks to draw customers from within a 7 mile radius to its proposed Caledonia store. Some of Racine's highest crime areas exist wiithin this radius. In fact, it may be argued that these same high crime-rate areas are geopraphically closer to 31/NGBR than to the Mount Pleasant Walmart. And if the Mount Pleasant Walmart is associated with a high crime rate, due to the proximity of areas of high crime that you assert, what does that measn for the 31/NGBR location?

patchreader123- The Mt. Pleasant site also draws from a 7 mile radius that include almost all of the city of Racine's inner city, and remember, Mt. Pleasant itself has an inner city population. It is also far closer to other popular large venues such as Aldi's, Menard's, and the Case and Waxdale facilities., As well as Regency Mall, 3 shopping centers, Walgreen's, and a host of other venues along Durand Ave. and Taylor Ave. All of those are connected by mass transit with multiple routes. The crime rate in that radius for the Walmart in Mt. Pleasant would be much, much higher.

Now you may argue that the Hwy 31 and 4 Mile Rd location could draw some of the same venues and with that, I would agree. Walmart is a large anchor for other developments, and the current location being proposed would not make much sense. The Hwy 31/4 Mile Rd would because then it would be multiple retail develoments bringing much more revenue to the village.

I'm sure there will be a much higher volume, but not much else as far as destinations. Should Walmart locate within the village, the current bord has already made it clear that they will not allow it to be 24 hours, and they have precedence to do so, meeting their legal obligation. The only two 24 hour business open to the public are Speedway on Douglas and the gas station on Hwy K and I-94. Neither the BP or Sai Mart were granted 24 hour operation, nor was Pick n Save.

Riff-raff a rabble; a mob; persons of the lowest class in the community. Thanks for avoiding the question. So you are a snob who thinks only the middle and upper class are worthy to shop in our community. Argue the merits, but stop thinking your better than anyone else.

And Heather-thank you for your time and attention in all of this. My questions are not directed at you specifically but in general for anyone part of this discussion to ponder. Who is really calling the shots here? Is there truly an inconsistency or one made up by Walmart to manipulate for their needs? I have asked our Village President and 2 trustees what exactly are these 7-8 conflicts and when were they discovered and either I get no response or 'defer to someone else' response. Is it really that easy for a development to come to a community and do this? I know WM attempts it all the time around the country. If they were looking at a commercial lot or along a commercial corridor, we would not be having this discussion. If Caledonia had planned not a village center but a hwy 31 type commercial plan for that area; if the land around it was not someone's HOME, but open space ripe for development, room for expansion, this store would make sense. 4 mile and NGB are not some dead space waiting to be filled. These are people's LIVES. These are people's FINANCIAL Investments. This is the community they chose to live in and where they chose to make roots. I know Wal-Mart does not care about this. Who the hell does??

KOKO- I hope you direct those questions to Trustee Weatherston because he is the one that made the statement. That would be be the place to start. And I don't understand your reference to transit oriented, because we know that it was used in the plan/study was because of the intent of he KRM station to be placed there. That is not happening anymore. So it kind of puts the whole planning of theuse of that area in a quandry. The vision of those parcels should be readdressed since its sole intent was centered on something that is likely to never happen.

With that said, any parcel owner in the village can request rezoning or to amend the use plan. That is where it would start, not from some imaginary secret board meeting. I think Mr. Willing said it in a previous post in another article that board could have been more proactive to amend the plan once it became apparent that there would be no commuter train station. But since they weren't, the parcel owner was free to request a zoning change as any other parcel owner could do. I really don't think the majority of the board ever contemplated Wal-Mart wanting to rezone that specific area.

With that said, would you then be opposed if Greyhound wanted to build a bus station there? It would fit perfectly into the land use plan.

The whole premise for the use of this parcel in the land use plan, page 12, is not useable. The whole premise was built around the commuter rail line being approved. I'm not sure if #4 of the recommendations had follow through, which is why we are where we are. Along with the death of KRM was the death of the Land Use Plan in this area.

TO date, no developer has shown any interest in this land. I'm pretty sure the Village does not have funds to constuct a new village hall or community or civic center. Until either situation changes, this is the proposal they must deal with an they ar following the prescribed methodology for such cases. Remember, I have stated many times that I think this is a horrible location. The landowner is exercising their right, and the village board is following protocol.

I wish that a developer would come along with an ideal plan, but it hasn't happened yet. Pay attention t the next meeting because I believe they may be addressing redoing the land use plan. I don't think they are talking about just that location, but the village as a whole. Given that some areas of the land use plan are antiquated, I hope they will allow for the process you outlined above. Should that happen, then I believe the board would have the right to table the Walmart proposal until the completion of the new land use plan.

KOKO- So you would be okay with a Greyhound station, as well as some residential and small retail?

Brian- I thought I touched upon this, but to be honest this is not about what I am okay with, because I am okay with with the LUP specific to the Douglas VC and the current zoning. Meaning, single family, condos, multi-family, light industrial specific to that lot. The plan for the VC varies from the East to West of the track and in my estimation was conceived in consideration of the current use, which is mostly residential to the West and commerical to the East. A Greyhound station seems more appropriate for a location along a corridor like Douglas Ave. Again, whether a bus depot, a flower shop, a condo, a barber, a Lowes, a Wal-Mart; whether 7 mile or 4 mile or Douglas or hwy31, it should make sense. It should be conducive to surrounding use. It should be part of a larger vision of smart growth. When our LUP was developed, I am pretty positive the current use of areas at the time was looked at. And plans for the future were based upon that use. To tell me someone could look at 4 mile and NGB and say "hey, I envision a commercial corridor with a huge mega store, some outlots. Sure, everything to the South is residential. Sure, to the North we have 5-6 homes and farther north a cemetary. The possibilities are endless!!" In as much as the Village could plan for use in the future knowing it was private land they could not force people to sell, nor can a private land owner envisioning their own future force the Village to concede to an improper use.