Land Use Plan Amendment Would Clear Way for Walmart
The retail giant has officially submitted a request to amend the county's land use plan to bring it in line with Caledonia's plan.
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**Updated 10:15 a.m. Jan. 18
Plans are seemingly always subject to change as present-day circumstances emerge. In Caledonia, Walmart is hoping to rewrite the village's plans for the future to accomodate a new supercenter.
Walmart has submitted an official request to amend the Racine County comprehensive plan for the southeast corner of 4-Mile and Green Bay Roads.
Walmart is proposing a 180,000-square-foot supercenter similar to the one in Mount Pleasant. Their first choice was the corner of 4-Mile Road and Highway 31, but Caledonia's land use plan is very specific about preserving that area as green space.
The Village of Elmwood Park was able to turn away a 40,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market last summer for the same reason. Residents in Mount Pleasant, however, will see a Neighborhood Market built just west of the intersection of Highways 31 and 20 sometime this year because the development fits with that village's land use plan.
Walmart pulled back from Caledonia a bit after its first proposal and presented new plans in September for the new site because the village's land use plan allows for a village center there comprised of commercial and retail development.
The crux of the issue is that the county designates the land as residential while Caledonia defines it as mixed use, including commercial and retail. Whether or not the village has any legal standing to oppose the new store remains to be seen.
Walmart is highlighting the inconsistency and asking that the plans be aligned. The company also points out that the parcel is included in the Douglas Avenue Neighborhood Plan and "commercial uses along this corridor serve the entire Village and are a valued resource."
"Adopting a comprehensive plan amendment for this property would align the Racine County Plan with the Caledonia Plan and the uses intended for the property," the application from Walmart reads.
Walmart officials point out in their request that adequate utility connections already exist and the property is adjacent to other commercial and industrial sites. The company also notes that the store will pay taxes, helping take some of the burden for funding village services off of current property owners.
Residents, though, offer little support for the development.
A group of neighbors pulled together in November to talk about their opposition to the project and efforts to gather as many signatures as they can to pressure trustees into voting their way.
According to Julie Anderson from the county planning department, any changes have to come from the village.
"It's up the Caledonia Plan Commission and the Village Board to make any changes to the land use plan," she said. "The county has no decision-making authority."
As for what happens next, Village Administrator Mark Janiuk said the village's Plan Commission will do some investigations and formulate their recommendations. This step will take place before the required public hearing.
The Plan Commission regularly meets the last Wednesday of the month. Their next scheduled meeting is at 6 p.m. Jan. 30 at the East Side Community Center.
Heather in Caledonia
7:22 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
So, who makes the decision on amending the Racine County comprehensive plan? Who was this submitted to? From that last paragraph, I'm assuming it's the county planning department and village administrator. Just wanted to check before calling anyone.
Heather Asiyanbi
10:59 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
The story has been updated - the county has nothing to do with the village's land use plan. All decisions will be at the village level starting with the Plan Commission, a public hearing, and then the Village Board.
Ed Willing
12:32 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
Thank you for the clarification Heather. I was a bit confused myself. From what I understood the county had no bearing at all on land-use decisions in Caledonia. It was my presumption that Caledonia had final say over those decisions. From the last board meeting I attended it was my impression that Walmart is simply wanting the village to make decisions in accordance with its land-use plan, which is outdated and in need of changes. Proven by is whole debacle. Hd it been changed, that land might not have been arguably set aside for uses like Walmart's.
Heather Asiyanbi
1:38 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
@Eddie - my experience from MP/S is that zoning is typically only addressed when an applicant requests it; reactive instead of proactive. That said, the discrepancy between the two plans stems from when KRM was anticipated; when the train was deemed a no-go, the two were never reconciled.
My understanding is also that county planning cannot supercede an incorporated municipality's plan. That said, if the village changed their plan after the county had a county-wide comp plan assembled, then Caledonia didn't follow smart growth legislation which would mean the village should have let the county know the land use plan was changing.
So - in short, Caledonia's zoning and land use trumps whatever the county has on file because it's an incorporated community and the State of Wisconsin is a homerule state. If the village has zoned the land for commercial with retail use, and if Walmart fits in that definition, then it will be an as-of-right use (no public hearing necessary) or as a conditional use (public hearing).
Heather Asiyanbi
7:23 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
@Heather - I know the application was submitted to the village and since it is the county's plan, I assume a copy of it also went there.
I have calls into both the county planning department and the village administrator to find out what happens next ... I will update the story as I get those details.
Heather in Caledonia
10:08 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
Thanks, Heather. :)
Ed Willing
10:08 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
The travesty here is that despite massive changes to area momentum, expected services (no KRM) and a changing village, the Land Use Plan was never reevaluated prior to this point.
I would have preferred several thousand residents providing input to amend the plan, rather than a company that wants to build here. While I doesn't personally have anything against Walmart as a company, the optics on this look real bad. And, legitimately so! Some members of the board have been very concerned about amending the LUP to avoid these sort of issues, but the overall lack of action is what I will change, if elected to the Village Board in April.
Review my full opinion on this circus of a controversy at www.VoteWilling.com
There's clearly a lot more at stake, and it's frustrating to see it have to come to this, where a CORPORATION has to submit changes because board members haven't.
Frances Martin
11:41 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
Edward--the corporation doesn' "have to" request a change to the Land Use Plan, and certainly didn't do so in order to benefit the lives of the residents, nor to to make the Village a pleasant and liveable and affordable place to live. Walmart wants to take dollars out of the community, eliminate its competition and to mimimize its own expenses. That's its nature,and it's certainly worked well for the Walton family--not so much for taxpayers who have to subsidize its workers healthcare. It will try its best to shift infrastructure costs to Caledonia taxpayers. It's naive to believe otherwise.
Ed Willing
12:13 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
@Frances
I hope you're not perceiving my comments as naïve. I was simply addressing the issue in a way that you would actually agree with. :) Perhaps I worded it wrong. I don't like the fact this request is happening. I think it is more appropriate for citizens to direct the changes to their land-use plan. I feel the village board could have avoided this problem to begin with.
One of many reasons I'm running.
Some communities want Walmarts, and actively court them. I don't begrudge the company, or those communities that want it. But our citizens are very split on this, and on this location, they appear overwhelmingly perplexed, if not flat out opposed.
I feel it's the result of a lack of planning that led to not only this whole scenario, but clearly this request in particular. Why is Walmart the only one knocking on our door? Surely we can do better than a large discount retailer in our village!
ANOTHER MILLION PLEASE
11:45 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
What I forsee happening is Walmart being built whether the board wants it or not. Walmart has unlimited financial capability and probably pretty good lawyers on there side. The land use plan might not be currently zoned commercial but has listed commercial development as a use for the site. I don't see the Village winning the lawsuit when it gets to that point. I mean look how well the Village did fighting the power plant expansion. WE offered millions of dollars to the Village in revenues for the expansion but was turned down and all the money went to Oak Creek. Now we still have the powerplant but no money. Brilliant stratagy!!
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
9:38 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Just to clarify..zoning is different than designated use. The 2035 County Comprehensive Plan designates the parcel in question as med density residential to the South, higher density residential to the North. It designates some land within the Village Center Commercial,Insitutional/Governmental, Office, Environmental, etc. The Village LUP designates the Village Center as a mixed use development area-Mix of Retail, Governmental, Residential, etc. And per Village Zoning, the land is RES to the West, M-1 to the East. M-1 is light industrial, no retail, minimal external disruption, noise, lights, etc. So WM needs to change the zoning. They are attempting to change the County Level Plan for the parcel to all Commercial from all residential. They state as it stands, the County designation is inconsistent with our Village LUP. Seems changing it to all Commercial would just create a 2nd inconsistency. As far as which plan trumps one seems a question no one can clearly answer. WM has graciously pointed out was is the obvious and what it seems our Board has recognized since 2011 when they developed the LUP Development Committe: Part of our plan including the KRM and the Transit-Oriented District needs to be revised. So who calls the shots??? WM or this community??? Who does the board represent??
Heather in Caledonia
1:36 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
So, if they're asking the county zoning to be changed, who do we contact at the county to give our opinion as to whether it should be changed or not?
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
1:51 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Julie Anderson and Jarmen Czuta with the Racine County Planning and Development received and review the requests, but in terms of our Village leaders, this goes to the Planning Commission 1st and they make recommendations to our Board. The Board ultimately votes.
Heather Asiyanbi
7:42 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013
Neither Julie Anderson nor Jarmen Czuta have anything to do with changing the village's land use plan or the rezoning process Walmart has requested. As stated above, all decisions will be done at the village level, first at the Plan Commission (possibly as early as Jan. 30) and then with the Village Board.
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
7:34 am on Monday, January 21, 2013
Heather, I did try to make it clear that they receive and review applications for Caledonia and doi not vote on the matter. But Mr. Czuta attends our Planning Commission meetings and advises our Commission, it seems on zoning, ordinance and regulation issues. I do believe people do have a right to contact him regarding such things. I have asked Mrs. Anderson and Mr. Czuta for clarification on a number of procedures and they have been quite helpful.
As far as January 30th, the Planning Commission agenda has been posted on the village calendar since Friday the 18th-a public hearing on rezoning land for the new A&W. Per what Julie Anderson conveyed to me, there must be a 30 day time frame prior to the scheduled date of the meeting for public posts and notifications.
Heather Asiyanbi
9:05 am on Monday, January 21, 2013
@Keep - the county acts as village employees when they attend PC meetings and advise members, is how I understand it, no different than the planning staff in Mount Pleasant advises members of the PC there.