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Dear Friend, At the Plan Commission meeting on Tues., Feb. 18, Alder Carol Poole and developer Phil Sveum both accused our side of spreading "misinfo
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 Working to preserve the land west of Lake Waubesa from poorly planned development |
Dear Friend,
At the Plan Commission meeting on Tues., Feb. 18, Alder Carol Poole and developer Phil Sveum both accused our side of spreading "misinformation" to get people to sign our petition. They think you didn't understand what you were signing! We'll look at those charges below.
(If this is your first e-newsletter from us and you need some background on the issue, click here to access our brochure. And click here to see our 3-minute animated video!) |
 Lake Waubesa and its wetlands from the SW, looking towards McFarland
Photo by Nadia Olker |
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Your chance to be heard is Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m.!
Event: Fitchburg Common Council meeting
Place: Fitchburg City Hall, Council Chambers, 5520 Lacy Rd.
Time: meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.
Topic: Shall Fitchburg apply to the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission for permission to bring its Northeast and North Stoner Prairie Neighborhoods into the Urban Service Area? The Common Council will discuss and vote directly after hearing from the public.
Cost: free if you come and tell your alders what you want; potentially costly if you stay at home! |
Where's the misinformation?
At the Feb. 18 Fitchburg Plan Commission meeting, Commission Chair Alder Carol Poole and developer Phil Sveum cited the postcard that we recently sent to 5000 Fitchburg registered voters as evidence of "misinformation" on our part. It features the photo shown below of all the 7 neighborhoods in Fitchburg that currently have room for development. They pointed out that some of these are not for residential development, which is true, but we were talking about all kinds of development, not just residential. After all, there is plenty of land set aside for office park, retail, mixed use and institutional uses in the Northeast Neighborhood land use plan. |
 Graphic art by Nick Barovic-Hancock |
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We weren't trying to fool anyone into thinking that these 7 areas are all destined to become residential. We're concerned about the tax implications of all kinds of new development. And even though some of the vacant land is for non-residential use, there is plenty left for residential! Leaving aside all the space within the Urban Service Area that is designated for multi-family residential, there is plenty left for single family homes in the North McGaw Neighborhood, the Hammersley Co. property, the O'Brien land, the Fitchburg Center land, and Uptown. |
The real misinformation came from the other side.
Phil Sveum declared that "a few people" had told him that when they were asked to sign our petition, they were told that "raw sewage would flow directly into Lake Waubesa." We never told anyone that, because it's not true. We have no problem with the sewage disposal plans for a NEN development, which are of course to send it to the Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant. We don't know if someone heard us talking about "runoff" damaging Lake Waubesa and thought that "runoff" meant "sewage," or if someone just made that story up. Hold onto your hat because who knows what other misinformation may be spread in the next week! |
Plan Commission recommends approval of 2 USA applications
Despite testimony from myself and Alder Steve Arnold as to why this was not a good time to bring more land into the Urban Service Area, on Feb. 18 the Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend a yes vote to the Common Council. I'll discuss some of their reasons below. |
 Graphic art by Nick Barovic-Hancock |
The one way we can win
Many of the alders seemed trapped in a mindset that says that "growth is good," without looking closely at what kind of growth, when it happens, and who pays for it.
Powerful interests are pushing for these two new neighborhoods, and the easiest thing for the alders is to say yes. The only way we can win is by arriving in such numbers that they see that a "yes" vote may jeopardize their chances at re-election in April of 2015.
So please, make it a priority to come. If you cannot stay the whole time, register, stay as long as you can, and leave. Your name will still be read out as registered in opposition even if you have left. You can also drop by the City Hall on Feb. 25 from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and fill out a registration slip. Ask the city clerk for a registration slip and write "Common Council Meeting, Agenda Item 7A5" and "opposed," and write a few lines about your reasons for opposing.
This is a very small investment of your time that can pay large dividends in regaining control of the future of Fitchburg. So even if you are meeting-phobic, please hold your nose, come and register, and stay for as long as you can. |
 Photo by Nadia Olker |
We need speakers Tuesday evening at the Common Council meeting!
Most people don't think they are qualified to speak at a public hearing, but in fact they are! You need not be an expert; you only need to have an opinion that you want to convey to the decision makers. You can try to touch all the reasons (in just 3 minutes!) or you can just talk about one reason that's important to you. Or you can ask the Common Council a rhetorical question – though they aren't obliged to answer you.
We especially need petition signers to speak out and say something like "I signed the petition because I believe that opening the neighborhoods for development is risky and not necessary now," to counter the charge from some alders that you were misled and duped into signing the petition.
Speaking to the Council is actually a painless procedure. Very few speakers get questioned (unless they are experts) and Fitchburg alders are always polite to the public. So please consider speaking – the more effort you put into getting your views out there, the more seriously politicians take you! |
 Photo by Nadia Olker |
How to register and/or speak
Never been to a Common Council meeting?
Don't worry, the city of Fitchburg does a great job at making it easy to give your input. Here are the steps.
1. Come to the Fitchburg City Hall at 5520 Lacy Rd, ("City Hall" is carved in stone over the door), and go down the long hallway to the end.
2. Arrive by 7:30 p.m., when the Common Council meeting begins. Our item is #7A5, but sometimes they move agenda items around, and you don't want to arrive when it's over! Bring a book or some knitting to pass the time 'til our item comes up.
3. At the back of the room there is a counter with registration slips. Fill in your name, address, "Common Council meeting" and "agenda item #7A5." Check "register in opposition" and if you're willing to speak, check "wish to speak." Sign the form, and if you don't wish to speak, write a few lines about why you are opposed, which will prove that you DO understand the issues.
Take your slip up and give it to anyone on the dais in front, and they will pass it to the mayor.
4. The mayor will invite people who want to speak to come up to the speakers table, two and a time, usually alternating people who are for and against. When all have spoken, he will read the names of those who registered in support or in opposition, including their written comments.
4. When everyone who wants to be heard has had a chance, the alders discuss the issue, and then they vote. It's really important that you stay for this part if you can, so that they feel your eyes upon them!
5. When the vote is over, we can leave and talk in the hallway about what happened! |
More ways to help
If you just can't make it to the Common Council meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 25, here's a few other ways to help:
1. Write today to Mayor Pfaff and your two alders on this issue. This need not be long: just a short note or email can get your opposition across. Click here for contact info, and click here and then type in your address to find out who your alders are.
2. Go to the City Hall during business hours on Tuesday, (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) and ask the city clerk for a registration slip to fill out. She'll give it to the mayor before the meeting, and he'll read it outloud along with the others. Remember, it's agenda item 7A5.
3. Donate to help pay for our expenses: printing, postage, and interns' stipends. You can either send a check to WWPC, P.O. Box 259525, Madison WI 53725, or click here to use Paypal at our website.
4. Let us know if you want to be involved going forward. No matter what happens, there will be next steps to take, and we could use your help! |
 Photo of the NEN by Nadia Olker |
Thanks for all that you have done to protect taxpayers and create a better Fitchburg!
Yours,
Phyllis Hasbrouck
Chair of the West Waubesa Preservation Coalition
P.S. Please tell your Fitcbburg friends and neighbors about the Common Council meeting on Tues. Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Fitchburg City Hall, 5520 Lacy Rd. If they don't like to drive at night, can you offer them a ride?
www.westwaubesa.org
westwaubesa@gmail.org |
Two sides to every argument
I want to share with you one argument that proponents of this resolution make, because at first blush, it seems to make sense.
They say: "The Northeast Neighborhood may seem far out from the center of Fitchburg, but it's very close to Madison. It's precisely the area that should be developed next, because otherwise, people will be driving in to Madison from even further away, and that's bad for the environment!"
Let's look at that. If you follow this argument to its logical conclusion, you will eventually end up with a city like Chicago, where almost everything is developed for miles from the city center, and you have to drive an hour or more to reach the countryside.
An urban planning solution that creates much better communities, from fiscal, environmental, and social standpoints, is the one promoted by Dr. Phil Lewis, an eminent regional planner whose work was the inspiration for Fitchburg's Uptown neighborhood. (The Lewis 9 Springs E-Way of protected wetlands and 9 Springs Creek just south of the Beltline is named for Dr. Lewis and his late wife Libby.) |
 Dr. Lewis' map shows the spokes of the rail lines in Dane County, and the wedges in between them. |
Spokes and Wedges
Dr. Lewis' idea for an ideal city design is not one huge blob, like Chicago, but one of spokes and wedges. The spokes are the rail corridors, with urban neighborhoods built around each rail station for a radius of a half mile, like pearls on a necklace. The wedges are the areas outside of that half-mile ped-shed (the distance that pedestrians can easily walk to catch a train), where nature and food production can flourish. |
 Prof. Lewis' drawing of a potention "Diverse Density Demonstration" in Uptown and the Northeast Neighborhood. |
Which kind of city would you rather live in?
I know that I'd prefer one with easy access to farms, woods, wetlands and fields. Fitchburg is lucky to have a rail line that can be re-started, which goes from Oregon to Madison, through Uptown. If Fitchburg sticks with its Phil Lewis-inspired design for Uptown, the Northeast Neighborhood can be a "wedge" of agricultural space to its east. |
"Two sides to every argument" is also a good reminder that everyone thinks that they are doing the right thing here, so let's all be firm but civil. Those we disagree with aren't bad people, they are just emphasizing one "good' over another. Or perhaps they don't realize, or don't want to face, the downsides to their preferred course. But as fellow members of our community, let's state our opinions forthrightly, but without rancor. Thanks! |
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