By Rebecca Houseman LeMire
On February 26th, James C. Merriman, on behalf of the Robert and Dorothy Merriman Trust, submitted a Letter to the Editor of Fort Atkinson Online outlining his opinions on the Official Map process and function and his conjecture about how the Map may be administered by City staff.
Dissenting opinions about government have value and purpose. Our federal government was founded on such opinions. However, disparaging comments about City staff members who are tasked with complex and difficult jobs that will never make everyone happy, have no value or purpose. Those employed by the City to serve the public are all people doing jobs for which they are hired – not elected, and no one such individual is solely responsible for implementing or enforcing policies or ordinances enacted by the City Council.
The City of Fort Atkinson recently enacted an Official Map for the first time in its history. The purpose of the Official Map is to promote the health, safety, and welfare of a community by preserving land for future streets, highways, parkways, and transit facilities, among other planning elements necessary for a community’s successful future. As a former City Planner, I understand the importance of trails, greenspace, and recreational opportunities to the quality of life in a community. I also understand the importance of proper planning documents that provide a community the opportunity to anticipate and plan for a better future for all of us.
The Official Map (found here: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/fortatkinson/FINAL%20Full%20City%20of%20Fort%20Atkinson%20Official%20Map%202022.pdf) is a planning tool, provided in state statute, available to municipalities (cities, villages, and towns) and promotes intentional, strategic future development while protecting future interests and borders. The Official Map is one of several planning documents a municipality can use to ensure the opportunity for continued responsible and sustainable growth. Other such documents include the Comprehensive Plan (found here: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/fortatkinson/Amended%2520Fort%2520Atkinson%2520Comprehensive%2520Plan_with%2520maps%2520(2.17.2022).pdf), the Zoning Ordinance (found here: https://cms8.revize.com/revize/fortatkinson/Adopted%2520City%2520of%2520Fort%2520Atkinson%2520Zoning%2520Ordinance%252011.1.20.pdf) and the Land Division and Development Ordinance (found here:https://cms8.revize.com/revize/fortatkinson/Chapter%252070%2520-%2520Land%2520Division%2520and%2520Development%2520Ord%2520FINAL%2520SIGNED.pdf). The process for enacting an Official Map is outlined in state statutes (Wis. Stats. 62.23(6)).
The City’s Official Map process included several public meetings, a public hearing, and action by the Plan Commission and the City Council, as required by statutes. However, statutes do not require the municipality preparing the Official Map to notify any of the affected land owners nor surrounding towns. During the preparation of the City’s Official Map, City staff went beyond the requirements of the law to communicate the City’s intentions to these affected stakeholders.
Staff mailed detailed communications to all affected land owners; scheduled an evening meeting for land owners’ questions; offered land owners to stop in to City Hall for more detailed information (several did); and engaged Town of Koshkonong officials both informally and formally at a public Town Board meeting to present and answer questions about the process. While not required, all of these elements were done by City staff out of professional courtesy to the Town and respect for private land owners.
The aforementioned mailing, according to representatives of the Merriman Trust, was never received, following two attempts by City staff to do so. However, representatives from the Trust attended the majority of the public meetings before the Plan Commission and City Council, and on at least two occasions engaged with City staff in personal meetings on the subject during the public review process.
Growth is the only means to obtain additional revenue to provide the services we have come to expect without additional burden on existing taxpayers. We need to protect the City’s ability to grow in a well thought-out, planned, and purposeful way. The Official Map process has met that goal, and the City is currently in the process of planning for future parks, trails, and green space through the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP). Stay tuned to the City’s website for more information on this planning process and opportunities for public engagement.
Rebecca Houseman LeMire is the Fort Atkinson City Manager.
Rebecca Houseman LeMire
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I’m deeply saddened by Ms. Lemire’s response. It perpetuates the idea we … were contacted prior to public meetings. She seems to have forgotten her phone call the day following the first meeting apologizing to me for not sending our notice to the correct address. (…) I accepted her apology for their mistake. Then during the final meeting when the motions for revisions were to be adopted (it was discussed that) (…) a separate landowner’s meeting was held on a Wed. evening. (…) We were also not notified of that meeting. The public and affected landowners need to be informed. Actions by city officials need to operate within existing zoning ordinances and restrictions. Folks living beyond the city limits of Fort Atkinson need to know exactly how this may affect them. We can only forward our experience for other citizens and their rights as landowners. (Editor’s note: this comment has been edited for accuracy. A letter to the editor with the commenter’s initial remarks is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/letter-to-the-editor-new-planning-documents-impact-landowners-rights/.)