Bayfield town trustees have rejected a request to re-zone and subdivide two lots in the Dove Ranch subdivision.
Trustees considered the request to re-zone the lots from R-20 to R-10 single family and to split two 20,000 square foot lots into four 10,000 square foot lots. The lots are owned by the Cheryl Sawyer Bauer and Christopher Fielding Bauer Revocable Trust.
Applicant's representative Eric Nelson argued the splits would be a good thing for the town by creating two new buildable lots. Drainage from Dove Ranch is a longtime issue. Nelson said the lot split would have little impact on that, but he proposed to retain storm runoff on the applicant's lots if the Schroder Ditch requested it.
Patty Whiteman said she lives across the street from these lots. She cited the area at the bottom end of Dove Ranch "where homes are stacked on each other" with very small lots. "We didn't want that," she said and objected to the proposed lot splits. "I don't want a pond across from my house. The homeowners bought into it thinking things were one way," the original lot sizes.
Jim Griffin also spoke against the splits. He lives in the Wilmer Farm subdivision, and his lot backs up to these lots. "When Dove Ranch was in the approval cycle, density was one of the major issues," he said. The Wilmer Farm lots are all 1 acre or larger, he said. "After months of meetings, a compromise was reached that the lots that border Wilmer Farm... that the adjoining lots would be 1/2 acre, and on the north side of the road they'd be 1/4 acre." That was part of the Dove Ranch approval, he said, and asked current town officials to keep that commitment.
The first 21 lots in Dove Ranch were approved in 2004, with 20,000 square foot lots on the south side of Dove Ranch Road, and 10,000 square foot lots on the north side. Future subdivision phases north of Dove Ranch Road, and a separate subdivision beyond the end of Dove Ranch Road went belly up after the 2008 housing bust. A system to get drainage to the river never happened. Neither did a promised neighborhood park.
Isaac Fleener, who owns Bayfield Realty, told trustees that he lives just west of the lots being proposed for the split. He said he has around 10,000 square feet of improved lot, and "The rest is weeds. The lots to the east are prairie dog hills, weeds. I love Dove Ranch. I think it's a good subdivision. I don't think this (lot split) will have a negative effect." But he wanted stick-built houses that would conform to the rest of the neighborhood.
He gave trustees copies of comments from neighbors that he said were fine with the proposal. It provides the town with two more buildable lots, he said.
Town Manager Chris La May noted that this group of lots are the only 20,000 square foot lots in Dove Ranch.
Town attorney Jeff Robbins said, "The short story is that when Dove Ranch was built out, there were drainage plans to take it to the river. Those weren't created. The developer is no longer around, and the HOA is no longer in existence... It would not be appropriate to ask new developers to address the entire drainage issue."
Schroder Ditch representative Phyllis Ludwig said, "We see no problem with dividing the lots. With the drainage issue, we asked that there be no more building until the drainage is solved. We'd rather not have the retention on the lots." She objected that runoff into the ditch can carry oil and anti-freeze and can endanger animals that might drink that water.
Acting Mayor Pro Tem Matt Nyberg said several people spoke against the lot splits at the town planning commission meeting. The planning commission sent the proposal to the town board with no recommendation after a motion to recommend approval lost on a 1-3 vote and a motion to deny lost on a 2-2 vote.
When it came to a town board vote, the motion to approve the lot re-zoning lost on a 1-4 vote. Robbins said that meant the lots couldn't be subdivided.
