The Project Begins

Welcome to SPRAWLED OUT, a blog which will accompany my work on a book designed to use my city of Franklin, Wisconsin as an example of the community planning process in modern American cities and towns around the country. As the title implies, there will be a certain bias against the sort of unchecked, freeway-fed expansion that the United States has seen since the end of World War II.

This project began with a May 18th, 2006 headline in the local weekly paper, THE FRANKLIN HUB:

Northwestern Mutual to double in size: Announcement hailed as best news to hit South 27th Street, ever

The upshot: South 27th Street will now have a huge corporate headquarters at one end and a new medical facility at the other (the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Center). In between? A commercial developer's heaven, so believes the planning commission. I thought this would be a great opportunity to track the development process over the course of the coming year and see just how things come together (or apart).

South 27th Street has an interesting history. Formerly Highway 41 (before the interstate was built), this road acted as the main corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin - - and all that implies. Motels and hotels lined the route; many of these are still in operation, but serve a far different market than they did in their glory days.

A star on the strip was the 41 Twin Drive-In Theater, which was demolished in 2001 to make way for the Northwestern Mutual campus. For families and couples who knew how to keep the mosquitoes at bay, it was a popular attraction until its last days of operation.

27th Street also acts as the border between the cities of Franklin and Oak Creek, meaning that all of this upcoming development activity will have to be done with cooperation between two city governments. If you've ever attended even a single planning commission meeting, you can imagine what's in store.

It was as I began my research by picking up a couple of books about development issues and suburbia that I came across a book entitled HOME FROM NOWHERE by James Howard Kunstler. It was, to put it mildly, an utter revelation, and one that changed the fundamental nature of my project and my entire outlook.

More on that in an upcoming post ...

Comments

[Jill]

I apologize for not reading the whole blog first since I have a selfish concern of my (our) own here. Hopefully our neighbors will get a chance to read our dilema here since they will be majorly affected. We have 12 acres on Drexel at what would be 32nd street. We are ready to move on since we are not young anymore. The city has grasped our property to suit what they want it used for - comercial developement. We are tagged a TIF district (more $$$ for the city)amoungst all residential. Granted we feel sorry for ourselves since the extremely narrow comercial definition will take a very long time for us to sell. But, it's our neighbors that I really feel sorry for. Commercial development in an all residential area means: higher Drexel traffic, all-night lighting, increased noise level, security issues and of course a business in your backyard. We have met with the Mayor and he is receptive to the property staying residential but there is a major obstacle - the planning and zoning board - even tho we invited a Franklin planner to tour the property and he sees our point of view too. These are 12 beautiful acres that will be thrown to the commercial dogs only to find a vacant building or business turn-over down the road as more desirable commercial locations that offer better access and signage come along. Remember Brookfield? Well Franklin is the new Brookfield and look how that got that got out of hand. I will say, there is the option of a single homeowner that can buy it, but with today's prices, it would be steep. I just don't know what the Franklin Fathers are thinking. They seem short staffed, short sighted and money hungry. Why is it that ever since NML came in no one is thinking straight???

[Bryan]

I think Jill may be the short sited one. I moved into Highview estates 8 years ago and there was a farm field and woods behind me then. Now 8 years later there is a sprawling subdivision called Crooked Creek (can't find the creek any more). I think if Jill had her way, Amos, Jed and the boys could still be brewing moonshine on the back 40 and all new houses would be log cabins. Yep, no development is good development, Yup.

[Ron Rady]

Farms are the back bone of all civilization. They dont have sidewalks. Some of us think that sidewalks devalue our property, increase taxes not ot mention the work to maintain them when we dont want the foot traffic they bring. I chose no sidewalks. you choose side walks. let compare property values. would you put them on both sides of the street or just one?
Would you have them lit up all night? would you like us to live in a box and have the goverment provide not only our health care but our life home and auto insurance? do you want to bus kids to schools that are better then where they live. There are no buses runnig where I live. I am free. you want me not to be.

[Genevieve]

Thought you might be interested in this site: www.theslowhome.com/blog/outrage/

Check it out.

[buddy]

Where in the World is Jessica McBride?

What we have here is truly, “Failure to Communicate”

She seems to have gone the way of fellow right wing activist mover and shaker Todd Robert Murphy.

Remember Todd (my mother named me Todd Robert)?

Kingmaker, avid fund raiser for political insiders, panel member on the Belling Sunday morning show, a non indicted associate of many involved in the Bielinski “affair.” Some believe he was NGRR (Not Guilty by Reason of being Republican).

But back to Ms. McBride. I wonder what reason she gives the fertile young minds she fills with unbiased knowledge for her sudden cessation of blogging?

This, an election year, ripe with topics for columns full of her wit, wisdom, wishing, wondering and whitewashing but little from the Mistress of Spin but an occasional Henny Youngman one- liner accompanied by a link to someone else’s work.

John McCain goes from impossible recipient of the Republican nomination to the man that lost to the first African American President of the United States and Ms. McBride is not to be heard?

No comment on voter fraud/voter ID, Walker vs. Taylor or Gableman vs. Butler from the Mistress of Spin?

Truly, the silence IS deafening.