Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

Big lots hurt farming more than sprawl, land-savers say

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Photo

By AMY RINARD
[email protected]

More harmful to the state's agricultural economy than the steady march of urban sprawl across the landscape is the proliferation of homes on huge rural lots that break up large stretches of working farmland, land preservationists say.

These mega-home sites of three, five, 10, 20 or more acres - described by farmland preservation advocates as "too small to farm and too big to mow" - make it difficult for nearby farmers to continue farming.

The large home lots, typically with a big house set in the middle, cannot be used for farming. And the introduction of new non-farm neighbors often sets up conflicts with nearby farmers over slow tractors on narrow country roads, dust, unpleasant odors and assorted, sometimes late-night farm noise.

"If you move out to the country and you have a $1.5 million investment in your house, you probably won't be excited about seeing me with the manure spreader right along your property line," said John Koepke, part of the family that owns the large Koepke Farms dairy operation in the Town of Oconomowoc, where a battle is going on to protect the last large expanse of working farmland left in Waukesha County.

During a recent daylong conference in Oconomowoc on maintaining Wisconsin's working farmland, state Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen said that at a time when agriculture is being looked at with new interest for use in alternative fuels and other bio-products, it's critical that Wisconsin protect working farmland from fragmentation.

"It's hard for farmers to drive around a McMansion . . .  and do it economically," he said.

Various tools are needed to protect land, he said, including creation of programs for the purchase of development rights, and working-land enterprise areas, as well as an overhaul of the state's Farmland Preservation Program. All of these initiatives were recommended by a state task force, and Nilsestuen is advancing them.

Fragmentation hurts farming

Scott Everett, Great Lakes regional director of the American Farmland Trust, said the migration of people from urban to rural areas, the building of single homes on large country lots and the breakup of farmland into five- and 10-acre parcels have contributed to significant loss of farmland in Wisconsin and the nation.

"The reason we're losing farmland, more than sprawl, is low-density development and fragmentation," he said.

Everett told those attending the Oconomowoc conference that once a farmer sees a new home go up near his farm, he knows he won't be farming much longer and becomes reluctant to invest further into his farming operation.

Analysts even have a name for this: "impermanence syndrome."

Local zoning and land-use plans can be used to direct development away from rural areas and to appropriate growth areas, said Dale Shaver, director of parks and land use for Waukesha County. Local ordinances can encourage clustered, higher-density development in designated areas, he said.

But, Shaver added, "We haven't moved forward in using these tools to protect farmland."

Still, he noted, some communities are exploring programs to preserve areas where there still exists enough farmland to maximize production and efficiency.

Recognizing that for many farmers the sale of their land pays for their retirement, some innovative farmland preservation programs allow farmers to sell development rights to their land while continuing to work and live on the farm.

Matt Moroney, executive director of the Metropolitan Builders Association, said developers would welcome opportunities to do more high-density residential projects that include not only single-family homes on small lots but also apartments and condominiums, because there is a demand for this.

"But not many are being done," he said, noting that many communities prefer more high-end, low-density residential development.

"It's not one-size-fits-all, but there is a market for higher-density developments; there's too much emphasis in this market on lower density and not enough on higher density."

But Moroney said everyone has different preferences for where and how they want to live and the market will always respond to those preferences. Some will always want to move out to the country and build a home on a lot of five, 10 or 20 acres, he said.

"Some people are willing to pay for it and willing to spend more time in their cars," he said. "And in America, people can make those choices."

Link: JS Online: Big lots hurt farming more than sprawl, land-savers say.

The politics of self-interest and the Franklin School Referendum

On April 3rd, Franklin voters will decide whether or not to approve two referendum questions. The first concerns building a new high school and renovating the current high school to serve as a middle school ($76.99 million). The second is a request for funds to cover utilities and custodial staff ($1.18 million annually).

Here’s my full disclosure: I have two children attending Franklin public schools, including one enrolled in the district’s special needs program. Also, my wife is an educator in another district (her situation is not directly affected by the Franklin referendum questions, but she obviously empathizes with colleagues in a neighboring district). I see first-hand the corners that are cut under current conditions. I will be voting “Yes” on both questions, to no one's surprise.

I'm going to take the unusual step of directing you to a blog post by Republican staffer Kevin Fischer announcing his opposition to a "Yes" vote on the upcoming Franklin School District referendum questions. Read it here.

I would like as many people as possible to read his piece because it's so utterly transparent in its bald appeal to the politics of self-interest - - not particularly surprising when you're made aware of Mr. Fischer’s professional ties to the Republican party and the Right Wing media club (a disclosure that neither CNI nor Mr. Fischer are willing to make).

Nowhere in Mr. Fischer’s post do you find the word “community” or the phrase “my solution would be…” No allusions to the future of Franklin, a community with an astounding number of new subdivisions slated to appear in the months to come.

Amazingly - - audaciously - - he actually bullet-points the “many and quite predictable” arguments he anticipates will be made by the district, yet he doesn’t bother to address them. He simply follows that list with a line of dogma from the right wing tool kit:

“Do you think the poor, hard-working taxpayer will even be mentioned at these informational meetings?”

And there you have it: The politics of self-interest seem so pervasive in Mr. Fischer’s world-view that they utterly obliterate any notion of further discussion. It’s a rather stunning tactic: actually specify a list of legitimate challenges facing us as a community - - with bullet points, no less! - - and then sweep them aside, utterly disregard them, with the Republican cudgel:

“Do you think the poor, hard-working taxpayer will even be mentioned at these informational meetings?”

Another favored anti-education tactic: Repeat the TOTAL cost of a referendum as much as possible without ever bothering to break it down to actual individual impact.

Here are the numbers: Total tax impact for both approved referendum measures is $87 per $100,000 of assessed value of your property. $300,000 home? You’re in for $261 - - over a the course of a year. Any owner of a $300k home who feels pinched by 71 cents per day is seriously overextended.

It's an unavoidable consequence of sprawl development that tax burdens will swing toward homeowners. Franklin is a sprawled community that has to maintain its schools. I'll repeat something I posted back in June '06:

From the book SUBURBAN NATION:

One such municipality, the city of Franklin, a Milwaukee suburb of 25,000, conducted a careful cost analysis in 1992. it found that a new single family home pays less than $5000 in property taxes but costs more than $10,000 to service.

Thus, the inefficiency of unchecked sprawling development was covered by a tax hike for all, including those who live in older, better planned neighborhoods. New subdivisions continue to be built all over the place without regard to any manner of street grid or master plan; the lesson did not sink in. The estimated population of Franklin in 2004 was 32,405.

Think the school district is picking your pocket, Mr. Fischer? Look deeper. You live, by choice, in a community that has to deal with the repercussions of ongoing sprawl development. Looking away - - ignoring a laundry list of problems that need to be addressed - - and muttering about "the poor taxpayers" is not going to solve anything. I have no problem with someone having an opinion on this issue contrary to mine, but you have to at least recognize that something has to be done.

There is no question that I speak out of some self interest; my kids attend Franklin schools, and my wife's job makes me especially aware of the challenges educators face. But make no mistake: Businesses looking to relocate - - with their needed tax dollars - - take a long, hard look at how a candidate community treats its educational needs. If we reject the referendum questions on April 3rd, a message will be sent loud and clear: Keep moving, business community. Nothing to see here in Franklin but scattered subdivisions. We'll simply continue to collect taxes from homeowners. And "tax hell" will grow hotter in years to come.

But you, Mr. Fischer, will be able to keep that $300-or-so in your pocket this year. Spend it well.

We all have our self interests to consider; it's a biological imperative. But the politics of self-interest - - absent a sense of contributing to some greater good or community - - will lead to nothing but ruin. I think it's worth approximately $300 bucks this year to solidify our community's educational needs and make Franklin stronger for decades to come.

The Franklin School District referendum questions

For those of you not satisfied to accept at face value the talking points of a paid Republican mouthpiece on the issue, here's a schedule of Franklin School District 2007 Referendum information meetings:

Date               Time           Location
March 6           6:30 p.m.      Pleasant View
March 8           6:00 p.m.      Southwood Glen
March 13         6:15 p.m.      Robinwood
March 21         7:00 p.m.      ECC (School Board/
                                                          Common Council Meeting)
March 22         6:30 p.m.      Community Library
March 29         6:30 p.m.      Ben Franklin

Southridge Mall transformed into a lifestyle center?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Effort to revamp mall urged

Southridge has a new owner

By DANI McCLAIN
[email protected]

Posted: Feb. 23, 2007

Greendale - Village Board members may like to see Southridge Mall transformed into a lifestyle center, with residential and office space in addition to retail.

And now is the time to articulate a vision to the mall's new owner, Village President John Hermes told board members Thursday night at a joint meeting of the Village Board, Planning Commission and Community Development Authority.

Simon Property Group Inc. agreed last week to buy current Southridge owner Mills Corp. Southridge is one of 38 malls in Mills' portfolio, and Hermes is eager to make the 110-acre Greendale complex a top priority for the company.

"We're not the holders of the money," Hermes said. "But we might be the holders of the plan."

No specific plan exists yet, but after five months of unpaid consultations with engineering and planning firms, architects and developers, Hermes has some ideas. He wants to hire a firm to analyze regional retail trends and determine how to get a clear edge over Bayshore Town Center in Glendale, Wauwatosa's Mayfair Mall and Brookfield Square.

In the meantime, Hermes said, he will continue his informal fact-finding mission, which has included talks with former Milwaukee Mayor John O. Norquist, president and CEO of the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism. The organization promotes turning the traditional mall, surrounded by a sea of asphalt, into pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use developments with a neighborhood feel.

"Oftentimes, the malls that end up going down this route are the ones in a pretty serious state of decline," said Stephen Filmanowicz, spokesman for the New Urbanist group. "The leaders in Greendale are sending a great message. The fact that they have a vision is going to be attractive to Simon."

Talks with the organization have clearly influenced Hermes' thinking. He said one of his top goals is to "blend this property back into the community."

Hermes said he has persuaded regional leaders, including Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, to send letters to the Simon Group congratulating them on the purchase and encouraging the Indianapolis-based company to make a significant investment in the Greendale property.

Attorney Alan Marcuvitz advises Greendale's Community Development Authority and played a similar role in Glendale during the Bayshore redevelopment. At Thursday's meeting, Marcuvitz said one major challenge would be persuading the community to engage in a lengthy redevelopment during which the village may have to sacrifice revenue from its biggest taxpayer.

A decision would have to be made on whether the village should create a tax incremental financing district to pay for infrastructure improvements to the mall. In such an arrangement, taxes on the increased value of properties within the district help pay for the improvements.

Jim Machnik, a member of the Community Development Authority and a senior project manager at the planning firm HNTB Corp., said neighboring Franklin, Oak Creek and Greenfield all have tax incremental finance projects and Greendale must be willing to do the same.

"If this village doesn't, another community will," he said.

Link: JS Online: Effort to revamp mall urged.

Fountains of Franklin gets REAL big

As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The Fountains of Franklin, a mixed-use development planned for the north side of W. Rawson Ave. near S. 51st St., will have up to 495,000 square feet, making it much larger than the original plans for 70,000 square feet, the project developers said Thursday. The 60-acre project, which is being developed by Equitable Development LLC, Devo Properties LLC and Andy Khullar, will include a 62,000-square-foot Sendik's Food Market, the proposed Franklin Cultural Arts Center, Andy's Gas Station, and other office and retail tenants that have yet to be announced.

An ever-evolving development. Must be interesting if you're trying to sell a home in the adjacent subdivision.

Kevin Fischer - "Franklin Community Blogger": So much for context

Kevin Fischer, a paid Republican staff member who blogs at franklinnow.com unencumbered by any disclosure of his day job, wags his finger at the idea that the Elmbrook School District might want to entice people to attend an information session for their upcoming referendum by offering free food. "They'd better not try this in Franklin," he warns.

Without regard to the referendum issue or the argument for or against attracting the public to an information/propaganda meeting, these points should be made clear when reading the opinions of Kevin Fischer:

• Mr. Fischer is listed as "communications director of the Senate Republican Caucus" on the wmptv web site,
• He works in the office of Republican Senator Mary Lazich, who also blogs on the Franklinnow.com site, but includes her position in the byline and calls the blog "Conservatively Speaking," which more than adequately explains posts with titles like "Wal-Mart to the rescue"(!). 
  
• Mr. Fischer has his own nifty state government email address: [email protected].
• Mr. Fischer is a regular fill-in host on WISN radio and a panelist on WMPTV's interCHANGE program. He has a great deal of personal brand equity tied up in maintaining the party line and reinforcing right wing talking points.
• CNI has chosen not to disclose this information on Mr. Fischer's blog.

Nothing personal, Mr. Fischer, but so much for context and full disclosure.