No to Zoning change in the Priory area

Thank you for all that is being done I look forward to attending the open house.

I had my house built in 1973 the first house put up at the end of Sunset View Drv My well was drilled to 175 feet and there was plenty of water but by 2001 the water tapered off to nothing. After re-drilling another 60 feet I've had plenty of water up till now If you have one acre plots nearby the water level would be severely lowered The cone of depression would overlap all houses on this land tract as well as causing the water table to become depleted I don't want any houses built on this land-better to put it into a long tern conservation program

I believe the land should remain zoned for 5 act lots.

5 acre lots preserve the rural character of that part oft He Township. Let's keep it that way..

As a citizen member of the City of Eau Claire 2015 Advisory Committee on the Update of the Comprehensive Plan representing the Sierra Club, and secretary and conservation chair of the local Chippewa Valley Sierra Club, I oppose the proposed zoning change along Priory Road in the Town of Washington in Eau Claire County. It would add housing density to an area that is currently rural in focus and infrastructure, and directly on top of and adjacent to prime farm land that we need to conserve. As a board member of the Chippewa Vally Transit Alliance (CVTA), I don’t feel that adding housing density in this area would be wise given the limited transportation connections for people driving, walking, biking, or taking the bus to and from this area. I have personally mostly biked in this area, and already the road is so narrow and traffic so high that it is not particularly safe on the east end of Priory Road, which would definitely see an increase in traffic with this development and spread the problem to other parts of the road. I led the effort to create the Chippewa Valley Bike Map in 2015, which includes this area within its regional scope, and I can only see the on-street bike routes in the area decreasing in comfort level, and potentially even no longer being viable as bike routes if enough development is built here. I have no problem with density, in fact I believe higher density of housing is needed in Eau Claire, but I believe it should only happen in targeted areas where the physical environment is capable of supporting it without endangering environmental quality and quality of life for people and important activities like recreation and agriculture. As a resident of the City of Eau Claire, in the Third Ward with a 1/4 acre lot with 8 people living on it, I am trying to reduce my impact on the Earth and in turn preserve the rural character of Wisconsin. I think it is a duty of local elected officials to help make the sustainable choice the easy choice, a

Appalling...If there is a place to embrace the openness of the country, the wonder of wildlife and natural habitat, the genuine landscape without human encroachment...all within a short drive to town...It is something to preserve and not relinquish to developers! It is a place to love, explore, cherish, embrace, and let the current stewards of the land be the caretakers.

9 years ago Featured

I urge you to seriously consider keeping the 5 acre parcels for all building sites. Eau Claire County is depleting land by changing to one acre parcels for building. We are pushing our wildlife out to the highways to be killed. Land owners are getting to greedy by selling smaller parcels of land. Let's keep it to five acre parcels.

I am very much apposed to this rezoning plan. Too much traffic for this area.The priory sale to the university already causes too much traffic in this area.

Protecting the waterways are of utmost importance. Keep the minimum acreage at 5 for new housing.

Please deny this rezoning petition! We have owned our home off of Abby Rd for 30 years. This is a beautiful rural area when it has been limited to the 5 acre lots. Wildlife is abundant and green spaces are available for all to enjoy when it has not been encroached on by overdevelopment! As stated in the petition, ground water contamination is a real concern when you are downhill from overbuilding and many additional septic systems are put in above us. The bedrock in our area is a well known issue. You cannot put a shovel in the ground and not bring up dirt without shale chunks. My other real concern is the traffic issue. There are no bike trails along our rural roads. We have sloping, curving roads. There are numerous blind slopes where traffic cannot be seen until they are upon you. Add that to the local deer population and we already have serious existing driving!! The added traffic volume from The University's day care at St. Bede's Priory has already made driving in this area precarious! Walkers and bikers along these hilly, winding roads already must be extra cautious! Please take all of our real concerns in consideration as you review this petition! Development may be inevitable but please keep it as is....Rural 5 acre!

I agree with the items outlined in this petition. This land should remain zoned for 5 acre lots.

Keep Wisconsin beautiful!

When we chose to build in this area, it was to restore ourselves daily, enjoy Nature, have fresh clean water, peace and quiet, and a place to safely take a walk. This proposed development threatens these very features. Our quality of life, as well as that of unsuspecting purchasers would be negatively impacted with this development's pressure on the environment. There will be extra building expenses because of the shallow sandstone bedrock. Most of us use the same aquifer/water table, heavy demand will affect availability, intensified sewage imput into the land will concentrate likely 3-fold of what present 5 acre/lot zoning would have. We have to consider people--many already established residents, the lower sited homes in Birch Hills, Elm Road, Settler's Glen, and William Court--who live "downstream" from this development. Would YOU like to live downstream of this development? There is no open space/green space/conservation subdivisions. This is required. Also of major concern is increased traffic/road safety/walking safety for humans and pets with this high density proposal. As it is now many times you can hardly find a safe place to walk. Nature needs some vegetation, either trees, brush, flowers, or rairie plants and grasses e.g. Blue Stem--most of these are on this land already! Larger lots will help support the balance that birds (that eat insects), foxes (that control rodents), pollinators, and beneficial insects, etc. These creatures offer control of pests, instead of using pesticides that soak into the ground or harm all creatures, including us. Nature takes care of these problems--they're free, and often beautiful! Smaller lots chop up the territories that many of these require.

9 years ago Featured

We lived in Eau Claire for 20+ years. I attended a number of retreats & events at St. Bede's. Please do not allow developer's greed take over on Priory Road the way it has in so many other parts of town. The rural landscape has become a precious commodity & needs to be preserved.

Everything doesn't always have to be ruined so somebody can make a buck. People who have lived in this area for years do not have to have their quality of life destroyed so some person can pocket some cash. This kind of destruction of people's lives and the environment isn't some preordained thing. You don't have to greenlight everything. Really. You can do what is right and say no to this project.

The rural character of our neighborhood would be adversely affected if the zoning change is passed. Only the developer would benefit from 1-2 acre lots!

Keep rural areas rural !!!

Eau Claire

We are actively farming adjacent to this amazing natural resource and are dependent upon the water for our family and livestock. The proposed zoning change presents a severe risk to the safety and well being of existing and future neighbors. The City has very clearly absolved themselves from annexing this portion of the Town of Washington by drawing the sewerage district around it. Coupled with very real traffic safety concerns, this zoning change is not for the betterment of our community. Although it appears a conservation subdivision on the surface, when we examine the Comprehensive Plan for this area, it fails to meet even the most basic standards.

We live in the Settlers Glen sub-division and I am concerned about the water run-off from the higher home density affecting surface ground water levels. The lack of drainage leading to septic contamination of the run off water and the depleted or contaminated aquifer providing water to our homes, which are down hill from the proposed development. The higher density of homes seems larger than the land can support for water management based on the geology of the region. For that reason, I am opposed to the zoning change.