By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Amid a myriad of opinions and concerns, Whitewater officials last week voted to move forward with rezoning 55 properties along portions of North Fremont Street.
The Common Council voted, 6-1, in favor of reclassifying the zoning on the properties, located between Main Street and Starin Road. The reclassification to an R-O non-family residential overlay zoning district means tighter restrictions will be placed on each of the residential properties.
Although current rental arrangements can be grandfathered in, moving forward, the city will require no more than two unrelated persons living within a home. The threshold up to the present has been three unrelated persons.
The rezoning was first taken up last month at the monthly Planning and Architectural Review Commission meeting. At the time, more than a dozen property owners spoke to commissioners before the appointed body gave a favorable recommendation to the full council.
Since the rezoning issue first bubbled to the surface, a debate within the area of scrutiny erupted. Proponents say the change will increase property values and enhance the rights of single-family owners. But opponents assert the change disenfranchises University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students, who live and rent in some of the homes.
Some of the same concerns were aired last week before the council in advance of a final decision. Six residents, all of whom own single-family residences in the area of rezoning, spoke in favor of the changes. Two multi-family property owners also provided the council with letters in opposition of the changes.
James Hartwick, a UW-Whitewater professor and president of the Historic Starin Park Neighborhood Association, said he believes the changes will be a positive for the area. He also believes the change is consistent with the city’s long-range comprehensive plan.
“The City of Whitewater is well out of balance with rental and non-rental properties,” Hartwick said. “We need to create a hospital place for the professors to live.”
The council was presented with a petition from more than 30 property owners in the area who favored the rezoning.
Mark Moore, a former UW-Whitewater student and renter, pointed out 80 percent of the owner-occupied residences signed the petition.
“This is not necessarily anti-student or anti-renter; it’s anti-density,” Moore said of the zoning change. “It’s pro-neighborhood. It’s pro-property values.”
But investment firms that own some of the multi-family dwellings within the area have adamantly opposed the changes and question the rationale behind the change.
“I do not believe that Fremont Street is plagued with petty nuisances, i.e. noise violations, parking violations, underage drinking, etc. … nor am I aware of any devaluation of any properties in the affected area caused by current usage,” C. Bennett Penwell of CBP Properties LLC wrote in a letter to the council.
Most of the council favored the change, though councilwoman Stephanie Abbott was the sole dissenter and shared some of the same concerns expressed by landlords.
“I think students are a vital part of this community,” Abbott said. “Without he students, there isn’t much of an economy here. I think this probably isn’t a good step for the community.”
