By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Whitewater concluded its extensive zoning rewrite project a year ago, but officials continue to fine tune and tinker with the document — a reality demonstrated as officials continued digging into the code last week.
City Planner Chris Munz-Pritchard came before the Common Council on Aug. 4 with a series of proposed changes to the zoning code. Several of the revisions were essentially wordsmith related, but there were a few large-scale changes also tossed into the mix. A robust discussion ensued when officials deliberated on the latter end of the changes.
Several disparate items — vehicular storage, downtown parking and property calculations — are subject to revision within the document. No official changes were made during last week’s revisions, and city staffers anticipate returning to the council with further details.
Technical provisions concerning setbacks, lot vs. building configurations and other details were discussed at length during the most recent deliberations. The calculations address new construction and how it fits in the scheme of a property design.
Munz-Prichard said there is leeway in the technical provisions, and exceptions can be granted. But several council members and residents wondered aloud if the language, in its current state, was too restrictive.
“I think it’s important to look at what the competition is doing,” said resident Jeff Knight, who chairs the city’s Community Development Authority (CDA).
One of the council’s top goals, as outlined in a recent brainstorming session, is to grow the city’s single-family housing stock. Knight reiterated this point last week as he came before the council.
“We need single-family homes here badly for our school district to survive,” Knight said. “We need single-family homes here for our industrial park to be able to expand and provide residence for those employees.”
Piggy-backing off Knight’s comment, City Manager Cameron Clapper acknowledged that comparable data has been compiled, particularly for nearby communities in Rock County. But a further analysis could be warranted, Clapper said.
Council President Patrick Singer suggested city staffers take the review process to the next step, reviewing what lot size provisions are in place in similar-sized communities with universities. Singer mentioned Platteville and Stout as two examples.
Several tweaks, including numbering stalls, have been made to downtown parking in the past year, and officials noted the changes as positives. Some of the recent amendments have alleviated parking congestion, though there are times when it still remains an issue.
Picking up a conceptual discussion point that was discussed during the zoning rewrite project, Munz-Pritchard addressed what it would cost to have a parking garage downtown. She said cost estimates would hover around $20,000 per stall.
“Feasibly, right now it’s probably not in our budget,” Munz-Pritchard said of the high price tag.
Council members also questioned if greater clarity was needed on language concerning vehicular storage. The code is designed to place parameters around what types of vehicles — including boats and trailers — can be stored in the open on properties.
Further amendments to that portion of the code could be coming down the pike as well.
