North Hudson store denied Hwy. 35 access

Talk about it

A request by North Hudson to allow an access to Hwy. 35 from the parking lot of a proposed grocery store has been denied by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The request was made by the village in an attempt to reduce the potential for traffic problems at the corner of Hwy. 35 and Station Lane N. that has been a concern to residents in the area.

Village Attorney William Nickolai said last Tuesday the proposal was denied before it was submitted. “The DOT wants limited access on a state highway,” he said.

Nickolai pointed out that an appeal by the village was not likely to make a difference in the outcome.

With this information, the Board of Trustees decided not to pursue any more avenues for an access, and the issue is apparently dead. The store proposal is still alive, however, but access would now have to come off Station Lane.

Hudson developer Dean Hanson purchased the land on the southwest corner of Station Lane N. and Hwy. 35 and made a proposal to build a grocery store on the site more than a year ago.

In the meantime, a group of residents in the immediate area has registered strong opposition to the proposal, citing, among other things, increased traffic in the area.

The group filed a class action suit against the village in an attempt to get a reversal in a zoning change the Board of Trustees had approved. The suit was dismissed earlier this month.

Nickolai said, “Judge (Edward F.) Vlack ruled that the zoning change was a legislative act and not challengeable.”

Developing an access off Hwy. 35 instead of Station Lane was an attempt to appease traffic concerns and was supported by Hanson.

On another front, the village Public Works Committee is pursuing a traffic impact study of the intersection. “It is an ongoing thing and not complete,” said committee chair Joe Cothern.

The committee also tabled any action on improvements to the old maintenance building lot across the street from the Village Hall. An estimate to provide 10 parking spaces, landscape a green space and put up a fence was in the neighborhood of $20,000. Cothern said the committee would continue to work on the issue.

In other action at the March 25 meeting the board: