Letter: St. Joe chair responds

Dear Editor,

This is in response to the letter last week from Ms. Ostendorf. The revised Chapter 168, Subdivision of Land ordinance approved by the Plan Commission and Town Board of St. Joseph is not a zoning ordinance.

The town of St. Joseph does not have zoning authority and is governed by the zoning regulations of St. Croix County. Chapter 168 is an ordinance which regulates the subdivision of land. Any requests for rezoning must be made to St. Croix County and go through a public hearing process which is identified in that zoning ordinance.

Many of the regulations in this revised subdivision ordinance were in the previous version; others were added or changed to be consistent with St. Croix County, WisDNR and the state of Wisconsin requirements. By incorporating those requirements into this ordinance, it provides continuity between the governmental entities which regulate the subdivision of land.

The town listened to a great amount of input from town residents, professionals and others, in addition to public hearings, many, many public meetings, mailings and one-on-one interactions.

The opportunities for the residents to discuss this ordinance were numerous throughout the past two years and for two years prior to that during the revision of the Comprehensive Plan. The wants and desires that have been expressed by the citizens of this town since 2005 — to the Plan Commission and to the board, have been the basis for the work on these documents.

It is unfortunate that inaccurate information may have been dispensed by my opponent (who voted to approve this ordinance) and his supporters, who misunderstand the difference between zoning and subdivision, what public entities govern various parts of the landscape, the lengthy process that has taken place and the background for these regulations.

I look forward to hearing what our citizens have to say at the meeting on March 25. I welcome any residents of the town of St. Joseph to contact me at anytime about this or any other subject that affects you. My telephone number is (715) 222-6235.

Theresa Johnson, Town of St. Joseph

Town chair

Tags: opinion, letter, stjoseph, town, chair, election