Supervisors narrowly reject housing development proposal

Grundy County Supervisor Barb Smith admitted after a public hearing Monday morning that she had the heart of a developer: she and her late husband Richard launched businesses and housing projects all over the area, and Smith initially viewed a proposed four-lot R2 zone on V Avenue between Dike and New Hartford as a plus for the county. Then, she visited the site.
           
“My conclusion is that we have no business creating subdivisions on gravel roads or otherwise,” she said.
           
Smith cast the swing vote, ultimately defeating a rezone application from Jami Fettkether that would have allowed him to section off the two-acre parcels in what’s currently wooded A1 agricultural land, joining fellow supervisors Chuck Bakker and Mark Schildroth—who have tended to take the strongest stances against redeveloping farm ground on the board. Jim Ross and Harlyn Riekena, known for embracing more libertarian views on economic development and private property rights, voted in favor of the measure, which the Planning and Zoning Commission had earlier approved by a 3-2 margin.
           
Before the roll was called, around 10 speakers piped up against Mr. Fettkether’s proposal during the hearing, and most adopted a similar stance: it didn’t make sense, upset the harmony of a small, close-knit neighborhood and could have set a far-reaching precedent going forward.
           
Detractors specifically took issue with Grundy County’s development ordinance and its recommendation that country homes be built on at least 35 acres—although, as it was noted, a few of the houses in the area had been carved out of farms and constructed before those guidelines were enacted.
           
Darrell Sloth, a farmer and neighbor of Mr. Fettkether, argued that the code protects agricultural land from “urban land uses” and that rural R2 districts should be adjacent to current subdivisions.
           
“I don’t believe this parcel fits into any well thought out development plan for the unincorporated areas of Grundy County,” Sloth said. “It’s too far from Dike to be an efficient urban development… This parcel is ill-suited for residential development.” 
 
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