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DANE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT STAFF REPORT REZONING PETITION#7170/CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT#1485: JACOBSEN ZNR HEARING DATE: 3/24/98 I. BACKGROUND Sam Jacobsen is petitioning to rezone approximately 17 acres of land out of the A-1(ex)Exclusive Agricultural District to the A-2 Agricultural District and requesting a Conditional Use Permit to operate a private school (Madison Country Day School)on property in the Town of Westport. Mr. Jacobsen is also petitioning to rezone an additional parcel of roughly three acres from A-1(ex)to the CO-1 Conservancy District for a woodland preserve and a total of 29.25 acres to RE-1 Recreational for the school's athletic fields. A similar proposal, CUP# 1415,was denied by the ZNR on June 3, 1997. II. GENERAL SITE AND LOCATIONAL INFORMATION The site is located in Sections 29 and 32 of the Town of Westport, on the south side of Oncken Road, approximately a half-mile west of the intersection with County Highway M(see map). Mr. Jacobsen owns a total of over 600 acres in the area,with holdings extending from Oncken Road to the City of Middleton line. The site and most of the surrounding area are currently cultivated farmland. The Bishops Bay Country Club Golf Course lies approximately a quarter mile to the southeast. Governor Nelson State Park is roughly a half mile to the east,and the old City of Middleton landfill is a little over three quarters of a mile to the northwest. The site is in a rural area,three quarters of a mile from the Central Urban Service Area There are discrepancies between the acreages shown on site plans submitted as part of the application and the area described by the accompanying legal descriptions. The site plan indicates a total of 37.68 acres to be rezoned from A-1(ex)to A-2, including 20 acres for the school site,and 17.68 acres for future expansion. In contrast,the legal description indicates a total area of 16.84 acres to be rezoned to A-2,with 9.91 acres for the school site, and 6.73 acres for future expansion. There is also a slight discrepancy in the acreages shown for the proposed CO-1 Conservancy parcel(3 acres per the site plan vs. 2.78 acres per the legal description). Both the site plan and the legal description show a total of 29.25 acres to be rezoned to RE-1 for the athletic fields. For the purposes of this report,we will assume the acreages shown in the legal descriptions are correct. III.ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES Soils: The Dane County Soil Survey shows Kegonsa silt loam, a Class I farm soil,covering the western quarter (roughly 2.5 acres)of the 9.91 acre school site. The balance of the site is a mix of Boyer and Dresden types,neither of which is classified as a prime farm soil. All three soils are well-drained, deep,with slight erosion potential and pose moderate limitations on residential construction, septic installation and excavations. Because of the rapid permeability of the gravel sublayer under the entire area,topsoil removal should be kept to a minimum and septic installations carefully monitored to avoid groundwater contamination. The proposed athletic fields site(29.25 acres)is predominately covered by Kegonsa and Batavia silt loams,both Class I farm soils. Both soil types share a gravel sublayer and good drainage characteristics. Depending on the amount of fill used,these soils may pose moderate limitations on recreational use, due primarily to their muddy, slippery and slightly erodible nature when wet. Both soils also tend to compact 1