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Jan. 15, 1996 Town of Cross Plains 4204 County Trunk P Cross Plains, WI 53528 Mr. Thomas Smiley Dane County Regional Planning Commission 217 South Hamilton, Suite 403, Madison, WI 53703 Dear Director Smiley: The Town Board of Cross Plains has ruled, by vote at our meeting of Jan. 15, 1996, that we interpret our town land use plan to apply the 35 acre density policy to farms, but not to nonfarm parcels. This ruling reflects the plain reading of our Implementation Program. The purpose of our Implementation Program is to set forth how we will use our plan in making decisions, as stated thus (page 9): `To .... clearly state the town's intent for using the plan in making decisions ...." The part of our Implementation Program that deals with the 35 acre density policy is Point 5, page 10. We refer you to the wording in Point 5, page 10, of our town plan, with regard to the following issues. The fact that our Implementation Program defines the 35 acre density policy for farm units means, by the purpose stated for our Implementation Program, that we intend to apply that policy to farm units in our making of land use decisions. In other words, our plan implements that policy for farm units. By the same token, in our making of decisions, the fact that our Implementation Program does not define the 35 acre density policy for nonfarm units means that we do not intend to apply it to nonfarm units. In other words, our plan does not implement the 35 acre density policy for nonfarm units. Any dispute over the interpretation of our approved town plan is a judicial issue. It is not an issue of "land use planning." As we understand the statutes, the RPC is authorized to advise on issues of land use planning, but is not authorized to advise on the legal interpretations of town plans, or to act in any way as a body of judicial or quasi-judicial review on such a matter. Our Town Board has requested the ZNR to rule on our interpretation of our town plan in this regard, under authority granted the ZNR in s. 59.97(2)(bm), Wis. Stats. We believe this is the proper route to take for resolving judicial issues about the meaning of an existing town plan. If a party with legal standing objects to how ZNR rules in such case, then we believe their recourse would be to file suit in civil court. We know of no other recourse, in present law, for appealing a ruling of the ZNR in this regard. However, until ZNR rules on this issue, we believe the ruling of our town board controls. We therefore believe that the RPC is presently constrained by our town ruling of Jan. 15, 1996 on this issue. Accordingly, in view of the above, we request that RPC refrain from any future assertions that our town plan applies the 35 acre density policy to nonfarm units. We also request that RPC immediately withdraw its assertions to this effect on any presently pending rezoning petitions. There is at least one such petition on the agenda for the county board meeting of Jan. 18, 1996. Thank you for your response to our town board request. Sincerely yours, Harold Krantz Chair, Cross Plains Town Board cc. Mr. Thomas Favour Mr. Lyman Anderson