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Mr. Lyman Anderson Page 2 The 1985 Town of Burke Land Use Plan shows most of the subject lands as"Agricultural/Transitional", with the Hoepker Road frontage shown as "Residential". There is no indication that these lands are recommended as a business location in the Town plan. The City of Madison has limited the expansion of its Urban Service Area, and has required American Family Insurance to reserve a substantial "wildlife/retreat"area in the northern portions of The American Center office development, specifically to maintain an appropriate interface with the rural and residential uses in the township to the north and west. Reservation of an open space buffer along the south side of Hoepker Road was made one of the conditions of the City's approval of the Hoepker Heights plat, for similar reasons. Establishing a commercial driving range business on the south side of Hoepker Road would undermine the intent of these efforts. In the long run,it is hoped that a recreational trail connection might be developed between the proposed Madison-Sun Prairie open space area and Token Creek County Park and Cherokee Marsh to the west. The most promising route for such a connection in this vicinity is along the south side of Hoepker Road. While this trail connection would necessarily pass relatively close to some existing or future development for at least some segments of the route,and also may have to be within existing rights-of- way for some segments, establishing this proposed driving range business and its parking area so close to the Hoepker right-of-way would make design of a suitable trail route much more difficult. The sketches submitted with the rezoning application indicate that lighting the driving range for evening operation is a possibility, although conditional use approval for lighting is apparently not being sought at this time. Evening use would presumably also require lighting for the parking area, signage,etc.,as well. Clearly, a lighted range and evening use (which remain future possibilities even if not currently sought by the petitioner) would have a much greater visual impact on adjacent properties, and change the character of the area even more. From the sketches submitted with the application,it appears that the parking area for this proposed business would be immediately adjacent to either the current 66-foot or a proposed 80-foot Hoepker Road right-of-way. The Rattman Neighborhood Development Plan recommends that a right-of-way for Hoepker Road be officially mapped at 100 or 120 feet,although this has not yet occurred. Any future development here should be set further back from the Hoepker right-of-way to allow for possible future roadway widening,to permit adequate landscaping, and to maintain visual continuity with existing uses.