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40 9E November 28, 1994 4417 Rocky Dell Road Cross Plains, WI 53528 Phone: (608) 831-6653 1■4r. Thomas Favour, Director Dane County Regional Planning Commission 217 South Hamilton, Suite 403 Madison,WI 53703 re: Zoning Petition#6090 Dear Director Favour: Please reconsider Regional Planning's comment to my Zoning Petition#6090. That comment was: "This proposed division appears to conflict with the density policy of the town/county policy in the Town of Cross Plains: 'Lands in the agricultural district should not be rezoned for non-farm residential development at an overall density of greater than one dwelling per 35 acres owned as of the date of adoption of this plan.' With a 28-acre parcel,dividing into two parcels conflicts with this adopted policy." Regional Planning's judicious use of the word "appears" asserts that you are uncertain. To help you to be certain, as I judge you would like to be, I here provide you substantially more data than you had. My Argument. I ask that my parcel be rezoned because its present zoning (A-1 Exclusive Agriculture District )was done via blanket rezoning rather than by merit, and conflicts with the town land use plan and with zoning standards in the county ordinances. Conversely,the rezoning I request does not so conflict. For those reasons, my petition #6090 was unanimously approved by the town board on Nov. 21, 1994. Also, see the rezoning of the 40 acres north of me, from A-1 Exclusive Agriculture to two RH-4 lots, via the land use plan (T. Kuehn, 1985, Petition#3372). That admits a residential policy in this Iocale. Rational,Objective and Credible Land Planning. To act thus, one must adhere to the standard zoning definitions set by ordinance. So, I next cite facts re those standard definitions. History. I bought my parcel in 1964 strictly for residential purposes. I built my residence on it and moved to it in 1966. This parcel was not being farmed when I bought it, and I have never farmed it. Hence, my parcel was not farmland when the town land use plan was adopted (in 1981). I had then used it solely for residential purposes for over 15 years. That sole use has also continued since 1981. In 1981,my parcel was rezoned A-i Exclusive Agriculture via Zoning Amendment#2807. That was a blind,blanket rezone, in which my parcel was rezoned in conflict with its use, size and physical nature. Topology. My parcel is a glaciated hill. It is mostly steep sides that rise 140 feet (- 16 deg. slope), covered with scrub woods and with numerous outcroppings of the bedrock of the hill. It is impossible to farm steep hillsides and bedrock, which is why it is not farmland. (See the attached topological map.) Thus, this parcel is not productive farmland, and never has been. The Town Board reaffirmed that fact on Nov. 21, 1994, and is sending a letter to the Zoning Committee confirming this. This parcel has never provided me any income at all. It is not a farm operation. I only live on it. Moreover,this parcel has never engendered tax credits under the Farmland Preservation Law So, this parcel fails to qualify as A-1 Exclusive Agriculture by the criteria established in 10.123(1)(b) mandating that such land must be productive farmland, and in 10.123(2)(b) mandating that to use the land for a residence,the owner/operator must derive substantial income from the farm operation.