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Ms. Shary Bisgard Page 2 The open space corridor which will be recommended for serious investigation by the Peripheral Development Report essentially is a band of land about 1 mile wide between the County Park and the Golf Course, and including the major ridgelines. The site of the proposed commercial rezoning lies within this recommended corridor, and at a highly visible highway intersection. There is room for discussion about what types of activity might be compatible with a visual concept of "open space", but nobody's definition includes retail banking. The question of open space preservation was also considered by the Southwest Sector Intergovernmental Forum, a committee created by the Regional Planning Commission consisting of members from the Towns of Middleton and Verona, and the Cities of Middleton, Verona, Madison, and Fitchburg. The Southwest Sector Development and Open Space Study reported by this committee in January 1988, presented several alternative open space concepts for the Southwest Sector and recommended Alternative III for further study. Although the committee's recommendation differs in several important respects from the recommendations of the Peripheral Development Study, the site of the proposed bank is within open space corridors proposed by both. Maintaining visual separation between urban communities is an important regional and local objective, and no approval for any type of more intensive development should be considered here until the interest and possibilities for open space retention are fully explored. 2) In the event that the proposed bank site is not ultimately recommended for less intensive uses, there still has been no detailed planning for the urban development of this area. Approval of a branch bank here would establish commercial uses in the Five Points area, and could result in pressures for further strip development along these roadways. This precedent could seriously compromise the ability to plan rationally for eventual urbanization, if urbanization was the policy decision. The Five Points area is part of a drainage basin that could easily be served by gravity sanitary sewer interceptors the City of Madison expects to build to serve lands to the north and east. The City's Peripheral Development Study determined that the lands north of the ridgeline between Madison and Verona could be served by the City of Madison. If this area were to be recommended for urban development, the City of Madison would require preparation of a comprehensive neighborhood development plan before approving any intensive use. As noted elsewhere, the preliminary recommendation is that this area not be recommended for intensive uses (such as banks) .