DCPCUP-1987-00605 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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July 22, 1987 Dear Committee Members, We have been notified by the Dane County Zoning Department of a petition by David Weiman for a conditional use permit for a private airstrip. As we have been invited to attend a public hearing regarding this proposal ; we are responding under the assumption that the committee is interested in the opinion and concerned with the rights of the neigh- bors who will be effected by the proposed change . We respectfully would like to submit our grave concerns and reservations regarding this airstrip. These are not new concerns: they were expressed in a petition to the board in June of 1986. and voiced at a meeting of the Dane County Board on July 19, 1986. However, we do not feel they have been addressed by either the applicant or the regulatory bodies involved. Our strong preference is that the application not be granted. Although we realize the applicant has elected to go to considerable expense in putting in a large airstrip before getting approval for it, We nevertheless remain concerned about the safety of our children. The airstrip will be only 20 feet from our property line where three children play, including two 3 year olds. We are concerned about their being so close to a landing airplane, .and do not feel that we should have to cur- tail our activities in order to maintain safety on our property. There are no state or federal regulations which regulate the size and location of an airstrip; (state and federal regulations pertain only to air rights) , airstrip regulation are left to the common sense of the local regulatory boards. Rock County zoning for instance requires " a minimum lot size of 35 acres" before even considering the issuance of a permit for any airstrip, personal or private,not open to the public. We can- not conceive of the idea that any parent would feel comfortable with their child playing 20 feet away from a landing airplane, regardless of the past record of the pilot, and frankly are surprised that the Board place the interests of a new application above the rights and welfare of children who live in the area. A second major concern centers around the impact the airstrip would have on the quality of life of our neighborhood in general and the im- mediate vacinity in particular. We recognize and respect the applicants right to utilize their land as they wish; however, considering the air- strip is 20 feet away from a personal vegetable garden and 250 feet away from the nearest house, it would clearly impact on the neighboring resi- dences and thus becomes a neighborhood issue. This concern centers on an admittedly hard to define entity regarding "quality of life" for the current residence. The area has been, and is zoned an agricultural one; we have lived on it and enjoyed it as such for 4 years, and we do not relish the idea of now overlooking an airstrip and incoming and outgoing aircraft. An airstrip would change the character and flavor of our home considerably. Once again we ask the Board to consider the best interest of the community as it currently exists in what is clearly a community matter and deny the application.