Here’s a bit more on the proposed overlay — there are arguments that I’ve made before, but did not repeat in my 5/16/10 post about the May 10th Planning Commission meeting. The proposed overlay has a grandfather clause for existing rental properties, but that hardly solves the long-term problem of restrictions on buying and selling…
City
City, Law, Laws/Regulations, Planning
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting from 5/10/10: Residential Overlay
by JOHN ADAMS •
At Item 10 of the May 10th Planning Commission meeting, the Planning Commission considered a residential overlay ordinance, that would place greater restrictions than there would be, for example, in a conventional R-1 zoning district. (Two or fewer unrelated persons living in the single residence, rather than three or fewer persons.) The item stated that…
City, Development, Planning
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting from 5/10/10: Walmart
by JOHN ADAMS •
After a few preliminary items, Whitewater’s 5/10/10 Planning Commission meeting considered Walmart’s proposal for a significant expansion at its present location. A video recording of the meeting is available at http://blip.tv/file/3624624. The agenda with a memo from Vandewalle & Associates about the Walmart expansion is available at Planning Commission Agenda & Attached Documents. The documents…
City, Development, Planning, Press
Whitewater’s Planning Commission Meeting from 5/10/10: Overview
by JOHN ADAMS •
On May 10th, Whitewater’s Planning Commission held a meeting at 6 p.m., with principal the topics being a possible expansion of our local Walmart, and an overlay to an existing residential zoning ordinance for the Starin Park neighborhood. Recording of the meeting — Here’s the video of the meeting, which I will be using for…
City
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters — May 2010 Newsletter
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ May 2010 Newsletter is now available, and the latest issue includes a calendar of upcoming LWV events. The latest copy of the LWV newsletter is available as a link on my blogroll, and is embedded below, with coding through Google. Upcoming for the Whitewater-Area League is an annual meeting…
City, Laws/Regulations
Banning Drink Specials: Miscellany
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update, 5-13-10: All of what I write below rests on the idea that the all-you-can-drink ban would lead to some reduction in tavern drinking, as proponents certainly hope. If that’s not true, and their lack of confidence is an inability to reduce tavern drinking, then the ordinance is an exercise in futility, and an embarrassment…
City, Fire Dept, Police
On Whitewater’s Quarterly Police and Fire Commission Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a quarterly meeting of Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission scheduled for tonight. The agenda is available online. One sees that on May 5th, this was the distribution of the agenda: May 5, 2010 Emailed/mailed to PFC members Faxed to the Whitewater Register for posting Faxed to the Library for posting Emailed to Channel 13…
City
Wisconsin State Journal: Local [Dane County] Officials Concerned Hispanic Immigrants Will Avoid Census
by JOHN ADAMS •
The decennial census is a constitutional requirement, from Article I, section 2: “The actual Enumeration [of states’ populations] shall be made within three Years after.. the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.” I have a…
City, Laws/Regulations
Whitewater’s Ban on Drink Specials: Bad Origins and False Empiricism
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m not surprised that a majority on Whitewater’s Common Council made the mistake of banning drink specials at Tuesday night’s Common Council meeting. I wrote about the proposal a few months ago, and I did so in the belief that the ban would be passed. (For remarks on the topic, see, The New Prohibition –…
City
More About “Whitewater’s College Campus During the Depression”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I posted a picture of Whitewater’s college campus as it appeared on a postcard. Here’s a bit more about the postcard that someone sent me — Below the picture, on the front of the card, is the inscription, “The Normal School, Whitewater, Wisc.” On the reverse, there’s a green, one-cent stamp, with Benjamin Franklin’s…
City, Press Release
Friends of the Mounds Meeting: Monday, May 10th at 5 p.m.
by JOHN ADAMS •
I received the following press release from Friends of the Mounds, about the Indian Mounds in Whitewater, that I’m happy to post: Dear Neighbors, As Friends of the Mounds, we met and discussed the proposed name changes to the Indian Mounds Park in Whitewater. There is not consensus in our community about the terminology used…
City, University
Whitewater’s College Campus During the Depression
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are happy coincidences in life, and I received one yesterday. I’ve written about the campus in the last few days. Yesterday, a post card arrived that someone sent of our college campus in Whitewater, with a picture of the school during the Depression. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s campus appears on part of the card…
City, Development, University
Update: How Long Does It Take a Whitewater, Wisconsin Bureaucrat to Screw in a Traffic Light?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update to the update: I’m getting reader suggestions for limiting traffic from the university side of this intersection via signage or a permanent end to travel as an alternative to junking the gateway. As you can see below, I’d forget about the gateway before I’d delay a pedestrian solution. I’m not concerned about that proposal…
City, Planning
How Long Does It Take a Whitewater, Wisconsin Bureaucrat to Screw in a Traffic Light?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Delay Blame-shifting Supposed, speedy solution Approval of supposed, speedy solution Bureaucrat’s comment immediately after approval of supposed, speedy solution. Delay Blame-shifting FREE WHITEWATER, February 17, 2010, from Traffic Lights and Limelights in a Small Town: Like many small towns, Whitewater, Wisconsin has one main thoroughfare through town, past our college campus, connecting the east and…