Study: Large developments unwanted near Geneva Lake
(Published Thursday, March 1, 2007 11:30:08 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Chris Schultz Gazette staff
FONTANA-Large-scale developments are not welcome in the Geneva Lake area.
Nearly 90 percent of homeowners think a large residential development in the 29-square-mile Geneva Lake watershed is not needed and should not be encouraged, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Geneva Lake Conservancy in Fontana.
The Geneva Lake watershed survey included the communities of Lake Geneva, Williams Bay, Fontana and town of Linn.
The survey was conducted between September and December by Russ Kashian, an associate professor of economics at UW-Whitewater, and by staff at UW-Whitewater's Fiscal and Economic Research Center.
Questionnaires were sent to 1,610 randomly selected property owners in and around the Geneva Lake watershed. About 500 were returned, Kashian said.
Kashian said he wasn't surprised by the results.
"The Lake Geneva area is an anomaly," Kashian said. "It's a wealthy area. There's a certain feeling of 'we have ours,' and they want to keep it."
Residents want to maintain the rural nature of the area, Kashian said.
"They're concerned with the level of the development coming down the pike," Kashian said. "It's the size of these things that has them concerned."
Kashian said the average annual household income of survey respondents was $200,000. Average household income in Walworth County is $57,000.
The survey also asked respondents their annual spending plans while in the Geneva Lake area. Analysis shows Geneva Lake generates $321 million in spending and $57 million in wages annually, Kashian said.
While Kashian didn't have comparable countywide figures for spending and wages, he said a similar study was done recently on nearby Delavan Lake. The survey found Delavan Lake generated $80 million in spending and 812 jobs annually.
Home remodeling is an example of household spending and economic impact in the Geneva Lake area, Kashian said. The survey showed respondents spend an average of $48,000 a year on home remodeling.
Geneva Lake also generates 2,904 jobs, about 8 percent of the total jobs in the county.
"It's an incredibly big engine of growth," Kashian said of Geneva Lake.
Finding and relocating to Walworth County a single company that could provide 2,904 jobs would be difficult, he said.
Survey respondents also believe communities in the lake area should band together, Kashian said. Nearly half the respondents strongly believe a formal lake management district should serve the interests of the greater community.
The Janesville Gazette could not reach James Celano, director of the Geneva Lake Conservancy, for comment Wednesday. However, Celano said in a prepared statement that the survey showed many local citizens want to preserve the small-town and rural Wisconsin flavor of their communities.
Master planning and individual development decisions should put the character of the community and conservation of its natural resources first, he said.
By the numbers 2,904 Jobs generated by Geneva Lake, about 8 percent of all jobs in the county.
812 Jobs generated by Delavan Lake.
48,000 Average number of dollars spent on home remodeling annually by survey respondents.
90 Percentage of survey respondents who oppose a big residential development in the Geneva Lake area.
