(Published Thursday, September 27, 2007 11:23:49 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Chris Schultz cschultz@gazetteextra.com
LAKE GENEVA
People heaped plenty of criticism Wednesday on the proposed Mirbeau-Hummel plan for the south side of Lake Geneva.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, a steady trickle of people attended an open house at Lake Geneva City Hall. They looked at plans of the proposed project and gave their opinions.
Usually, the opinions were negative. Critics contend that the project, which includes a spa, a winery and a residential subdivision, is too high-density and a waste of land better used for farming or parks.
David and Sarah Schuster, who live near the property and own Clear Water Sports in Lake Geneva, said they are worried about plans to build utilities across areas marked on maps as wetlands.
"People would prefer keeping it farmland," Sarah Schuster said.
Anita Heinz's home is across South Lake Shore Drive from the proposed project.
"We would like more green space and parks," she said. "And what is this going to do to the lake?"
Mary DeYoung, principal of nearby Traver School in the town of Linn, is concerned about the subdivision's impact on her school. A project consultant says the 882 homes would mean just 39 more students for Traver. The elementary school could absorb that many, but DeYoung said the estimate may be low.
David Bollweg, Linn Town Board chairman who opposed the city's annexation of the land, said he believes that the development is still too high density for its location.
But Jim Celano, director of the Geneva Lake Conservancy in Fontana, said that barring a sudden change in ownership, the project has a good chance of becoming reality.
If it does, the conservancy wants to make sure it doesn't hurt Geneva Lake or its watershed.
Celano said the Hummel-Mirbeau plan is a good one. If Lake Geneva ensures it's built as planned, then the development would become the benchmark for all future developments around the lake, Celano said.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Landowner Bob Hummel of Lake Forest, Ill., and Mirbeau, a spa developer from New York, will present their general development plan to the Lake Geneva Plan Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
