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Letter to the Editor: Fish Creek Site Not a Good Fit for Affordable-Housing Project

I have been a year-round resident in Door County for 35 years. I live near the Fish Creek Sanitary District Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is located off County F. 

At a district board of supervisors meeting back in January, a developer approached the board with the idea of leasing some of the district’s property north of the treatment plant. The purpose of the lease would be to build workforce housing for people who work for local businesses during the summer. The developer wants to build condominium units. He wants to sell the units to business owners, who would then rent them out to workers at a rent they can afford. 

I am concerned about the large number of units and the amount of traffic they would create. Tens of thousands of dollars were just spent to make the area by Gibraltar School safer for children and school district employees. The new improvements include road pavement, curbs and gutters, medians and islands, and pedestrian-operated flashing lights when someone is crossing Highway 42. 

I’ve heard that the proposed 46 condominium units would be studio units designed for two people. This means we could have 92 cars pulling out of a new driveway on County F, a block and a half away from the County F/Highway 42 intersection, at the same time when parents are trying to get their kids to school. 

We are all well aware of the need for more workforce housing. Why are all of these condo units being proposed in an area surrounded by houses? Is it fair to have all of these condo units built in our area? A fairer approach would be to have all the communities in the county share in the responsibility for building affordable housing in multiple locations, not just Fish Creek.

The rezoning application and proposed condominiums should be denied by the county.

Tony Bryzek
Fish Creek, Wisconsin