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Time for New Thinking?

In a time of great dispute over land use in Door County, peninsula residents and officials heard a speaker delivering a message of cooperation June 1 and 2.

Ed McMahon, Senior Resident Fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington D.C., gave two presentations titled “The Dollars and Sense of Protecting Community Character.” In them, he emphasized that in the midst of debate over growth and development, it’s important not to forget how similar most of our visions for our communities really are.

“No place in America will stay different and unique by accident.” – Ed McMahon

“We tend to spend too much time fighting about what we disagree on, and not enough time talking about the things we do agree about,” he said.

He urged planners and developers to work together to create not just development plans, but conservation plans as well.

“A long-range conservation plan could reduce opposition to development,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a developer or conservationist – everybody wants predictability and certainty.”

Henry Isaksen, a Sturgeon Bay architect and member of Citizens for Responsible Development (CRD) who spearheaded the effort to bring McMahon in, agreed.

“The problem with the codes in Door County is that there is no certainty,” he said, adding that a conservation plan would say “Here are the things we’d like to preserve. Now go out and get money and find a way to do that. So instead of all these groups doing their own little thing, you’d have a unified plan”

McMahon presented one key question for planners and residents to consider when creating a vision for the future.

“You will grow, the real question is how,” he said. “Do you want new development to shape the character of Door County or do you want Door County character to shape new development?”

Cities and towns across the country are putting money and effort into downtown rejuvenation projects. He said there are currently 147 such projects in progress and just two malls in the works. Communities who’ve taken this approach are reaping the rewards, he said.

“Heritage tourism is the fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry today,” he said. “People are attracted to the things that make a place distinctive, livable, and beautiful. Nobody wants to go to a community without a heart and soul.”

He said heritage tourism brings more frequent and higher-spending visitors, as the average mall shopper spends $57.50 per hour, while the town center shopper spends $84 per hour.

While growth is both inevitable and desirable, he said, progress does not demand degraded surroundings. His PowerPoint presentation included many images of Wal-Mart and Target stores designed to blend into their surroundings, and fast-food chains designed with the architecture of the region in mind, but his emphasis remained on restoring historic downtowns.

The presentation was particularly timely, as Sturgeon Bay grapples with sprawl and the possible addition of more large retail stores to its outskirts and Fish Creek considers adopting a Historic Character Preservation ordinance.

“What are you building today that will be worth preserving tomorrow?” – Ed McMahon

In recent years, Sturgeon Bay has added a Target, McDonalds, Walgreens and a small strip mall along its Southern entrance and seen its movie theater relocate out of its old downtown. McMahon said many communities are thriving by rethinking zoning and planning to encourage businesses to relocate downtown, share parking, and creating walkable town centers. His presentation left many with the impression that Door County planning is behind the times.

“You hear from McMahon and so much of where we’re heading is development that seems so last century,” said Laurel Hauser, a recent addition to the Sturgeon Bay Planning Commission. “Hopefully, we educate ourselves in time for us to realize this before it’s gone too far.”

Mike Kahr, of the Liberty Grove Planning Commission, concurred.

“The people making decisions have to get educated,” he said. “We need expert and professional guidance for our future. That’s obvious.”

McMahon said such sentiments didn’t surprise him.

“These trends typically start first on the east and west coasts and cities,” he said. “Smaller communities usually come later on. But it’s never too late to start.”

Isaksen said a letter was sent to every town board and planning commission about the event, but he was disappointed in how many officials didn’t attend. However, some officials have requested DVDs of the presentation, and he plans to have them available at libraries throughout the county.

Isaksen took solace in knowing the challenges Door County faces are not unique.

“It was good to have an opinion from outside of the area with no stake in Door County,” Isaksen said. “We tend to think we’re the first place that’s ever had to deal with any of these issues, and McMahon shows you there are thousands of communities that have dealt with this.”

Some of McMahon’s recommendations came as a surprise to developers and conservationists alike. He said we have to rethink our views on density and lot size in particular, encouraging smaller lots and higher density to create larger tracts of open space between developments and homes.

“Separating lot size from density accelerates the loss of open land,” he said.

He then pointed out that the most important factor in increasing the property value of real estate is its proximity to walking trails and bike paths.

Charlie Most, County Board Chairman and Liberty Grove Planning Commission member, was one of the speaker’s sponsors.

“He presents a different approach and probably one we should consider,” Most said. “It’s an interesting review of some standards put in place with good intentions that brought about undesirable results. I just hope that these municipalities go back and carry out some of the things we learned and try to adjust zoning to facilitate some of this. It sounds easy when you hear him speak about it, but to put it into practice is a different story.”

The presentations held at the Ephraim Town Hall and Crossroads at Big Creek were sponsored by a list of names and organizations not often found on the same side of an issues. In addition to Isaksen and Most, the list included CRD, Door Property Owners, Door County Homebuilders, the Chamber of Commerce, Ed James, Village of Ephraim, Door County Economic Development Corporation, Bob Doneff, Roger Utnehmer, and Baylake Bank.

McMahon recommended creating a forum where parties on all sides of planning issues could communicate outside the public hearing format, which he called “the last place anybody listens to each other.” The idea was supported by many officials.

“I liked that he talked about how important it is just to get people in a room talking to each other,” Hauser said. “And that you need ordinances, but without a vision any number of ordinances aren’t going to do it for you.”

“The main message is that we need to be proactive,” Isaksen said. “And Door County has a 35 year history of being reactive.”

McMahon left audiences with one final warning.

“No place in America will stay different and unique by accident.”

For more information about Ed McMahon or the Urban Land Institute, visit http://www.uli.org.