Get your copy of our weekly print products at any of these convenient locations.
Sun Prairie City Council looks to block development of new apartment units
Madison mayors from Paul Soglin to Dave Cieslewicz have long talked about the need to spread housing options throughout Dane County.
But in the fast-growing city of Sun Prairie east of Madison the City Council is poised to block development of new rental housing projects -- or at least take a hard look at them.
"The number one complaint I hear from people here is that we need to slow down the number of rental units," said Ald. Russ Fassbender, an insurance agent with American Family. "Sun Prairie schools are already overcrowded and the growth is just bringing in more and more problems."
With 26,429 residents according to the 2006 U.S. Census, Sun Prairie is one of the fastest-growing cities in Wisconsin and the second-largest city in Dane County.
That growth is generating fears among some long-time Sun Prairie residents that the quality of life is starting to suffer.
"We want to be a diversified community ... but we also need to find a balance," said Lee Wilson, who spoke in opposition at a recent City Council meeting to a rental project proposed in the Golden Meadows subdivision where she just purchased a new condominium.
The apartment project, proposed by Cottage Grove developer Ron Grosso, has brought the issue of rental housing to a head, sparking warnings from Sun Prairie police about increased crime and bringing calls from some City Council members to put a moratorium on building more apartment units.
Grosso's proposal to build four townhouses, each with four units, along Blue Aster Boulevard has twice been tabled by the council and is now on hold for at least another three weeks following action last Tuesday.
"It's nothing personal but Mr. Grosso's project is just an example of the broader issues we're all facing," said Ald. John Murray, an aide to state Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem.
Murray said he was particularly concerned about reports of 41 police calls to apartments in the Golden Meadows neighborhood since the beginning of the year. While the majority of the calls were for domestic disturbances, Murray said they were a valid reason to put the Grosso project on hold.
"For a brand new subdivision, that stood out enough to me to say that as a city we really need to take pause here and get a handle on the situation," he said.
Sun Prairie has already taken steps to limit the use of Section 8 housing vouchers. In November 2007, the council passed an ordinance that allows landlords to turn away potential tenants solely for taking part in the federal government's rental assistance program. The city of Middleton is now considering a similar ordinance.
While proponents say the rules give landlords more flexibility in keeping out problem tenants, the Sun Prairie ordinance conflicts with a Dane County resolution passed two years ago that protects Section 8 tenants from discrimination.
Grosso, who owns some 80 rental properties in Dane County, maintains he is being discriminated against because he rents to tenants on Section 8. He even claims Sun Prairie police have harassed current tenants in Golden Meadows, including shining spotlights into apartment windows at night.
"They've basically told me 'we don't want any more black renters over there,'" said Grosso, "I just can't believe in 2008 that we're still seeing this kind of prejudice."
Sun Prairie Police Chief Frank Sleeter offers a different take.
"I do know that the spotlight situation involved our response to a burglary-in-progress call," he said. "But I am very disappointed that someone would allege such an action by the department while responding to a potentially life-threatening call."
Sun Prairie Mayor Joe Chase, a fifth-generation native, admits there has been friction in the community and not all residents are handling the changes that have come with growth, but he bristled at the suggestion that there's an underlying racism issue.
"Things are so much different than they were in the past," he said. "A lot of these issues tend to center around individual neighbors and the reality is everybody has their own level of tolerance."
Chase maintains that Sun Prairie has stepped up to the plate and provides a range of housing options for people of all income levels.
"I'm really proud of the work we've done and the fact people want to live in Sun Prairie," he said. "There are jobs right here so people don't need to commute into Madison."
Whether Sun Prairie is overloaded with rental housing remains open to debate. According to the latest figures from the Census Bureau, 39 percent of Sun Prairie residents are renters. That compares to 52 percent in the city of Madison and 55 percent in Fitchburg, which has the highest percentage of renters in Dane County.
Longtime affordable housing advocate Madison Ald. Brenda Konkel said she's seen little momentum for addressing housing issues whether in Sun Prairie or elsewhere.
"There's a real NIMBY attitude when it comes to affordable housing and it's getting worse instead of better," said Konkel, executive director of the Tenant Resource Center.
Konkel said she was disappointed to hear about Sun Prairie's move to block development of more apartments and discriminate against Section 8 tenants.
"Just because somebody rents doesn't make them a criminal," she said. "We need to be very careful about painting with broad brush strokes."
But new condo owner Wilson, a teacher's aide with the Sun Prairie School District, said the issue comes down to what's acceptable and what isn't.
"When we work with school kids we talk about behavior that's either above the line or below the line," she said. "When there are activities in a neighborhood that are below the line, then it affects the entire city."
4 total imagesview them here
Sun Prairie City Council members are poised to block development of apartments in the fast-growing city.
