Jay, who has lived in the Waukesha area for nearly 20 years, is an active volunteer who serves on numerous local boards and committees. He’s married to Colleen with three kids having gone through the Waukesha schools. He is the VP of a local distribution company and currently serves on several area Boards.
“Can’t we just all get along?”
The recent announcement that Aurora, Oconomowoc, and Summit were resolving a 5-year dispute immediately brought these words to mind. I don’t know who first uttered this phrase, but rest assured the sentiment will be echoed countless times in the coming years as development continues its’ inexorable movement westward.
Without taking sides and with respect to everyone’s position, including that of ProHealth, doesn’t it now appear that cooler heads didn’t prevail? It’s painfully obvious that “a big money development” forced compromise where no common ground could be found prior. The elected officials, lawyers, and business executives had reached an impasse where the public perceived everyone was suing someone; neighbors were turned against neighbors; and no one was winning except for the lawyers.
BANG! In comes a proposal for 1,000,000 sq. ft. of retail space and everyone finds “common ground” to make room for the new development. Amazing – all the pent-up bad feelings evaporate within weeks after years of battle-scarring when there is enough money on the table. Well, experience should and does tell us this is not the last (witness the Delafield Lang development) time bad-blood over development will come to the surface. Face it – “We’re not in Kansas anymore” and development west of Waukesha is inevitable, but sorely needing guidance and control. Accept the fact that there will be new subdivisions, apartments, condos, roads, infrastructures, gas convenience stores and more needed for the ever-growing number of employees needed for the ever-growing number of retailers and ever-growing groups of now-needed health-care providers. And does every new sign of development (which in many cases is inevitable) have to become headline fodder and divisive to a community?
The lessons learned from the Aurora, Summit, Oconomowoc controversy are that future thoughtful, planned developments (and developers) should pay respect to the input from all parties; that additional development will be forthcoming; and that Communities’ positive energies would be far better served planning for controlled growth instead of fighting over it when it’s upon them. Quality projects like Pabst Farms should serve as a model for other developers (Delafield Lang development) in taking a measured, planned approach (even if it takes years) respectful of their community's input.
The Waukesha area should also pay heed to what's happening west of our borders. Our area will continue facing re-development, and it would be prudent to now, more then ever, re-emphasize working "with" businesses approaching our local Community. Competition has emerged, and Waukesha has to continue its' efforts to retain and attract quality projects. Compelling reasons for investment such as quality schools, a ready-made workforce, top-notch municipal services, a responsible tax rate, and cooperative local government must be vocalized. The urgency to proactively plan and respond quickly and right here/right now must be understood to ensure Waukesha does not lose traction over the next decade. Don't wait and expect development will automatically just come to this area!
And when and should everything else break down, be careful out west and remember – “Big money heals a lot of wounds.”
