City council again hears Stori Field objections at Tuesday night meeting

RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. (WRCO / WRCE) – Several citizens again voiced their objections to a development being built at Stori Field at Tuesday night’s Richland Center City council meeting.

The consensus was that they would like to see it go to referendum to let the people decide.

Corporate Council for the City of Richland Center, Micheal Windle, discussed a letter concerning he and Mayor Todd Coppernoll received Oct. 3, for Demand for Action concerning the Emergency Meeting for the Stori Field Development held Sept. 24. The claimant believed that notice was not given to the residents in a timely fashion that the council was going to meet to take action on the Stori Field Development.

However, by his own admission, 25.5 hours of notice was given. The state statute calls for a 24-hour notice. The claimant states it is not just a legal one, but a moral one.

Attorney Windle sent a letter in response, which stated: “many times that as an attorney I am unqualified to advise on matters of morality. You are right that the citizens deserve “fairness, respect and transparency…” and I believe (both in my professional capacity and as a citizen) that it has been offered to them. What the citizenry does not deserve is to have the decisions of their duly-elected representatives overturned by a vocal minority who threaten them and their positions rather than attempting to work with them to preserve what they can and/or improve on the project by providing constructive input. However, that choice is yours and yours alone.”

Pursuant to the Common Council’s approval of the Stori Field Pre-Development Agreement on Sept. 24, a development agreement for the eight-duplex (16-unit) zero-step housing project. The developer has completed a preliminary review and deemed the draft acceptable. The city and the Developer will continue to work together to finalize the agreement.

Key Details of the Agreement include: recognizing the substantial private investment and infrastructure obligations, and to incentivize this housing project, the city will sell the land for $1.00. Planning and Engineering will begin immediately, with site construction to start by May 15, 2026. The developer must complete the project within two years of construction start. A performance clause requires payment in lieu of taxes if the project is not completed within that time frame.

The developer is responsible for constructing all required public infrastructure in compliance with all applicable standards and permits. Three options were considered by the council. Option A – To retain only the storm water management area of approximately a half-acre with no space for public use. Option B – To retain the storm water management area plus public use space of approximately an acre. Or option C – To retain the storm water management area plus public use space of approximately 1.4 acres. The council unanimously approved moving forward with Option C.

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