Scenic Ridge condominium owners are asking the Fond du lac city council to follow the recommendation of city staff and reject a rezoning request that would allow a used truck dealership to expand its parking lot. All of the residents in the condominium complex have signed a petition in opposition to Lenz Truck’s rezoning request. Lenz wants the property rezoned from residential to commercial to allow for a parking lot and new maintenance building. Condo owner, Dawn Rehaar told WFDL news the parking lot would be right in her backyard. “Lighting is a big issue because they will be putting up very tall parking lot lighting. It will light us up like a runway,” Rehaar told WFDL news. Rehaar says the parking lot would be 150 feet from her condo. She says the development would destroy a peaceful wildlife area. “Taking away the greenspace, the safety of our families, the security of our homes. This is what we worked our whole lives for to have a nice place to call home and raise our families.” The Fond du Lac planning director says the rezoning goes against the city’s comprehensive plan. JoEllyn Dahlin says there are also issues with shoreland wetland zoning, DNR wetlands access for the properties, stormwater management, drainage and land division. The city Plan Commission voted last week to recommend denial of the request. Council vice president and council representative on the Plan Commission, Derek Terbeest was the only commission member to vote in favor of the rezoning. Terbeest says while he understands the neighbors concerns, he believes rezoning is the right move for economic development. “To me it made sense to get development moving. Lenz Truck, I mean, they need the land. Where they are they’re pretty landlocked and don’t have a lot of space,” Terbeest told WFDL news. “When it came down to it, in the interest of the city, I thought the best thing to do was to let the development go forward.” The city council will consider the matter at their meeting Wednesday night.
