April 25, 2022 at 11:08 a.m.
T.A. Solberg seeks to put 'warehouse facility' in residential neighborhood
Plan commission tables discussion until May meeting
T.A. Solberg seeks to put 'warehouse facility' in residential neighborhood
The tabled proposal would bring in three parcels of land from the Town of Pelican along Old Highway 8 and Slaughterhouse Creek into the city limits, abutting land already owned by T.A. Solberg that once housed a bakery for the grocery chain.
The three parcels would be rezoned to I2 (general industrial) upon annexation, with the stated end goal of constructing a "trucking and warehouse facility" on the property.
During the public hearing, seven people who live in the surrounding neighborhood spoke against the warehouse plan. Increased vehicle traffic at all hours, including large trucks, light and noise pollution from the facility, long-standing flooding issues with the present site and other concerns were raised.
Alec Killinger's house on Old 8 Road would be directly across the street from the facility, if it's constructed.
Before the bakery was destroyed by fire back in 2019, the semi traffic in and out of the facility would happen "all hours of the day and night," he said.
"You have those houses that are right across the street from this, they're going to have semis shining their lights into their houses at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning," he said.
He also noted that the site is surrounded on three sides by residential housing and Slaughterhouse Creek to the east. He said he feels most of the residents are concerned about the increased semi traffic such a facility would bring.
"If anyone has been in that area, you'll see it is full of mothers and daughters and their kids and their husbands and their dogs and their baby strollers, kids on bikes. That is the kind of neighborhood that is," Killinger said.
He also was opposed to rezoning the property to industrial.
"You have the houses along the Pelican River there, which is a beautiful, nice little quiet area right on the edge of town," he said. "Now you're going to bring in a bunch of semis in and out of there constantly, annoying the people who live there and making them sleep with earplugs in their ears."
Craig Hansen, who also lives on Old 8 Road across from the property, found the description of the proposed "trucking warehouse facility" to be "pretty vague."
He said he wants to hear more about the project before any decisions are made.
"I'm a small businessman in this town, and I do know the benefits of expansion, but I don't feel this is the place for expansion," Hansen said, noting that there are plenty of vacant industrial buildings in the area, such as the old Petco building, that would make a better site.
He also pointed out that both bodies of water near the property would be affected.
"This property, no matter what you do with it, you can blacktop it, gravel it or whatever, it's all going to taper off and either end up in the Slaughterhouse Creek or the Pelican River," Hansen said. "The only thing you can do is pond it up or make the water go somewhere else."
Hansen also questioned the road sign at the east end of Old 8 Road, where it meets Highway 17, that says "no thru" trucks. He said he wasn't sure if the town or city had erected the sign.
He also presented a letter from Steve Shepherd, a resident of Grossman Avenue, which commissioner Carrie Mikalauski read aloud. The letter said that ever since the bakery was built, water runoff from what was intended as a retention pond has repeatedly overflowed, flooding the end of his driveway.
"I've contacted Trig, the Town of Pelican and the City of Rhinelander," Mikalauski said, reading from the letter. "To no one's surprise, nothing has been done. It's all because there is no city storm drain, yet Printpack doesn't have this problem. I wonder where Printpack's rainwater goes to and who paid for it to get there? And why does all of Trigs' rainwater drain into my driveway?"
The letter went on to say that it would be "nice if someone showed up tomorrow" to remedy the situation.
"As far as Trig's business goes, Trig has worn out his welcome in this neighborhood," Shepherd's letter said. "In my opinion, his substandard and questionable business practices disqualify him from ever owning or operating any business in any residential neighborhood."
He also suggested the proposed facility be located in an industrial area, like the vacant former Petco facility.
Danielle Larson noted that there is a lot of pedestrian and wildlife traffic along Old 8 Road, which makes her very concerned for the safety of her children. She also recounted how the truck traffic in and out of the old bakery would wake her family at night.
"It was every night," she said. "It was every single night where someone would come in, late at night."
Dominic Cinfio, another resident living across from the site on Old 8 Road, urged the commissioners to "please think about the people that are living in that section."
"Please, just let Trig find someplace else, let him build someplace else," Cinfio pleaded. "He can afford to do that."
Dawn Holleback agreed with the comments of the previous speakers.
"Now to have this thing here in our small community, and it does seem like a small, little community, to have all this construction, and have all the semis and warehouse, it would really be high traffic," Holleback said. "This is just going to be too much."
She also read a letter from neighbor Cheryl Fleer, who started by saying she has lived across from "Trig's Quonset Hut" since 1998 and the semi traffic into and out of the property at all hours of the day or night was unbearable before the fire.
"It's located in a quiet neighborhood of single-family homes," Holleback read from Fleer's letter. "The noise and the dust that would result from locating a trucking and warehouse facility in this quiet neighborhood is unwelcome."
With no other citizens opting to come forward, Mikalauski closed the public hearing portion of the meeting. The commission then took up the issue of the annexation and rezoning request.
Commissioner Sandy Bergman was asked if, in her memory as a former alderperson and member of the commission, a parcel had ever been annexed into the city and rezoned industrial at the same time.
"It seems to me that what is bothering people is that this is an industrial zoning, not only a trucking facility, but anything that can go in industrial," she replied.
"My take is that Mr. Solberg is requesting to reestablish a use from an earlier time that was stopped because of a natural incident. In other words, a fire," Bergman added.
She said the "tension between a well-established neighborhood that is general use in the Town of Pelican" and the proposal being considered was obvious to her, even though she was attending the meeting virtually.
"My concern is where is the entrance and the exit, and who put up the sign saying no-thru traffic?" Bergman asked.
City administrator Zach Vruwink responded that he was unaware of who had erected the sign.
Commissioner Jenny Bonardelli observed that an industrial site surrounded on three sides by houses "is going to have a whole slew of issues for those trying to develop this lot" under the recently revised zoning code.
"Our code, newly revamped, shiny and new, is a code born out of many years of trials and tribulations with these types of additions," she noted.
"This is a property right, so it's hard to turn it down," Bergman noted. "But I think we can ask Mr. Solberg to work with the neighborhood and find ways to ease the problems. It doesn't have to be hard on the neighbors."
John Houlihan, an attorney representing Solberg, assured the commissioners "we will supply whatever information related to questions about what we're intending to build."
He said the main point of the annexation is the 100-foot strip of land along Old 8 Road. He said the company's intent in purchasing that land was to create a buffer between the new facility and the residents across the road.
"We will be more than cooperating in providing whatever information the committee wishes," Houlihan said.
After more discussion, the commission voted to table the request until the May meeting so the company can provide more details about the project.
When asked Friday if the company had any further comment, a spokesperson replied, "not at this time."
Prior to the hearing on the Solberg request, the commission held a public hearing on a request to annex a strip of land along Highway 17 off of Spring Road from the Town of Pelican into the city and rezone it business.
Spring Road is a dead end street off of Eisenhower Parkway that has a few homes on it. A couple residents of those homes spoke against the annexation, saying traffic into the development planned there would be disruptive.
In this case, the commission approved the request, sending it on to the city council for action. The rationale was the site plan was restrictive and traffic issues may need to be resolved in conjunction with the Department of Transportation.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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