Neighbors urge council to halt or reshape Backus multifamily plan, cite flooding and density concerns

Residents opposed to the Backus project urged the Verona Common Council May 26 to delay or redesign a proposed rezoning that would change land from single-family to multifamily urban residential.

"This is our life. This is our home," Melanie Hunt told the council, saying her family invested everything in their 1901 house and asked the city to protect adjacent homeowners if rezoning moves forward. Hunt said past nearby road work caused 'knee-deep' basement flooding in 2017 and that repairs cost "over $15,000".

Scott Side, another neighbor, criticized the process and the developer's communications with city staff. Side said Fiduciary previously withdrew an application on March 4 but later appeared to be resubmitting the original design without material changes; he asked the council to "pump the brakes" and allow more neighborhood collaboration on alternatives.

Both speakers stressed that their opposition is not categorically anti-apartment but about siting and design: they described concerns about density, increased hard surfaces and cumulative impacts on drainage, traffic and long-term neighborhood character. Hunt asked for "clear protections" for residents immediately adjacent to any proposed development.

The speakers called out specific proximity and scale concerns, including a claim that the current proposal would place a three-story, 260-unit building roughly 30 feet from a back fence. Neighbors asked for revised sight-line studies from property lines facing houses, design modifications responsive to neighbors, and funds to plant buffering trees adjacent to impacted properties.

The council heard the public comments but took no formal action on the Backus rezoning at this meeting. Staff and the council indicated future review and that additional meetings or materials could be expected as the application moves through plan commission and council consideration.