Board denies rezoning request for 40-acre site near conservation lands in Town of Vienna

The county board voted to deny rezoning petition 12,275, a request to rezone roughly 40 acres to heavy commercial in the Town of Vienna. The zoning and land regulation committee had recommended denial.

A representative for the applicant said stormwater plans meet DNR and Dane County standards and urged the board to reconsider. County planning staff explained the recommendation to deny, calling the parcel "a very high priority, high value conservation area" and pointing to adjacent US Fish and Wildlife Service land and Dane County conservation lands. Staff also said the application produced a large volume of public input—about 17 supportive comments versus 63 opposed. After discussion, the board followed the committee recommendation and denied the rezoning petition.