A North Side housing development near the Dane County Regional Airport, stalled over concerns about jet noise, may soon overcome a key hurdle, reports the Wisconsin State Journal.
County officials have proposed releasing part of the Raemisch Farm property at 4000 Packers Ave. from a decades-old deed restriction. The restriction, which has been in place for 75 years, allows the airport to limit development on the site, including enforcing an 85-foot building height limit. Originally established to accommodate a now-abandoned runway extension, the restriction has become a roadblock for new housing proposals.
The Raemisch Farm site falls partially within a zone identified by a draft noise study as having sound levels deemed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be incompatible with residential use. These concerns have grown since F-35 fighter jets began operations at Truax Field last year. Despite the noise, Greenstreet Development Inc. has proposed a project for the site that includes 716 apartments, 76 single-family homes, and 112 townhomes.
While the airport is finalizing its noise study to guide future development in the area, the deed restriction has delayed progress on the project — even though the restriction predates the current noise concerns.
To address this, County Supervisor Maureen McCarville (District 22) has introduced a resolution to lift the restriction. The proposal includes a $500,000 payment to the airport to satisfy FAA requirements that the airport receive fair-market value for releasing its property rights.
According to the resolution, the airport has determined that “its interests for the foreseeable future are adequately addressed by other rules and regulations” and that it can relinquish its rights in compliance with FAA regulations.
