By Heather McDonald

Residents in a neighborhood in the southern portion of Plover came out strong this week against a request to rezone property to allow for construction of storage units in the middle of the residential area.

Instead, one neighbor said, the property should be turned into a neighborhood park.

After 35 minutes of a public hearing, the village of Plover Plan Commission voted unanimously Monday, July 31, to recommend the Village Board deny the request to rezone the property at 3041 Forest Drive from agriculture to manufacturing. The matter was set to go before the Village Board for a vote Wednesday, Aug. 2, after press deadline.

About two dozen neighbors turned out for the public hearing; not one of the more than a dozen people who spoke – with the exception of Shane Ruesch, who made the request – spoke in favor of rezoning.

Opposition reasons ranged from safety issues to building construct, concern about declining property values to proximity of other storage units in the area.

“This is a residential area, … this makes no sense,” said Kathleen Harders, who resides on Wilson Avenue, which “Ts” into Forest Drive at the northeast corner of the property. “There are plenty of open spaces Mr. Ruesch can build (on) … my fear is additional traffic, additional burglaries, car break-ins, the death of an innocent person.”

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The parcel of land on the right side of the photo at 3041 Forest Drive is the proposed site for the construction of storage units. (Portage County Gazette photo)

The parcel of land straight ahead across Forest Drive is the proposed site for the construction of storage units. (Portage County Gazette phot