Anyone who enters local politics whether as a candidate or advocating for a cause is an activist! I do not know thisw individual and I choose not to judge this person; but she definately deserves to be respected for speaking her mind and putting effort forward for what she beleives. You don't have to agree and you don't have to vote; but credit needs to be extended to anyone entering the public scrutiny.

The plan appears to have set enough farm land aside to build the equivalent of twenty malls the size of milton ave. mall. Look what that has done to the downtown. The plan didn't seem to address the inner city. Like selecting buildings in go west and 4th ward areas adjacent to downtown and razing them for commercial development. Instead it encourages sprawl. What about the rail plans ? Between Madison and Rockford. I could go on but some may think I'm a trouble maker. Didn't G.M. announce shortly after the comprehensive plan was finished it was closing? Didn't the financial system fall apart and the housing foreclosures followed shortly after the experts finished this piece of work a.k.a. the comprehensive plan ?

So many questions.
Where were this write in candidate and the fine young councilman the past two years when so many open meetings were held and so many consultant dollars being spent on creating this plan?
The Sustainable committee was formed last fall so why not take out papers and run a normal candidacy?
Given the ag economy, how many of the farmers speaking would entertain selling if the price was right regardless of any city plan?
If the landfill loses tipping fees from outside sources, how would she propose making up for the revenue?
Hopefully these answers will surface as she runs her shortened campaign.

It appears that there is a very vocal minority here that thinks you can just come to town and close and lock the gate behind you. It only works that way if the rest of the people pay astronomical taxes to buy up the development rights or buy the land surrounding their city and to create a greenbelt around it (Ann Arbor, MI - Boulder, CO).
The last time I checked, I decided not to live in a socialist city like that. I think if everyone understood the TRUE cost of what the vocal minority is expecting, you won't have any support. It's a free market economy (minus the current state of our banks) and only a very few number of communities have successfully prospered without new growth areas. I am not promoting sprawling growth like Houston, Phoenix or Columbus, Ohio but some growth is needed. The plan provides for reasonable growth.
The real issue is allowing growth that is adjacent to current development and not leapfrogging into areas far from the rest of the City.

Sorry, the last sentence in my earlier post should have read, "Ms. Backenkeller is correct, there needs to be more input because the land-use plan approved does NOT adequately address all the issues." Somehow I missed the "NOT" in the editing section. Perhaps now my post makes a little more sense, at least to some of you.

I don't think that a "room full of farmers and conservationist" constitutes the "voice of the people". The farmers and conservationists might be right, and truely know, but they (at the time) were only a vocal minority. Therefore, the council can't be blamed for not listening. Are they supposed to listen to Briarmoon, Frank, McCoy and the others in the Fruity Five? Wouldn't that make the council guilty of not listening?

I think Janesville better come up with a "No Growth" plan. The city will be a ghost town when all of the displaced workers stop receiving their unemployment benefits.

I say we elect the the newcomers, hopefully they will listen to the people of Janesville, such as the lady that made it known that she will be a write-in on the ballot.

Too much farm land is going to waste when cities plan on expanding to the outer limits. This got to be stop. Who is going to provide produce to public when farm land is gone?

Local boy - I think frustration is a better word, not assault. Seems like she is trying to make things better - for everyone, including you, your kids, etc.

This town has been hacked to pieces by developers without any thought or consideration on the impact it has for both the future of Janesville or its residents. Low density housing subdivisions scattered around the city will forever place additional burdens and expense on taxpayers. The mess created in the Kennedy Homes subdivision north of town is a prime example. No land-use planning will ever please everyone but the decisions made now should only come after comprehensive and thoughtful consideration of ALL the facts. I do not believe that was done prior to the council voting. Ms. Backenkeller is correct, there needs to be more input because the land-use plan approved does adequately address all the issues.

I am just stating a fact. You run for public office, BE PREPARED to take some heat for your ideas, thoughts, and comments (mouth). My comment is in response to those who are rushing to Julie's aid and defending her. She should expect the irony since she is first to assault others (activist) ideas and styles (hypocrite).

So anybody who has a strong opinion on things is labeled a Briarmoon? And what label would you give yourself Mr. Perfect?

Guess we all better keep our mouths shut and opinions to ourselves from here on out or you might get a label.

Carlitosway - if you are going to run for public office and shoot your mouth off, be prepared to be a target. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen...

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Be nice. No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person Part of the rules to post Why would you degrade briarmoon or any other individual that stands up for themself. What has she ever done to you personally/ Have you ever met her? Are you basing your opinion on articles written about her? Just becaues Julie stands ups for her beliefs she has to be labels by people who most likely don't even know her. IMO people who do this type of degrading need to look at what bothers them the most is it when a person speaks out against something/somebody they disagree with or that they would have liked to but don't have the courage?

The City has a VERY poor history of following it's own comprehensive plans, and one must ask why. Is it the voice of a few more prominent citizens who dictate all? Will we (or somebody else) ask in the next 25, 50 or 100 years what the heck we were thinking to put parking lots and buildings on some of the richest, most productive land in the world? People who have the land and want to sell it stand to make a LOT of money. Do they have the right to? Yes. Is a smart thing to do? No. Business=money; farming=little or no money.

Unfortunately the Sustainable Committee was developed at the 11th hour, far too late to have any influence. Let's face it, this was a done deal a long time ago.

BTW, the land out behind Walmart is heavy clay, not the rich agricultural land south of town.

janesvillian have you ever farmed or lost land and crop to government control well our family has and we didn't have a say. IMO You always seem to have all the answers to what the gov. will and won't do. Do you work for the GOV. do you call them for imput on if they are going to be fair on this one? Well they do what ever they choose and the people don't have a chance to defend their actions as to crap like this enacted against what people say. Yes we know what The Smart Growth is! The Smart Growth plan is not an INTENT to develop, it is a GUIDE for development that occurs. But that doesn't mean they will follow what it is meant to be. I wonder why the council even has open meetings to get input from the people as they don't hear them anyway. IMO They are going to do whatever they want anyway regardless of the input of the exact ones that elected them. Politician promises are IMO a promotional tool to get the power to do what they want that fits their life, IMO IMO

She has also been on with Stan Milam talking about the landfill - how we take garbage from all over for next to nothing. So, I guess not a single issue candidate.

How do you spell that last name? ...BRIARMOON?

So localboy because they cemented the land Farm and Barn is on 35 years ago we should continue to cement over prime farmland? Your argument and reasoning is ridiculous. What is your point or is this like most of your posts, pointless?

I have to laugh. Every time someone like this comes forward we hear the same loose talk about how the council doesn't listen to "the people", doesn't speak for the "the people", about time "the people" had a voice on the council, blah, blah, blah . . . .
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Folks, they have these elections for this office EVERY YEAR. At any given point in time you have a council that was elected by THE PEOPLE. Guess they're speaking for somebody, listening to somebody, this council, and every other one which ever existed, was created by your fellow citizens exercising their right to vote.

"The statutory requirement is that the city have a plan out to a certain distance from its present borders. That's the law."

That statement is false. 66.1001 of Wisconsin Law requires Janesville to have a Comprehensive Plan which contains land use projections for the next 20 years. If Janesville wanted to take a stand and say the city will not expand in any particular direction, it could do that with the appropriate matching borders on the land use map. There is absolutely no requirement that any city has to project land use a certain distance from its present borders.

"...the city will have little say over WHEN and WHERE development occurs, because it is usually a choice made by individual landowners."

That statement is also false. Cities can exercise jurisdiction over land withing three miles of their borders. Any land division or land uses within that three miles must pass city, county, and township zoning requirements. If a city (or county or township) declined to allow land to be divided or used for any purpose other than agriculture within that three mile extraterritorial jurisdiction, the land division could not occur.

The Council could have delayed adoption of the plan. They have until December, and even then, there is no "Plan" police that come and arrest you if you don't have one in place - you just revert back to the previous plan, and have to do something about the zoning ordinance - not sure exactly. Anyone that attended the "public input" sessions would have heard people questioning the land use maps - but they weren't heard - they were ignored. If you watched the Council meeting on TV - you would have seen that Truman had to be told what a PDR is... and that Steeber went in opposition to a staff recommendation to remove the urban reserve area. Ask him to define the urban reserve, or tell how much more land they just added in. Local boy, if you don't agree with preservation of fertile farmlands, then don't eat anything grown by our local farmers. Just because mistakes on land use were made in the past, doesn't mean we need to continue making them. Times a changin. Be part of the solution.

activist=troublemaker=hypocrite?? im glad i didnt learn synonyms where you did:)

The key word here is activist (trouble maker). Also known as hypocrite.

If its such great land that is valuable then why doesn't a farmer or corporate farm buy the land?

For you people that oppose this, where do you live? If you live in any part of Janesville you are living on what was once farmland. Anytime you purchase anything from Farm & Fleet or any of those box stores, you are buying something from a place that built on farmland. I'll bet Julie has purchased/supported those same local business's that built and were part of urban sprawl on farmland. Think about it...

i don't trust the city council. gazetterooster@gmail.com

I have to disagree with the charge of "railroading". This Smart Growth comprehensive plan has been in the works for *multiple* years. The broken out reports for the downtown, and for Look West/Fourth Ward, both had their own extensive participatory periods. One may disagree with the plan, but to say that it was pushed through without discussion or community involvement is ignorant and false.
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Although I would not say the plan is perfect, it is also wrong to consider it an intent to develop the areas covered. The statutory requirement is that the city have a plan out to a certain distance from its present borders. That's the law. The reason is that the city will have little say over WHEN and WHERE development occurs, because it is usually a choice made by individual landowners. The plan allows the city to have a say in HOW the land is developed when that happens. Again, this is a statutory requirement so that the city gives due advance consideration of these issues.
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Obviously there are objections to the plan. There is even a valid reason to reconsider how strong the plan is at encouraging higher-density development (e.g. downtown) versus sprawl. I don't at all disagree that this should be part of the conversation. But very few seem to understand that the city faced a deadline under state law and needed to have a plan in place regardless of whether support was unanimous.
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Unfortunately, the people with the largest influence on whether farmland becomes urban are the farmers themselves. I encourage landowners to explore conservation trusts and the city to cooperate with these efforts. That is more effective than anything the city can do by itself.

Less farm land higher prices for produce as to nowhere to grow it. JMO When a person whether professional or not wants the public to push the Idea they can do and say anything. I agree with callitasiseeit

I consider the Ag Secretary a professional and he is against it. That soil is some of the most productive in the world. Putting 1500 square foot ranch homes on it would be ridiculous. Where will our food come from in 20-50 years?

Just because they are "professional" doesn't make the plan the right choice.

Does she have a website? She is 100% correct in her opinion of this issue, what else does she believe in. I have no problem writing in a candidate looking at the current slate.

Seriously.... Railroading? Where was this person at the start of the process? Does anyone actually believe that adoption of the plan should be "further studied" when it has had hundreds of hours of public input? There is professional staff and a consultant who wrote the plan.
Is this person actually a planner with experience in the real world, or just another single-issue soap-boxer who is caught up in her personal position?
Spare me from having to watch on TV another Council meeting with people from Darien who are totally unaffected by incremental conversion of farmland to development which is made possible by farmers who want to sell out.
The Council made the right decision to move on.

IMO the city council has never been for the people and it is time we get some members that are for OUR community and hear what we say. There are a few that should not even hold the position as to certain issues in their personal life that has been in gazette articles. The economy is is a slump and IMO Janesville need a change and April 7th is the day for people to do it!!!!!! The farmers need to be heard as they are a big part of this state and they are slowly fading as to government control and I as a farm kid know that as to the state taking away family tobacco crops and limiting what and how much the farmer could grow.