Planning commission tables proposal to rezone County Road A parcels to heavy industrial after public concern

The Waupaca City Planning Commission on Sept. 3 tabled a request to rezone three parcels at County Road A and Eastgate Drive from B-4 Strip Commercial to I-2 Heavy Industrial, saying the commission wanted more information and time before recommending the ordinance to the City Council. The motion to table the request to the next planning-commission meeting carried after a motion by Commissioner Velacher and a second by Commissioner Olson.

Why it matters: the applicant, the Doddridge L. Brooks Living Trust (applicant Ron Brooks), told the commission a potential investor has conditioned interest on the heavy‑industrial zoning. Several residents and civic groups urged caution, saying heavy-industrial zoning could allow future uses with traffic, air, odor and environmental impacts and that a recent feasibility report recommended light industrial along highway-adjacent parcels.

At the public hearing, Ron Brooks identified himself as the applicant and landowner and said the family has held the parcels for decades and had little development traction under the strip-commercial designation. “We’ve sat on…