Clinic could serve clients in Clintonville industrial park
By Bert Lehman
By agreeing to rezone a piece of property, the city of Clintonville has opened the way for discussion about a new medical clinic.
The city council agreed to rezone 113 E. Green Tree Road from I-1 Industrial to B-3 Highway Commercial Overlay District at a special council meeting.
Rezoning the property now allows for discussions regarding the possibility of a new medical clinic being built in the city.
Prior to the council meeting, the Plan Commission recommended the city rezone the property.
Commission members Peggy Zaemisch and Laurie Vollrath voted no.
City Administrator Sharon Eveland told the Plan Commission the proposed medical clinic would serve the industrial area of the city, with hopes that it will grow in the future.
No names were provided as to what company wants to build the medical clinic.
She added that the rezoning fits in the city’s comprehensive plan.
“It would be consistent with the way the growth is moving in that area,” Eveland said.
Tom Baade, vice president of Project Development for Catalyst Construction, told the Plan Commission the original idea for the proposed medical clinic was it would serve several of the industrial clients in Clintonville.
He said it would eventually be open to the public as well.
Vollrath asked if a new clinic would take away from the established medical facilities in the city.
“I don’t believe so. I believe it will complement that,” Baade said.
Concerned neighbor
A citizen at the meeting asked if the rezoning would have an impact on the property values of surrounding properties.
“I don’t believe so,” Eveland said. “I don’t think it really has an effect on it. Right now, it is vacant land.”
Baade added, “Industrial to business is usually more favorable for residential, rather than a factory going in next to them.”
Mike Wilson, who owns a parcel next to the property that seeks the rezoning, said he had several concerns about a medical clinic being built on the property.
Water drainage in the area was one of his main concerns.
Wilson said rezoning the property would cause a lot of problems for him, and he would not get any benefits from it.
“Do I think the building should go in and have a business? Of course, but not at my expense,” Wilson said.
He said he wanted more answers before the city agreed to rezone the property.
Brad Rokus, chair of the Plan Commission, agreed that before anything is built on the property, all the concerns Wilson brought up would need to be addressed, but those concerns would be addressed during the site plan review process.
“Before we get to site plan review, we have to have a rezoning to even have that conversation about what the site plan would look like,” Rokus said.
Rokus noted rezoning the property does not mean building a new medical clinic will move forward, rather it makes it possible for the project to be discussed and researched.
“It just means it’s now possible to have the discussion about putting something out there, and how that’s going to look,” Rokus said.
Eveland agreed and said after the property is rezoned, the site plan would still need to go through the review process, which also includes the plans being reviewed by the state.
A stormwater impact assessment would also need to be completed.