A contentious battle to locate an 88-room, $85 million Aurora Hospital at Pabst Farms has drawn little attention outside the region but could have a ripple effect across the state.

A recent suit filed by the town of Summit and Aurora Health Care could end up establishing new parameters on what a town can do in development and how much control county government can have on town zoning.

Summit Town Chairman Leonard Susa said in announcing the Aurora-funded suit, "The county board went beyond its legal authority" in denying the rezoning, which he said was a land use matter and not about health care costs or competition. Yet during the board vote, many supervisors indicated they made their decision based on just such considerations.

The suit, which has a preliminary court date in August, asks a judge "to declare the county board's vote to be void and to allow the town of Summit's land use and zoning decisions to stand."

The plan called for rezoning of 53 acres at the southeast corner of Interstate 94 and Highway 67, at the Pabst Farms development near Oconomowoc. The town board voted unanimously to request the rezoning from the county.

In voting against the proposal, the Waukesha County Board also disregarded the recommendation of its own land use staff, which presented a report that said issues such as tax implications or the need for another hospital were outside the scope of the study.

Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer even added, "If I were a town board member from Summit, I guess I would be upset also (by the county board vote). We always talk about local control. But the board made its decision based on other reasons than that. I would guess they (Summit) feel very betrayed because the (county board) did't follow through."

Wisconsin Towns Association Executive Director Richard Stadelman said such suits challenging county are relatively rare. He said of the 1,260 towns in the state, about 350 have neither town nor county zoning. Another approximately 700 towns are directly under county zoning. And there are about 200 that fit into the same category as the town of Summit. "They have their own zoning authority but have to go to the county for a change in their zoning plan," Stadelman said.

He added that the Waukesha County Circuit Court decision would only be effective locally. "But if that verdict is appealed to the appeals level, then that (appeals) decision could become binding," Stadelman warned. Then, he said, the impact could go far beyond Summit and Aurora. "It is a very significant case and could be precedent setting,'' he said. "Does this decision mean the counties are going to get to ration how many gas stations we have or that too many big farms are bad?"

Stadelman said the towns are also keeping their eyes on the so-called "charter towns" bill that has been percolating in the state Legislature for several years but recently passed a committee. It would allow those named towns to control their own zoning without county review as well as form Tax Incremental Finance districts.

Susa, the Summit town chair, said that could provide the town with the relief it needs to proceed with the Aurora project.

The town chairman added that Summit might also pursue incorporating as a village while the suit makes it way through court. That would also release it from county review.

But that is a difficult process, as explained by state Department of Administration analyst George Hall. The towns would have to meet minimum population and area standards to incorporate, Hall said. "They would need to file a petition in circuit court, with a map and area definition," Hall said. The circuit court would hold a hearing and, if accepted, would recommend the petition to the state'so incorporation review board, which could order a referendum. If the vote was favorable, the secretary of state would issue a charter, Hall added. He said that entire process could take about a year, once Summit sets the wheels in motion.

Dennis Shook, who reports on Milwaukee Notes for WisPolitics, is the political reporter for the Waukesha Freeman.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.

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