TOWN OF CEDARBURG, Wis. — Cedarburg town supervisors voted down plans to build a 13.2-acre private pond north of the town, following months of heated community debate over the project’s environmental impact on Cedar Creek.
The proposal faced strong opposition from residents concerned about taking water from Cedar Creek to fill the private pond. TMJ4 has spoken to several of them over the previous few months and visited public meetings where the proposal was discussed.
Dawn Turner, a Cedarburg native who grew up playing in the creek and has since moved away, was among many voicing concerns.
“It seemed apparent that it wasn’t a great fit for the community,” Turner said. “I think they’ve done a lot of work to clean it up, and anything that’s going to threaten and harm the environment and even the core of the city is just concerning.”
Town leaders delivered a decisive rejection of the proposal at their most recent meeting Wednesday.
“There were a lot of upset people and a couple for it. Yeah, we try to factor everything into our decision,” said Wayne Pipkorn, District 1 town supervisor. “We don’t know if they are going to appeal it or not.”
Pipkorn said the town had several valid reasons for rejecting the proposal, including that boating is not a permitted use for the pond and that the applicants made substantial changes to the original plan, such as now planning to get all water from a well instead of the creek.
Despite the rejection, neighbors’ concerns persist, given the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved a high-capacity well at the site in 2024.
TMJ4 visited the area Friday and saw heavy equipment at the site. The station sent photos to a local well-drilling company, which confirmed it was a drilling rig.
“I think there’s a real concern when someone is told no to a project, and they turn around and seem to proceed,” Turner said.
The Gauthier family, who proposed the project, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday about how they plan to move forward.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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