Town won’t abandon road to block city traffic

Groeschel Road, an overgrown path in the Town of Port Washington, shall remain a road, the Town Board unanimously agreed after more than an hour of debate Monday night.

The debate was triggered by six town residents who petitioned the board to abandon the road north of their houses, saying a developer’s plan to build a subdivision abutting their neighborhood and connect its streets to Groeschel would increase traffic and irreparably change the area.

“I love the rural road I live on and the character it has,” Randy Freier told the board.

But when the planned Whitetail Hills subdivision is developed, he said, it will bring urban traffic to the area.

“Is urban traffic a desirable feature?” Freier asked the board, noting that the town’s master plan calls for the community to balance preservation and rural character with growth.

“What on earth is the city wanting to interfere with common folks living on a quiet street?” asked Bob Jackson. “This road has not ever been a passageway for anyone but deer hunters. Why are we changing things that have been this way forever?”

John Krejci told the board that the road isn’t passable and hasn’t been cared for by the town or city in decades.

And, he added, Groeschel Road isn’t the only street that the subdivision could connect to. Other roads could be used instead.  

The three men, who are among those who petitioned to abandon the road, noted that the subdivision is being developed in the City of Port and won’t benefit the town.

“I don’t know how anyone in the town profits from making that a public road,” Krejci said.

“This road has been a public road for a long time,” City Attorney Eric Eberhardt, who cited a number of technical issues with the petition to abandon the road, said, noting it has been platted as a public road since 1956. The intent, he said, was to someday connect with another street as the area is developed.

“At its core, what you have here is the tension between a rural community and a suburban community ... and growth at the borders,” Eberhardt said.

While residents don’t want future city residents to use Groeschel Road, he noted that these homeowners have used city streets such as Norport Drive for decades.

“They now want to deprive others of this same benefit,” he said.

While the petitioners argued that abandoning the road is in their best interest, Eberhardt said, the board needed to consider what is in the best interest of all town residents.

“The interests of the 1,600 (town residents) should guide you,” he told the board.

But Sharon Jacque said people who bought homes in the area never envisioned what is now a dead end road becoming a through road.

“It’s completely grass,” she said. “Until a few months ago, it was closed by wire, wood and other things. We assumed it was going to be closed forever.”

Scott Nelson, who said he represents the owners of the proposed subdivision property, noted that the previous owners had placed metal stakes at the end of Groeschel Road to keep people out of their fields — evidence some people had used the road.

“When we bought the land, there was a platted road,” he added. “We have every right to access that road.”

Nelson also noted that plans for the development have been known since they were originally proposed and approved in 2005.

Justin Myers told the town board that they need to proceed with caution, since a decision to abandon Groeschel Road could prompt other residents to have their roads discontinued as development comes in the future.

“There are a lot of other areas very similar to this,” he said. “What is this going to say down the road?”

Town officials have noted that the subdivision land has long been earmarked for development, and since sewer and water service is likely to be extended along Groeschel Road, this may facilitate the town’s goal of getting utilities extended to Knellsville.

While Groeschel Road may look like it’s abandoned, Town Chairman Mike Didier noted that it isn’t. He dug down and discovered it is a gravel road with six inches of gravel in place.

“It’s weeded over, but it’s a road,” he said. And while the town has spent a limited amount of money on Groeschel Road in recent years, it has done some work there.

“We should look at the larger picture,” he said. “I can’t see a rational reason to abandon any portion of Groeschel Road.”

Supr. Greg Welton agreed.

“For me, it comes down to the plat,” he said. “Anyone could go down to the register of deeds office and look this up. It is a legal road.”

And the town’s border agreement with the city allows this connection, Supr. Gary Schlenvogt said.