Our Place

The vigilance of governmental service and decision-making (from local to federal) is the price paid that is needed to assure everyone’s freedom.
Part of that vigilance is to not trust what the government officials say they are doing, but to verify what is being done and the possible motives behind it. The government does many good and beneficial things, but without vigilance, it cannot be trusted. A clever move by the city’s management was to maneuver the plan commission into changing the comprehensive plan by having the commissioners pick one of three presented options (A, B or C) for the Hillmoor property (that action has been temporarily stopped by a 3 to 3 vote recently taken).

Option “C” is a clever C-trap, although sold as not requiring a change to the current comprehensive plan, it would, in fact, require a comprehensive plan change to be implemented. The hotel in Option “C” is not permitted under the current comprehensive plan’s rural holding classification. However, even for option “C” to be recommended and implemented, a different zoning classification would be required and the comprehensive plan would have to be changed to permit it.

Requiring the plan commission to pick one of the three options, A B or C, without being able to pick the option “D,“ or “none of the above,” the plan commission members have been cleverly trapped. One of the plan commission members did ask what difference was there between option “C” and the current comprehensive plan. A false answer was given, and that commissioner was told that there was no difference between option “C” and the current comprehensive plan; however, that is not true because option “C” includes a hotel that wouldn’t be permitted under the current comprehensive plan’s rural holding classification for the Hillmoor property. If the plan commission approved option “C,” with the hotel as “What the city wants to be developed on the Hillmoor land…” it would create a conflict on the Hillmoor property between the comprehensive plan’s permitted use and the “city’s wanted use”.

The comprehensive plan would have to be changed to permit that “wanted use” and the door to extensive commercial or residential development would be opened. Although a clever move, those who know Greek history, understand that selecting item “C” is a Trojan Horse, and it may look like a victory to those wishing to preserve Hillmoor, but as the residents of the City of Lake Geneva would soon find out option “C” is a Trojan Horse with the destruction of Hillmoor hidden inside. The only safe option for the plan commission is “none” of the presented options. Not “A”, Not “B” and not “C”.

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