Plan Commission approves detachment of land from town of Cameron and attachment to Marshfield

By Adam Hocking

Editor

MARSHFIELD — The City of Marshfield may soon expand its footprint if action taken by the City Plan Commission on Tuesday is approved by the common council.

The State Department of Administration approved a cooperative boundary plan agreement between the city of Marshfield and the town of Cameron in 2000, but most aspects of that plan expired in 2012. The sole aspect of that plan still in effect is a provision that specifies two areas that are to be detached from Cameron and attached to Marshfield 15 years after the initial cooperative boundary plan went into effect, according to a city memo from Marshfield City Planner Josh Miller.

In question are 92 acres on 30 parcels of land that would now be detached from the town of Cameron and added to the city of Marshfield starting Aug. 24 of this year. About 69 acres of that land are parcels mostly north of Commerce Drive and east of Central Avenue with one parcel south of Commerce Drive. Those parcels would be zoned for light industrial use, which is currently the most frequent use in that area.

Miller said light industrial use would be “low intensity industrial.”

“It’s like low intensity, non-polluting, low noise stuff that really wouldn’t have an impact on the neighbors, generally,” Miller said.

Another set of parcels that would be added to Marshfield lies south of the 69 acres of light industrial land. Those approximately 23 acres just north of Heritage Drive and east of Central Avenue would be zoned for community mixed use. They would be zoned that way in part because all adjacent properties are also zoned for community mixed use.

There are three single-family homes that lie within this district and would not normally be allowed in a community mixed use district, but they will be grandfathered in according to Miller’s memo. Miller said in total 12 residents — all living in the district that would be zoned for community mixed use — would be added to the city of Marshfield if the attachment of the land is given final approval by the common council.

Miller described community mixed use as, “office space, retail trade, sales or service, personal/professional service, things like that, or something you generally would find along Central Avenue.”

Miller said that the city would struggle to provide certain services like water and sanitary sewer to some areas in the newly acquired land, including the areas where the 12 residents live.

“Service won’t be readily available to them,” Miller said. He added, “Right now they probably have a well and septic of some kind. … They would continue to use that until such time that services may become available.”

Miller said advantages of acquiring the land would be a better ability to plan infrastructure and potential redevelopment for the area. The common council will hear a first reading of this issue on July 28 and a second reading where they will vote on the matter on Aug. 11.