A housing development and golf course slated for construction next year in Cross Plains has local groups concerned the project will harm a popular Dane County trout stream.
Located on 500 acres along Airport Road near Glacier Creek Middle School, the Marchstone development, as it’s known, calls for building 126 lots as part of its first phase.
Plastic Ingenuity owns the land as part of the company’s retirement plan for employees, according to Village President Jay Lengfeld. Plastic Ingenuity President Dan Kuehn told the Cap Times the company has a profit-share of stocks and bonds with defined contributions from over 1,000 employees and is selling the land, but he said the company is not involved in the development of Marchstone
Developers Jeff and Kyle Haen of JEKY LLC and Haen Real Estate in Verona presented their initial concept plan to the village’s staff in September 2024. The Haens presented the plan to the Plan Commission in January, and the Village Board approved the preliminary plat during a joint meeting with the Plan Commission in July.
The preliminary plat features 76 single-family residential lots, three traditional duplex lots, an 18-hole golf course, a family par-3-style golf course and a recreational driving range. Marchstone plans also set aside 46 lots for zero-lot-line homes, built near each other to maximize space and minimize lawn care. Most of the homes will be built on the north end of the land near the middle school, and the golf courses will be near U.S. 14, according to the preliminary plat.
The first phase is mostly the construction of the residential area. Jeff Haen told the Cap Times the golf course “may not happen.”
Lengfeld, the village president, said the Marchstone development would bring much-needed affordable-housing options to Cross Plains and Dane County and more revenue to the village. He said he expects most golf course users would come from neighboring municipalities to play, then patronize nearby businesses such as Kwik Trip to benefit the local economy.
Cross Plains’ total population is about 4,100 with a median household income of $103,389, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Not everyone is supportive of the plan. Members of the Black Earth Creek Watershed Association and Trout Unlimited say they’re worried the development will affect the nearby Festge Spring Complex. The complex, on the west side of U.S. 14, supplies cold water to Black Earth Creek, creating ideal conditions for a trout fishery.
Worry over Class 1 trout stream
The watershed group and Trout Unlimited are concerned the development could affect the quality and quantity of water, stormwater runoff and the spring’s continual flow.
This image included in the preliminary plat for the Marchstone development shows the project’s distance from Madison.
The watershed encompasses Cross Plains as well as the nearby communities of Black Earth, Mazomanie and Arena, a region where waterways feed into Black Earth Creek — a Class 1 trout stream. Watershed Association board member Michelle Harris said the organization is concerned that runoff from the development could create water quality concerns for other municipalities downstream. Additionally, those who visit the Festge complex to fish for trout contribute money to the local economy, Harris said.
“It’s not just the village” that could be affected, Harris said. “(It’s) all of us that live in the watershed.”
Haen, the developer, disagreed that construction runoff would harm the complex. “That’s just misinformation,” he said.
Another one of the Watershed Association’s requests is for the development to meet the village’s stormwater management and infiltration ordinance at 100%, rather than the development’s current 90% ordinance adherence.
Lengfeld said the village is “controlling more runoff now than when it was a farm field.” He added that leaving the land undeveloped is “not realistic.”
“It’s not fair to the owner of the land to say, ‘No, we’re not ever going to let you develop it,’” he said. The village president also noted a previous plan from a different developer would have built housing on the entire 500 acres, creating more of an environmental concern than a grass-filled golf course would.
“Would you rather see green fairways or rooftops and houses?” Lengfeld asked rhetorically.
Kuehn, the Plastic Ingenuity president, and his father, Tom, said they understand the concerns raised. Tom Kuehn told the Cap Times the developer is “mindful of the environment” and the project is a “great opportunity for Cross Plains.”
If the development were bad for the creek, Tom Kuehn said it would be “bad for all of us.”
“You don’t last doing what we do with upsetting people and or the (Department of Natural Resources),” Haen told The Cap Times.
When asked about meeting the ordinance requirement at 100%, Lengfeld said getting to 100% is impossible.
“We’re always interested if they have an idea,” Lengfeld said, “But just to say no (to the Marchstone development), that doesn’t really help any.”
Calling for more study
The Watershed Association and Trout Unlimited, in a document they shared with the Cap Times, said they also want Cross Plains to seek an independent assessment to determine the “cumulative impact of this proposed development.”
Lengfeld said such an assessment request would need to be more specific.
“I’m certainly open to things like that,” Lengfeld said. “But I need to know … what are your concerns and what are we not covering that you think we should.”
Haen said the concerned groups should bear the costs of any additional assessments. “If they (Watershed Association members) want to go order a study, that‘d be on them,” he said.
Haen’s son, Kyle, who is also an owner at Haen Real Estate, said reviews take place during development, even after approval.
“There’s a lot of eyes … that are monitoring construction,” Kyle Haen said.
Harris described a cumulative impact assessment as one that would study Marchstone’s effects on the area’s infiltration, as well as surface runoff from construction to the Festge Spring Complex, the flow of the water and potential runoff downstream to nearby Black Earth and Mazomanie, and the surface water and springs into the Black Earth Creek.
Harris said the village of Cross Plains needs to think about other communities in relation to this project.
The Watershed Association, she said, “wants what’s best for the watershed and its residents.”
The village’s Plan Commission met Sept. 2 to discuss installing a pump to transfer water from the reservoir to Marchstone.
Kyle Haen said his family’s company expects to submit the final plat draft to the village for review in early October. The first phase of construction is currently scheduled to begin in the spring.