Town of Washington has Hundreds of Signatures on Village Petition

The Town of Washington needed 50 signatures to file their petition to incorporate part of the town as a village, but got hundreds of them.

The town has been exploring the possibility of becoming a village to protect its land from further annexation attempts by neighboring cities. They began the process months ago in response to community pushback on the Orchard Hills housing development, which is planned on land annexed from the town by the City of Eau Claire.

According to a press release, the Town of Washington needed 50 signatures to file their petition with the state. In just a couple of weeks, the town collected 625 signatures from residents in the proposed village territory. They also received an additional 53 signatures on a letter of support from town residents who do not live in the proposed village territory.

While the success of the petition shows the eagerness of the Town of Washington Board of Supervisors and residents to protect their land from further annexation, the process will still take years to complete. Another potential concern is a resolution passed by the Eau Claire City Council saying it expects to annex more land for utility expansion, which must be included in the review process by the state. If the town does eventually clear all the necessary hurdles, the measure would be put to a referendum vote.

According to a WQOW report, preliminary plans for the Orchard Hills development are scheduled to go before the Eau Claire City Council next week. Residents have expressed concerns over the increased traffic and changes to the fabric of their neighborhoods with the introduction of higher density housing.