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Letter to the Editor: Opposed to Development at Former Leathem & Smith Quarry

We are dismayed to see that development is underway again on the site of the former Leathem & Smith Quarry on Bay Shore Drive in Sevastopol. What a travesty to this environmentally significant and historic piece of property!

A successful campaign in 2019 that opposed a conditional use permit for a 117-unit RV Village on the site demonstrated that community sentiment is strongly against development on this site. In its 20-Year Comprehensive Plan Update, the Town of Sevastopol designated the “remarkable” Niagara Escarpment revealed on the site as a land legacy location. Yet the owner, the Margaret Dreutzer Trust, and the developer, Tom Goelz of Quarry Bluff Development, have submitted a Preliminary Major Land Division Plat for a 27-lot subdivision on the property. 

Over the past three years, Bay Shore Property Owners Association (BSPOA) and Quarry Neighborhood Action Group (QNAG) tried to have conversations with the Margaret Dreutzer Trust to purchase the property at a fair price. We also hoped to bring them together with interested parties who proposed creative and viable uses for the land that reflected community values and desires. The owner and the developer showed no interest in productive discussions. 

This high-end development fails to consider the health and safety of Door County residents and the protection of its natural resources. Now is the time for Door County to step up and act. Make your voices heard.  Let the owner and developer know it’s never too late to make a difference for our community.

Bay Shore Property Owners Association

Brenda Lange, Ad Hoc Committee member

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Jim Mitsche, board chair

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Keith Mutchler, board member

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Jim Nellen, Ad Hoc Committee member

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Jim Schultz, board member

Egg Harbor, Wisconsin

Bryan Troutman, board member

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin