GM/JATCO site referendum passes
JANESVILLE — On Wednesday morning, the 250-acre, former Janesville General Motors/JATCO site will continue to be blighted, vacant, disused, overgrown with brush and strewn with rubble — with major environmental cleanup needed. But the difference is that now, if a developer wants to build out an industrial project across 100 acres of the site, and it’ll cost more than $450 million, voters automatically get authority to approve or deny it. The numbers aren’t official until the county canvass meeting, but with the unofficial total vote in on the referendum question at press time, 16,779 residents in Janesville had voted “Yes” to the referendum, compared to 9,932 votes who voted “No.” It means voters will have the authority to OK larger-ticket items at the GM/JATCO site, either through special or regular elections. It came after a weeks-long information war between business interests and labor groups favoring a reduction in red tape, and grassroots neighborhood organizers who wanted the public’s voice to ring just as loudly as a prospective developer’s. Business interest and labor groups like Grow Janesville Responsibly vehemently opposed the referendum, saying they fear it will chase away some large-scale prospects for redevelopment that could bring serious environmental cleanup that
