Family offers county 96 acres in Port for preserve

By DAN BENSON

Ozaukee Press staff

The Ozaukee County Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday recommended accepting the donation of 96 acres on Port Washington’s south side that could prove to be the third piece in what essentially could be a regional park that is already drawing tens of thousands of visitors from Milwaukee, Chicago, Madison and beyond.

The donation by the Ansay family through Belgium Farms LLC would consist of two parcels located west of Stonecroft Drive and north of the Kara Estates subdivision on the west side of Highway C and be used for a park.

If the committee’s acceptance is approved by the Ozaukee County Board and and the park is developed, only passive recreational uses would be allowed such as hiking, birding, fishing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, wildlife viewing, nature study and limited hunting.

The land donation also comes with a $100,000 cash donation from the Ansay family that would “kickstart implementation” of the park, county Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck said.

Proposed improvements to the would-be park, which includes a number of wetland areas, could include hiking trails, boardwalks, a fishing shelter, picnic shelter, bathrooms, a park road and parking on a six-acre conservation easement.

In an unsigned memo to county officials titled, “Ansay Vision for Stonecroft Property Donation/Ansay Nature Preserve,” the intent of the land donation is to “facilitate a new and fresh people place, encouraging all people to enjoy and respect the environment” and to “secure and protect sensitive natural areas (e.g., Ulao Swamp Natural Area) for future generations.”

The memo also calls for the Ansay family to have final approval for naming rights, its development plan and for fundraising and sponsorships.

The family’s donation also specifically requests that limited hunting be allowed, which was of concern to at least one resident of Stonecroft who appeared at Tuesday’s meeting.

Struck said hunting would likely be limited to deer bow hunting and probably on a lottery basis, similar to what is allowed at Lion’s Den Gorge.

Access to the property from Highway C is currently only via Stonecroft Drive, which is owned by the Stonecroft condominium association.

If developed as proposed, it would represent the second publicly accessible parcel on Ulao Creek, the first being the Ulao Lowland Forest natural area off Ulao Road east of I-43 in the Village of Grafton.

It’s proximity to the popular Lion’s Den Gorge and the Clay Bluffs Cedar Gorge nature preserves offers the opportunity to create, in effect, a “regional  draw,” Struck told the committee.

“We can kind of program the three as a regional park,” he said.

In a memo, Struck said: “The property also offers high potential for public visitation and ongoing public education and outreach activities, including with schools due to its location within the Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve Project area.”

Lion’s Den Gorge is the most visited park in the Ozaukee County park system, drawing more than 30,000 visitors a month in the summer from as far away as Chicago and Madison, officials say.

Last year, the City of Port Washington rezoned the Ansay property from agricultural to single-family use to bring it in line with the long-term land-use plan for that area, officials said at the time.

The property was annexed as part of the proposed VK development, a sweeping high-end, mixed-use subdivision that would have extended from the Lake Michigan bluffs as far west as Highway 32 and north to nearly Dynna Drive, that never came to fruition.