The Bayfield County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Tuesday to rezone 380 acres in the Town of Russell near Bayfield to allow a development of homes, condominiums, a hotel, tavern and an airstrip.
The project, called Shadow Wood Landing, still would need specific approval for building plans to advance.
The development plan has been in the works since last winter when Minneapolis-based CFS LLC made an initial proposal to the town board. The company recently purchased the land from a logger who had clear-cut much of the old-growth oak trees after buying the land from a timber company.
The land has been zoned for forestry and agriculture, which would allow only one home per 20 acres and one home per 10 acres. Under the proposal allowing residential and commercial property on the site, the company has forecast as many as 120 units in clusters while also leaving about 90 acres undeveloped.
The hillside property is said to offer panoramic views of Lake Superior's Apostle Islands as well as flat land suitable for an airstrip in a valley. The company's Web site says it invests in projects for upscale customers and niche markets such as aviation and boat buffs, but the company offers no information on any other developments it has been involved with.
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Supporters, including the Russell town board which already has approved the rezoning, say the project will be a responsible development for the property while boosting the property tax base. They say the county has no compelling reason to nix the project.
Critics, including some nearby residents, have questioned the demand for upscale development in a struggling economy, noting that sales of second homes and real estate have slowed across the region. They also question the potential for road congestion, aircraft noise and a loss of the pastoral values that draw residents and tourists to the Bayfield Peninsula.
While company president Annalisa Cariveau has made presentations to the town board, company officials have not returned News Tribune e-mails or phone calls to explain their proposal. An effort by the News Tribune to visit the company's office in Minneapolis was unsuccessful. There was no office under the name of CFS LLC listed in the building where the company says it keeps an office.
The building did house an office for HeatSeeker Technologies, an information technology company headed by Mike Cariveau. Annalisa Cariveau is listed as director of marketing technologies for HeatSeeker. No one answered the office door during a reporter's visit last week.
Mike Cariveau was one of the organizers of the somewhat controversial speedboat "poker run'' amid the Apostle Islands held in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The event was canceled this year due to a lack of registrations.
