PUBLIC HEARING
Town of Trenton Town Hall, 1071 STH 33 East, West Bend, WI
APRIL 13TH, 2026
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR RODEN’S FARM
URGENT COMMUNITY NOTICE – TOWN OF TRENTON
The Town Is Preparing to Expand a Factory Farm Without Protections for Residents
The Town of Trenton is preparing to approve a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that would allow the Roden Echo Valley livestock operation to expand from 1,000 animal units — the current zoning limit — to 2,500 animal units.
This is not a routine approval.
This decision changes the level of protection currently built into Town zoning and allows a much larger industrial-scale livestock operation without meaningful safeguards for nearby residents.
Even more concerning:
The farm’s WPDES water protection permit is still being contested and is not finalized, yet the Town is moving forward anyway.
WHAT MANY RESIDENTS DO NOT REALIZE
Right now, Town zoning limits livestock density to approximately 1,000 animal units.
The Conditional Use Permit would:
Override existing zoning protections
Allow more than double the current scale
Permanently authorize expansion to 2,500 animal units
Grant rights that run with the land forever
Once approved, this authorization stays in place even if ownership changes.
THIS PERMIT RUNS WITH THE LAND — NOT THE FARMER
This is one of the most important facts residents need to understand.
The Conditional Use Permit does not belong to a specific farmer.
It belongs to the property.
That means:
The farm could be sold.
Financial pressures could force ownership changes.
Outside investors or corporate operators could purchase the facility.
Future owners automatically inherit approval for 2,500 animal units.
Town officials may believe they are approving expansion for a local operation today — but legally they are approving industrial-scale use by any future owner, regardless of community ties.
This creates long-term risk for the entire Town.
PROPERTY VALUES AND DAILY LIVING ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTED
Large manure storage pits and increased livestock density bring impacts that extend well beyond farm boundaries.
Residents near similar operations report:
Persistent manure odors
Reduced ability to enjoy outdoor spaces
Difficulty selling homes
Lower property demand due to proximity concerns
For many families, their home represents their largest financial investment.
Approving expansion without safeguards risks permanently reducing property desirability.
EXPERTS HAVE WARNED ABOUT WATER CONTAMINATION RISK
Independent experts and agency reviewers have already identified groundwater vulnerability concerns in our area.
Despite these warnings, the Town is proposing approval without requiring:
Groundwater monitoring
Private well testing
Ongoing water quality tracking
Independent environmental oversight
Residents rely on private wells for drinking water.
Once contamination occurs, it is often irreversible and extremely costly to fix. Look What HAPPENED IN NORTH TRENTON!
WHAT THE TOWN IS NOT REQUIRING
Even while expanding allowed livestock numbers by 150%, the proposed approval includes no meaningful local protections, such as:
🚛 Truck speed limits or designated hauling routes
🚛 Traffic safety protections for rural roads
📢 Notification when manure spreading occurs near homes
💧 Baseline or ongoing well testing
💧 Groundwater monitoring despite known risk
🌬 Enforceable odor protections
⚠ Spill reporting requirements to nearby residents
🔊 Operational limits to reduce disruption
The Town has authority through zoning and conditional use approvals to require reasonable protections — yet none are being proposed.
THIS IS A POLICY CHOICE — NOT A LEGAL REQUIREMENT
Wisconsin livestock siting law does not require towns to expand livestock density beyond existing zoning protections.
Local governments retain zoning authority to:
Set livestock density limits
Protect public health and safety
Require conditions supported by evidence
Address local impacts through permit conditions
The Town is choosing to increase allowable animal units without adding protections for residents already living with impacts.
RESIDENTS HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN — BUT THIS IS THE DECISION POINT
Over the past years, residents have:
Written letters
Signed petitions (850+ signatures)
Attended meetings
Shared concerns about odor, traffic, and wells
Many left feeling their experiences were dismissed or minimized.
But this vote creates the official record that will determine the future of our community.
If residents are not present, it will appear there is little opposition.
WHY THIS MEETING MATTERS SO MUCH
Once approved:
The expansion authority becomes permanent.
Future restrictions become extremely difficult.
Approval transfers to any future owner.
Community leverage is largely gone.
This may be the last realistic opportunity to require safeguards.
WHAT YOU CAN SAY (KEEP IT SIMPLE)
You do not need technical expertise.
Speak about:
Odor affecting your home
Traffic concerns
Property value worries
Fear of well contamination
Lack of water monitoring
Concern about future corporate ownership
Why expanding before permits are finalized is irresponsible
Real experiences are powerful evidence.
CALL TO ACTION
Attend the Town Meeting
Speak During Public Comment
Submit Written Testimony
Bring Neighbors and Family
Numbers matter.
Stories matter.
Your presence matters.
OUR MESSAGE TO TOWN LEADERS
We support agriculture.
But expanding from 1,000 to 2,500 animal units without safeguards for water, roads, homes, and families is irresponsible and careless.
Town officials were elected to protect all residents, not expose the community to preventable risk.
Responsible leadership means putting protections in place before expansion — not after damage occurs.
Date: Monday, APRIL 13TH, 2026
Meeting notice and details:
https://townoftrenton.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/PHNoticePC2026.04.13RobNCinCUP-1.pdf
Write letters, emails, call! We need to flood the mailboxes of Town Board Members!
This is a very important step to stopping the Rezone!
Town Board
Mike Lipscomb: chairman@townoftrenton.wi.gov
Tony Thoma: tony.thoma@washcowisco.gov
Barb Davis supervisor.davies@townoftrenton.wi.gov
Planning Commissioners
Scott Schweizer: anchormenswear@aol.com
Ray Werhand: werhandr@gmail.com
Dennis Kay: 1dooerr@gmail.com
Lee Kidney: leekidney@charter.net
Doug Hein: dougpam6628@att.net
Cindy Komro TownAdmin@townoftrenton.wi.gov
Be Sure to Send a copy to friendsoftrenton.com. WE NEED A COPY TO HOLD THE TOWN ACCOUNTABLE!
For years, residents have made it clear we do not want an industrial-scale factory farm expanding in our community. Despite overwhelming opposition, the Town continues to push rezoning and approvals that favor Big Ag over the people who live here.
It is critical to understand this:
The Conditional Use Permit (CUP) being used by the Town does NOT address resident concerns such as odor, noise, truck traffic, manure spreading, or quality-of-life impacts. Instead, the CUP relies almost entirely on the farm’s WPDES water pollution permit.
That permit is currently being contested by a group of residents and Milwaukee Riverkeeper because it fails to adequately protect groundwater, private wells, Cedar Creek, and the Cedarburg Bog, and because no comprehensive environmental impact analysis was completed. Despite this, the Town is still using the contested permit to justify rezoning and approval.
Residents already experience:
• Over 9 million gallons of liquid manure spread on local fields each year — with plans to grow to 18 million gallons
• Strong sulfur and rotten-egg odors traveling miles
• Thousands of large manure trucks on local roads
• Increased risks to private wells, Cedar Creek, and the Cedarburg Bog
These impacts are already happening — and they will get worse if this expansion is approved.
The WPDES permit is being contested, so why would the Town move forward to create zoning for a factory farm?
https://www.wpr.org/news/cafo-permit-wisconsin-dairy-legal-challenge
https://www.wisfarmer.com/story/news/2025/12/10/environmental-groups-challenge-dnr-permit-for-west-bend-area-cafo/87624206007/
This will take time till it goes to the Administrative Judge for a court trial so why would the Town of Treton allow a rezone and CUP based on a contested permit?
NOTE Past Well Contamination by farm in Town of Trenton: Summary
Wilson Mutual Insurance Co. v. Falk — Case Summary Washington County Case No. 2011CV001448
In early 2011, Robert and Jane Falk, dairy farmers in West Bend, Wisconsin, spread liquid cow manure on their fields as fertilizer. The manure seeped into a local aquifer and contaminated the drinking wells of several neighboring families, making their water unusable and undrinkable.
The Wisconsin DNR investigated and confirmed the Falks' manure was the source of the contamination. At least one neighbor, Addicus Jante, was hospitalized after contracting a bacterial illness from drinking the contaminated water. Other affected families — including the Wilkens, Laatsches, Hetzels, Wiedmeyers, and Lorges — faced costly well replacements, some paying entirely out of pocket.
The neighbors and the DNR sued the Falks for damages. The DNR had spent approximately $10,000 per well on replacements for some families, plus another $10,000 on temporary water supplies, and sought reimbursement from the Falks.
When the Falks turned to their insurer, Wilson Mutual, the company filed its own lawsuit seeking a court ruling that it had no obligation to pay — citing a pollution exclusion in the policy. The case worked its way through Wisconsin's court system, ultimately reaching the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2014.
The Supreme Court sided with Wilson Mutual, ruling that cow manure contaminating a well is legally a "pollutant," and the policy's exclusion applied. The neighbors were left with minimal recourse through the insurance policy — coverage was capped at just $500 per contaminated well. Any additional compensation would have had to come directly from the Falks.
The case became a landmark ruling in Wisconsin insurance law, with significant implications for how farm pollution exclusions are interpreted and what coverage farmers can expect when manure runoff impacts neighboring properties.