The Wisconsin Homeowners Alliance (WHA) launched in 2005 as an organization designed to be the voice of homeowners and property owners statewide.
While separate from the WRA, the mission of the WHA was clear: “to advance and promote issues of concern to the more than 3 million homeowners in Wisconsin through education and advocacy. The WHA will keep state and local officials, and the public, aware of how various proposed policies could help or hurt housing and property ownership.”
As a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, the WHA is funded through WRA member dues and, when appropriate, other like-minded organizations that share the goal of advancing and promoting issues of concern to Wisconsin homeowners and property owners.
The great pier standoff: 2004-06
Once the WHA was in place, the first agenda item emerged: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) attempt to regulate new and existing piers using the same standards.
From 2004 to 2006, pier regulation was a controversial topic in Madison. The real controversy began when the DNR introduced administrative rules that attempted to apply new pier standards retroactively to existing piers. The proposed rules generated public backlash because they would have made thousands of existing piers illegal.
During this two-year debate, a DNR advisory committee failed to reach consensus on standards for new and existing piers. The legislature rejected two DNR attempts to apply the standards for new piers to existing piers. Then the legislature passed its own bill, AB 850, as a compromise by all parties, but AB 850 was vetoed by then-Gov. Jim Doyle. The legislature, governor and the DNR failed to get a compromise acceptable to all stakeholders.
The WHA to the rescue
The newly created WHA jumped into action. Amid the “great pier standoff” involving the legislature, governor and the DNR, waterfront property owners had little knowledge about this debate or how the new rules could impact their piers. Recognizing the timeliness with the WHA mission, it was clear that public engagement was essential.
For the first time, the WHA helped inform the public how a proposal to regulate piers would affect property rights. The DNR, mandated to hold public hearings around the state on its proposed pier rules, gave property owners affected by these rules the opportunity to voice their concerns. The WHA initiated a campaign to update property owners on DNR proposals and urged their attendance at the DNR hearings. The WHA sent notifications using direct mail, radio ads and billboards statewide.
WHA success
The campaign to “educate and advocate” was a success. The hearings required bigger facilities to accommodate the crowds, and the DNR heard the message loud and clear: the new standards should not apply retroactively to existing piers that were lawful when they were placed, period.
The campaign also asked property owners to contact their legislators and the governor and demand a change to the proposed rules. Once the phone calls stopped, the DNR and governor were ready to compromise: legislation was passed and signed into law that prevented new standards from applying retroactively to existing piers, and the DNR’s discretionary authority to require other piers to obtain an individual permit was gone.
Mission accomplished: The WHA informed property owners and other stakeholders about a critical issue, and once they understood the harmful effects on their property rights, they responded. Since then, the WHA has waged similar issue advocacy campaigns to protect private property rights and other issues that affect property owners.
Learn more at wisconsinhomeownersalliance.org.