The City of Stevens Point is working to build the largest state-certified industrial park in Wisconsin. But, the plan is running into some local opposition.

Stevens Point wants to annex 762 acres of undeveloped farmland from the Town of Plover in order to build the industrial park, which would be Wisconsin's largest under the state's new Certified Sites program. The annexation would also be one of the largest in the city's history, according to Mayor Andrew Halverson, "It's going to be a tremendous game changer for Stevens Point in terms of jobs, in terms of other businesses that are looking to grow, added retail and commercial development, and most importantly residential development here and general growth of the city. Over the next 20 to 30 years, certainly a site of this size has the potential to produce thousands of jobs."

But the annexation plans are opposed by the Town of Plover, because of concerns about nearby homeowners. Town Chairman Tom Karcheski says if the park is built, a small subdivision would be almost completely encircled by industry, "The city didn't notify anybody in advance, and we found out that they did not notify anybody in the subdivision that they were planning on building this new park. Our biggest concern is how do you buffer those homes from large industry."

The Plover town chairman is meeting with the Stevens Point mayor to see if they can work out an agreement to create a buffer for the subdivision, which already borders another industrial park and a shopping center.