When Hamilton resident Tina Wehrs arrived for a public hearing on the town’s comprehensive plan, she had no idea she would make up all the public.

Yet that’s what happened July 22 as members of the Hamilton Town Board and the plan commission along with Peter Fletcher, a member of the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission, met to lead the public through a draft of the comprehensive plan.

The low attendance stood in stark contrast to a year ago when 35 town residents attended a meeting to discuss changes to the comprehensive plans with each other.

Wehrs, a resident of Hamilton of three years and a member of the La Crosse Area Builders Association, said the meeting was well-posted and publicized.

“It’s too bad the public didn’t come,” Wehrs said. “This stuff directly affects them.”

Peter Fletcher, who has been helping other communities with their comprehensive plans, noted that the lack of attendance could be pointing to simply comprehensive plan fatigue.

“People could be planned out,” Fletcher said.

Though the lack of the public didn’t completely dim the conversation as discussion of the 35-acre rule came back up. The rule sets a 35-acre minimum a resident must have in order to sell off 10 percent for residential housing along with the guideline of the property having to be owned by the resident for 10 years.

Jim Michelson, a member of the plan commission, asked if the rule was being unfair.

“What happens if somebody has 34 acres?” Michelson asked. “They can’t do something but their neighbor with 35 can?”

Fletcher noted that there were avenues for people to go through, asking the board to amend the plan, and that the plan couldn’t be a catch-all for everything.

“You can’t manipulate your plan to fit all those things,” Fletcher said.

Residents who want to give input will have another chance at a future public hearing. They can also mail comments to the town board.