Germantown Value Of Strong Families Affirmed Through Mother-In-Law Suite Application. Landscape Firm CUP Application Draws Crowd. Gtown Housing Currently 25% Rental Vs 75% Ownership.
A Plan Commission Meeting Of Firsts. Improved Discussion Amongst Commissioners Regarding Agenda Items - Asking For Research & Analysis. New 100 Year Flood Maps Likely 2026.
From agenda packet.
NOTE: Edited to reflect a reader’s observation about the rental vs ownership split.
4/28/2025 Plan Commission Meeting agenda packet here.
Min 16:40 meeting starts here. All present except Russ Ewert.
Min 18:11 Citizen input starts here. Welcome to the new plan commission members, happy for a new change of pace for the board, hopefully a little bit broader vision. Regarding multifamily and the percentage of rental versus owner occupied, happy to see this is a discussion and not action. This topic warrants more discussion within the community. The packet information on this doesn’t seem to be comparable to our community. High density units are attractive in other areas, the Midwest lags these trends. The real estate market is changing, a decline is starting. By the time developers get around to actually building, vacancy rates are likely to be higher.
Almost 3/4 of Germantown voted in the last election, and they made a change because of multifamily. The board should look into what is actually affordable by the village. We like our village the way it is. It’s slow. We like it that way. We need to be smarter instead of pushing this on our residents.
This subject keeps coming up because the neighborhood meetings were never discussed. There are unresolved issues and this is why it keeps coming back. People don’t trust the process that was in place back then. Hoping that going forward that we set up the neighborhood meetings. One needs to happen at Lannon & County Line Roads. Holy Hill area has Woodside and Isabelle Farms that require meetings. The village center is another series. This has become contentious because the only venue that people have is to come to the meetings and have a one-sided conversation for three minutes. No real discussion about matters. We should sit down and have workshops, discussions and work through the different neighborhoods. The Victory Center is another area that needs to be thought through. There are roughly five areas that have been skipped over. Context is important. That means what is around a property already or not should be taken into consideration when deciding if a use appropriate or not. If a new use is close but different that is easier to take than something vastly different.
Like the two sheets of data in the packet. Mequon looks like it had to catch up and has added a bunch of apartments in the last 10 years. The Tracy Cross report was paid for by Washington County and they wanted to promote Next Generation housing, single family homes. We need to be careful not to make assumptions. Single family is better for our utilities than apartment buildings.
The speaker is concerned about wetlands being filled in at the Wendland property. Wildlife will be hurt. We should preserve green spaces. There has been too much development in the village.
Min 33:59 Wendland Nursery & Wendland Landscape Services, Inc. conditional use permit (CUP) application for a greenhouse here. Commissioner Tarantino recuses himself as it is his business. He sits in the audience. The assistant planner, Jordan Yanke, presents the background of the business being in Germantown since the 1980s. The CUP needs to be amended due to the amount of square feet of retail added as a result of the greenhouse. They discuss the two driveways, connection to Donges Bay and the upcoming Division Road project. Mr. Tarantino confirms that no wetlands are being filled in. CUP should not be in perpetuity. The public hearing is opened.
Min 43:55 Hearing on the Wendland Greenhouse here. Several people come forward and speak for the approval of the project. They speak highly about how good Wendland Nursery is a neighbor. The commission chair, President Bob Soderberg, reads several emails into the record. One email seems to be for the wrong agenda item.
They close the hearing. The item passes. Mr. Tarantino becomes a commissioner again.
Min 59:29 Mother-in-law suite hearing here. Mr. Yanke presents slides explaining that a residence is altering a closet and another space to create a mother-in-law suite for a family member. This is a CUP, fee generating, event for the planning department. The hearing is opened. No comments except for several email comments sent in and read by the chair, Bob Soderberg. Everyone says how great this is and represents the values of Germantown - Strong Families. Hearing closes. Passes.
Min ssss TLC Acres site plan review here. Site plan approval for a new 5,200 SF retail building and a CUP for grading and filling within 25’ of a wetland.
Director Retzlaf reviews the history of this landscaping company which is also the location of a construction services company. The property has had controversy in the past with nearby residents complaining about noise, traffic and dust from operations.
The reason for the application now is the soon to be instated new 100 year flood plain rules that can significantly change expansion opportunities for certain properties near rivers, creeks and other waterways.
From agenda packet showing the before and after 100 year flood plain when it goes into effect, possibly in 2026.
Property owners savvy enough now, will apply for future work permission to avoid not being allowed to do the same thing once this new map is the rule.
Min 1:20:00 The hearing opens here. Many people come forward to talk about the noise, dust and traffic. The property is a combination fill collection area to create horticultural terraces, construction services, and landscaping/snowplowing. “There is no end in sight” for this project. Neighbors were previously promised that the work would be over in two years. Several people asks for a brake to be put on this application to look into some controls to improve quality of life. Some concerned about wetlands being filled in as that can cause issues down and upstream. Flooding is there already.
Min 1:57:40 Hearing closes and the plan commission discussions what to do. Trustee Warren shows concern for neighbors experiencing noise and vibrations. He asks if there is a history of violations or complaints. None on record. No restrictions on truck traffic in place. The owner is not present.
The 5,000 SF for new or existing business is the point of the CUP request per the engineer agent for the owner. One to seven feet of fill is still needed for the new storm detention area shown in the plan above. There appears to be more areas for a tiered terrace from the previous CUP in 2019. The hours of operation restrict the landscaping operation, not the filling of the low spots.
Can the CUP be denied? Yes. But, it won’t stop what has previously been approved. They discuss asking the owner to come into the village hall to discuss issues. No complaints have been received, apparently.
Guys, send complaints to comments@germantownwi.gov that goes to the village board and other department heads.
The discussion continues regarding adding conditions to the CUP and that there are several issues here, that do not necessarily overlap.
Village President says he cannot vote on this until he visits the area and he will go. He supports the business and wishes that he work with staff to fix the neighborhood issues. They postpone the item until the village staff can provide recommendations.
Min 2:28:00 A discussion of multi-family development in the village here. Village administrator, Steve Kreklow, presents information that is collected every five years for the “American Community Survey” found here.
This is the first step in investigating if this type of housing should be in the village. The commissioners agree that more analysis is needed.
They talk about density versus multi-unit versus ownership type. This is a definition matter.
Currently, Germantown is at 28% rental versus ownership. They talk about average age of residents compared to the rest of the state.
Need more information about demand, and affordability. What are we placing a cap on?
Min 2:47:10 Fence In A Storm Drain Easement here. Staff recommends for the fence to go forward. Trustee Warren asks where did the 3” gap height at the bottom of the fence where it is in the drainage easement. The fence company. Did they do an analysis? No.
The concern is that many houses worth of water will flow into the easement and without an analysis the fence could cause problems.
Discussion continues. They table it until the owner can come back with more information.
Min 3:02:10 The Clark Station at County Line is changing its fuel source and needs new signs here. They approve the monument sign changes. They table the canopy signs until an amendment to the CUP is brought forward.
Meeting ends.
How refreshing! The plan commission listening to people and doing more research for analysis in situations, types of development desirable, and relooking at the 2050 plan. Tabling matters, rather than shoving them through.
Next Up - Meeting Marathon:
5/5/2025 Historic Preservation, 5pm. Agenda packet here. This meeting is not recorded.
5/5/2025 General Governance & Finance Committee, 5:30pm. Agenda packet here. Two resolutions to issue bonds for $14M. $10M to cover the costs of purchasing the Flower Source, Ascension and other property within/without TID 10. $4M for regular annual borrowing + money for Division Road.
(Crazy amount of interest/debt service.)
5/5/2025 Public Safety Committee, 6:00pm. Agenda packet here. Licenses and public safety building needs.
5/5/2025 Village Board Meeting, 7:00pm. Agenda packet here. New ethics board member addtion. Police Department command structure changes. Licenses. The items that passed from plan commission. General obligation bonds of $14M. Discussion of multi-family housing development in the village.
(Bring your snacks and sandwiches.)