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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Waukesha Plan Commission Meeting Summary - October 28, 2026

Public Meetings — Wednesday, October 28, 2026

BodyWaukesha, Wisconsin

SessionPublic Meetings

DateWednesday, October 28, 2026

StatusNEW · FILED

Video Record

0:00 / 38:50

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

2:20

All right, I believe it is time.

2:22

I am going to call this Wednesday, October twenty eighth, uh twenty twenty six meeting of the Plan Commission to order.

2:30

We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance.

2:40

And to the Republic for which it stands.

2:52

All right.

2:52

Roll call.

2:54

We have Commissioners Granger, Keller, Molson, myself, Frank Hoor, and Wells present today.

3:02

Next up, we have public comment.

3:04

Is there anyone here that wishes to speak for public comment?

Unassigned speaker

3:09

I

Speaker 1

3:10

don't see anybody raising their hand or coming up, so we will move on to approval of the minutes.

3:23

Second from Francoir.

3:25

Any discussion?

3:27

All those in favor, please say aye.

3:29

Aye.

3:30

All those opposed, none opposed.

3:33

That vote passes unanimously.

Unassigned speaker

3:36

I

Speaker 1

3:36

think it'll pop up on the screen.

3:40

It's coming.

3:41

There we go.

3:41

Six to zero.

3:43

All righty.

3:44

Next up, we have our first business item, the land use plan amendment for two twenty-two, Maple Avenue.

3:52

I believe Doug, you are handling this one for us.

3:54

Yes, I

Speaker 2

3:55

am.

3:55

Thank you.

4:02

That should look a little better.

4:05

Okay, so this is a land use plan amendment.

4:09

We haven't had one of these in a little while again.

4:11

Uh, but basically the city has a comprehensive land use plan that covers the uses of the city and defines those areas that would be residential, commercial, or industrial.

4:21

And then we have our zoning, which is the rules for how lands can develop under those areas.

4:26

So this is a request to adjust our land use plan at this time.

Unassigned speaker

4:30

I'm usually when you're going to have a new development, the land use plan amendment, if it has to change, is the first step in a process to try to get uh the any new development going.

Unassigned speaker

4:40

Um

Speaker 2

4:40

so that's what's before us here this evening.

Unassigned speaker

4:43

And

Speaker 2

4:43

this is at two twenty-two Maple Avenue.

Unassigned speaker

4:47

Um, so here you can see Maple Avenue running north-south, the railroad tracks, uh, where it crosses Maple Avenue and uh the Lindholm building at two twenty two, or Maple Avenue is the uh the property in question, it's about 2.42 acres in size.

Speaker 2

5:04

Um, and then currently there's the uh uh the former Lindholm or it still is the Lindholm building, um, currently not being utilized at this point.

Unassigned speaker

5:15

Um

Speaker 2

5:16

this had been the former offices of this city school, City Waxhaw School District.

5:21

Um they had moved out uh Carroll University had recently acquired it.

5:27

Uh they've determined they have no use for it at this time, um so they're looking to um dispose of the property and have met up with an investor who's um interested in possibly doing some residential on this property.

Unassigned speaker

5:42

So

Speaker 2

5:42

again, it's 2.42 acres in size.

5:45

It does have uh access points out onto Maple Avenue as well as out onto West Avenue on the west side.

Unassigned speaker

5:58

The

Speaker 2

5:59

current land use, obviously, based on the past uses and ownership has always been in institutional uses.

6:05

Um, to do residential, that wouldn't be allowed in the institutional district.

6:09

Um, so the developer and Carol are um asking that we amend our land use plan to allow for residential use on this property.

6:21

Going back to this photo, you can see there's residential uses to the north as well as to the south and to the west.

6:29

Um Carol does own the property directly across the street on Maple Avenue, and that's remaining in institutional use.

6:50

Um, that was supposed to be a photo of the Lindholm building.

6:53

Sorry, don't see where that went.

6:55

Um, so here is uh potential site plan.

6:59

Um the developer is in conceptual stages at this point, but he's anticipating a multifamily building on the property.

7:07

Um, unfortunately, he's looked at the uh the building itself that's there, and it doesn't seem feasible to be able to redevelop that building as it currently sits.

7:18

Um so he's has a conceptual idea at this point for uh multifamily building on the north side of the property uh with uh parking then coming along the south and off to the west.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning Regulations█████████████████████████████████████████████79%

Procedural█████9%

Noise Pollution███5%

Historic Preservation██4%

Address Management██3%

Summary of Proceedings

Waukesha Plan Commission Meeting - October 28, 2026

The Waukesha Plan Commission met at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, in Council Chambers at City Hall. Six members were present. The commission approved the prior meeting minutes and unanimously approved all three business items on the agenda: a land use plan amendment for 222 Maple Avenue, a rezoning petition for Elkhart Drive, and a minor site plan and architectural review with relief for Winterberry Reserve Phase 2. No in-person public comments were offered.

Approval of Minutes

The commission voted 6-0 to approve the September 23, 2026 Plan Commission minutes. The agenda listed the minutes as an attachment, but the minutes themselves were not included in the source packet.

Land Use Plan Amendment - 222 Maple Avenue

Staff (Doug Koeher) presented a request from Spoerl Commercial to change the land use designation for the 2.42-acre former Lindholm property at 222 Maple Avenue from Civic and Institutional (CIV) to Residential Flexible (RF). The property, formerly used by the Waukesha School District, was recently acquired by Carroll University, which determined it has no current use for the site.
The applicant's concept is a multifamily building with 53 apartment units. Staff recommended approval, noting that residential uses are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods and that the parcel's shape is not well suited to single-family lot division.
Developer Brian Spurl said the project is in the concept phase and that he has 30 years of development experience. Asked about preserving the facade of the existing Lindholm building, he said the building has been added onto over the years with different elevations and floor levels, making it difficult to feasibly save.
Commissioner discussion included questions about why Residential Flexible was chosen over mixed-use, the possibility of retaining the facade, and railroad noise. Commissioner Keller asked about train noise and the building's orientation along the tracks. Spurl estimated only one or two trains per day on this line and said he was open to suggestions.
Commissioner Molson voiced support for residential use and encouraged the developer to preserve facade elements to maintain neighborhood goodwill.
The commission voted 6-0 to approve the land use plan amendment as a recommendation to the Common Council, with a public hearing expected in early December.

Rezoning Petition - Elkhart Drive

Staff (Megan Steiner Potier) presented a request from Horizon Development Group to rezone approximately 6.7 acres at the current terminus of Elkhart Drive, south of Les Paul Parkway and east of Genesee Road, from T-1 Temporary District to RN-4 Residential Neighborhood District 4. The property was formerly right-of-way and is now vacant land.
The proposed "Residences at Fox River" project includes six two-story multifamily buildings with 84 total units, 68 covered parking stalls, and 92 surface parking stalls, a ratio of 1.9 stalls per unit.
Commissioner Molson said he liked the project, though he noted the name "Residences at Fox River" is very similar to the nearby "Village at Fox River" development.
The commission voted 6-0 to approve the rezoning.

Minor Site Plan and Architectural Review - Winterberry Reserve Phase 2

Staff presented a relief request from the developer of Winterberry Reserve Phase 2, located north of Summit Avenue and east of Meadowbrook Road. The developer sought relief from zoning code Section 23.06(8), which prohibits ground-mounted transformers and similar utility equipment in required front yards or street side yards.
The request originally covered many transformer locations, but after coordination with We Energies and city staff, it was reduced to three transformers on the north side of Cranberry Circle, serving lots 54, 55, 56, 57, and 58. A new We Energies policy requires cables connecting transformers to be at least 10 feet from excavated foundations, making rear-yard placement difficult due to steep grading.
The developer agreed to a 19-foot front-yard setback for the three transformers, compared with the normally required 25 feet, and to provide landscape screening.
During discussion, Commissioner Frank Hoor asked about visibility from surrounding areas. Staff said the transformers would not be visible from the adjacent "Tall Grass" neighborhood or common open space and that the apartments to the north had provided a landscaping buffer.
The commission voted 6-0 to approve the minor site plan and architectural review with conditions, including the 19-foot setback and landscaping screening. The matter will be forwarded to the Common Council with an updated cover sheet.

Public Comments and Testimony

No members of the public spoke during the public comment period or during individual agenda items.
For the Maple Avenue item, the mayor noted that emailed comments had been distributed to all commissioners, including requests to preserve the historic facade.

Key Outcomes

Motion to approve the 222 Maple Avenue land use plan amendment passed 6-0; the recommendation will go to the Common Council, with a public hearing anticipated in early December.
Motion to approve the Elkhart Drive rezoning passed 6-0.
Motion to approve the Winterberry Reserve Phase 2 minor site plan and architectural review passed 6-0, with conditions.
The meeting adjourned without objection.

Meeting Transcript

All right, I believe it is time. I am going to call this Wednesday, October twenty eighth, uh twenty twenty six meeting of the Plan Commission to order. We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands. All right. Roll call. We have Commissioners Granger, Keller, Molson, myself, Frank Hoor, and Wells present today. Next up, we have public comment. Is there anyone here that wishes to speak for public comment? I don't see anybody raising their hand or coming up, so we will move on to approval of the minutes. Second from Francoir. Any discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, none opposed. That vote passes unanimously. I think it'll pop up on the screen. It's coming. There we go. Six to zero. All righty. Next up, we have our first business item, the land use plan amendment for two twenty-two, Maple Avenue. I believe Doug, you are handling this one for us. Yes, I am. Thank you. That should look a little better. Okay, so this is a land use plan amendment. We haven't had one of these in a little while again. Uh, but basically the city has a comprehensive land use plan that covers the uses of the city and defines those areas that would be residential, commercial, or industrial. And then we have our zoning, which is the rules for how lands can develop under those areas. So this is a request to adjust our land use plan at this time. I'm usually when you're going to have a new development, the land use plan amendment, if it has to change, is the first step in a process to try to get uh the any new development going. Um so that's what's before us here this evening. And this is at two twenty-two Maple Avenue. Um, so here you can see Maple Avenue running north-south, the railroad tracks, uh, where it crosses Maple Avenue and uh the Lindholm building at two twenty two, or Maple Avenue is the uh the property in question, it's about 2.42 acres in size. Um, and then currently there's the uh uh the former Lindholm or it still is the Lindholm building, um, currently not being utilized at this point. Um this had been the former offices of this city school, City Waxhaw School District. Um they had moved out uh Carroll University had recently acquired it. Uh they've determined they have no use for it at this time, um so they're looking to um dispose of the property and have met up with an investor who's um interested in possibly doing some residential on this property. So again, it's 2.42 acres in size. It does have uh access points out onto Maple Avenue as well as out onto West Avenue on the west side. The current land use, obviously, based on the past uses and ownership has always been in institutional uses.

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