VILLAGE OF HARTLAND - The village board unanimously shot down a proposal by Neumann Developments Inc. to allow a plan for a 126-unit ranch-style condominium development on 80 acres between Mary Hill subdivision and Winkleman Road.
The board also unanimously decided to change Hartland's comprehensive plan to show that KE will eventually connect on the north side of Highway K, ending a nearly 20 year-long disagreement with the county on where it would go.
Matt Neumann, CEO of Neumann Developments, had proposed that if the village would allow a plan for higher density, and change its comprehensive plan to reflect the county's plan for KE, he would build a long access road off of Highway K, across from Jungbluth Road, that would eventually be a part of the new Highway KE.
Once the board decided on March 26 that they would approve half of the proposal, Neumann said he will look to build a condo development with the maximum number of units that zoning would allow for, which he said is about 96.
But Village Administrator Dave Cox said that number would likely be lower.
"It depends how the village decides to deal with the environmental corridor on the parcel," Cox said.
According to Neumann, even if the development would have more than 90 units, that would not offset the cost of a long access road that meets county highway standards, so he will instead be looking to gain access on Southern Oak Drive in Mary Hill subdivision.
"People are going to be more angry about the next proposal, by a mile ... but I spent a year with this plan, trying to do what I genuinely thought was the right thing to do," Neumann said.
Neumann said approval on his next plan would be easier to obtain as he would not be seeking changes to the village's comprehensive plan.
Going forward, Neumann and Realtor John Siepmann, who owns half of the 80 acres in the development, will plan for a county highway that will run through the property to connect Winkleman and Jungbluth roads in their next proposal.
The county, which would foot the bill for the new road, does not have plans to build the road in at least the next five years, but likely even longer.
Waukesha County Board Chairman Paul Decker, who represents Hartland, said that if Neumann builds on the property, he believes the connection would be made in the next seven to 10 years. If not, the connection could take even longer.
"We're not going to build the road based off speculation that something will go in there or speculation of how much traffic they create," Decker told Lake Country Now. "When the development is in, we will monitor the traffic and go from there."
He said as of now, the area does not create enough traffic to prioritize the plan.
Neumann did not say when he will propose a new condominium plan, though he still intends to.
Around 40 Hartland and village of Merton residents appeared before the board during a public hearing on the proposal, urging the board to deny the increased density of the project.
"There was a long-term plan that was created for the land and density and I’m assuming there was a lot of thought that went into it," resident Bob Pjerach said. "If it's 10 percent or more increase I think that is significant, and I'm against that."
Many residents expressed traffic concerns about the current status of the two intersections between highways K and KE. At Jungbluth Road, residents said hills on both sides of the intersection make it hard to see oncoming traffic. A quarter mile east of that intersection is Winkleman Road, where cars are coming along Highway K at high speeds and there is no side road to pass turning cars.
"All of the points that were made tonight make it clear we are worried about traffic," said Jeff Anson, who is running for village board on April 3. "It is very easy to get into an accident. I believe there shouldn’t be any development there until Waukesha County OK’s the road."
Trustee Ann Walschlager said she believes the development would add 200 cars in an area where it could not be supported.
"The traffic concerns really stretch from Highway K from Arrowhead all the way to Ryan Road," she said. "There are backups by Dorn Road that never used to be there, and Merton Avenue, and people are constantly pulling into Dotty's convenience store.The roads were not made to take that kind of traffic. ... the increased density is out of line."